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 proof that card B is wrong, since an eyewitness outranks a later historian
   • As a close match from two kinds of source; route, units or rounding may explain the gap
   • 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
3. 2.

   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
   • 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
   • He wrote just for the Khan, who already knew the system and needed no explanation
4. 3.

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

   • Not supported: card D says the Mongols did not support trade and cared little for the roads
   • Supported: Pax means peace, so there was no fighting anywhere in the empire in those years
   • 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
5. 4.

   Using cards A and B, which chain best explains how the Pax Mongolica helped trade grow, Luz asks?

   • Lower tariffs ended the peace, so merchants stopped using the stations and trade fell
   • Brutal conquests made the roads safe, so no other cause is needed to explain it
   • Religious tax benefits built the stations, and that is what drew traders east
   • Safe roads and stations made long trips easier, and lower tariffs helped
6. 5.

   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?

   • 97 years, so the Pax Mongolica must have begun in exactly 1271
   • 197 years, which is almost twice the length of the peace
   • 2,639 years, since 1368 plus 1271 gives the total length
   • 97 years, close to the peace's 100 years but not the same
7. 6.

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

   • A station keeper and a merchant, since both worked for the Khan's roads
   • Two historians of today, since modern writers agree on how to weigh sources
   • A merchant on the safe roads and a family from a conquered city
   • Two merchants who both used the roads, since they would tell it the same way
8. 7.

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

   • Many religions were allowed, so several faiths shared the empire
   • Buddhist clergy alone received tax benefits, and no other group did
   • Religion no longer mattered to the merchants who traded across Eurasia
   • The empire's people were forced to follow the Mongols' own religion
9. 8.

   A historian finds a record of a trader robbed on a main road during the Pax Mongolica. How does it affect card A's "generally not in danger," Ren asks?

   • It disproves the Pax Mongolica, since one robbery cancels the whole period
   • It changes nothing, because records of crimes cannot be trusted as evidence
   • It shows the roads were dangerous for the whole 100 years of the peace
   • It shows danger was possible; "generally" allows exceptions
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 a view across many sources, and risks missing what they leave out
    • 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
11. 10.

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

    • Trade grew only because merchants had access to paper money on the roads
    • 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