Class 11 History Short Questions with Answers - Nomadic Empires

Very Short Question With Answer (1 Mark Each)

Q1: Why did the steppe region possess no cities in the time of Mongols?
Ans: The Mongols did not take to farming. Their pastoral and hunting-gathering economies were not able to sustain dense population settlements. That is why the region possessed no cities.

Q2: The richer Mongol families had many followers. Why?
Ans: The richer Mongol families possessed many animals and pasture lands. They were more influential in local politics also and therefore had many followers.

Rich Mongol Family

Q3:Why did the Mongol tribes have to wander in search of pastures?
Ans: In winter season, game and provisions stored by the Mongol tribes ran out. Due to lack of rain, grasslands also got dried. So the Mongol tribes had to wander in search of pastures.

Q4: Why did the Mongols sometimes had to face tensions in commerce?
Ans: Sometimes, both the trading groups applied military pressure to enhance profit which created a tense situation.

Q5: Why was trade so significant to the Mongols?
Ans: The Mongols imported agricultural produce and iron utensils from China. In exchange, they exported horses, furs and game, trapped in the steppe, to China.

Q6: Why was the ‘Great Wall of China’ built?
Ans: Nomadic tribes frequently invaded China. For protection of China from their invasion the ‘Great Wall of China’ was built.

Q7: Who was Genghis Khan?
Ans: Genghis Khan was born in present-day Mongolia in around 1162 CE. His early name was Temujin. His father, Yesugei was the chieftain of the Kiyat tribe. His mother’s name was Oelun-eke.

Q8: How was Temujin honoured after he defeataed his enemies?
Ans: By 1206 CE, Temujin had decisively defeated his enemies. At an assembly of Mongol chieftains, he was proclaimed the ‘Great Khan of the Mongols’, receiving the title Genghis Khan, which translates to ‘Oceanic Khan’ or ‘Universal Ruler’.

Q9: Why did Genghis Khan command to destroy Nishapur?
Ans: At Nishapur, a Mongol prince was killed during the siege operation. So Genghis Khan commanded to plunder and destroy Nishapur.

Q10: What was said in the command of destroying Nishapur?
Ans: In this command it was said that the “town should be laid waste in such a manner that the site could be ploughed upon. In exaction of vengeance, not even cats and dogs should be left alive”.

Q11: At the banks of Indus, Genghis Khan thought returning to Mongolia. But, what made him change his mind?
Ans: Following reasons made Genghis Khan change his mind:

• It was scorching heat.
• There were difficulties in natural habitat.
• His Shaman soothsayer reported some ill portents.

Q12: Into which two phases can Mongol expansion after Genghis Khan’s death be divided?
Ans: After Genghis Khan’s death, Mongol expansion can be divided into the following two phases:

• The first phase spanned the years 1236–42 CE. During this period the Mongols obtained major gains in the Russian steppes, Bulghar, Kiev, Poland and Hungary.
• The second phase occurred between 1255–1300 CE, leading to the conquest of the entirety of China, Iran, Iraq, and Syria.

Q13: Why were the Mongols defeated by the Egyptian army?
Ans: The Mongol rulers began to take more interest in China. So they diverted their forces into the heartlands of the Mongol dominion. They send only a small force against the Egyptian military. As a result, the Mongols were defeated.

Q14: After the 1260s, what was the reason for emergence of new trends in Mongol politics?
Ans. After the 1260s, several significant factors contributed to the emergence of new trends in Mongol politics:

• The Mongol forces retreated from the Hungarian steppes.
• The Mongol military faced defeat at the hands of the Egyptian military.

Q15: How Mongol (Genghis Khan) military took the form of a large and organised military?
Ans: The Mongol military transformed into a large and organised force due to the unification of various Mongol tribes and their subsequent campaigns against diverse peoples. This influx of new soldiers from different backgrounds contributed significantly to the strength of the Mongol army.

