Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan was born in 1215, a second child of Tolui, son of the great Chinggis Khan, and his second wife Sorghaghtani Beki. His birth took place inthe middle of the Mongol empire-building period and during the time his father Tolui was beginning to earn his fearsome reputation as a ruthless warrior during the conquest of northern China.

Kublai grew up to be an able Mongol warrior. He was known for both his skill as a horseman and his great courage.

In 1251, his older brother became the ruler, or the Great Khan, of Mongol China. In 1259, Kublai led one of three Mongol armies into southern China. During the fighting, the Great Khan was killed, and Kublai made a claim to the throne.

In 1260 C.E. the Mongols named Genghis Khan’s grandson, Kublai, to be the new Khan. His armies won control of southern China, ending the Song Dynasty, in part because he used artillery operated by two Muslim Weaponry fired by cannons engineers. He also won control of Burma and present- day Vietnam. These successes gained him the support he needed.

In 1271 Kublai Khan became the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China. On several occasions from1274 onwards, Kublai Khan dispatched armies aboard fleets of ships to invade other Asian nations in attempts to expand the empire’s hegemony and extend his rule into East Asia (Japan) and Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Champa and Java).

He distinguished himself from his predecessors by ruling through an administrative apparatus that respected and embraced the local customs of conquered peoples, rather than by might alone. He died in 1294, having lost his energy and his role in ruling his empire. In 1368 the Mongols are driven out of Beijing, marking an end to the Yuan Dynasty and the Mongol Empire.
Kublai Khan