The Mongol Empire

In-class essay will be evaluated by the following criteria:

• Thesis – 20%
• Does the introduction contain a clearly defined thesis stating an
• arguable point? Does the introduction provide 2-3 general points that will be offered as proof to be defended in the body of the essay?
• Organization - 20%
• Does the essay read as a comprehensive story with smooth transition points or do the component parts stand on their own disconnected from one another?
• Analysis – 60 %
• Does the essay analyze (rather than narrate) the topic, making good use of evidence drawn from the text book (cite page numbers) and lectures?

• Identification essay provides information about an individual, a place, or a historical event on the basis of the following questions:
• Who or What?
• When?
• Where?
• What significant role did this individual/place/event play in history?
• Sample:
• Mohammed
• The founder of Islam, Mohammed (Mahomet) was born about 570AD in Mecca in what today is Saudi Arabia. When he was 40 years old, outside of Mecca he had visions of the angel Gabriel calling him to “recite” in the name of God the creator. He received revelations that were to become the first part of the Koran (Qua’ran) – the holy book of Islam. The Koran teaches faith in God, the coming judgment against unbelief, and the ideas of heaven and hell; it also describes duties appropriate to marriage, the family, and social life. Mohammed’s followers were called Muslims (Moslems) – “surrendered men,” since they had “surrendered” or submitted to one God (Allah).
• By 630AD, Mohammed had raised a powerful army and had captured Mecca. After the death of Mohammed in 632, his successors were able to conquer all of the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, and North Africa, and Spain establishing one of the greatest empires of the Middle Ages. Although the empire soon fell apart, Islam has continued its victorious rise in the Middle East and Asia and becoming the fastest growing religion in the world with about one billion followers.