Kublai Khan

Who is Kublai Khan?

Kublai Khan was a grandson of Genghis Khan who became the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and, in 1271, founded the Yuan dynasty, becoming the first Mongol emperor to rule all of China. After years of campaigning in southern China against the Song dynasty, he completed its conquest in 1279, unifying China under Mongol rule for the first time. Kublai moved the imperial capital to Khanbaliq, the city that became modern Beijing, and blended Mongol military governance with Chinese administrative traditions, employing officials of many nationalities, including the Venetian traveler Marco Polo, who served at his court and later wrote an influential account of his travels. Under Kublai, trade along the Silk Road flourished, connecting China with Persia, Europe, and Central Asia, and the Yuan court became a center of art, science, and international exchange. He promoted religious tolerance, supporting Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity within his empire. His attempted invasions of Japan, Vietnam, and Java met with limited success, and the later years of his reign were marked by financial strain and court intrigue. He died in 1294, having ruled longer and over a larger settled population than any other Mongol khan.

Sources: Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo (circa 1300) · Rashid al-Din, Jami al-Tawarikh · Morris Rossabi, Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times (1988)