Kublai Khan

In 1206 Genghis Khan united the Mongols and proceeded to build one of the largest empires the world has ever seen. Following in his famous footsteps, his grandson, Kublai Khan, conquered southern China and moved his capital from Karakorum in Mongolia to what would later be known as Beijing in China. Thus began the Yuan Dynasty.

Born in 1215 to Toluia and Sorghaghtani Beki, Kublai and his three brothers were raised by their mother, who had a profound influence on her son’s lives, assuring that they would be rulers. Kublai became “Great Khan” in 1260 and immediately showed the signs of an able ruler.

Kublai practiced religious tolerance in his realm and although Buddhism was the official state religion, Confucianism, Taoism, Christianity and Islam were respected and accepted. Many Chinese traditions were incorporated into the government and although Mongols populated the highest levels of government, central Asians and Chinese did hold some offices. Trade flourished along the Silk Road and the sea lanes during the Pax Tatarica, the Mongol Peace, and travelers abounded in the Empire, most notably Marco Polo, who arrived in China in 1275.

As competently as Kublai Khan ruled his dynasty, however, it was still composed of far-flung and diverse peoples and cultures and would prove impossible to hold together. Moving his capital to China had angered many of his Mongol advisors and in an attempt to appease them, and perhaps because the ambitious blood of Genghis Khan still ran through his veins, Kublai attempted to expand his empire and conquer Japan in 1281. He assembled the largest navy in the world and sailed across the Sea of Japan, as the far outnumbered and sure to be conquered Japanese waited. As thousands of boats bobbed in the water and the first of the Mongols set foot on land, a typhoon arose which destroyed the Mongol fleet and crushed the invasion attempt. The Japanese gave thanks to the Kamikaze, which means divine wind, for delivering them from the Mongol menace.

An attempt in 1293 to conquer Java also ended in failure, but by this time it was apparent that neither Kublai Khan nor the Yuan Dynasty would last much longer. 1281 had also marked the year that his favorite wife had died as well as the heir to his throne. That, coupled with failed expansion attempts and divisiveness in the empire, drove Kublai into depression, from which he found solace through food and alcohol. He died in 1294 and the Ming Dynasty would replace the Yuan Dynasty in the 1360’s.

Go To Page: 1 2