1. Who was the founder of Mongal empire?
a) Genghis Khan
b) Kublai Khan
c) Jochi Khan
d) Batu Khan
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: a) Genghis Khan

2. What was the real name of Genghis Khan?
a) Temujin
b) Manchu
c) Tatar
d) Kagan
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: a) Temujin

3.Which one is the most important nomadic empire established during the 13th-14th century AD?
a) Mongol
b) Huna
c) Huang D
d) Gowang
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: a) Mongol

4.Genghis Khan died in the year :
a) 1222
b) 1227
c) 1220
d) 1258
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: b) 1227

5.Bukhara was captured by Genghis Khan in the year :
a) 1205
b) 1210
c) 1215
d) 1220
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: d) 1220

6.Ogodei was the son of :
a) Arab Khan
b) Genghis Khan
c) Yusuf
d) Jochi
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: b) Genghis Khan

7.When did Mongolia became republic:
a) 1920
b) 1930
c) 1921
d) 1940
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: c) 1921

8.Write a short note on Mongols and their social lives.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans:

• The Mongols were a diverse body of people linked to the east Tatars, Khitan and Manchus for language similarity and the Turkic tribes to the west.
• Some of the Mongols were pastoralists while others hunter-gatherers.
• The pastoralists tended horses, sheep and, to a lesser extent, cattle, goats and camels.
• The hunter-gatherers made a living from trade in furs of animals trapped in the summer months.
• There were extremes of temperature in the entire region: harsh, long winters followed by brief, dry summers.
• Agriculture was possible in the pastoral regions during short parts of the year but the Mongols did not take to farming.
• The Mongols lived in tents, gers, and travelled with their herds from their winter to summer pasture lands.
• Ethnic and language ties kept the Mongol people united but their society was divided into patrilineal lineages.
• Mongol people had scarce resources.The richer families were larger, possessed more animals and pasture lands.
• Unusually harsh, cold winters brought drought which made the families forage further afield leading to conflict over pasture lands and predatory raids in search of livestock.
• Groups of families would occasionally ally for offensive and defensive purposes around richer and more powerful lineages.

9.Write a short note on Mongols political lives under the leadership of Genghis Khan.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: Genghis Khan's political system was far more durable and survived its founder. It was stable enough to counter larger armies with superior equipment in China, Iran and eastern Europe. And, as they established control over these regions, the Mongols administered complex agrarian economies and urban settlements - sedentary societies - that were quite distant from their own social experience and habitat.

10.Explain qubcur tax.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: The qubcur tax was a levy established by Genghis Khan within the Mongol Empire to sustain and maintain a rapid courier system known as the "yam.". This tax required the nomads within the empire to contribute a tenth of their herd, be it horses or livestock, as provisions for the courier system's upkeep.

11. Why did Genghis Khan feel the need to fragment the Mongol tribes into new social and military groupings?
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans:Genghis Khan reorganized the Mongol tribes into new social and military units for several reasons:

• By mixing different tribes and clans, he aimed to erase old tribal identities and create a unified force loyal to him, fostering a new collective identity centered around himself.
• The reorganization allowed for better military organization and control. It created a more flexible and diverse army, enabling faster mobilization and strategic deployment.
• Breaking traditional clan structures diminished the power of individual chieftains, ensuring that loyalty and status were tied directly to Genghis Khan. This centralized control strengthened his rule.
• Assigning territories to his sons ensured a smoother succession plan and decentralized governance, each son ruling over a specific region but with collective authority, as seen in their joint rule through military contingents and decision-making at assemblies.

12. Write a short essay on Socio-Political life of Mongols.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans:

• The socio-political life of the Mongols was deeply rooted in their nomadic lifestyle and the challenges posed by their environment. They were a diverse group, tied by language and ethnic connections, yet divided by scarce resources, leading to a society structured around patrilineal lineages.
• Their pastoralist way of life, herding horses, sheep, and other animals in the vast steppes of Central Asia, shaped their economy. However, due to harsh climates and a scarcity of resources, they lacked dense settlements or cities, living instead in portable tents, gers, and constantly migrating with their herds.
• Power and influence were concentrated among richer families, owning more animals and pasture lands, leading to societal divisions. Periodic natural disasters like harsh winters or droughts often sparked conflicts over resources, forcing families to forage further and engage in predatory raids.
• Genghis Khan's leadership united Mongol and Turkish tribes into a confederation larger than any previous assembly, akin in scale to that of Attila. His political system was remarkably durable, enduring beyond his lifetime.

13. Describe the landscape of the region where the Mongols lived.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: Mongols lived in the steppes of Central Asia in a tract of land in the area of the modern state of Mongolia. This was (and still is) a majestic landscape with wide horizons, rolling plains, ringed by the snow-capped Altai mountains to the west, the arid Gobi desert in the south and drained by the Onon and Selenga rivers and myriad springs from the melting snows of the hills in the north and the west. Lush, luxuriant grasses for pasture and considerable small game were available in a good season.

