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{{distinguish|Mughal Empire}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox former country
|conventional_long_name = Mongol Empire 
|native_name = ''Ikh Mongol Uls''
|common_name = Mongol Empire<br />Mongolian Empire
|continent = Eurasia
|status = [[Nomadic empire]]
|image_flag = <!--Discuss on the talk page before adding a flag image. This article cannot use fictional or anachronistic flags, and any addition must be well-cited by verifiable third-party reliable sources.-->
|flag = 
|flag_type = 
|image_map = Mongol Empire map.gif
|image_map_caption = Expansion of the Mongol Empire 1206–1294.
|capital =  
   {{unbulleted list |class=nowrap
    | {{smaller|1206–35{{nbsp|2}}}}[[Avarga]]
    | {{smaller|1235–60{{nbsp|2}}}}[[Karakorum]]&thinsp;{{efn|[[Karakorum]] was founded in 1220 and served as capital from 1235 to 1260.}}
    | ''{{resize|75%|1260–1368{{nbsp|2}}}}{{smaller|[[Khanbaliq]] (Dadu)}}''&thinsp;{{lower|0.2em|{{efn|Following the death of [[Möngke Khan]] in 1259, no one city served as capital. [[Khanbaliq]] (Dadu), modern-day [[Beijing]], was the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]] capital between 1271 and 1368.}}}}
}}
|common_languages = {{hlist |[[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] |[[Chinese language|Chinese]] |[[Turkic languages|Turkic]] |[[Persian language|Persian]] and other languages}}
|religion = {{hlist |[[Tengrism]] / [[Shamanism]] |<br/>[[Buddhism]] | [[Islam]] |[[Zoroastrianism]] | [[Nestorianism]] | [[Orthodox Christianity]]}}
|government_type = [[Elective monarchy]];<br/>later also [[Hereditary monarchy|hereditary]]
|title_leader = [[Great Khan]]
|year_leader1 = 1206–1227 |leader1 = Genghis Khan
|year_leader2 = 1229–1241 |leader2 = Ögedei Khan
|year_leader3 = 1246–1248 |leader3 = Güyük Khan
|year_leader4 = 1251–1259 |leader4 = Möngke Khan
|year_leader5 = 1260–1294 |leader5 = [[Kublai Khan]] (Nominal)
|year_leader6 = 1333–1368 |leader6 = [[Toghon Temür|Toghan Temür Khan]] (Nominal)
|legislature = [[Kurultai]]
|event_start = {{nowrap|[[Genghis Khan]] proclaims<br />the Mongol Empire}} |year_start = 1206
|event1 = Death of Genghis Khan |date_event1 = 1227
|event2 = ''[[Pax Mongolica]]'' |date_event2 = 1250–1350
|event3 = [[Division of the Mongol Empire|Empire fragments]] |date_event3 = 1260–1294
|event_end = Fall of [[Yuan dynasty]] |year_end = 1368
|event_post = {{nowrap|Collapse of the<br />[[Chagatai Khanate]]}} |date_post = 1687
|stat_year1 = 1206 (Unification of Mongolia)<ref name="Taagepera499">{{cite journal|date=September 1997|title=Expansion and Contraction Patterns of Large Polities: Context for Russia|journal=[[International Studies Quarterly]]|volume=41|issue=3|page=499|doi=10.1111/0020-8833.00053|author=Rein Taagepera|authorlink=Rein Taagepera|jstor=2600793}}</ref>
|stat_area1 = 4000000
|stat_year2 = 1227 (Genghis Khan's death)<ref name="Taagepera499"/>
|stat_area2 = 13500000
|stat_year3 = 1294 (Kublai's death)<ref name="Taagepera499"/>
|stat_area3 = 23500000
|stat_year4 = 1309 (Last formal reunification)<ref name="Taagepera499"/>
|stat_area4 =24000000
|currency = Various&thinsp;{{efn|Including coins such as [[dirham]]s and paper currencies based on silver (''[[sukhe (unit)|sukhe]]'') or silk, or the later [[Chao (currency)|Chao]] currency of the [[Yuan dynasty]].}}
|p1 = Khamag Mongol
|p2 = Khwarazmian Empire{{!}}{{nowrap|Khwarazmian Empire}}
|p3 = Qara Khitai{{!}}{{nowrap|Qara Khitai}}
|p4 = Jīn dynasty
|p5 = Song dynasty
|p6 = Western Xia
|p7 = Abbasid Caliphate
|p8 = Nizari Ismaili state
|p9 = Kievan Rus'
|p10 = Volga Bulgaria
|p11 = Cumania
|p12 = Alania
|p13 = Kingdom of Dali
|p14 = Kimek Khanate
|p15 = Sultanate of Rum
|s1 = Chagatai Khanate{{!}}{{nowrap|Chagatai Khanate}}
|s2 = Golden Horde |flag_s2 = Golden Horde flag 1339.svg
|s3 = Ilkhanate
|s4 = Yuan dynasty{{!}}{{nowrap|Yuan dynasty}} |flag_s4 =
|s5 = Northern Yuan dynasty{{!}}{{nowrap|Northern Yuan dynasty}} |flag_s5 =
|s6 = Timurid Empire{{!}}{{nowrap|Timurid Empire}} |flag_s6 =
|s7 = Anatolian Beyliks{{!}}{{nowrap|Anatolian Beyliks}} |flag_s7 =
|s8 = Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo){{!}}{{nowrap|Mamluk Sultanate}} |flag_s8 =
|flag_s9 = Alex_K_Grundwald_flags_1410-03.svg
|s10 = Kingdom of Poland (1025-1385){{!}}{{nowrap|Kingdom of Poland}} |flag_s10 = Alex_K_Kingdom_of_Poland-flag.svg
}} 
{{Campaignbox Mongol invasions}}