Q16: What was the qubcur tax?
Ans: Genghis Khan established a new courier system, for which the Mongol nomads contributed one-tenth of their herd, either in the form of horses or livestock. This contribution was known as the qubcur tax.

Q17: The conquered people hardly felt a sense of affinity with their new nomadic masters. Tell four reasons.
Ans: The conquered people hardly felt a sense of affinity with their new nomadic masters for several reasons:

• Several cities had been destroyed in the newly conquered regions.
• Agricultural lands had been laid waste, disrupting local food supplies.
• Trade and handicraft production had been severely disrupted.
• Tens of thousands of people had been killed, and even more had been enslaved.

Q18: What was the effect of cessation in Mongol’s military campaigns on trade?
Ans: After cessation in Mongol’s military campaigns, Europe and China were territorial linked. As a result, trade connections matured between the two parts. Commerce along the Silk Route reached its peak under the Mongols.

Q19: What arrangement had the Mongols made in their empire for safe travel? How did it make the Mongol authority strong?
Ans: In their empire, the Mongols issued passes to travellers to ensure safe travel. Traders, who were the primary travellers, paid a tax for these passes, which also served to acknowledge the authority of the Mongol Khan. This arrangement reinforced the strength of the Mongol authority.

Short Question With Answer (2 Mark Each)

Q1: Who were the Mongols? Discuss their life.
Ans: The Mongols were a community of diverse people. These people belonged to Tatars, Khitan and Manchus to the east on the basis of similarities of language. In the west, they belonged to the Turkish tribe. Some of the Mongols were pastoralists and rest of them were hunter-gatherers.

• The pastoralists reared animals like horses, sheep and camel, etc. They nomadised in the steppes of Central Asia.
• The hunter and food gathers lived to the north of the pastoralists in the Siberian forests. They were poorer than the pastoralists. They made a living from trade in furs of animals trapped in the summer months.
• The Mongols lived in tents and used to travel with their herds from their winter to summer pasture lands.
  
  

Q2: Describe the landscape of the region where the Mongols lived.
Ans: The Mongols lived in the steppes of Central Asia. This region was a tract of land of modern state of Mongolia. This region was a majestic landscape. It was covered with rolling plains. To its west were snow capped Altai mountains, whereas there was the arid Gobi desert in the south. It was drained by the Onen and Selenga rivers and springs from snow-covered hills in the north and the west. There were many grasslands. In a good season, enough small game was available. Temperature in steppe region remained the same throughout the year. After harsh, long winter, brief dry summer was there. In the pastoral region, agriculture was possible for small parts of the year.

Q3: Write down the main characteristics of Mongol tribes.
Ans: The main characteristics of Mongol tribes were as follows:

• Mongol tribes were united by ethnic and lingual ties but due to scarcity of resources, their society was divided into patrilineal lineages.
• The richer families were larger. They possesed more animals and pasture lands. They had many followers and these followers were more influential in local politics.
• During periodic natural calamities such as harsh, cold winters, their game and stored provisions ran out. Grasslands were also dried in the absence of rain. So they had to wander in search of pastures.
• There was mutual conflict among Mongol tribes. They also raided for livestock.
• Groups of families often allied for offensive and defensive purposes around richer and more powerful lineages.
  
  

Q4: What was the nature of Mongol confederacies? Write down the similarity and dissimilarity between confederacies formed by Attila and Genghis Khan.
Ans: Mongol confederacies were usually small and short-lived. Gengis Khan made a confederacy of Mongol and Turkic tribes. In size, this confederacy was perhaps equal in size of the confederacy formed by Attila in the fifth century. But, unlike Attila’s confederacy, Genghis Khan’s confederacy system proved far more stable. It was stable enough to counter large armies with superior equipment in China, Iran and eastern Europe. This was the reason why the Mongols succeeded in establishing their control over these regions. They administered complex agrarian economies and urban settlements. The confederacy system established by Genghis Khan survived even after his death.

