 Mongols were the nomadic tribes who inhabited in central Asia.

 Mongols were divided into many groups. These groups were constantly engaged in wars with each other.
 Mongol society was patriarchal in nature. Birth of a son was considered to be the sign of prosperity.
 Genghis Khan played an outstanding role in the establishment of Nomadic Empire.
 Genghis Khan was born in 1162 CE. His childhood name was Temujin. His father Yesugei was Kiyat’s tribe chief.
Oelun-eke was the name of his mother.
 Genghis Khan faced many problems in his childhood as his father was murdered by a tribe.
 With the help of some persons like Jamuqa, Boghuruchu, Tughril Khan, etc. he successfully defeated some powerful
tribes.
 Quriltai bestowed upon Temujin, the title of Genghis Khan in 1206. He ruled upto 1227 CE.
 During his reign, Genghis Khan conquered the region of northern China and Qara Khita.
 Genghis Khan brought some changes in the area under his rule. In the history of Mongol, Genghis Khan is known as a
national hero.
 The nomadic people were mainly non-vegetarians. They ate the meat of different animals like sheep, goat, etc. The
main diet of the nomadic people was meat and milk.
 Silk clothes were imported from China, while woollen clothes were prepared by themselves. The rich used to wear
expensive clothes while the dress of common people was very simple.
 Trade was also in practice and carried out with neighbouring countries.
 In 1209, Genghis Khan defeated Hsi, Hsia of China.
 Mongols occupied Otsar, Bukhara, Samarqand, Maru, Herat, Nishapur and Balkh between 1219 to 1222 CE.
 Genghis Khan organised his forces as per the old steppe system of decimal units. The important institution of
Mongolian state was the army.
 Strict discipline was maintained in the army. The authority of the king could not be challenged.
 Civil system was based on the Ulus system.
 Yam was the military rank enjoyed by Mongols.
 Ogodei, Guyuk and Mongke were the successors of the Genghis Khan.
 Qubilai Khan was the founder of Yuan dynasty. He founded this dynasty in 1260 and ruled till 1294.
 The steppe inhabitants had no literature of their own. Most of our knowledge regarding the nomadic society was mainly
derived from the chronicles, travelogues and documents produced by cities based literature.
 We find most significant information regarding the expansion of transcendental Mongol empire from Chinese,
Mongolian, Persian, Arabic, Italian, Latin, French and Russian sources.
 Two most outstanding sources of Mongols are Igor de Rachewiltz’s ‘The Secret History of Mongol’ and ‘the
Travelogues of Marco Polo’.

Important Terms:

 Barbarian: A person who is uncultured and behaves in a rough or cruel manner and is ignorant of good taste.
 Kiyat: A group of families related to the Boijigid clan
 Anda: Real or blood brother
 Confederacy: A union of states, groups of people or political with the same aim.
 Tuman: A group of ten thousand soldiers
 Noyan: Captain of army unit
 Naukar: Bonded man, a rank to common but intimate people
 Ulus: Conquered but not fixed territory
 Tama: Military contingents
 Quriltais: An assembly of chieftains
 Qubcur: A tax imposed on nomads for communication facility provided to them.
 Yam: Courier system
 Qanat: Underground canal in the arid plateau in Iran
 Paiza: A pass or permit to move from one place to another.
 Bjg:A tax imposed on traders
 Yasa: A code of law promulgated by Genghis Khan in 1206.

