levo

Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes c.1167–1405

Genghis Khan and the Creation of the Mongol Empire c.1167–1264: steppe society, the rise of Genghis Khan and the Mongol conquests

  • 2 things to know
  • Unit group 2

Overview

Recall questions on steppe life and politics, Temujin’s rise and the assembly of 1206, army reform, tactics and siege warfare, the conquests of Khwarazm, the Jin and the Abbasids, the limits of expansion and the civil war before 1264.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

Give three reasons for Mongol expansion.

Who and when

Where did Mongol expansion in the Levant reach its limit?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Describe the way of life of the steppe tribes in the mid-12th century.

    Model answer

    They were pastoral nomads who moved with their herds of horses, sheep, goats, cattle and camels between seasonal pastures, living in portable felt tents and measuring wealth in animals rather than in land. They worshipped the eternal sky through shamans, and their children learned to ride and to shoot the composite bow almost before they could walk.

  2. 2

    How was steppe society organised politically before Genghis Khan?

    Model answer

    It was divided into clans and tribal confederations such as the Mongols, Tatars, Kereit, Naiman and Merkit, held together by lineage and by the personal followings of successful chiefs, and constantly at war with one another over pasture, herds and women.

  3. 3

    Outline how Temujin rose to power on the steppe.

    Model answer

    Left destitute when his father was poisoned, he built a personal following through sworn brotherhood and service to the Kereit khan, then turned on his allies and defeated in turn the Tatars, the Kereit and the Naiman.

  4. 4

    What happened at the assembly of 1206?

    Model answer

    The united tribes of the steppe acknowledged Temujin as Chinggis Khan, recognising him as sole ruler of all the peoples of the felt tents.

  5. 5

    Explain how Genghis Khan reorganised his army, and why it mattered.

    Model answer

    He divided it into units of ten, a hundred, a thousand and ten thousand, deliberately mixing men from different tribes in each, which destroyed the old tribal loyalties and made the army answerable to him alone.

  6. 6

    How did Genghis Khan bind his leading commanders to him and choose them?

    Model answer

    He formed a personal guard from the sons of his commanders, which was at once a bodyguard, a school for future officers and a guarantee of their fathers' loyalty, and he promoted men on demonstrated ability rather than birth, so that a blacksmith's son and a former enemy who had shot his horse both rose to lead armies.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107
Y103: England 1199–1272
Y104: England 1377–1455

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Franz Ferdinand was shot at in June.
SarajevoBelgradeVienna

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AA republic replaced the sultanate.
BThe caliphate was abolished in 1924.
CThe Latin alphabet was adopted.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Simony means the buying and selling of Church office.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes c.1167–1405, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.