Week of December 5th-9th

Monday: Work day.

Tuesday: Work day. 

Wednesday: My group presented. 

Thursday: Group presentations. (11.2)

Russia’s Birth

  • How did Vladimir impact Kiev?

  • What were some of the major reasons as to why Kiev rose to power and why it fell?

  • What effect did the Mongols have on the Russian Empire

  • Why was expanding the city of Moscow important?

The Russian Empire

Russia’s birth:

  • Geography:

    • West of the Ural Mountains

    • From the Back to the Baltic Sea

    • Hilly grasslands in the south

    • Dense, flat forests in the north

    • Rivers allowed boat travel in every direction

    • Dnieper, Don, Volga- main river

  • Early days

    • In the 1800’s small bands of adventurers came from the north

      • Varangians,  or Rus

      • Built forts along the rivers and settles among the Slavs

  • Slavs and Vikings

    • Legend says that Slavis incited the Viking chief, Rurik, to be their king

      • He founded Novgorod ub 863, which became Russia first important city

    • Then in 880 nobleman Oleg moved the focus from Novgorod to Kiev

      • Vikings could sail by river to Constantinople and trade for products

      • Grew into principality

      • Eventually Vikings intermarried with Salve and the line between them vanished

  • Kiev becomes Orthodox

    • Princess Olga of Kiev went to Constantinople and publically converted to Christianity

      • She governed until her son was old enough to rule

      • After her son, her grandson Vladimir ruled and considered conversion to Christianity

    • Vladimir sent teams to observe major religions

      • The report about Christianity from Byzantium convinced him to make all his subjects convert

      • Kiev now looked to the Byzantine Empire for religious guidance

        • Therefor the close link between church and state was implemented in Russia

Kiev’s Power and Decline :

  • Rise to Power:

    • As Kiev rose in power and riches, it marked the first appearance for Russia as a unified territory

    • The territory grew from the wooden forts and buildings to an extravagant capital filled with the most prosperous, educated citizens

  • Vladimir the Great

    • Kievan Russia

      • Vladimir led Kiev to its power

      • Expanded the state west into Poland as well as to the north, close to the Baltic Sea

  • Yaroslav the Wise

    • Yaroslav the Wise, Vladimir’s son, came into power in 1019.  His coming into power lead Kiev to an even more prosperous glory

    • He was able to fight off nomads from the steppes to the south of the capital

    • By marrying off his daughters and sisters he was able to create strong trading alliances with Western Europe

    • Made legal code that was tailored to Kiev’s commercial culture

      • Dealt with crimes against property

  • Yaroslav built the first library in Kiev

    • Because of Yaroslav’s power, the christian faith grew

      • In the 12th century, Kiev has more than 400 churches

  • Kiev Fall/Decline:

    • The decline of Kiev began when Yaroslav died in 1054

      • During his reign he made a crucial mistake by dividing up the realms of his kingdom among his sons, instead of passing the throne onto the eldest son

  • When Yaroslav died the sons fought with one another tearing the state up when choosing the territories

  • During the dividing of the kingdom, the people of Kiev continued the struggle

  • In 1095, the Crusades, fights between Christians and Muslims for control of the Holy Lands in the Middle East, disrupted trade in Kiev

The Mongol Invasions

  • In the Middle 1200s. A ferocious group of horsemen came to Russia from Central Asia

  • These invaders were known as the Mongols

  • The mongols came into the world scene in the early 1200s

  • Their ruler was Genghis Khan, one of the most feared warriors of all time

  • The Mongols may have left Asia because:

    • They were forced out by economic or military pressures

    • They were lured by the wealth of cities to the West

  • They rode horses through the steppes of Central Asia and on into Europe

  • They had a reputation of brutality due to their savage killings and burnings

  • Although Genphis Khan died in 1227, his successors continued conquering the land that he had started

  • At its fullest extent, the Mongol Empire stretched from the Yellow sea to the Baltic Sea and from the Himalayas to Northern Russia

  • In 1240, the Mongols attacked and demolished Kiev under the leadership of Genghis Khan’s grandson, Batu Khan

  • According to a Russian reporter, so many inhabitants were slaughtered that “no eye remains to weep”

  • Fiver years later, a Roman Catholic Bishop traveling through wrote “ When we passed through that land, we found that lying in the field countless head and bones of dead people”

  • After the fall of Kiev, Mongols ruled all of Southern Russia for 200 years

  • The empire's official names was “Khanate of the Golden Horde”

    • Khanate- Mongol word for Kingdom

    • Golden-gate was the royal color of the Mongols

    • Horde- Mongol word for camp

  • Under the Mongol rule, the Russians could follow all of their usual customs as long as they didn’t rebel

  • Mongols demanded only two things from the Russians:

    • Absolute obedience

    • Massive amounts of tributes or payments

  • The the most part, Russian nobles agreed

  • Alexander Nevsky (prince and military hero of Novgorod) advised his fellow princes to cooperate with the Mongols

  • The Russian nobles often crushed revolts against the Mongols and even collected taxes for them

  • Because Mongol rul isolated from its neighbors in Western Europe. Russians has little access to many new ideas

Friday: Continued presentations. 

