The Mongol ascendancy began in 1200 AD when Genghis Khan united most of the nomadic Mongol tribes and conquered much of northern China and central Asia. Kublai Khan seized power in China and encouraged trade with foreign lands. Marco Polo worked for Kublai Khan and wrote about his experiences. The Mongol ascendancy officially ended in 1368, but China continued to trade actively with the Middle East. The innovations of Chinese culture spread to the Western world through Mongolian ancestry.
Mongol ascendancy refers to a period in Chinese history when the Mongols were able to successfully conquer and hold most of Asia and extend their empire nearly to Europe. The Mongols, mostly nomadic tribes residing in northwest China, were and sometimes still are portrayed as barbarian figures, though they were certainly a warlike people. Yet they have also brought many interesting changes to China.
You can date the Mongol ancestry to 1200 AD when a warrior chief named Temujin united most of the nomadic Mongol tribes. The ruler’s name in Mongolian is khan and Temujin took the name of Genghis Khan, which means universal ruler. With the support of most of the Mongol tribes, Genghis was able to conquer much of northern China and central Asia. Within 20 years of the first assault on China, the Mongol people held most of Asia.
In 1227, Genghis Khan died and his rule passed to his son Ogadai. The vastness of the empire that the Mongols controlled during this early part of the Mongol ascendancy eventually led to the empire being divided into four parts. Genghis Khan’s grandson Kublai Khan seized power in China and eventually defeated the remaining parts of China in the south controlled by the Song dynasty.
Kublai Khan relied heavily on the standard Chinese style of government, which incorporated the beliefs of Buddhism and Confucianism into a system of government. He feared that the native Chinese would gain too much power and gave most of the government jobs to the Mongols. During his lifetime, he undertook a series of public works, such as the restoration of the Grand Canal and the construction of paved highways.
Where the Chinese prior to Mongol ancestry had very little contact with the outside world, Mongol rulers actively encouraged both land and sea trade. Their mighty armies secured caravan routes, such as the Silk Roads, and invited people from foreign lands to see China. For the first time, Europeans actually took a look at China.
Particularly well known among visitors to China were Marco Polo and his father. Polo ended up working as an assistant to Kublai Khan, being, some say nearly imprisoned by Kublai, for 17 years. His descriptions of China when he returned to Europe were published in book form. The Europeans took great interest in the developments of the Chinese and settled increased trade between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Mongol ascendancy officially ended in 1368, when the warrior Hongwu overthrew the Mongol leadership in China. It had steadily weakened after Kublai’s death in the late 13th century. China would continue to trade actively with Middle Easterners, although some dynasties following the Mongol ascendancy banned foreigners from entering China and discouraged active trade. The surge in trade and products supplied by China could never be stopped completely, and today it remains intensely active.
Historically, and even culturally, the Mongol Ascendancy, while it may have been marked by brutality at times, was also an important moment for the rest of the world. The amazing innovations of the Chinese would have a tremendous influence on the rest of the world. We owe our use of commodities such as pulp, paper, gunpowder, tea, and porcelain to the ingenuity of Chinese culture and the spread of these to the Western world through Mongolian ancestry.
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