| Date | May 2018 | Marks available | 3 | Reference code | 18M.1.BP.TZ0.1 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | What | Question number | 1 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Source A
Sayf al-Din Wahidi, an illuminator, depicts a group of diplomats sent to Genghis Khan by Emperor Xuanzong of Jin. In order to retain his position, Xuanzong sends gifts, including the Princess Qiguo (on horseback), and promises to become a vassal. From The Compendium of Chronicles by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani (early 14th century) in an edition c1430–1434.
[Source: This work is in the public domain (PD-1923)]
Source B
‘Ala-ad-Din ‘Ata-Malik Juvaini, a Muslim historian, writing in the non-contemporary chronicle History of the World Conqueror (mid to late 13th century.)
The Mongols ordered that, apart from four hundred artisans and some children whom they bore off into captivity … the whole population, including the women and [the rest of the] children, should be killed, and no one be spared. The people of Merv were then distributed among the soldiers and, in short, to each man was allotted the execution of three or four hundred persons … So many had been killed by nightfall that … the plain was soaked with the blood of the mighty …
[At Nishapur] they severed the heads of the slain from their bodies and heaped them in piles, keeping those of the men separate from those of the women and children …
Flies and wolves feasted on the breasts of sadrs [religious dignitaries]; eagles on mountain tops regaled [filled] themselves with the flesh of delicate women.
[Source: Text adapted from Stephen Turnbull, from Essential Histories: Genghis Khan & the Mongol Conquests 1190-1400 © Osprey Publishing part of Bloomsbury]
What, according to Source B, happened to the populations of Merv and Nishapur?
What does Source A suggest about Genghis Khan’s relations with other leaders?
Markscheme
- By implication, most of the population of Merv was killed.
- 400 artisans of Merv were spared as were some children who were taken into captivity.
- At Nishapur the dead were decapitated and/or the bodies/heads of the men were kept separate from the bodies of the women.
- In both places the level of violence was substantial.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. Award [1] for each relevant point up to a maximum of [3].
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Genghis Khan was feared and/or respected by other leaders.
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Genghis Khan was prepared to accept diplomatic relations with other leaders.
There may have been ongoing distrust between the two parties as both sides are armed.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required. Award [1] for each relevant point up to a maximum of [2].
