Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion from the Steppes C.1167-1405 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)
Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion from the Steppes C.1167-1405
- 80 questions
- 7 subtopics
- Non-British period study, one of twenty-four
- Y201 to Y224
Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes C.1167–1405 is unit Y204 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-four options in unit group 2, the non-British period study; a student sits one of them.
Its four key topics are Genghis Khan and the Creation of the Mongol Empire c.1167–1264, the Reign of Khubilai Khan 1264–1294, the Khanates 1294–1405, impact of the Mongol invasions and interaction between East and West to 1405. 80 recall questions across 7 subtopics.
Sample questions from Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion from the Steppes C.1167-1405
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Genghis Khan and the Creation of the Mongol Empire c.1167–1264: steppe society, the rise of Genghis Khan and the Mongol conquests
Describe four characteristic Mongol battlefield tactics.
Show the answer
They used massed horse archery to break up an enemy before contact, the feigned retreat to draw pursuers out of formation, wide encircling movements borrowed from the hunt, and disciplined manoeuvre directed by signals rather than by shouted orders. -
Genghis Khan and the Creation of the Mongol Empire c.1167–1264: steppe society, the rise of Genghis Khan and the Mongol conquests
Where did Mongol expansion in the Levant reach its limit?
Show the answer
Hulegu took Aleppo and Damascus in 1260, but after he withdrew most of his army the force he left behind was defeated by the Mamluks of Egypt at Ain Jalut, and the Mongols never held Syria. -
The Reign of Khubilai Khan 1264–1294: Consolidation of rule and control of China
Describe the political structure Khubilai used to govern China.
Show the answer
He kept the Chinese framework of a central secretariat for civil affairs, a bureau of military affairs and a censorate to police officials, but reserved the senior posts for Mongols and other non-Chinese. -
The Reign of Khubilai Khan 1264–1294: Consolidation of rule and control of China
Why did suspending the civil service examinations matter so much?
Show the answer
The examinations were the route by which educated Chinese entered government and gained status, so suspending them shut the literate elite out of power and left the dynasty with a permanently disaffected class of Confucian scholars. -
The Reign of Khubilai Khan 1264–1294: law, religion, court life and campaigns abroad
What place did Nestorian Christians and Muslims hold at Khubilai's court?
Show the answer
Nestorian Christians were well established at court, his own mother having been one, and Muslims were prominent in finance, administration, astronomy and siege engineering, though he restricted some Muslim practices late in the reign. -
The Reign of Khubilai Khan 1264–1294: law, religion, court life and campaigns abroad
What was the outcome of Khubilai's two invasions of Japan?
Show the answer
Both the expedition of 1274 and the far larger one of 1281 were wrecked by storms and by determined Japanese resistance on the beaches, with enormous loss of ships and men. -
The Khanates 1294–1405: Nature of Mongol rule 1294–1405, disunity and reasons for decline
What was the outcome of Ilkhanid ambitions in Syria?
Show the answer
Ghazan defeated the Mamluks in 1299 and briefly occupied Damascus, but he could not hold it, was defeated in 1303, and his successors eventually made peace with the Mamluks instead. -
The Khanates 1294–1405: Nature of Mongol rule 1294–1405, disunity and reasons for decline
How did the Golden Horde control the Russian principalities?
Show the answer
Russian princes had to travel to the khan to receive a patent authorising them to rule, and they collected and delivered tribute on his behalf, with rivals played off against one another and disobedience punished by raids.
The 7 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Genghis Khan and the Creation of the Mongol Empire c.1167–1264: steppe society, the rise of Genghis Khan and the Mongol conquests | Recall questions on steppe life and politics, Temujin’s rise and the assembly of 1206, army reform, tactics and siege warfare, the conquests of Khwarazm, the Jin and the Abbasids, the limits of expansion and the civil war before 1264. | 20 |
| The Reign of Khubilai Khan 1264–1294: Consolidation of rule and control of China | Recall questions on consolidation of rule and control of China, economic policies, political structures, provincial administration. | 8 |
| The Reign of Khubilai Khan 1264–1294: law, religion, court life and campaigns abroad | Recall questions on Khubilai’s legal code, his treatment of Buddhists, Daoists, Confucians, Christians and Muslims, court ritual, Dadu and Shangdu, the Grand Canal, the Japanese and South East Asian campaigns and his authority beyond China. | 12 |
| The Khanates 1294–1405: Nature of Mongol rule 1294–1405, disunity and reasons for decline | Recall questions on nature of Mongol rule 1294–1405, impact of Ghazan, Uzbeg and the Yuan, role of Islam, disunity and reasons for decline. | 9 |
| The Khanates 1294–1405: Tokhtamysh, rise of Tamerlane and his impact in Persia | Recall questions on Tokhtamysh, rise of Tamerlane and his impact in Persia, Azerbaijan, India and the Levant. | 11 |
| Impact of the Mongol invasions and interaction between East and West to 1405: the Pax Mongolica, trade and the exchange of knowledge | Recall questions on the Pax Mongolica, the yam, trade routes, the westward spread of technology, the Ilkhanate’s paper money, artistic exchange, the Maragha observatory, medicine, and Persian and Chinese influence on the Mongols. | 9 |
| Impact of the Mongol invasions and interaction between East and West to 1405: the Black Death, travellers and ideological impact | Recall questions on Rashid al-Din, the spread of the Black Death and Caffa, papal envoys, William of Rubruck and Marco Polo, contacts from East to West and the ideological impact on Islam and Christian Europe. | 11 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby units
OCR A-Level History A Active Recall Guide
Every unit, not just this one. 6,240 questions with their answers.