NCERT Solutions for Class 11 History Chapter 5 Nomadic Empires

Ans : Trade was significant to the Mongols because it was the only way to keep them surviving. The place where the Mongols lived i.e the steppe lands had extreme climatic conditions which made it difficult to grow food crops. So, the Mongols traded with their neighbours.
The scant resources of the steppe lands drove Mongols and other Central Asian nomads to trade and barter with their sedentary neighbours in China. This was mutually beneficial to both parties : agricultural produce and iron utensils from China were exchanged for horses, furs and game trapped in the steppe. 

Ans : Genghis Khan fragmented the Mongol tribes into new social and military groupings to facilitate the success of his future campaigns. He had a vision to create the largest empire in the world, one had ever seen. 

Ans : Yasa was the code of law that Genghis Khan was supposed to promulgate at the quriltai of 1206. The yasa concerned the administrative regulations : the organisation of the hunt, the army and the postal system. By the middle of the thirteenth century the Mongols had started using the related term yasa in a more general sense to mean 'the legal code of Genghis Khan.' The yasa in all probability was a compilation of the customary traditions of the Mongol tribes but in referring to it as Genghis Khan's code of law, the Mongol people also laid claim to a 'lawgiver' like Moses and Solomon, whose authoritative code could be imposed on their subjects. 

Ans : This statement is absolutely true because :
→ The steppe dwellers themselves usually did not produce any literature. So our knowledge of nomadic societies comes mainly from chronicles, travelogues and documents produced by city-based litterateurs.
→ These authors often produced extremely ignorant and biased reports of nomadic life. These individuals came from different backgrounds - Buddhist, Confucian, Christian, Turkish and Muslim.
→ Although not always familiar with Mongol customs, many of them produced sympathetic accounts - even eulogies- that challenged and complicated the otherwise hostile, city-based tirade against the steppe marauders. 

Ans : The historical experiences differed in the following ways :
→ The Mongols were the steppe dwellers of the Central Asia. Whereas, Bedouins were the Arab tribes who moved from dry to green areas (oases) of the desert in search of food and fodder for camels.
 → In the early decades of the thirteenth century the Mongols were united by Genghis Khan with a political vision that went far beyond the creation of a confederacy of Mongol tribes. Whereas, the Bedouins were I by the belief system i.e Islam which was started by Mohammed.
→They imposed yasa (code of conduct) based on their traditions. Whereas, the guiding principles Bedouins followed the holy Quran.
→ Genghis Khan believed that he had a mandate from God to rule the world. Whereas, Muhammad said himself to be the messenger (rasul) of God.
→ Genghis Khan United the Mongols to form a powerful army. Whereas, Muhammad integrated the people to form a political order known as Umma.