The '''Mongol Empire''' ([[Mongolian language|Mongolian]]: ''Mongolyn Ezent Güren'' {{audio|Mongoliinezentguren.ogg|listen}}; [[Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet|Mongolian Cyrillic]]: Монголын эзэнт гүрэн; {{IPA-mn|mɔŋɡ(ɔ)ɮˈiːŋ ɛt͡sˈɛnt ˈɡurəŋ|}}; also {{lang|ru|Орда}} ("Horde") in [[Kievan Rus'|Russian]] [[Complete Collection of Russian Chronicles|chronicles]]) existed during the 13th and 14th centuries and was the largest [[List of largest empires#Largest empires by land area and population|contiguous land empire]] in history.<ref>Morgan. ''The Mongols''. p.&nbsp;5.</ref> Originating in the [[steppe]]s of [[Central Asia]], the Mongol Empire eventually stretched from [[Central Europe]] to the [[Sea of Japan]], extending northwards into [[Siberia]], eastwards and southwards into the [[Indian subcontinent]], [[Indochina]], and the [[Iranian plateau]], and westwards as far as the [[Levant]] and [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]].

The Mongol Empire emerged from the unification of nomadic tribes in the [[Mongol]] homeland under the leadership of [[Genghis Khan]], who was proclaimed ruler of all Mongols in 1206. The empire grew rapidly under the rule of him and his descendants, who sent [[Mongol invasions|invasions]] in every direction.<ref>Diamond. ''Guns, Germs, and Steel''. p. 367.</ref><ref>''The Mongols and Russia'', by [[George Vernadsky]]</ref> The vast transcontinental empire connected the [[eastern world|east]] with the [[western world|west]] with an enforced ''[[Pax Mongolica]]'' allowing trade, technologies, commodities, and ideologies to be disseminated and exchanged across [[Eurasia]].<ref>Gregory G.Guzman "Were the barbarians a negative or positive factor in ancient and medieval history?", ''The Historian'' 50 (1988), 568-70.</ref><ref>Allsen. ''Culture and Conquest''. p. 211.</ref>

The empire began to split due to wars over succession, as the grandchildren of Genghis Khan disputed whether the royal line should follow from his son and initial heir [[Ögedei Khan|Ögedei]] or one of his other sons, such as [[Tolui]], [[Chagatai Khan|Chagatai]], or [[Jochi]]. The Toluids prevailed after a bloody purge of Ögedeid and Chagataid factions, but disputes continued even among the descendants of Tolui. After [[Möngke Khan]] died, rival [[kurultai]] councils simultaneously elected different successors, the brothers [[Ariq Böke]] and [[Kublai Khan]], who then not only fought each other in the [[Toluid Civil War]], but also dealt with challenges from descendants of other sons of Genghis.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/mongols/goldenHorde.html|title=The Islamic World to 1600: The Golden Horde|publisher=University of Calgary|year=1998|accessdate=3 December 2010|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113102742/http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/islam/mongols/goldenHorde.html|archivedate=13 November 2010}}</ref><ref>Michael Biran. ''Qaidu and the Rise of the Independent Mongol State in Central Asia''. The Curzon Press, 1997, ISBN 0-7007-0631-3</ref> Kublai successfully took power, but civil war ensued as Kublai sought unsuccessfully to regain control of the [[Chagatai khans|Chagatayid]] and [[House of Ögedei|Ögedeid]] families.

The [[Battle of Ain Jalut]] in 1260 marked the high point of the [[Mongol conquests]] and was the first time a Mongol advance had ever been beaten back in direct combat on the battlefield. Though the Mongols launched many more invasions on the Levant, briefly occupying it and raiding as far as [[Gaza City|Gaza]] after a decisive victory at the [[Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar]] in 1299, they withdrew due to various geopolitical factors.

By the time of [[Kublai Khan|Kublai's]] death in 1294, the Mongol Empire had [[Division of the Mongol Empire|fractured into four separate khanates or empires]], each pursuing its own separate interests and objectives: the [[Golden Horde]] khanate in the northwest; the [[Chagatai Khanate]] in the middle; the [[Ilkhanate]] in the southwest; and the [[Yuan dynasty]] in the east based in modern-day [[Beijing]].<ref name="China p413">''The Cambridge History of China: Alien Regimes and Border States''. p. 413.</ref> In 1304, the three western khanates briefly accepted the nominal [[suzerainty]] of the Yuan dynasty,<ref>Jackson. ''Mongols and the West''. p. 127.</ref><ref>Allsen. ''Culture and Conquest''. pp. xiii, 235.</ref> but it was later taken by the [[Han Chinese]] [[Ming dynasty]] in 1368. The Genghisid rulers of the Yuan retreated to the Mongolia homeland and continued to rule the [[Northern Yuan dynasty]], while the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate lasted in one form or another for some additional centuries after the fall of the Yuan dynasty and the Ilkhanate.

== Name ==
What is referred to in English as the Mongol Empire was called the '''Ikh Mongol Uls''' (''ikh'': great, ''uls'': state; Great Mongolian State).<ref>Sanders. p. 300.</ref> In the 1240s, one of Genghis's descendants, [[Güyük Khan]], wrote a letter to [[Pope Innocent IV]] which used the preamble "Dalai (great/oceanic) Khagan of the great Mongolian state (ulus)".<ref>Saunders. ''History of the Mongol conquests''. p. 225.</ref>

After the succession war between [[Kublai Khan]] and his brother [[Ariq Böke]], Ariq limited Kublai's power to the eastern part of the empire. Kublai officially issued an imperial [[edict]] on December 18, 1271 to name the country "Great Yuan" (''Dai Yuan'', or ''Dai Ön Ulus'') to establish the [[Yuan dynasty]]. Some sources state that the full Mongolian name was ''Dai Ön Yehe Monggul Ulus''.<ref>Rybatzki. p. 116.</ref>

== History ==

===Pre-empire context===
{{Main article|Proto-Mongols}}
[[File:Mongolia XI.jpg|thumb|250px|Mongolian tribes during the Khitan [[Liao dynasty]] (907-1125)]] 
[[File:East-Hem 1200ad.jpg|thumb|250px|alt=Map of Eurasia showing the different states|[[Eurasia]] on the eve of the Mongol invasions, ''c.''&nbsp;1200.]]

