The Mongol Empire: the largest land empire, and trade across it

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Trade across the empire (cards A to E; summaries in our words, except card C). Card A, the Pax Mongolica (Mongol Peace): for about 100 years, traders were generally not in danger on the routes across Eurasia. Card B, a chart of changes: postal stations stood about every 20 miles on major routes, with food, horses and lodging. Merchants formed associations, used more paper money and paid lower tariffs, and trade across Eurasia grew greatly. Buddhist, Muslim, Daoist and Nestorian Christian clergy received tax benefits, and followers of many religions were not forced to change. Card C, Marco Polo, a Venetian merchant who served the Great Khan; his book was written down in Europe about 1298. English translation by Henry Yule, revised by Henri Cordier (1903), Book II, chapter 26, p. 433: "…the messengers of the Emperor … find at every twenty-five miles of the journey a station which they call Yamb, or, as we should say, the ‘Horse-Post-House.’" Card D, a historian's summary for students: the Mongols' conquests were brutal, and their support for trade also changed Eurasia. Card E, dates: Kublai Khan named the Yuan dynasty in 1271 and completed the conquest of southern China in 1279; Mongol rule of China ended in 1368.

2. 1.

   Card B gives stations about every 20 miles; card C quotes Polo at 25 miles. How should a historian treat the two numbers, Ari asks?

   • As an exact match, since 20 and 25 are both about two dozen, so the sources agree exactly
   • As proof that Polo made up his account, since a real eyewitness would give the same number
   • As a close match from two kinds of source; route, units or rounding may explain the gap
   • As proof that card B is wrong, since an eyewitness outranks a later historian
3. 2.

   On a 1,000-mile route, how many stations would there be at card B's spacing of 20 miles and at Polo's 25 miles, Bo asks?

   • About 500 stations by card B and about 400 by Polo
   • About 50 stations by card B and about 40 by Polo
   • About 40 stations by card B and about 50 by Polo
   • About 20 stations by card B and about 25 by Polo
4. 3.

   Polo was a Venetian merchant who served the Great Khan, and his book was written down in Europe. What follows for his stations passage, Esme asks?

   • He used them himself and was explaining them to readers at home, so he may praise them
   • He wrote just for the Khan, who already knew the system and needed no explanation
   • His job for the Khan makes his account worthless as evidence about the stations
   • He had no reason to describe them, because merchants did not use the roads in those years of peace and trade
5. 4.

   A student says, "The Pax Mongolica means the Mongols never fought." Which reply is best, Jun asks?

   • Supported: Pax means peace, so there was no fighting anywhere in the empire in those years
   • Not supported: card D says the Mongols did not support trade and cared little for the roads
   • Supported: traders crossed Eurasia for 100 years, so no battle took place in that time
   • Not supported: the peace was for safe trade routes, and card D calls the conquests brutal
6. 5.

   Card C's words are from a 1903 translation by Yule and Cordier. Which statement is right, Kira asks?

   • Polo wrote the passage in 1903, so it is a modern description of the stations
   • A translation is the same as the original, so nothing was changed in 1903 by anyone
   • Because it is translated, it cannot be used as evidence about the stations
   • 1903 is the translation's date; Polo described the stations from his own time
7. 6.

   Card E: the Yuan dynasty was named in 1271 and Mongol rule of China ended in 1368. How long did it last, and how does that compare with the peace in card A, Milo asks?

   • 197 years, which is almost twice the length of the peace
   • 97 years, close to the peace's 100 years but not the same
   • 97 years, so the Pax Mongolica must have begun in exactly 1271
   • 2,639 years, since 1368 plus 1271 gives the total length
8. 7.

   Card D says the conquests were brutal and that support for trade changed Eurasia. Whose accounts would most likely differ, Noah asks?

   • Two merchants who both used the roads, since they would tell it the same way
   • A station keeper and a merchant, since both worked for the Khan's roads
   • A merchant on the safe roads and a family from a conquered city
   • Two historians of today, since modern writers agree on how to weigh sources
9. 8.

   Card B says clergy of four religions received tax benefits. What does that suggest about daily life, Pia asks?

   • The empire's people were forced to follow the Mongols' own religion
   • Buddhist clergy alone received tax benefits, and no other group did
   • Religion no longer mattered to the merchants who traded across Eurasia
   • Many religions were allowed, so several faiths shared the empire
10. 9.

    Card D is a historian's summary for students today. What does that distance in time offer and risk, Tala asks?

    • It offers eyewitness detail and risks nothing, since modern writers are neutral
    • It offers nothing, since just people who lived then can be trusted as sources
    • It offers the Mongols' own view alone, and risks being too friendly to them
    • It offers a view across many sources, and risks missing what they leave out
11. 10.

    Which claim do cards A and B together support best, Zee asks?

    • The Mongol Peace stopped all fighting in Eurasia for the whole 100 years
    • Safe roads, stations and lower tariffs all fit; the cards do not rank them
    • Lower tariffs alone caused trade to grow, and nothing else on the chart mattered
    • Trade grew only because merchants had access to paper money on the roads