The Mongols were a group of nomadic people who, throughout history, invaded, conquered, and dominated several civilizations. China and Russia are an example of these civilizations dominated and conquered in the early 13th century. These two dominations of different regions brought about many political and economic changes, but the styles of influence varied from each other since the Mongols directly controlled the Chinese but allowed local princes to rule Russia provided they behaved well and pay tribute. Russia and China were also allowed to practice their own religions. Rather, the Mongols had similar economic influences on both Postclassical civilizations, such as improving the economy through trade routes. In China, the political impact of the Mongols was much more strict and centralized than what happened politically in Russia, and had a more significant effect. Succeeding the reign of Genghis Khan, the Mongols grew into a vast empire that heavily influenced the Chinese after defeating the Chinese and claiming themselves as direct rulers. When Kublai Khan founded the Yuan dynasty, he applied a "division effect" in which he separated the Mongols from the Chinese. Kublai banned intermarriage because he didn't want the Mongols and Chinese to mix. He also stated that Chinese scholars were not allowed to learn Mongolian script and that the Chinese army remained separate from the Mongolian army. Kham banned civil service exams that were important to China's bureaucracy, leading many foreigners to seek higher positions in the government while Chinese only obtained positions at the local level. However, later the Mongols surrounded themselves...... middle of paper...... trade routes helped them reestablish their economy over time, as some Russian cities like Moscow began to become collectors of tribute and make profits. Benefiting from this, Russian princes became wealthy through their ability to manipulate their role as tribute collectors. Mongol rule influenced Russia and China in different ways, but also in similar ways. China became a major trade network with the reopening of the Silk Road, bringing cultural interactions. Russia, however, remained isolated but still improved its economy, but not on a global scale like China. Politically, the Mongols ruled China and Russia in different ways, as Russia had more political freedom than China. However, the Mongols had a huge impact on the world as they had one of the best armies and one of the largest empires in the world, stretching from the Middle East, into parts of India and as far as in Europe..