Q5: “Genghis Khan’s army was a mixture of diverse people.” Explain with examples.
Ans: It was necessary for all the healthy adult males of Mongols and many other nomadic societies to bore arms. When the occasion demanded, they constituted the armed forces. Many new members entered the Genghis Khan’s army due to the unification of different Mongol tribes and because of subsequent campaigns against diverse people. These soldiers belonged to different communities. That is why, a small Mongol army changed into a large organisation. This army included groups like the Turkic, Uighurs who had willingly accepted the Mongol authority. Except this, the Kereyits were also included in it who were included in confederacy despite their earlier hostility.

Q6: Why did the conquered people hardly feel a sense of affinity with their new Mongol nomadic masters? What was its result?
Ans: The conquered people hardly felt a sense of affinity with their new Mongol nomadic masters because of the following reasons:

• Cities were destroyed during the campaigns in the first half of the 13th century.
• Agricultural lands laid waste.
• There was disruption in trade and production of handicraft.
• Thousands of people were killed and even more were enslaved. In this way, every class of society suffered including elites and peasantry.

As a result, the local population experienced significant loss and trauma, which further alienated them from their conquerors.

Q7: What was the result of cessation in the Mongol’s military campaigns on the state?
Ans:   After the cessation of the Mongols' military campaigns, territories in Europe and China became linked. The Mongol conquest established peace in the region, which allowed trade connections to flourish. Under the Mongols, trade and commerce peaked along the Silk Route. Consequently, these trade routes no longer ended in China but extended to Mongolia and Karakorum in the north.The ease of travel and communication was crucial for maintaining the coherence of the Mongol Empire. Passes were issued to travellers for safe conduct, which were known as paiza in Persian and gerege in Mongolian. Traders paid a tax called ‘baj’ for this purpose, signifying their acknowledgment of the authority of the Mongol ruler.
Mongol MilitaryQ8: How was agriculture promoted with the ease of contradictions between the nomadic and sedentary elements through the thirteenth century?
Ans. Throughout the thirteenth century, the contradiction between the nomadic and sedentary elements within the Mongol Empire was significantly eased, leading to a notable promotion of agriculture.For instance, in the 1230s, after the Mongols defeated the Chin dynasty in North China, a powerful faction within the Mongol leadership proposed that all peasants should be killed and their fields converted into pasture lands. However, by the 1270s, following the defeat of the Sung dynasty and the annexation of South China into the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, emerged as a protector of both peasants and urban centres.Similarly, Ghazan Khan, the Mongol ruler of Iran, instructed his family members and generals not to plunder the peasants. In one of his speeches, he emphasised that such plundering did not contribute to a stable and prosperous realm.

Q9: Briefly discuss the role of civil administrators from the conquered societies in the Mongol administration.
Ans: The Mongols began recruiting administrators from the conquered societies as early as the time of Genghis Khan. These administrators were sometimes relocated between different regions, which facilitated the integration of distant provinces. This practice also helped to reduce the plundering of sedentary populations by nomadic groups.The Mongol rulers placed their trust in these administrators as long as they continued to collect taxes for their leaders. Many of these administrators wielded considerable influence, and some even managed to affect the policies of the Khans. For instance, in the 1230s, the plundering tendencies of Ogodei were moderated by his Chinese minister, Yeh-lu-Ch’u-ts’ai. Similarly, the Juwaini family played a significant role in Iran.Ghazan Khan addressed his Mongol compatriots, urging them not to harass the peasantry and to protect their welfare. This speech was crafted by his wazir, Rashid-ud-din.

Q10: What were the achievements of Genghis Khan’s descendants?
Ans: The achievements of Genghis Khan’s descendants were not fewer. They included people of different faiths and beliefs in their society. It is right that Mongol rulers themselves belonged to a number of different faiths but they never dictated their personal beliefs on the public. They recruited soldiers and administrators from different groups. The regime of Mongols was multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multireligious. This was quite-strange during those times. It is right that Mongol empire eventually altered in its different milieus but its founder remained a powerful force behind all the inspirations for descendants.