Empire · 1271–1368 · East Asia

Yuan dynasty

Also known as Great Khanate

Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, was proclaimed Great Khan in 1260 and in 1271 declared a Chinese-style dynasty called Yuan. He built a new capital at Dadu, modern Beijing, and completed the conquest of the Southern Song in 1279, uniting all of China under foreign rule for the first time.

His invasions of Japan and South-east Asia failed. The Yuan divided society into ranked groups, with Mongols and Central Asians above northern and southern Chinese, and relied on foreigners such as Marco Polo, who claimed to have served at court. Trade flourished, paper money circulated widely and the Grand Canal was extended to Beijing. Later rulers were weak and quarrelsome, and inflation, floods and epidemics fuelled the Red Turban rebellion, which drove the Mongols back to the steppe in 1368.

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Years

1271–1368

Capital

Khanbaliq (Dadu, now Beijing); summer capital Shangdu (Xanadu)

Greatest extent

1310, about 11.00 million km²

Region

East Asia

China, Mongolia, Tibet and Manchuria, with Korea as a vassal; c. 11M km² (Taagepera 1997); c. 11.0M km² in 1310 (Taagepera 1997)