The Social and Economic Characteristics of the Mongol Empires and the Islamic Caliphates

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Both the Mongols and the Muslim Caliphates had similar beginnings. Each of these cultures rose from unexpected origins. The Muslim Caliphates and the Mongols share certain characteristics unexpected of such different cultures. The Caliphates relied on the Persians to govern their territories while Genghis Khan demanded complete and undisputed loyalty to himself from his followers. Yet, under both of these cultures trade flourished and people were organized into very specific groups with certain rights.
The unexpected origins of these two civilizations are like two branches of the same tree. Mohammed united some Arabic clans under Islam and fought to unite the rest under Islam. After the death of Mohammed, there were caliphs chosen to rule over the empire. At first, it was only certain people but, eventually, it became ruled by dynasties. These dynasties went on to rule much of the Middle East. A very similar thing happened under Genghis Khan and the Mongols. Genghis Khan united the tribes of Mongolia and began military invasions all around Mongolia. Another similarity of these empires was the divisions in them. The Caliphates had the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, and the Fatimid Caliphates. The Mongols had the Yuan Empire in China, the Jagadai in Central Asia, the Golden Horde in Russia, and the Il-khan Empire in Iran. Without definite successors, these empires were divided among the many heirs.
A stark difference between these two political entities is how these governments fell. The Mongol Empires split as the heirs of Genghis Khan fought over whom should rule and ultimately fell after years of ruling many peoples and being at the maximum size it could rule. The Yuan Empire in China fell when rebellions began and Zhu Yuanzhan...

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...ongolian Empire, women had the power to influence society. Even though men were dominant, like in the Caliphates, many men turned to women for advice. Genghis Khan himself, asked for assistance from his mother and his wives. In the Mongolian Empire, it seems there was a closer partnership between the two genders in relation to many other civilizations of that time. The Islamic Caliphates on the other hand seems to be more focused on men being more powerful.
The societies of the Islamic Caliphates and the Mongolian Empire are very similar. Their governing styles are empires that expand after a person unifies the warring tribes into one nation with much more power together than alone. The economies of the empires are trade-oriented and they are tolerant to a degree of other races, religions and women. Despite their differences, the Empires are astoundingly similar.

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