Key Terms
Mandarin
Top civilian official in Imperial Chinese bureaucracy; selected by exams on Confucian texts; key social class for over 2
Song-era proverb
"Do not waste good iron making nails; do not waste good men making soldiers."
Khitan Liao
Linguistically Mongolian steppe people; established the Liao kingdom in northern China; used dual administration; adopte
Xia (Tangut)
Linguistically Tibetan; formed the Xi Xia kingdom.
Basic steppe social unit
The clan — several families sharing an encampment, herding or hunting together. Clans had ruling lineages; could split a
Primary source
The Secret History of the Mongols — written after his death, based on oral history interpreted by non-Mongols. Potential
Baljuna Covenant
Oath of loyalty sworn by Temujin's top leaders from nine different clans and four religions after Ong Khan's betrayal; b
Kurultai
A proto-democratic gathering of a Mongol leader's followers to confirm acceptance of major decisions; attendance signals
Yassa
Chinggis Khan's law code; made theft, robbery, adultery, kidnapping, and enslaving Mongols capital offenses; prohibited
Written Mongol script
Developed after the kurultai, based on the Uyghur script from north of China and Mongolia. Used to record the yassa.
Women under the yassa
Marriages arranged; polygamy common. Women oversaw households when men were away.
Kara-Khitan
Offered tribute; accepted it. Xi Xia: accepted tributary status after a coup in 1210.
After Zhongdu
Left the Jin campaign mostly to Khitan allies; Mongol forces subdued the Yellow River basin, expanded north into the Jur
Khwarazmia
A realm from Persia through central Asia. Around 1218, Chinggis sent a trade caravan with a letter requesting trade rela
Result
Total war. Chinggis decimated Herat, Merv, and Nishapur — three of the most important cities of the eastern Islamic worl