The area around [[Mongolia]], [[Manchuria]], and parts of [[North China]] had been controlled by the [[Liao dynasty]] since the 10th century. In 1125, the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] founded by the [[Jurchens]] overthrew the Liao dynasty and attempted to gain control over former Liao territory in Mongolia. In the 1130s the Jin dynasty rulers, known as the Golden Kings, successfully resisted the [[Khamag Mongol]] confederation, ruled at the time by [[Khabul Khan]], great-grandfather of Temujin (Genghis Khan).<ref name="Barfield. p. 184">Barfield. p. 184.</ref>

The [[Mongolian plateau]] was occupied mainly by five powerful tribal confederations (''khanlig''): [[Keraites]], [[Khamag Mongol]], [[Naimans|Naiman]], [[Merkit|Mergid]], and [[Tatar confederation|Tatar]]. The Jin emperors, following a policy of [[divide and rule]], encouraged disputes among the tribes, especially between the Tatars and Mongols, in order to keep the nomadic tribes distracted by their own battles and thereby away from the Jin. Khabul's successor was [[Ambaghai|Ambaghai Khan]], who was betrayed by the Tatars, handed over to the Jurchen, and executed. The Mongols retaliated by raiding the frontier, resulting in a failed Jurchen counter-attack in 1143.<ref name="Barfield. p. 184"/>

In 1147, the Jin somewhat changed their policy, signing a peace treaty with the Mongols and withdrawing from a score of forts. The Mongols then resumed attacks on the Tatars to avenge the death of their late khan, opening a long period of active hostilities. The Jin and Tatar armies defeated the Mongols in 1161.<ref name="Barfield. p. 184" />

During the rise of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, the usually cold, parched steppes of Central Asia enjoyed their mildest, wettest conditions in more than a millennium. It is thought that as a result, a rapid increase in the number of war horses and other livestock significantly enhanced Mongol military strength.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2014/03/05/1318677111|title=Pluvials, droughts, the Mongol Empire, and modern Mongolia|author=Neil Pederson | doi=10.1073/pnas.1318677111|volume=111|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|pages=4375–4379}}</ref>

=== Rise of Genghis Khan ===
{{Main article|Khamag Mongol|Genghis Khan}}
[[File:YuanEmperorAlbumGenghisPortrait.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting of Genghis Khan|[[Genghis Khan]], [[National Palace Museum]] in [[Taipei, Taiwan]]]]

Known during his childhood as [[Temujin]], Genghis Khan was the son of a Mongol chieftain. When he was young he was from one of Yesugis orphaned and deserted families, he rose very rapidly by working with Toghrul Khan of the Kerait. Kurtait was the most powerful Mongol leader during this time and was given the Chinese title "Wang" which means Prince.<ref>E.D. Philips The Mongols Pg. 37</ref> Temujin went to war with Wang Khan. After Temujin defeated Wang Khan he gave himself the name Genghis Khan. He then enlarged his Mongol state under himself and his kin. Gengis Khan is remembered for his system of laws for the Mongols he called this the Great Yasa. The Great Yasa was regarded by many generations of Mongols ranging all over Asia. He had most of Asia under his control. The Yasa provided necessary powers for taxation, and for all able bodied Mongols to take part in the great hunt to gather meat for the winter months.<ref>E.D. Phillips The Mongols pg.41.</ref> The term Mongol became used to refer to all Mongolic Speaking tribes under the control of Gengis Khan.  His most powerful allies were his father's friend, [[Khereid]] chieftain [[Wang Khan]] Toghoril, and Temujin's childhood [[anda (Mongol)|''anda'']] (friend) [[Jamukha]] of the Jadran clan. With their help, Temujin defeated the Merkit tribe, rescued his wife Börte, and went on to defeat the Naimans and Tatars.<ref name=morgan-49>Morgan. ''The Mongols''. pp. 49–73.</ref>

Temujin forbade looting of his enemies without permission, and he implemented a policy of sharing spoils with his warriors and their families instead of giving it all to the aristocrats.<ref>Riasanovsky. ''Fundamental Principles of Mongol law''. p. 83.</ref> He thus held the Khan title. These policies brought him into conflict with his uncles, who were also legitimate heirs to the throne; they regarded Temujin not as leader but merely an insolent usurper. This controversy spread to his generals and other associates, and some Mongols who had previously been allies with him broke their allegiance.<ref name=morgan-49/>

War ensued, and Temujin and the forces still loyal to him prevailed, destroying all the remaining rival tribes from 1203 to 1205 and bringing them under his sway. In 1206, Temujin was crowned as the [[khagan]] of the ''Yekhe Mongol Ulus'' (Great Mongol State) at a [[kurultai]] (general assembly/council). It was there that he assumed the title of Genghis Khan (universal leader) instead of one of the old tribal titles such as Gur Khan or Tayang Khan, marking the start of the Mongol Empire.<ref name="morgan-49" />

=== Early organization ===
[[File:Dschingis Khan 01.jpg|thumb|[[Genghis Khan]] ascended the throne in the Yeke Quriltay region in the Onan river, from the [[Jami' al-tawarikh]].]]

