The Mongols

The Mongol Empire was the largest empire to have extended across the landmass of the planet. Arguably, it can be contributed to the rise in global commerce and influential in the golden era of China.

The mongols were communities or clans of pastoral peoples living in the modern country of Mongolia today. They were excellent horse-back riders and used this as an advantage in their conquest of dominance during the 13th century. The mongols had even devised technological advances like stirrups that would give them a slight edge in combat. Under the leadership of Chinggis Khan or Genghis Khan, the Mongols expanded out from the Central Asian steppes and into China. As they expanded south and west across Eurasia, the Mongols were known for their kindness in the freedom of religion and asked very little in return. As a result of their conquests, the global trade routes were rapidly expanded. The Mongols provided much needed security across their empire so that merchants could conduct their businesses. Even though they were not particularly traders, the Mongols taxed the commerce and extracted wealth from the numerous civilizations. Never before had the two worlds of European Christendom and the Mongol Empire interacted so closely with one another. The famous accounts of Marco polo and other merchants described the Mongol Empire as rich in land or agriculture and commercial opportunities. The most surprising aspect that Strayer mentions is that the merchants had described the "long-established trading networks that Europeans were largely ignorant." Asia and Africa had even traded enormously during the reign of the Mongol Empire. This brought goods like ivory and other luxury goods into the region.

With the expansion of wealth across the Mongol Empire and a relatively secure region, China had started to rise again from its former glories. The Mongols had already done great works projects like building roads, bridges, and dams. When the Mongol Empire was in decline, the Ming Dynasty had extracted the Mongol influences and used it to its advantages. The Ming Dynasty built new irrigation systems, reestablished the educational system, and even built a large navy. All of these elements from the Ming Dynasty would not have been possible unless the Mongols expanded across Eurasia. Both worlds prospered enormously and it led to the great shift towards the Renaissance. Sea routes in trading became more important, ultimately leading to explorers finding the "New World" in 1492. The most surprising fact about the Mongol influence can be seen today in DNA. One in two hundred people are related to Genghis Khan and it is attributed to his successful conquests in the 13th century.