Dear Journal, July
1275
Here I am, embarking on my journey and leave my nice town of Venice for the Mongolian Empire. I am frightened, for I do not know what I will see. I have heard many repulsive stories about how they treat their people. Going there under the rule of Kublai Khan, I fear he will be as ruthless and cruel as his grandfather, Genghis Khan.
What I fear most is their fearlessness. They go for what they want and they do not hesitate. When Genghis wanted to expand, he expanded. He expanded from a little clan to an empire stretching throughout Eurasia. He killed numerous people in the worst possible ways to do so. He was a bloodthirsty ruler which made people fear him. What if Kublai Khan adapted his ways of killing millions of people? I do know for a fact that the harsh laws Genghis Khan made, called the Yasa, are still enforced. Knowing they are harsh and impossible to know and follow all of them, I am worried I will do something bad and be punished; not even knowing what I did wrong.
Another scary thought is realizing I am going to the empire with all these bad facts about the reputation of the Mongolian Empire and its rulers. Many of the stories I have heard involve the enemies of the Mongol Empire back down before the Mongols even get there, that way everyone won’t be slaughtered. I hope I do not end under the same wrath of the empire.
I do not know what I am going to see and experience while In the Mongolian Empire, so I hope I come out safely. I have to be brave and allow myself to discover new things. I am scared but my grandfather and father believe I will be okay and they have been there before. I pray that I come back to Italy with positive thought and a job well done with money in my hand for a successful and safe visit.
Dear Journal, March 1291
I feel ridiculous thinking that I ever worried about the Mongolian Empire and doubting my safety there. They are really peaceful people and care about ANYONE in their territory. The Pax Mongolica was created to protect everyone from people living
there to people coming in to trade. It simply means “Mongolian Peace.” I would
have thought that traveling there would be terribly dangerous, but it was the
opposite! There were no nomadic Mongols waiting to attack; the Pax Mongolica
prevents that. I was told it was originally created to promote trade - which
they had plenty of because people were no longer scared.. I feel trade was the
centerpoint of their empire. Not only did they enforce trade, but they bettered
the communication throughout Eurasia with a new system of official travelers to
get around as quick as possible with a new horse at each station. Not only
communication, but my favorite part of the empire was also viewing the
diversity in cultures. The trade promotes a blend of cultures from all over
Eurasia. I even noticed some traits I grew up with in Italy! I liked how the
rulers did not want to prevent the mix but simply promoted it. I also was
impressed by the religious tolerance. I, being wanted for Christianity, thought
I would be entering the empire on a one sided empire, when it was actually a
lot like culture - all accepted and all acknowledged. The empire itself was very strong due to the fact that they had civil service examinations. Not only was the one who made it into a position well educated, but every person who tried to apply had the same test for admission. It seemed that everyone was happy about that
process. I am glad I decided to come to the empire. It is such a nice place and I learned many things, most of them were things I assumed and were completely wrong. Being in the Mongolian Empire really expanded my knowledge. The diversity, the communication, the trade - all a surprise to me!
Dear Journal, January 2014
I recently found this journal while going through and trying to
discover more about Marco Polo and his expeditions. After reading the entries,
I decided I would try to figure out why history has so many different views of
the Mongols like Marco Polo pointed out. I discovered that the Mongol Empire was a lot like the Roman Republic under the rule of Julius Caesar. The empires
started out small and increasingly grew and grew under a leader some viewed as
harsh and some admired. I believe that is because people only like things if it
benefits them. The ones that originate in the small, original empire would like
the leader because they are not being affected by the expansion. They tend not
to have to worry about their life being at risk.
Another key difference is based on the aspect people are looking at when talking about their views. Of course an empire is going to be considered harsh when they have a strong and powerful military. But just like the Mongolian Empire, there are many peaceful sides such as culture and religion. Everything is accepted so there is nobody forced to change their views just because where they were originally living was taken over. It is easy for us to say now, hundreds of years late, that the
Mongols were good people.
Dawson, Raymond Stanley. The Legacy of China. Oxford: Clarendon, 1964. Print.
"The Mongol Empire in World History." World History Connected. University of Illinois, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/5.2/may.html>.
"Pax Mongolica: The Mongolian Peace." The Mongols in World History. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. <http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/history/history5.htm>.
Sykes, P. Molesworth. "The Geographical Journal: Marco Polo" JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1776617>.
Reinhartz, Dennis. "Genghis Khan." Great Lives from History: The Middle Ages. Ed. Wolbrink Shelley. 2 vols. Salem Press, 2005. Salem History Web. 17 Jan. 2014. <http://history.salempress.com/action/updateFavoriteCitation?action=add&doi=10.3331%2FGLMA_3621009911>.
Reinhartz, Dennis. "Kublai Khan." Great Lives from History: The Middle Ages. Ed. Wolbrink Shelley. 2 vols. Salem Press, 2005. Salem History Web. 17 Jan. 2014. <http://history.salempress.com/doi/full/10.3331/GLMA_3621014911?prevSearch=Kublai%2BKhan&searchHistoryKey=&queryHash=f89434174e9888dd741ec482b088b369>.
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