Genghis Khan introduced many innovative ways of organizing his army, dividing it into decimal subsections of arbans (10 people), zuuns (100), [[Mingghan]]s (1000), and [[Tumen (unit)|tumens]] (10,000). The [[Kheshig]], or the [[imperial guard]], was founded and divided into day ([[khorchin]] [[torghuds]]) and night guards ([[khevtuul]]).<ref>Ratchnevsky. p. 191.</ref> Genghis rewarded those who had been loyal to him and placed them in high positions, placing them as heads of army units and households, even though many of his allies had been from very low-rank clans.<ref name="Secret history. p. 203">''Secret history''. p. 203.</ref>

Compared to the units he gave to his loyal companions, those assigned to his own family members were quite few. He proclaimed a new law of the empire, Ikh Zasag or [[Yassa]], and codified everything related to the everyday life and political affairs of the nomads at the time. He forbade the selling of women, theft, fighting among the Mongols, and the hunting of animals during the breeding season.<ref name="Secret history. p. 203" />

He appointed his adopted brother Shigi-Khuthugh supreme judge (jarughachi), ordering him to keep records of the empire. In addition to laws regarding family, food, and the army, Genghis also decreed religious freedom and supported domestic and international trade. He exempted the poor and the clergy from taxation.<ref>Vladimortsov. p. 74.</ref> He also encouraged literacy, adopting the [[Uyghur script]], which would form the [[Mongolian script|Uyghur-Mongolian script]] of the empire, and he ordered the [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]] Tatatunga, who had previously served the khan of Naimans, to instruct his sons.<ref>Weatherford. p. 70.</ref>

====Push into Central Asia====
{{Main article|Mongol invasion of Central Asia}}
[[File:Mongol Empire c.1207.png|thumb|Mongol Empire circa 1207]]

Genghis quickly came into conflict with the Jin dynasty of the Jurchens and the [[Western Xia]] of the [[Tanguts]] in northern China. He also had to deal with two other powers, Tibet and Khara Khitai.<ref>{{cite book |last=Man |first=John |title=Genghis Khan: Life, Death, and Resurrection |date=2004 |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books |location=New York |page=116}}</ref> Towards the west he moved into [[Central Asia]], devastating [[Transoxiana]] and eastern Persia<!-- Do not link to the disambiguation page, "Persian Empire"; link to a specific iteration of this topic -->, then raiding into [[Kievan Rus']] (a [[predecessor state]] of Russia, [[Belarus]], and [[Ukraine]]) and the [[Caucasus]].<ref name=morgan-49/>

Before his death, Genghis Khan divided his empire among his sons and immediate family, making the Mongol Empire the joint property of the entire imperial family who, along with the Mongol aristocracy, constituted the ruling class.<ref>Morgan. pp. 99–101.</ref>

====Religious policies====

Genghis Khan and the following Yuan emperors forbade Islamic practices like Halal butchering, forcing Muslims to comply with Mongol methods of butchering animals, and other restrictive decrees continued. Muslims had to slaughter sheep in secret.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=hUEswLE4SWUC&pg=PA24 |title=China's Muslim Hui community: migration, settlement and sects|author=Michael Dillon|year=1999|publisher=Curzon Press|location=Richmond|page=24|isbn=0-7007-1026-4|accessdate=2010-06-28}}</ref> Genghis Khan directly called Muslims and Jews "slaves", and demanded that they follow the Mongol method of eating rather than the halal method. [[Circumcision]] was also forbidden. Jews were also affected, and forbidden by the Mongols to eat [[kosher]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/?id=N7_4Gr9Q438C&pg=PA230 |title=Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road|author=Johan Elverskog|year=2010|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|edition=illustrated|location=|page=228|isbn=0-8122-4237-8|accessdate=2010-06-28}}</ref>

<blockquote>Among all the [subject] alien peoples only the Hui-hui say “we do not eat Mongol food”. [Cinggis Qa’an replied:] “By the aid of heaven we have pacified you; you are our slaves. Yet you do not eat our food or drink. How can this be right?” He thereupon made them eat. “If you slaughter sheep, you will be considered guilty of a crime.” He issued a regulation to that effect ... [In 1279/1280 under Qubilai] all the Muslims say: “if someone else slaughters [the animal] we do not eat”. Because the poor people are upset by this, from now on, Musuluman [Muslim] Huihui and Zhuhu [Jewish] Huihui, no matter who kills [the animal] will eat [it] and must cease slaughtering sheep themselves, and cease the rite of circumcision.<ref>{{cite web|format=PDF|url=http://www.islamicpopulation.com/asia/China/China_integration%20of%20religious%20minority.pdf|title=The Integration of Religious Minorities in China: The Case of Chinese Muslims|first=Donald Daniel|last=Leslie|year=1998|page=12|publisher=The Fifty-ninth George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology|accessdate=30 November 2010|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217112014/http://islamicpopulation.com/asia/China/China_integration%20of%20religious%20minority.pdf|archivedate=17 December 2010|df=dmy}}</ref></blockquote>

Genghis Khan arranged for the Chinese Daoist master [[Qiu Chuji]] to visit him in Afghanistan and put him in charge of all religious affairs in the empire.

===Death of Genghis Khan and expansion under Ögedei (1227–1241)===
{{main article|Mongol invasions and conquests}}
[[Image:CoronationOfOgodei1229.jpg|thumb|Coronation of [[Ögedei Khan]] in 1229 as the successor of Genghis Khan. By [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani|Rashid al-Din]], early 14th century.]]

Genghis Khan died on August 18, 1227, by which time the Mongol Empire ruled from the Pacific Ocean to the [[Caspian Sea]] — an empire twice the size of the [[Roman Empire]] and Muslim [[Caliphate]]. Genghis named his third son, the charismatic [[Ögedei Khan|Ögedei]], as his heir. According to Mongol tradition, Genghis Khan was buried in a secret location. The regency was originally held by Ögedei's younger brother [[Tolui]] until Ögedei's formal election at the kurultai in 1229.<ref>Man. ''Genghis Khan''. p. 288.</ref>

Among his first actions, Ögedei sent troops to subjugate the [[Bashkirs]], [[Bulgars]], and other nations in the Kipchak-controlled steppes.<ref>Saunders. p. 81.</ref> In the east, Ögedei's armies re-established Mongol authority in Manchuria, crushing the [[Puxian Wannu|Eastern Xia]] regime and [[Tungusic peoples|Water Tatars]]. In 1230, the great khan personally led his army in the campaign against the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] (China). Ögedei's general [[Subutai]] captured the capital of Emperor [[Emperor Aizong of Jin|Wanyan Shouxu]] in the [[Mongol siege of Kaifeng|siege of Kaifeng]] in 1232.<ref>Atwood. p. 277.</ref> The Jin dynasty collapsed in 1234 when the [[Siege of Caizhou|Mongols captured Caizhou]], the town where Wanyan Shouxu had fled. In 1234, three armies commanded by Ögedei's sons Kochu and Koten, as well as the [[Tangut people|Tangut]] general Chagan, invaded southern China. With the assistance of the [[Song dynasty]], the Mongols finished off the Jin in 1234.<ref>Rossabi. p. 221.</ref><ref>Atwood. p. 509.</ref>

