Foreign Interactions
Trade on the Silk Road
Trade was very important to the Mongols. They realized how important it was since they were a nomadic people.(1) The Mongols were very receptive of merchants and commerce. The status of merchants increased under Mongol rule.In Confucian China people looked down on merchants thinking that they did not produce anything.
The Mongol government supported traders by setting up "rest stations" every 20 miles along major trade routes.(2) Merchants also received benefits such as tax - breaks.(3) Caravan trading across the Mongol empire was very expensive and risky. The Mongols realized this so they created Ortogh.(4) The Ortogh was a merchant association where all the merchants would pool all their resources into one caravan. The Mongols also provided merchants low rates of interest as long as they belonged to the Ortogh.(5) |
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Artisans
The Mongols highly valued foreign artisans. From traditional times the Mongols were a nomadic people so they could not carry the supplies needed by artisans.(6) Ögödei employed many artisans to build the first Mongol capital and Kubilai Khan employed many artisans to build Daidu (modern city of Beijing), because of this, foreign artisans were provided a much higher status than common in other societies.(7)
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Foreign Religion
Early on, the Mongols realized that forcing religion upon the people they conquered was un-productive. Instead, they were lenient to other religions and even offered tax - benefits to Buddhist, Islamic, Daoist, and Christian people to gain their support.(8) However, the Mongols still kept their own beliefs in shamanism, and many shamans had positions in Kublai Khan's court. (9)
According to John Plano de Carpini, "They know nothing of everlasting life and eternal damnation, but they believe that after death they will live in another world and increase their flocks, and eat and drink and do the other things which are done by men living in their world." (10) |
Footnotes:
(1)"The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History." The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History. January 1, 2004. Accessed November 14, 2014. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/history/history4.htm.[1]
(2)Ibid.[1]
(3)Morris,Rossabi. "The Yuan Approach to Maritime Trade." In Eurasian Influences on Yuan China, (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2013),44.[2]
(4)Ibid. [2]
(5)Morris Rossabi. "Kublai's Economic Program." In Khubilai Khan: His Life and times. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988),123.[3]
(6)Ibid.169[3]
(7)Morris Rossabi. The Mongols: A Very Short Introduction. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.)70[4]
(8)Ibid.30[4]
(9) Asia For Educators, The Mongols In World History: Culture (Columbia University) 2004. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/china/china3_g.htm.
(10) John de Plano Carpini, "History of the Mongols" translated by a nun on Stanbrook Abbey in The Mongol Mission, edited by Christopher Dawson, (London: Sheed and Ward, 1955), 12.
(1)"The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History." The Mongols in World History | Asia Topics in World History. January 1, 2004. Accessed November 14, 2014. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/history/history4.htm.[1]
(2)Ibid.[1]
(3)Morris,Rossabi. "The Yuan Approach to Maritime Trade." In Eurasian Influences on Yuan China, (Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2013),44.[2]
(4)Ibid. [2]
(5)Morris Rossabi. "Kublai's Economic Program." In Khubilai Khan: His Life and times. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988),123.[3]
(6)Ibid.169[3]
(7)Morris Rossabi. The Mongols: A Very Short Introduction. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.)70[4]
(8)Ibid.30[4]
(9) Asia For Educators, The Mongols In World History: Culture (Columbia University) 2004. Accessed November 16, 2014. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/china/china3_g.htm.
(10) John de Plano Carpini, "History of the Mongols" translated by a nun on Stanbrook Abbey in The Mongol Mission, edited by Christopher Dawson, (London: Sheed and Ward, 1955), 12.