Mongol Empire and Japan

History of Japan

The date of the first settlements on the Japanese archipelago is unknown but the Jomon people, scattered in the archipelago around 250 BC. Yayoi culture, born on the island of Kyushu when the Jomon culture is still evolving, gradually expanding to the east, crushing of the Jomon. Culturally, the Yayoi culture represented a significant and successful era for five or six centuries, from the third century BC. The unification of Japan by the Yamato clan's sovereign, led by the Tenno "Lord of Heaven", occurs in the mid-fourth century. The kingdom of Kent in the sixth century marked the decline of the influence of Yamato inside the country but also abroad. This period can be characterized by an increasing accumulation of power by regional leaders at the expense of royal influence (Turnbull, 21).

It was under the domination of Yamato Japan has its first important contacts with the mainland. Buddhism was introduced to Japan by monks about 530 Korean and quickly adopted by the court of the Emperor. It does not replace the original religion of Japan, Shinto, but eventually merge with it in a synthesis corresponding to the modern Shinto. At that time, the Chinese influences are particularly strong in Japan. It is said that Prince Shotoku wrote a constitution in seventeen articles that promotes moral and political principles of the Chinese court. In 710, the first permanent capital established at Nara Japan, a city modeled on the Chinese capital. Buddhist monasteries near Nara become so influential that the court was moved to Kyoto in 794, which will remain the capital for a thousand years (Turnbull, 23).

The Heian period (794-1185) sees reduce Chinese influence in favor of restoring the original Japanese customs. At the end of the Heian period, the most powerful samurai gather in or near the capital, where they not only meet the military needs of the emperor but also serve as bodyguards to the lords. Created from groups of fighters in the provinces, the samurai aristocratic caste of the Kamakura period (1192-1333), characterized by military expertise and a deep pride in its stoicism, developed a disciplined culture distinct from the previously existing in the quiet refinement the imperial reign (Turnbull, 24).

History of the Mongol Empire

The Mongol tribes enter the story in 1167 AD. AD or so, with the birth of Temujin in the wild steppes of Mongolia, now bordered by China and Russia. While Temujin was nine years old, rival tribes poison and kill his father Yesugei, creating a power vacuum in the tribe forcing into exile the young Temujin and his family. Later Temujin return to his tribe to claim his inheritance, forge political alliances and defeat his former rivals. In 1204, he convened a khuriltai is to say, a council of war by force and proceeds to unite all local nomad tribes, becoming the first man to unify the Mongols. At that time he received the title of "Genghis Khan", meaning "supreme leader" (Hall and Yamamura, ...