Many Han Chinese and Khitan defected to the Mongols to fight against the Jin. Two Han Chinese leaders, [[Shi Tianze]], [[Liu Heima]] (劉黑馬, Liu Ni),<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?ei=oj8sVYfZEYb4yASM8oCADQ&id=1yMnAQAAIAAJ&dq=liu+heima+mongols&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=liu+heima+ Collectif 2002], p. 147.</ref> and the Khitan [[Xiao Zhala]] defected and commanded the 3 Tumens in the Mongol army.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NfzOAAAAMAAJ&q=Ogodei+divided+them+into+three+tiimens+%28Chinese:+wan-hu%29+and+thirty-six+minqat+commanded+by+the+Khitan+Hsiao+Cha-la+and+Hans+Liu+Ni+%28Heima%29+and+Shi-+T%27ien-tse.+By+1234,+three+and+perhaps+more+lumen-it+noyad+were+posted.+The+three+...&dq=Ogodei+divided+them+into+three+tiimens+%28Chinese:+wan-hu%29+and+thirty-six+minqat+commanded+by+the+Khitan+Hsiao+Cha-la+and+Hans+Liu+Ni+%28Heima%29+and+Shi-+T%27ien-tse.+By+1234,+three+and+perhaps+more+lumen-it+noyad+were+posted.+The+three+...&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_z8sVYkri6rJBIT1gMgH&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA May 2004], p. 50.</ref> Liu Heima and Shi Tianze served Ogödei Khan.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=F00qAQAAMAAJ&q=%28Brief+history+of+the+Black+Tartars%29+which+lists+the+men+who+held+posts+under+Og%C3%B6dei,+or+more+precisely,+from+the+last+two+families,+Shi+Tianze+and+Liu+Heima+%23%23%23%23%23,+see+Meng-ta+peilu+und+Hei-ta+shih+liieh,+translated+by+E.+Haenisch+and+Yao+Ts%27ung-wu,+edited+by+P.+Olbricht+and+E.+Pinks,+%E2%80%9CAsiatische+Forschungen%E2%80%9D,+Bd.+56+%28Wiesbaden:+Otto+Harrassowitz,+1980%29,+pp.+202-206.+and+professional&dq=%28Brief+history+of+the+Black+Tartars%29+which+lists+the+men+who+held+posts+under+Og%C3%B6dei,+or+more+precisely,+from+the+last+two+families,+Shi+Tianze+and+Liu+Heima+%23%23%23%23%23,+see+Meng-ta+peilu+und+Hei-ta+shih+liieh,+translated+by+E.+Haenisch+and+Yao+Ts%27ung-wu,+edited+by+P.+Olbricht+and+E.+Pinks,+%E2%80%9CAsiatische+Forschungen%E2%80%9D,+Bd.+56+%28Wiesbaden:+Otto+Harrassowitz,+1980%29,+pp.+202-206.+and+professional&hl=en&sa=X&ei=f0AsVd_hPM-KyASpzoHADg&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA Schram 1987], p. 130.</ref> Liu Heima and Shi Tianxiang led armies against Western Xia for the Mongols.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=MztuAAAAMAAJ&q=liu+heima+mongols&dq=liu+heima+mongols&hl=en&sa=X&ei=oj8sVYfZEYb4yASM8oCADQ&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAg eds. Seaman, Marks 1991], p. 175.</ref> There were four Han Tumens and three Khitan Tumens, with each Tumen consisting of 10,000 troops.

Shi Tianze was a Han Chinese who lived in the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)]]. Interethnic marriage between Han and Jurchen became common at this time. His father was Shi Bingzhi (史秉直, Shih Ping-chih). Shi Bingzhi was married to a Jurchen woman (surname Na-ho) and a Han Chinese woman (surname Chang). It is unknown which of them was Shi Tianze's mother.<ref name="ed. de Rachewiltz 1993">[https://books.google.com/books?id=kG45gi7E3hsC&pg=PA41#v=onepage&q&f=false ed. de Rachewiltz 1993], p. 41.</ref> Shi Tianze was married to two Jurchen women, a Han Chinese woman, and a Korean woman, and his son Shi Gang was born to one of his Jurchen wives.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=FPzcTT-pBp4C&pg=PA47&dq=Shi+Tianze+1202+1275&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ac1WU8LQEMzgsASOroDQCg&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Shi%20Tianze%201202%201275&f=false Kinoshita 2013], p. 47.</ref> His Jurchen wive's surnames were Mo-nien and Na-ho, his Korean wife's surname was Li, and his Han Chinese wife's surname was Shi.<ref name="ed. de Rachewiltz 1993"/> Shi Tianze defected to the Mongol Empire's forces upon [[Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty|their invasion of the Jin dynasty]]. His son Shi Gang married a Kerait woman. The Kerait were Mongolified Turkic people and considered part of the Mongol nation.<ref>[books.google.com/books?id=nCIPD1V39QkC&pg=PA14#v=onepage&q&f=false Watt 2010], p. 14.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=FPzcTT-pBp4C&pg=PA47&dq=Shi+Gang+%281237-1315%29&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ds5WU5-mC4_MsQTctICAAw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Shi%20Gang%20%281237-1315%29&f=false Kinoshita 2013], p. 47.</ref>

The Yuan dynasty created a Han army 漢軍 out of defected Jin troops and army of defected Song troops called the Newly Submitted Army 新附軍.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8hOgAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA66&dq=han+tumen+khitan&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Ij8sVefWHaXIsATnqID4AQ&ved=0CEwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=han%20tumen%20khitan&f=false Hucker 1985], p.66.</ref>

