The 'Great Mongol Crisis' of the Fourteenth Century from a Eurasian Perspective: Preconditions, Developments and Consequences

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The so-called ‚Great Mongol Crisis’ encompasses the decades between the 1330s and the 1370s. During the course of these years the successor-‘states’ (khanates or uluses) of the United Empire, namely the Yuan dynasty in the East of Eurasia, the Chagataid Ulus in its centre, the Jochid Ulus (‘Golden Horde’) in the North and the Ilkhanate in the West underwent dramatic transformations. In the course of the crisis all four were split up, politically restructured and saw the rise of new political and social actors. Two khanates ceased to exist, namely the Ilkhanate in 1336 and the Yuan in 1368. Scholars from various disciplines have tackled specific aspects of these processes in the respective khanates, but up to today no attempt has been made to systematically compare the processes in the khanates and understand their dynamic interdependence from an integrative perspective, which will be the major goal of the project.The study will draw on Subrahmanyam’s approach of ‘connected histories’ in particular, which focuses on the interconnectedness of diverse cultural and political realms. Mongol Eurasia is thus understood as one complex, yet interrelated research unit so as to offer an overarching macroperspective complementing detailed analyses of specific developments in the respective realms. The primary sources will include texts in Chinese, Persian, Arabic and Church Slavonic, but also archeological and numismatic findings, as well as art objects and architectural remnants. An interdisciplinary outlook is essential to accomplish the goals of the project. Furthermore, the study will critically discuss several approaches from the field of Imperial Studies based on case studies in other historical contexts. On the one hand, analytical categories proving useful for an analysis of the Mongol realm will be integrated, on the other hand, the Mongol case offers the possibility to modify and expand the existing theories. The research will investigate what led to the crisis in the Mongol Eurasian realm as a whole, and how it unfolded. It will furthermore encompass an examination of the mid-and long-term impacts the crisis had on early modern Eurasia. Four main thematic categories guide the systematic analysis: „Climate and Environment”, “Politics and Military”, “Society and Religion” and “Migration and Ethnicity”. Along these lines the proposed study will explore the interplay of the inner fragility of the system and contingent factors. An additional innovative potential of the project lies in its attempt to gain a more thorough understanding of Early Modernity by tracing the roots of the subsequent global transformations of Eurasia in the course and aftermath of Temür’s conquests and the rise of the great land and sea powers.