Check to make sure your three images are relevant and specifically referenced/explained within the coinciding paragraph.
Carefully reread (aloud) your three paragraphs to check for the following and edit for improvement as needed:
- All word usage makes sense.
- All spelling is correct.
- Punctuation is present where needed and used correctly
- Each paragraph contains a minimum of five complete sentence.
- Each paragraph includes a topic sentence relevant to Mongol geography, leadership, and/or technology
- Each paragraph includes a relevant concluding sentence that recaps points made, asks new questions, or makes connections to the next paragraph.
Leadership (Who were important individual Mongol khans and generals, and what did they do? How did they lead and maintain order and loyalty? What inspired the Mongol conquests? Why did people follow the Khans? What tactics or strategies did the Mongols use? How did they use their weapons and special abilities effectively? What specific examples of strong leadership can you cite?)
Technology (What transportation, weapons, armor, siege technology, etc. were used by the Mongols to conquer their empire? How did Mongol technology differ from their enemies? How was Mongol technology combined with strategy and tactics?)
The Mongols were a nomadic tribe, living within the Steppe. The land may have been thought to be very helpful to them because of how vast it was; however, it was very rugged with deserts and mountains all around its border. The land was not fertile enough for good planting, which put animals as their main source. Meat, milk, and blood kept them alive. Growing up in a harsh place allowed them to grow accustomed to bad climates, and become fierce, resilient warriors. Looking at the agricultural people they conquered, the Mongols had an advantage over them. Agricultural people planted food to survive, along with living in one place. Growing up in an environment with no harsh experiences, they didn't have a high chance of survival in the first place against the Mongols. Throughout their journey, the Mongols used the environment to their advantage. Many different tribes came into contact with the Mongols (because the Mongols always moved around) and the end result was never good for the opponent group. Many places were conquered by the Mongolian warriors. The first place was in 1209 against the Tanguts, who had a chinese style dynasty called the Xia. The reason for this dispute was trade on the silk road. The second conquer was also a dispute between trade against the Jin dynasty in 1215. Many more conquests happened between the Mongols and Russia, Hungary, Poland, and more. Their tactics and training always led them to a victory. When Genghis Khan got sick (might have been natural causes) and passed away, his son Ögödei was chosen to take his place to accomplish the task of conquering the world. In the end, the environment they lived in and the lifestyle they obtained allowed them to go far in the conquest world.
Important Mongol Khans are Genghis Khan (Temujin), Ögödei, and Jamuca. Genghis Kahn was born with the sign that he would grown up to rule as a Khan; the sign being a blood clot in the palm of his hand. Throughout his childhood, he endured many forms of pain. His father was poisoned by an enemy tribe, and from that point, he was sure to get them back. Jamuca was Genghis's blood brother. They made an oath to always be friends by cutting their hands to allow blood to come out, then shake hands to combine. They didn't know it at the time, but they would eventually split up due to the title of Khan. An important general, which happened to be Genghis Kahn's, was named Subotai. Subotai helped Genghis Kahn expand their land and defeat different tribes.
Technology the Mongols had included animals, arrows, saddles, and silk. Mongolian people used animals as transportation, food, and protection; horses being their main source. They believed in horses immensely. Horses provided them with a way to get to many different places in a short time, and allowed attacking other tribes easier due to their speed and agility. If they were on a long trip, little slits would be cut on one of the horses veins to provide them with blood to drink. Then they would sew it back up, or put something on it to prevent infection and continuous bleeding. In war tactics, horses and oxen were used to weaken the enemy's army before the actual battle began. At the young age of 3, horsemanship and training with the bow and arrow began. With this practice, they would eventually be excellent calvary men and succeed in shooting arrows from horseback. The bow they developed was made from sinew and horn, making it eligible to shoot over 350 yards. Attacking on horseback was hard enough on their enemies, and adding the skill of shooting arrows gave the Mongols an immediate advantage against the foot soldiers. Many of their conquering benefitted from them having these advantages. Another item in their technology was the saddle they used. It held a saddle bag that they filled with food they had, and the stirrups allowed the Mongol warrior to stand up, turn around in many different ways, and provided a way to become more fierce. However, that didn't always stop them from getting hit by an enemy. The Mongols began to wear silk underneath their armor, which allowed them to pull out the bow more easily, stopping it before it gets too severe. Many Mongol soldiers survived due to this technique. Overall, the technology the Mongols possessed along with the techniques they used brought them higher above all their enemies.