In the West, Ögedei's general [[Chormaqan]] destroyed [[Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu]], the last [[shah]] of the [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarizmian Empire]]. The small kingdoms in Southern Persia voluntarily accepted Mongol supremacy.<ref>May. ''Chormaqan''. p. 29.</ref><ref>Amitai. ''The Mamluk-Ilkhanid war''</ref> In East Asia, there were a number of [[Mongol invasions of Korea|Mongolian campaigns into Goryeo Korea]], but Ögedei's attempt to annex the [[Korean Peninsula]] met with little success. [[Gojong of Goryeo|Gojong]], the king of [[Goryeo]], surrendered but later revolted and massacred Mongol ''[[darughachi]]s'' (overseers); he then moved his imperial court from [[Gaeseong]] to [[Ganghwa Island]].<ref>Grousset. p. 259.</ref>

As the empire grew, Ögedei established a Mongol capital at [[Karakorum]] in northwestern Mongolia.<ref>Burgan. p. 22.</ref>

====Invasions of Kievan Rus' and central China====
{{main article|Mongol invasion of Rus'|Mongol invasion of China}}
{{See also|Mongol invasions of India|Mongol invasions of Korea|Mongol conquest of Tibet}}
[[File:Sacking of Suzdal by Batu Khan.jpg|thumb|alt=Painting of a battle scene|The sack of [[Suzdal]] by [[Batu Khan]] in 1238, [[Miniature (illuminated manuscript)|miniature]] from 16th-century chronicle]]

Meanwhile, in an offensive action against the [[Song dynasty]], Mongol armies captured Siyang-yang, the [[Yangtze River|Yangtze]] and [[Sichuan]], but did not secure their control over the conquered sites. The Song generals were able to recapture Siyang-yang from the Mongols in 1239. After the sudden death of Ögedei's son Kochu in Chinese territory, the Mongols withdrew from southern China, although Kochu's brother Prince Koten invaded [[Tibet]] right after their withdrawal.<ref name=morgan-49/>

[[Batu Khan]], another grandson of Genghis Khan, overran the countries of the [[Volga Bulgaria|Bulgars]], the [[Alans]], the Kypchaks, Bashkirs, [[Mordvin]]s, [[Chuvash people|Chuvash]], and other nations of the southern [[Eurasian Steppe#Russian Steppe|Russian steppe]]. By 1237, the Mongols began encroaching upon [[Principality of Ryazan|Ryazan]], their first [[Kievan Rus']] principality. After a three-day siege using heavy attacks, the Mongols captured the city and massacred its inhabitants, then proceeded to destroy the army of the [[Grand principality of Vladimir]] at the [[Battle of the Sit River]].<ref name="Timothy May. Chormaqan. p. 32">Timothy May. ''Chormaqan''. p. 32.</ref>

The Mongols captured the [[Alania]] capital [[Maghas]] in 1238. By 1240, all Kievan Rus' [[Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'|had fallen to the Asian invaders]] except for a few northern cities. Mongol troops under Chormaqan in Persia [[Mongol invasions of Georgia and Armenia|connected his invasion]] of [[Transcaucasia]] with the invasion of Batu and Subutai, forced the [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] and [[Armenia]]n nobles to surrender as well.<ref name="Timothy May. Chormaqan. p. 32"/>

[[Giovanni de Plano Carpini]], the pope's envoy to the Mongol great khan, traveled through [[Kiev]] in February 1246 and wrote:

{{quote|They [the Mongols] attacked Russia, where they made great havoc, destroying cities and fortresses and slaughtering men; and they laid siege to Kiev, the capital of Russia; after they had besieged the city for a long time, they took it and put the inhabitants to death. When we were journeying through that land we came across countless skulls and bones of dead men lying about on the ground. Kiev had been a very large and thickly populated town, but now it has been reduced almost to nothing, for there are at the present time scarce two hundred houses there and the inhabitants are kept in complete slavery.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/citd/RussianHeritage/4.PEAS/4.L/12.III.5.html|title=The Destruction of Kiev|publisher=Tspace.library.utoronto.ca|accessdate=12 October 2013|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=http://wayback.archive-it.org/6473/20160819150506/https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/citd/RussianHeritage/4.PEAS/4.L/12.III.5.html|archivedate=19 August 2016}}</ref>}}

Despite the military successes, strife continued within the Mongol ranks. Batu's relations with [[Güyük]], Ögedei's eldest son, and [[Büri]], the beloved grandson of [[Chagatai Khan]], remained tense and worsened during Batu's victory banquet in southern Kievan Rus'. Nevertheless, Güyük and Buri could not do anything to harm Batu's position as long as his uncle Ögedei was still alive. Meanwhile, Ögedei continued with [[Mongol invasions of India|invasions into the Indian subcontinent]], temporarily investing [[Uchch]], [[Lahore]], and [[Multan]] of the [[Delhi Sultanate]] and stationing a Mongol overseer in [[Kashmir]],<ref>Jackson. ''Delhi Sultanate''. p. 105.</ref> though the invasions into India eventually failed and were forced to retreat. In northeastern Asia, Ögedei agreed to settle conflicts with [[Goryeo]] by making it a client state and sent Mongolian princesses to wed Goryeo princes. He then reinforced his keshig with the Koreans through both diplomacy and military force.<ref>Bor. p. 186.</ref><ref>Atwood. p. 297.</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=William E.|last= Henthorn|title=Korea: the Mongol invasions|publisher=E.J. Brill|year=1963|url=https://archive.org/details/koreamongolinvas00hent|pages=160; 183}}</ref>

