The Mongol Linkages
Chinggis Khan: born in 1170s; elected supreme Mongol ruler (khagan) in 1206; began the Mongols rise to world power; died 1227.
Tumens: basic fighting units of Mongol forces; made up of 10,000 cavalrymen divided into smaller units.
Tangut: rulers of Xi-Xia kingdom of northwest China; during the southern Song period;
conquered by Mongols in 1226.
Muhammad Shah II: Turkic ruler of Muslim Khwarazm; conquered by Mongols in 1220.
Karakorum: capital of Mongol empire under Chinggis Khan.
Shamanistic religion: Mongol beliefs focused on nature spirits.
Batu: grandson of Chinggis Khan and ruler of Golden Horde; invaded Russia in 1236.
Ogedei: third son of Chinggis Khan; succeeded him as Mongol khagan.
Golden Horde: one of four regional subdivisions of the Mongol empire after the death of
Chinggis Khan; conquered and ruled Russia during the 13th and 14th centuries.
Prester John: a mythical Christian monarch whose kingdom supposedly had been cut off from Europe by the Muslim conquests; some thought he was Chinggis Khan.
Ilkhan khanate: one of four regional subdivisions of the Mongol empire after the death of Chinggis Khan; eventually included much of Abbasid empire.
Hulegu: grandson of Chinggis Khan and ruler of Ilkhan khanate; captured and destroyed
Abbasid Baghdad.
Mamluks: Muslim slave warriors; established dynasty in Egypt; led by Baibars defeated
Mongols in 1260.
Kubilai Khan: grandson of Chinggis Khan; conquered China; established Yuan dynasty in
1271.
Tatu: Mongol capital of Yuan dynasty; present-day Beijing.
Chabi: influential wife of Kubilai Khan; demonstrated refusal of Mongol women to adopt
restrictive social conventions of Confucian China.
Nestorians: Asian Christian sect; cut off from Europe by Muslim invasions.
Romance of the West Chamber: famous Chinese dramatic work written during the Yuan period.
White Lotus Society: secret religious society dedicated to overthrow of Yuan dynasty.
Ju Yuanzhang: Chinese peasant who led successful revolt against Yuan; founded Ming dynasty.
Timur-i Lang: last major nomad leader; 14th, known to the west as Tamerlane; century Turkic ruler of Samarkand; launched attacks in Persia, Fertile Crescent, India, southern Russia; empire disintegrated after his death in 1405.
By swanthan1@gmail.com
Dr. S. Swaminathan is right now working as an Associate Professor in the Department of History at Thiruvalluvar Government Arts College, Rasipuram, Namakkal District. In advance, he has joined the Department of History at Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, for his postgraduate degree in history. Subsequently, he joined a full-time Ph.D. research program under the supervision and guidance of Professor N. Rajendran, Dean of Arts and Head, Department of History, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, in 1999. His research topic is “Science in Colonial Tamil Nadu, A.D. 1900–A.D. 1947”. He has applied for and obtained the Indian Council of Historical Research-New Delhi Junior Research Fellowship, and as such, he has been an I.C.H.R. junior research fellow. He was awarded his Ph.D. thesis in 2007. He has exhibited research acumen and administrative skills during the period of his research. He has published many articles during his period of research. He got his current position from the Tamil Nadu Government Directorate of Collegiate Education, Chennai, through the selection of the Tamil Nadu Teachers Recruitment Board, Chennai, in 2008. He has organized a Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education-sponsored two-day state-level seminar on “Social Changes in Tamil Nadu Past and Present” held from April 5 and 6, 2010, and a two-day ICHR-sponsored national seminar on “History of Science and Technology in Tamil Nadu: Colonial Initiatives and Indian Response” held from August 26 and 27, 2010, in the auspicious Department of History, Thiruvalluvar Government Arts College, Rasipuram (637 401).