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

Grade 7 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The conquests and how we know about them (cards A to E; summaries in our words). Card A, a table of campaigns: Tanguts (Xia), 1209. Jin dynasty, North China, 1211 to 1234: the Mongols invaded in 1211, took the Beijing area in 1215 and ended the Jin dynasty in 1234, and farmland in North China was devastated by the war. Central Asia, 1219 to 1225: it began after Chinggis Khan's envoys were put to death. Russia, Georgia and Armenia, the 1230s, under Chinggis's son Ögödei. Card B, a historian's summary for students: the Central Asian campaign was the most devastating, and very large numbers of people lost their lives on both sides while great cities were conquered. Historians have no single answer for why the conquests began; ideas include colder years from 1180 to 1220 that cut the grass for herds, trade disputes, and Chinggis Khan's leadership. By 1260, quarrels over who would lead had split the empire. Card C, History of Yuan: a history of the Mongol dynasty in China, in 210 chapters, finished in 1370 by scholars of the Ming dynasty, which took over China in 1368. Chinese dynasties traditionally had scholars write the history of the dynasty before them. Card D, the same historian as card B: the brutality of the conquests should not be downplayed, and their lasting influence should not be overlooked. Card E, a tree-ring study published in 2014: rings from trees in the Khangai Mountains of Mongolia show unusually mild, wet weather from 1211 to 1225. The authors suggest that this may have helped grass and herds grow, but they do not claim to have proved a link to the conquests.

2. 1.

   Card B says colder years ran from 1180 to 1220, and the Mongol tribes united in 1206. How many of the cold years came before 1206, and what share is that, Bo asks?

   • 40 of the 40 years, or 100 percent
   • 14 of the 40 years, or 35 percent
   • 26 of the 40 years, or 26 percent
   • 26 of the 40 years, or 65 percent
3. 2.

   Card A: the Jin war began in 1211, the Mongols took the Beijing area in 1215 and the Jin ended in 1234. About what share of the war had passed by 1215, Esme asks?

   • About 83 percent, since 19 of the 23 years remained after 1215
   • About 25 percent, since 4 years is a quarter of 16
   • About 17 percent, since 4 of the 23 years had passed
   • About 4 percent, since 1215 minus 1211 is 4
4. 3.

   Who made card C, and when, compared with the Mongols' rule in China, Jun asks?

   • Ming-dynasty scholars, soon after Mongol rule ended in 1368
   • Mongol court historians, while the Mongols still ruled China
   • Chinggis Khan's own clerks, writing in the 1200s while he ruled
   • A historian of today, writing for a school textbook this year
5. 4.

   Card B lists three ideas for why the conquests began. Which reading is best, Kira asks?

   • The empire's split by 1260 caused them, since it was the biggest event listed
   • Chinggis Khan's leadership caused them, since no other reason is on the card
   • Colder years caused them, since 1180 to 1220 matches the years of the first campaigns
   • Several causes may have worked together; historians cannot rank them yet
6. 5.

   Card A says North China's farmland was devastated by the Jin war. How might a farmer there and a Mongol leader describe the war, Milo asks?

   • They would give the same account, because both lived through the same war and saw the same events
   • The Mongol leader would describe the damage first, since winners list the damage to the losers first
   • Neither could describe it, because a war lasting 23 years is too long for anyone to remember
   • The farmer would stress the damaged farmland; the Mongol leader, the end of the Jin dynasty
7. 6.

   Why might Ming scholars write the history of the Mongol dynasty in 1370, soon after the Ming took power, Noah asks?

   • To praise the Mongol khans so that the new Ming subjects would admire them
   • To teach the Mongols how to rule China more fairly in the years that followed them
   • Because the Mongols asked them to write it while they still ruled China
   • A new dynasty traditionally recorded the one before it, from the winners' side
8. 7.

   Card A moves from the Tanguts (1209) to Russia, Georgia and Armenia (the 1230s). What does that pattern show, Pia asks?

   • The Mongols began in the west, in Russia and Georgia, and moved east toward China
   • The conquests were one long war with the Jin dynasty that lasted into the 1230s
   • The conquests spread over two decades or more, in separate campaigns
   • The conquests were finished within five years of the 1206 gathering of the tribes
9. 8.

   Card B says colder years cut the grass from 1180 to 1220. Card E finds mild, wet weather from 1211 to 1225. How do they relate, Ren asks?

   • Card E has nothing to do with card B, because one is about trees and one about grass
   • Card E confirms card B, because both are about the weather in the same years
   • They pull in different directions, so the cold-years idea needs more testing
   • Card E replaces card B, because newer studies cancel older ideas
10. 9.

    A student says, "Card B proves the conquests were caused by cold weather." Which reply is best, Tala asks?

    • Supported: card B names the cold years as the cause of the war with the Jin
    • Not supported: card B lists cold weather as one idea among several
    • Not supported: weather cannot affect a people who live by herding
    • Supported: card B says cold years cut the grass, so grass explains the conquests
11. 10.

    A student says, "Card E proves mild, wet weather caused the conquests." Which reply is best, Zee asks?

    • Proven: the weather changed in 1211, the very year of the first conquests
    • Not proven: scientists cannot learn anything about weather from tree rings
    • Not proven: tree rings show past weather, not what caused the conquests
    • Proven: tree rings are real evidence, and real evidence settles the question