Chapter 11.3 - Turkish Empires Rise in Anatolia 

  • Key Questions
    • 1. Explain the effect the Seljuks and other Turkish groups had on the middle east and Eastern Europe
    • 2. How did the Crusades shape the relationship between Christians and Muslims for the future?
    • 3. What caused Genghis Kan and the Mongols to be so powerful and what effect did they have on the world?
  • The Rise of the Turks 
    • Abbasids
      • Led by a caliph, the Muslim religious and political leader
      • Had ruled east of the Byzantine Empire since the 700s
      • Had struggled to maintain control of their land
      • Lost Spain, then Morocco, then Tunisia, then parts of Persia, then Egypt 
    • Turks
      • The Tu-Kiu were a tribe living on the plains west of Chine
      • They are believe to have been the early Turks
      • They were very skilled with horses and were nomadic, using camels to transport their things
      • The Abbasids took note of their fighting skills 
      • Turkish Soldiers
        • The Abbasids began kidnapping young Turks to use as slaves and train as soldiers
        • These soldiers gradually became very powerful and were known as the Mamelukes
      • Seljuk Turks
        • In the late 900s, many Turkish tribes began migrating into the Abbasid Empire
        • One group was known as the Seljuks and they attacked and took over the capital of Baghdad
        • They now controlled them empire and conducted military campaigns against the Byzantines
        • In the 1000s, they conquered most of Anatolia
        • They came closer to Constantinople than ever before 
        • Malik Shah ruled as last strong Seljuk leader
        • No capable Shah appeared to replace him 
        • The Seljuk Empire disintegrated
        • With the Seljuks weak, the West launched an attack for control of the Holy Land and the Middle East 
  • The First Crusade
    • Created by Pope Urban II in 1095
    • Purposed was to drive Turks out of Anatolia and recover Jerusalem from Muslim Rule
    • In 1099, the Crusaders captured Jerusalem and set up a Latin Christian Kingdom 
  • Seljuk Return
    • After a century of Christian Rule, a small part of the former Seljuk empire fought back
    • A war between the West and the Muslims, lead by Saladin, lead to the Muslims recapturing Jerusalem
    • Eventually a truce between Saladin and King Richard the I of England was signed 
    • This gave Jerusalem and the Holy Land to the Muslims, but allowed Christians to make pilgrimages to the Holy Land 
  • Seljuks Secure Persian Support
    • Seljuk rulers courted the support of their newly conquered Persian subjects
    • Toghril Beg chose the Persian City of Isfahan to be the capital of his kingdom
    • Persians became loyal supporters of the Seljuks 
    • Persian Learning
      • The Seljuks admired Persian learning
      • When they arrived in Southwest Asia, they were unfamiliar with Islamic culture and religion
      • They looked to their Persian subjects for guidance
      • They adopted features of the Persian life
    • Seljuk Rulers
      • The word for Seljuk Ruler is "Shah"
      • Malik Shah took pride in supporting Persian artists and architects
      • Malik beautified the city of Isfahan by building mosques 
  • Seljuks Face the Mongols 
    • Mongols
      • The Mongols were a nomadic tribe of Northern Asia, located above China
      • In the early 1200s AD, the Mongols were united under the leader Genghis Khan and became a powerful nation with a mighty army
      • The Mongols rapidly conquered China and much of Asia under the rule of Genghis Khan and became one of the most powerful empires in the world 
    • Genghis Khan
      • Born "Temujin" in Mongolia around 1162
      • He became chief of his clan after his father's death
      • He started building a massive army in order to destroy many of his enemy tribes in northeast Asia
      • The Mongols military success is owed to the mind of Genghis Khan
      • He was gifted the named Genghis Khan by his tribal leader because of his success over rival tribes
      • Next, he moved into China to secure land and good
      • Genghis Khan moved west because of a diplomatic argument with the Khwariszm Dynasty
      • Genghis Khan's death is a mystery, but before he passed, he gave his land to his sons 
    • Expansion
      • After conquering China, the Mongols moved West to expand their empire
      • They burned and leveled cities, while killing whole populations
      • Moved west to Baghdad and took over the city 
    • Victory Over Baghdad
      • The savage fighting continued until Hulagu (Khan's son) conquered the entire city
      • Once conquered, the Mongols burned the Caliph's palace and had tens of thousands of people murdered
      • Mongol belief forbade the spilling of sacred blood, so they had the last Abbasid Caliph wrapped in carpet and trampled by horses 
    • The Fall of the Mongol Empire
      • The success of Genghis Khan and his successors created the biggest land empire in history
      • The Mongols knew little about administering and controlling land, which ultimately caused the fall of the empire
      • Out of the rubble of the Mongolian Empire rose another group of Turks, the Ottomans
      • The Ottoman empire would last into the 20th century 
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