====Push into central Europe====
{{Main article|Mongol invasion of Europe}}
[[File:Legnica.JPG|thumb|alt=Painting of a battle scene with mounted warriors on either side|The [[Battle of Legnica|battle of Liegnitz]], 1241. From a medieval manuscript of the [[Hedwig of Poland|Hedwig]] legend.]]
The [[Mongol invasion of Europe|advance into Europe]] continued with Mongol invasions of Poland and Hungary. When the western flank of the Mongols plundered Polish cities, a European alliance among the [[Poles]], the [[Moravia]]ns, and the Christian military orders of the [[Hospitallers]], [[Teutonic Knights]] and the [[Knights Templar|Templars]] assembled sufficient forces to halt, although briefly, the Mongol advance [[Battle of Legnica|at Legnica]]. The [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungarian]] army, their [[Croats|Croatian allies]] and the Templar Knights were beaten by Mongols at the banks of [[battle of Mohi|Sajo River]] on April 11, 1241. After their victories over European knights at [[Legnica]] and [[Muhi]], Mongol armies quickly advanced across [[Bohemia]], [[Serbia]], [[Babenberg]] Austria and then into the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref>Weatherford. p. 157.</ref><ref>Howorth. pp. 55–62.</ref>

Before Batu's forces could continue into [[Vienna]] and northern [[Albania]], news of Ögedei's death in December 1241 brought a halt to the invasion.<ref name="Weatherford. p. 158">Weatherford. p. 158.</ref><ref>Matthew Paris. ''English History'' (trans. by [[J. A. Giles]]). p. 348.</ref> As was customary in Mongol military tradition, all princes of Genghis's line had to attend the kurultai to elect a successor. Batu and his western Mongol army withdrew from Central Europe the next year.<ref name="Morgan. p. 104">Morgan. ''The Mongols''. p. 104.</ref>

===Post-Ögedei power struggles (1241–1251)===
Following the Great Khan Ögedei's death in 1241, and before the next kurultai, Ögedei's widow [[Töregene]] took over the empire. She persecuted her husband's Khitan and Muslim officials, giving high positions to her own allies. She built palaces, cathedrals, and social structures on an imperial scale, supporting religion and education.<ref name="Jackson. p. 95">Jackson. ''Mongols and the West''. p. 95.</ref> She was able to win over most Mongol aristocrats to support Ögedei's son [[Güyük Khan|Güyük]]. But Batu, ruler of the [[Golden Horde]], refused to come to the kurultai, claiming that he was ill and that the Mongolian climate was too harsh for him. The resulting stalemate lasted more than four years and further destabilized the unity of the empire.<ref name="Jackson. p. 95"/>

[[File:Цар Батий на престолі.jpg|thumb|left|[[Batu Khan]] consolidates the [[Golden Horde]]]]

When Genghis Khan's youngest brother [[Temüge]] threatened Töregene to seize the throne, Güyük came to Karakorum to try to secure his position.<ref>The Academy of Russian science and the academy of Mongolian science ''Tataro-Mongols in Europe and Asia''. p. 89.</ref> Batu eventually agreed to send his brothers and generals to the kurultai convened by Töregene in 1246. Güyük by this time was ill and alcoholic, but his campaigns in Manchuria and Europe gave him the kind of stature necessary for a great khan. He was duly elected at a ceremony attended by Mongols and foreign dignitaries from both within and without the empire — leaders of vassal nations, representatives from Rome, and other entities who came to the kurultai to show their respects and negotiate diplomacy.<ref>Weatherford. p. 163.</ref><ref>Man. ''Kublai Khan''. p. 28.</ref>

[[Image:LetterGuyugToInnocence.jpg|thumb|100px|[[Güyük Khan]] demanding [[Pope Innocent IV]]'s submission. The letter was written in [[Persian language|Persian]].]]

Güyük took steps to reduce corruption, announcing that he would continue the policies of his father Ögedei, not Töregene. He punished Töregene's supporters except governor [[Arghun the Elder]]. He also replaced young [[Qara Hülëgü]], the khan of the [[Chagatai Khanate]], with his favorite cousin [[Yesü Möngke]] to assert his newly conferred powers.<ref name=atwood-255>Atwood. p. 255.</ref> He restored his father's officials to their former positions and was surrounded by the Uyghur, [[Naimans|Naiman]], and Central Asian officials, favoring [[Han Chinese]] commanders who helped his father conquer Northern China. He continued military operations in Korea, advanced into Song China in the south and Iraq in the west, and ordered an empire-wide census. Güyük also divided the Sultanate of Rum between [[Kaykaus II|Izz-ad-Din Kaykawus]] and [[Kilij Arslan IV|Rukn ad-Din Kilij Arslan]], though Kaykawus disagreed with this decision.<ref name=atwood-255/>

Not all parts of the empire respected Güyük's election. The [[Hashshashin]]s, former Mongol allies whose Grand Master Hasan Jalalud-Din had offered his submission to Genghis Khan in 1221, angered Güyük by refusing to submit. He instead murdered Mongol generals in Persia. Güyük appointed his best friend's father [[Eljigidei]] as chief commander of the troops in Persia and gave them the task of both reducing the strongholds of the [[Assassins]] Muslim movement and conquering the [[Abbasids]] in the center of the Islamic world, Iran and [[Iraq]].<ref name=atwood-255/><ref>D. Bayarsaikhan. ''Ezen khaaniig Ismailiinhan horooson uu'' (Did the Ismailis kill the great khan){{Better source|date=February 2012}}</ref><ref>Weatherford. p. 179.</ref>

====Death of Güyük (1248)====
In 1248, Güyük raised more troops and suddenly marched westwards from the Mongol capital of Karakorum. The reasoning was unclear. Some sources wrote that he sought to recuperate his personal property Emyl; others suggested that he might have been moving to join Eljigidei to conduct a full-scale conquest of the Middle East or possibly to make a surprise attack on his rival cousin Batu Khan in Russia.<ref name="Atwood. p. 213">Atwood. p. 213.</ref>

Suspicious of Güyük's motives, [[Sorghaghtani Beki]], the widow of Genghis's son Tolui, secretly warned her nephew Batu of Güyük's approach. Batu had himself been traveling eastwards at the time, possibly to pay homage, or perhaps with other plans in mind. Before the forces of Batu and Güyük met, Güyük, sick and worn out by travel, died en route at Qum-Senggir (Hong-siang-yi-eulh) in [[Xinjiang]], possibly a victim of poison.<ref name="Atwood. p. 213"/>

[[File:Turtle-Karakorum.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Photograph of a field with a large stone tortoise|Bixi (tortoise)|A [[Stone Turtle]] at the site of the Mongol capital, [[Karakorum]].]]