14. Why Genghis Khan commanded to plunder and destroy Nishapur?
a) Because a Mongol prince was killed
b) Because Nishapur refused to export agricultural produce
c) Because they were developing industries
d) None of the above
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans:a) Because a Mongol prince was killed

15. How have the sedentary societies characterized nomads?
a) Pastorals
b) Herdsmen
c) Primitive barbarians
d) Mongols
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: c) Primitive barbarians

16. Baj was a tax paid by
a) Traders
b) Outsiders
c) Non-Muslims
d) Buddhist
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: a) Traders

17. "Genghis Khan laid special emphasis on discipline in the army". Keeping this statement in your mind, describe the rules formulated by him in the sphere of military.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: Here are the rules set by Genghis Khan in his army:

• Genghis Khan emphasized discipline in the military by restructuring the traditional tribal units.
• He broke up the old clan and tribe formations, mixing people from different backgrounds into new military units.
• Anyone attempting to change groups without permission faced severe punishment.
• The largest unit, approximately 10,000 soldiers, now included individuals from various tribes and clans, altering the social order.
• Soldiers served under Genghis Khan's sons and specially chosen captains called noyan.
• Loyalty was crucial, and Genghis Khan honored some followers as 'blood-brothers' (anda) and others as bondsmen (naukar), forming a new aristocracy based on their close ties to the Great Khan.

18. Define ulus as per Genghis empire.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: In the context of Genghis Khan's empire, ulus referred to the territories or regions assigned to his four sons for governance.Each son received an ulus, which represented a portion of the vast Mongol Empire.

19. Discuss the causes of the success of Genghis Khan.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans:

• Genghis Khan had reorganised the Mongol people into a more effective, disciplined military force that facilitated the success of his future campaigns.
• Genghis Khan adapted Moguls traditional social and political customs to create a fearsome military machine and a sophisticated method of governance.
• Genghis Khan's political vision,however, went far beyond the creation of a confederacy of Mongol tribes in the steppes of Central Asia: he had a mandate from God to rule the world.
• Genghis Khan's military achievements were astounding and they were largely a result of his ability to innovate and transform different aspects of steppe combat into extremely effective military strategies.
• Genghis Khan learnt the importance of siege engines and naphtha bombardment very quickly. His engineers prepared lightportable equipment, which was used against opponents with devastating effect.

20. Discuss the rules and regulations of the Yasa as evolved by Genghis Khan.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans:

• Yasa was written as yasaq which meant 'law', 'decree' or 'order'.
• The term Yasa meant the 'legal code of Genghis Khan'.
• The yasa served to cohere the Mongol people around a body of shared beliefs.
• The yasa was in all probability a compilation of the customary traditions of the Mongol tribes but in referring to it as Genghis Khan's code of law
• Under Yasa the people followed sedentary lifestyle.
• Maintain their ethnic identity.

21. By whom was the Mongol Empire established?
a) Genghis Khan
b) Alexander the Great
c) Julius Caesar
d) Attila the hun
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: a) Genghis Khan

22. Describe the early career of Genghis Khan.
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: Genghis Khan, born around 1162 in Mongolia, faced early hardships after his father's murder. Despite being enslaved and losing his wife to kidnapping, he built crucial alliances, including with Ong Khan. In the 1180s and 1190s, he defeated rivals and enemies, culminating in his proclamation as the 'Great Khan of the Mongols' in 1206. Before this, Genghis Khan reorganized the Mongol military, leading successful campaigns against the Hsi Hsia and breaching the Great Wall of China by 1215. Subsequent conquests extended Mongol dominions to Transoxiana and Khwarazm, where Genghis Khan displayed ruthless vengeance against those who resisted.

23. The Mangols lived in tents called gems. (True/False)
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: False

24. Genghis Khan first target was :
a) Japan
b) China
c) Korea
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: b) China

25.How did Genghis Khan bring about unity between various groups of the Steppe people?
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: Genghis Khan brought about unity among diverse Steppe people by forming alliances, consolidating power through military strength, and implementing effective governance. His leadership skills, diplomatic strategies, and military prowess enabled him to unite nomadic tribes, overcoming differences in language, lifestyle, and economic activities. Genghis Khan's ability to create a shared identity, establish a code of laws, and promote economic cooperation contributed to the formation of a cohesive Mongol Empire.

26. Why Genghis khan considered the greatest leader of the mongols?
(Chapter 5 - Nomadic Empires)

Ans: For the Mongols, Genghis Khan was the greatest leader of all time: he united the Mongol people, freed them from interminable tribal wars and Chinese exploitation, brought them prosperity, fashioned a grand transcontinental empire and restored trade routes and markets that attracted distant travellers like the Venetian Marco Polo.