Deck 19: The Mongol Intrusion

Question 1

After the Mongol leader Hulegu captured the city of Baghdad in 1258, the Abbasid Dynasty

A) moved its center of power to Constantinople.
B) lost its caliph, and the family moved to Egypt.
C) stayed in power by converting the Mongols and convincing them that the Abbasids would rule better.
D) disappeared from history forever.
E) managed to escape with the lives of the entire royal family, and moved eastward into Persia.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The name Chinghis Khan means, literally,

A) Great King.
B) Fearless Warrior.
C) Strong General.
D) Mongol King.
E) Royal Leader.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Before beginning their wave of conquests, the Mongols were

A) strong allies of the Chinese.
B) mountain dwellers who had little to do with outsiders.
C) pastoral nomads of the Asian steppes.
D) a warlike clan in western Mongolia.
E) defeated by the Chinese more than once.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The Mongols eventually conquered all of these places except

A) Southern India.
B) China.
C) Southeast Asia.
D) Russia.
E) Damascus.

Question 5

Describe and analyze the Mongol attempts to capture China. What were the major problems they faced, and how were they eventually able to take that country?

Question 6

Describe and discuss the progression of Mongol conquests throughout Asia.

Question 7

It is frequently the case that conquerors assume at least some of the cultural characteristics of the areas that they conquer. Where, and to what degree, was this true of the Mongols? Give specific examples.

Question 8

Compare and contrast the experiences of China and Russia under Mongol rule.

Question 9

The Pax Mongolica

A) lasted for about two hundred years.
B) brought destruction to China and Mongolia.
C) created new opportunities for merchants and traders.
D) was ruled by the Great Khan from Baghdad.
E) lasted only until the death of the first Great Khan.

Question 10

Chinghis Khan organized his army by

A) traditional tribal lines.
B) family alliances.
C) combining various tribal groups into large units.
D) putting all of his cavalry together.
E) forming only light, mobile units of about 1,000.

Question 11

Which of these was not a war tactic used by the Mongols?

A) division into light and heavy cavalry
B) use of Chinese-style armor for the cavalry
C) a willingness, eagerness even, to completely annihilate his enemies.
D) instilling fear in the enemy
E) the splitting of tribal clans into various new units

Question 12

After failing to conquer China in the early 1200s, Chinghis turned his attentions to defeating the

A) Turks.
B) Afghans.
C) Persians.
D) both a and b
E) both a and c

Question 13

Before they became known as marauders, the Mongols generally

A) led a nomadic lifestyle, purchasing much of their food needs from the Turks.
B) fought among themselves, pastoralists vs. farmers.
C) managed to grow most of the food they needed, even though they lived on mostly grassland prairies.
D) had no religion at all.
E) were known as a peace-loving people.

Question 14

Describe the battle tactics of the Mongol hordes. Evaluate the effectiveness of their methods, choosing one as the most significant and discussing it in detail.

Question 15

The Mongols believed that their war-god, Tengri, would not be satisfied until they had conquered

A) Persia.
B) Afghanistan.
C) China.
D) all of Asia.
E) the entire world.

Question 16

The Mongols' tribal leaders, or khans , were usually selected mainly for their

A) daring in battle.
B) intelligence and intuitiveness.
C) military skills.
D) wealth and noble rank.
E) popularity.

Question 17

The Russians called the Mongols "Tartars," or

A) "barbarian hordes."
B) "the Golden Horde."
C) "the Infidels."
D) "the Great Unwashed."
E) "people from Hell."

Question 18

After conquering Persia in the 640s C.E., the Arab nomads

A) converted the Persians to Islam.
B) retreated to the northwest.
C) established themselves as models for the Persians.
D) adopted the language of the Persians.
E) resumed their war against the Byzantines.

Question 19

The Mongols succeeded what group in controlling Western Asia?

A) Arabic nomads
B) Berbers
C) Seljuk Turks
D) Byzantines
E) Jurchen

Question 20

The city of Vienna was saved from the Mongols because of

A) help received from the Russian army.
B) the death of the Great Khan.
C) the strong support of the Baghdad Caliphate.
D) a decision by the Khans to advance on the Turks.
E) rescue by the Teutonic Knights of Germany.

Question 21

Having conquered China, the Mongols set out to

A) defeat Russia.
B) make that country look like their homeland.
C) stamp out Buddhism.
D) export Chinese agricultural practices to other parts of their empire.
E) learn the secret of the fire lance.

Question 22

Through the use of terror, the Mongols

A) easily overran all enemies.
B) often were able to cow enemies into surrendering without a fight.
C) sometimes frightened even themselves.
D) were so successful in defeating opponents that they no longer had to use weapons.
E) frightened all of their enemies into thinking they were from Hell.

