World History up to 1500: Pax Mongolica: The Steppe Empire of the Mongols Q&A

Question: To what degree were the emperors of the Song dynasty effective at running a thriving civilization? Why?
Answer: Song dynasty emperors were very effective in promoting economic and population growth. They created internal stability and maintained the infrastructure sufficiently for increases in agricultural production to spark population growth that supplied surplus labor to begin factory production. On the other hand, their neglect of their own military and adherence to the Confucian practice of bribing their more warlike neighbors left them unable to defend themselves when one of those neighbors turned on them.
 

Question: Did succession to the position of great khan work out as Chinggis Khan had hoped in the decades after his death?

Answer: Chinggis Khan hoped his successors would be selected by consensus at a kurultai, but that happened only in the case of his immediate successor. The tension between Batu and Guyuk and the civil war between Ariq Boke and Kublai were evidence of a breakdown in the succession process.

Question: How did the rivers and hydraulic infrastructure of China allow the Song dynasty to prolong their rule and stave off defeat by the Mongols for many years?

Answer: China’s river system and coastline, combined with Mongol inexperience in naval training and fighting, allowed the Song dynasty to hang on for nearly two decades after it suffered land defeats. The Song used waterways and their maritime familiarity to evade engagement with the Mongols and continue to rule the parts of the empire that could be reached by rivers. It took the Mongols time to cross rivers and to design effective naval warfare techniques.

Question: What was a common source of instability among both Christian and Islamic monarchies in the thirteenth century?

Answer: Although it was often expected that monarchs would name their eldest son or nearest male relative as successor, smooth transitions were rare. Other relatives or influential bureaucrats or military leaders often tried to usurp the throne. The struggles of Frederick of Hohenstaufen and the sons of Salah al-Din to keep control of the realms they inherited are examples.

Question: Why might members of the Sudra and Pariah castes convert to Islam under the Delhi Sultanate?
Answer: Muslims received exemptions from certain taxes, providing a financial incentive to convert. Along with that, none of the Delhi Sultans imposed sharia, which would likely have caused resentment. This allowed people to convert yet live under a law code that was familiar. Those who felt caste discrimination could find a home and increase their social standing by converting to Islam.