The provided text explores the impact of the Mongol Empire on global interconnectedness, highlighting how their conquests transformed the fragmented Silk Road into a unified, secure trade network during the Pax Mongolica. It details the Mongols' strategic policies like the Yam system and their pro-merchant stance that facilitated the unprecedented exchange of goods, technologies, and ideas across Eurasia. However, the sources also emphasize the "dark side" of this early globalization, particularly the role of these same efficient routes in the rapid spread of the Black Death. Finally, the text analyzes the empire's decline and the subsequent fragmentation of overland routes, which directly catalyzed Europe's Age of Discovery and the shift towards a maritime-based global trade system, ultimately drawing parallels and distinctions between Mongol and modern globalization.

Research done with the help of artificial intelligence, and presented by two AI-generated hosts.