Welcome to the twentieth lecture!
This lecture is about 13th century Inner Asia.
This lecture begins with the rise of the Mongolian Empire and the construction in the middle of the 13th century of two capitals: Shangdu in Mongolia and Dadu (Bejing) in China. We then follow the trade route westward to west Asia and the Seljuks who centered their empire for a while on Isfahan, where they built a new type of mosque, the four-iwan mosque. The lecture goes on to discuss the Seljuk caravanserai and moves to Egypt, the Mamluks, and the Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan in Cairo, Egypt (1356).
To get started, download the Lecture Handout, which outlines important places, terms, and dates addressed in Lecture 20; the document can be used for note-taking and as a study guide.
Download the Lecture 20 Handout here.
This lecture is divided into eight units. Most units have a lecture video, followed by multiple choice or dropdown questions. These questions will test what you have just learned; you have one attempt to complete each, and can view the correct answer after submitting a response. You must complete these questions before 14:00 (UTC) November 26, 2013 to receive credit.
At the end of each lecture is a directed discussion with other members of your course. Discussion of other topics can be addressed in the forum, accessible by clicking "Discussion" in the menu at the top of this page.
The time to complete this lecture (watching all videos, answering the review questions, and participating in directed discussion) is approximately two hours.