 The Roman empire was spread over a vast region. It was spread into three continents— Europe, West Asia and North
Africa.
 Many languages were spoken by the people of the Roman empire. Officially Latin and Greek languages were
patronised by the empire.
 The political evolution of the Roman empire resembles an interesting novel, which no reader wants to leave in-
between. It is divided into two parts—early empire and late antiquity.
 Roman empire was founded by Augustus who ruled from 27 BCE to 14 CE and brought to an end the chaotic condition
prevailing in the Roman empire.
 Empire 3 continents
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 During Augustus’ reign, Roman empire made unprecedented growth in the field of literature. He gave a new look to the
Roman army which played an important role in expanding the Roman empire.
 The economic reforms introduced by Augusts, not only made the people of Roman empire prosperous but also helped
in strengthening the very foundation of the empire.
 Augustus appointed Tiberius his successor who ruled from 14 to 37 CE.
 Trojan was a famous Roman emperor who ruled from 98 to 117 CE. He made an immense contribution in expanding
the frontier of Roman empire.
 The first and the second centuries were known for a period of peace, prosperity and economic expansion but the third
 century brought the first major signs of internal strain.
 Shapur I, the Iranian ruler had eradicated the Roman army and even captured the eastern capital of Antioch.
 At the same time a whole series of Germanic tribes began to move against the Rhine and Danube frontiers, and the
entire period saw repeated invasions of a whole line of provinces that stretched from the Black Sea to the Alps and
Southern Germany.
 In Roman society there was system of the nuclear family. The family was used to be patriarchal in nature. The literacy
rate was casual. The cultural diversity of the empire was reflected in many ways.
 There were some regional languages spoken as Aramaic in the near East, Coptic spoken in Egypt, Punic and Berber
in North Africa, Celtic in Spain and the north-west.
 The empire had a significant economic infrastructure of harbours, mines, quarries, brickyards, olive oil factories, etc.
Production was traded and consumed in huge quantities, and they came mainly from Spain.
 The Roman people were polytheists and used to worship several gods and goddesses. Their popular deities were
Jupiter, Mars, Juno, Minerva and Isis.
 One of the most important religious sects of Roman empire was Mithraism. The otherpopular sect ‘Judaism’ was
worshipped by Jehova. The Judaism considered Jehova as the creator of the universe.
 Slavery was a tradition in the Mediterranean and in the near east, as warfare became less widespread. With the
establishment of peace in the first century, the supply of slaves tended to decline and the users of slave labour had to
turn either to slave breeding.
 The position of the slave in the Roman empire was very miserable. They were forced to work on the estate for 10 to 18
hours a day.
 The late Roman aristocracy was extremely wealthy but not more powerful than the military leaders who came almost
entirely from non-aristocratic backgrounds. The middle class was made of large mass of persons connected with grand
service in the bureaucracy and also with prosperous merchants and farmers in the eastern provinces.
 The monetary system of the empire broke with the silv er-based currencies of the first three centuries. The late Roman
bureaucracy, both the higher and middle echelons, was a comparatively affluent group because it drew the bulk of its
salary in gold and invested much of this in buying up assets like land.
 Large expansion of Roman territory was in a less advanced state. Transhumance was spread in the countryside of
Numidia. These pastoral and semi-nomadic communities were often on the move, carrying their oven-shaped huts
(called mapalia). As Roman estates expanded in North Africa, the pastures of those communities were hugely reduced
and their movements more tightly regulated. Even in Spain the north was much less developed, and inhabited largely
by a Celtic-speaking peasantry that lived in hilltop villages called castella.
 The Emperor Constantine decided to make Christianity the official religion in the fourth century and the Emperor
Diocletian (284-305) fortified the frontiers, reorganized provincial boundaries, and separated civilian from military
functions, granting greater autonomy to the military commanders.
 The traditional religious culture of the classical world, both Greek and Roman, had been polytheist.
 The Visigoths in Spain was destroyed by the Arabs between 711 to 720, that of the Franks in Gaul (c.511-687) and
that of the Lombards in Italy (568-774). These kingdoms foreshadowed the beginning of a different kind of world that is
usually called ‘medieval’.

 Roman and Sasanian empires had fallen to the Arabs in a series of stunning confrontations. Those conquests,
extended upto Spain, Sind and Central Asia, began in fact with the subjection of the Arab tribes by the emerging
Islamic state
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 Changnging culture
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 Many significant changes took place in cultural traditions of Europe between 14th to 17th centuries.
 The church mainly influenced the life of people a lot. ‘
 Renaissance is a French word.
 Fall of feudalism, the religious wars between Christians and Muslims, commercial properties, etc. were the main
reasons for the rise of Renaissance in Europe.
 Renaissance at first started in Italy. Then it started in Rome, Venice and Florence.
 In 1455, printing press was invented by Gutenberg.
 First printing press was set up by Caxton in 1477 in Europe.
 The invention of printing press increased the volume of books. It also helped in the spread of education.
 Milan, Naples, Venice and Florence gained the status of trade centers because of flourishing of trades.
 Humanism was one of the movements that started in Italy in 14th century.
 Petrarch is known as the ‘Father of Humanism’. He vehemently criticized the superstitions and lifestyle of clergy.
 Dante was an eminent poet and philosopher of Italy.
 Dante is known for his classics, The Divine Comedy.
 William Tyndale (1494-1536) translated the Bible into English in 1506.
  Boccaccio was the greatest writer and humanist.
 Decameron is a classic work of Giovanni Boccaccio. It is the collection of 180 stories.
 Leonardo-da-Vinci was one of the greatest painters. He was born in Florence in the year 1452.
 Mona Lisa’ and ‘The Last Supper’ were the most famous paintings of Leonardo-da-Vinci.
 Michelangelo was another great painter. His greatest painting was ‘The Last Judgement’.
 Nicholas Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler and Issac Newton were well-known scientists of the Renaissance period.
 The theory of the earth as a part of the sun centered system was made popular by Kepler’s Cosmographical Mystery.
 The revolution in science reached at its climax with Newton’s theory of gravitation.
 Aristocratic families dominated the way of life during 14th century medieval Europe.
 Social, political and economic life of people were deeply affected by Renaissance.
 Renaissance aroused the spirit of equality among the people and attacked on the superstitions and rituals prevailing in
the society.
 Literature of Renaissance period brought about a great change in political thinking of the people.
 Reformation movement was a protest movement that took place in the 16th century against the church and the pope.
 Martin Luther wrote Ninety-Five Theses challenging the authority of the church.
 Nation-state received new power and vigour from Reformation.
 The Society of Jesus was founded by Ignatius Loyala in 1540. It made an attempt to combat Protestantism.

Important terms:

 Renaissance: A French word meaning rebirth.

 Renaissance man: A person with many interests and skills.
 Document of Indulgences: A document issued by the church which guaranteed a written promise to absolve the holder
of all his sins.
 Humanism: A movement which gave priority to present life rather than life thereafter.

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