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Yassa (Mongol Customary Law)

Type Object Region Mongol Empire Time 1206–1400

The Yassa was the customary law and khagan decree system of the Mongol Empire, traditionally attributed to Genghis Khan's codification of nomadic tri…

Timeline

  1. c. 1206–1227Mongolian Plateau · Mongolian PlateauAfter unifying the tribes, Genghis Khan integrated nomadic customs of blood revenge, oaths, hunting, and military obligations into khagan decrees, known historically as the Yassa, promulgated through oral transmission and court records.
  2. 1227–1260Throughout the Mongol Empire · Mongol EmpireSuccessive khagans reaffirmed and supplemented the Yassa during the empire's expansion, binding princes, generals, and subject peoples of all ethnicities; running parallel to local written laws, it became the empire's highest source of customary law.
  3. 1260–1400Territories of the various ulus · Uluses of the Mongol EmpireAfter the empire's division, the Yassa continued alongside Islamic law and Central Plains statutes in different ways within the Golden Horde, Chagatai, Ilkhanate, and Yuan dynasty, gradually becoming localized and losing its unified written form.

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