Question 23

The Mongols brought so much destruction to the Russians that they called the invaders Tartars, or ____________________ ____________________ ____________________.

Question 24

Mongol leaders usually chose one of their conquered peoples' religions, and Kubilai Khan chose

A) Buddhism.
B) Hinduism.
C) Confucianism.
D) Orthodox Christianity.
E) Islam.

Question 25

The feared Tamarlane became a convert to

A) Hinduism.
B) Buddhism.
C) Orthodox Christianity.
D) Islam.
E) Confucianism.

Question 26

In considering the relationships between pastoral nomads and farmers of Asia, it would be most accurate to say that

A) the pastoralists found it impossible to understand how farmers could remain in the same place for any length of time.
B) both groups were similar to their counterparts in the United States during the 1800s.
C) in good times the two groups often traded amicably enough with each other, but in periods of want, they usually found themselves at war.
D) both a and b were true.
E) both b and c were true.

Question 27

Judging by the previous strategies followed by the Tang and Song emperors of China in dealing with northern barbarians, when faced with the Mongol threat, one would have expected the Song to resort to

A) seeking military assistance from the caliphs at Baghdad.
B) recruiting a powerful army of mercenaries to defend their realm.
C) relying on Japanese samurai to ward off the Mongol threat.
D) playing off another steppe land ally against the Mongols.
E) retreating farther south into China.

Question 28

Yurts were Mongol

A) ponies.
B) clan leaders.
C) spiritual advisers.
D) houses.
E) places of worship.

Question 29

In warfare, the main advantage the Mongols held over their enemies was

A) fearlessness.
B) speed.
C) endurance.
D) determination.
E) strong leadership.

Question 30

The unified government of Asia under the Khans has been termed the ____________________ ____________________.

Question 31

The Khanate of the Golden Horde

A) allowed the Russians to retain many of their own customs.
B) refused to allow their Russian subjects to practice their Russian Orthodox Christianity.
C) imposed Muslim rule on a conquered Russia.
D) were responsible for Russia's loss of prosperity.
E) retained control of Russia until the late 1300s.

Question 32

The ____________________ ____________________ was the group of Mongols that ruled Russia after that country's submission.

Question 33

During Kubilai Khan's rule in China, he

A) converted to Buddhism.
B) adopted the Confucian system of government examinations.
C) allowed only the Chinese mandarin elites to hold positions equal to those of the Mongols.
D) welcomed foreigners such as Marco Polo but typically preferred to spend time with native Chinese.
E) first confiscated good farmland, but when problems surfaced, changed his mind and allowed the farmers to return to their land.

Question 34

The first use by the Chinese of gunpowder in a weapon was a fearsome gun called a/an ____________________ ____________________.

Question 35

One of the ironies of China's invention of gunpowder was that

A) they never figured out how to use it in weapons.
B) they seem not to have thought of it as a weapon at first, and then other peoples used it against them.
C) they believed the new invention would bring them great wealth, but the opposite happened.
D) it seemed the use of gunpowder was instrumental in helping the British, rather than the Chinese, to conquer India.
E) Europeans took their own gunpowder and used it against them in weapons.

Question 36

Among the most surprising aspects of Mongol rule, given the way in which they conquered and subdued various peoples, was that

A) they usually deferred to those they had conquered once they had settled in.
B) their periods of rule are often described as "peaceful" and "benign."
C) their control waned as quickly as it had waxed.
D) both a and b
E) both b and c

Question 37

In a meeting at Karakorum, Temujin was given a new title, Chinghis Khan, which means ____________________ ____________________.

Question 38

Tamarlane seems to have been bent on conquering vast territories

A) to enrich his personal wealth.
B) to gain personal fame.
C) to keep his army satiated.
D) just for the sake of conquest.
E) to accumulate large numbers of slaves.

Question 39

Overall, the Mongols' approach to government could best be described as one of

A) concern for the commoners.
B) exploitation as often as possible.
C) conquest after conquest.
D) both a and b
E) both b and c

Question 40

Advisors finally convinced Kubilai to allow the Chinese to continue growing crops, so that they could

A) have a crop to export.
B) produce tribute for him.
C) provide for their own needs rather than relying on the Mongols.
D) feed the Mongols.
E) feed themselves.

Question 41

Sometimes the Mongols were able to use ____________________ to subdue their enemies without a fight.

Question 42

Moving west into Arab lands, the Mongols under Hulegu captured the city of ____________________, ending ____________________ rule there.

Question 43

The first phase of the Mongol conquests included a failed attempt to conquer ____________________.

Question 44

The Mongols believed that ____________________, their spirit god, desired for them to rule the entire world.

Question 45

Before the Mongols became terroristic warriors, they lived as ____________________ ____________________.