Güyük's widow [[Oghul Qaimish]] stepped forward to take control of the empire, but she lacked the skills of her mother-in-law Töregene, and her young sons Khoja and Naku and other princes challenged her authority. To decide on a new great khan, Batu called a kurultai on his own territory in 1250. As it was far from the Mongolian heartland, members of the Ögedeid and Chagataid families refused to attend. The kurultai offered the throne to Batu, but he rejected it, claiming he had no interest in the position.<ref name="Morgan. The Mongols. p. 159">Morgan. ''The Mongols''. p. 159.</ref>

Batu instead nominated [[Möngke Khan|Möngke]], a grandson of Genghis from his son Tolui's lineage. Möngke was leading a Mongol army in Russia, the Northern Caucasus, and Hungary. The pro-Tolui faction rose up and supported Batu's choice, and Möngke was elected, though given the kurultai's limited attendance and location, it was of questionable validity.<ref name="Morgan. The Mongols. p. 159"/>

Batu sent Möngke under the protection of his brothers, [[Berke]] and Tukhtemur, and his son [[Sartaq]] to assemble a more formal kurultai at Kodoe Aral in the heartland. The supporters of Möngke invited Oghul Qaimish and other main Ögedeid and Chagataid princes to attend the kurultai, but they refused each time. The Ögedeid and Chagataid princes refused to accept a descendant of Genghis's son Tolui as leader, demanding that only descendants of Genghis's son Ögedei could be great khan.<ref name="Morgan. The Mongols. p. 159"/>

===Rule of Möngke Khan (1251–1259)===
When Möngke's mother Sorghaghtani and their cousin [[Berke]] organized a second kurultai on July 1, 1251, the assembled throng proclaimed Möngke great khan of the Mongol Empire. This marked a major shift in the leadership of the empire, transferring power from the descendants of Genghis's son Ögedei to the descendants of Genghis's son Tolui. The decision was acknowledged by a few of the Ögedeid and Chagataid princes, such as Möngke's cousin [[Kadan]] and the deposed khan Qara Hülëgü, but one of the other legitimate heirs, Ögedei's grandson Shiremun, sought to topple Möngke.<ref name="Morgan. pp. 103">Morgan. ''The Mongols''. pp. 103–104.</ref>

Shiremun moved with his own forces towards the emperor's nomadic palace with a plan for an armed attack, but Möngke was alerted by his falconer of the plan. Möngke ordered an investigation of the plot, which led to a series of major trials all across the empire. Many members of the Mongol elite were found guilty and put to death, with estimates ranging from 77–300, though princes of Genghis's royal line were often exiled rather than executed.<ref name="Morgan. pp. 103"/>

Möngke eliminated the estates of the Ögedeid and the Chagatai families and shared the western part of the empire with his ally [[Batu Khan]]. After the bloody purge, Möngke ordered a general amnesty for prisoners and captives, but thereafter the power of the great khan's throne remained firmly with the descendants of Genghis's son Tolui.<ref name="Morgan. pp. 103"/>

====Administrative reforms====
Möngke was a serious man who followed the laws of his ancestors and avoided alcoholism. He was tolerant of outside religions and artistic styles, leading to the building of foreign merchants' quarters, [[Buddhist monasteries]], [[mosques]], and [[Christian churches]] in the Mongol capital. As construction projects continued, Karakorum was adorned with Chinese, European, and [[Persian architecture]]. One famous example was a large silver tree with cleverly designed pipes that dispensed various drinks. The tree, topped by a triumphant angel, was crafted by [[Guillaume Boucher]], a Parisian goldsmith.<ref>{{cite journal|title=European Captives and Craftsmen Among the Mongols, 1231–1255|author=Guzman, Gregory G.|journal=[[The Historian (journal)|The Historian]]|volume=72|issue=1|pages=122–150|date=Spring 2010|doi=10.1111/j.1540-6563.2009.00259.x}}</ref>

[[File:Hulagu Khan.jpg|thumb||left|alt=Stylized line drawing of Hulagu, seated and drinking from a bowl|[[Hulagu]], Genghis Khan's grandson and founder of the [[Il-Khanate]]. From a medieval Persian manuscript.]]

Although he had a strong Chinese contingent, Möngke relied heavily on Muslim and Mongol administrators and launched a series of economic reforms to make government expenses more predictable. His court limited government spending and prohibited nobles and troops from abusing civilians or issuing edicts without authorization. He commuted the contribution system into a fixed poll tax that was collected by imperial agents and forwarded to units in need.<ref name="Allsen. p. 280">Allsen. ''Mongol Imperialism''. p. 280.</ref>

His court also tried to lighten the tax burden on commoners by reducing tax rates. Along with the reform of the [[tax system]], he reinforced the guards at the postal relays and centralized control of monetary affairs. Möngke also ordered an empire-wide census in 1252 that took several years to complete, not finished until [[Novgorod]] in the far northwest was counted in 1258.<ref name="Allsen. p. 280"/>

In another move to consolidate his power, Möngke assigned his brothers [[Hulagu]] and [[Kublai]] to rule Persia and Mongol-held China. In the southern part of the empire, he continued his predecessors' struggle against the [[Song dynasty]]. In order to outflank the Song from three directions, Möngke dispatched Mongol armies under his brother Kublai to [[Yunnan]], and under his uncle Iyeku to subdue Korea and pressure the Song from that direction as well.<ref name=atwood-255/>

Kublai conquered the [[Dali Kingdom]] in 1253 after the Dali King Duan Xingzhi defected to the Mongols and helped them conquer the rest of Yunnan, and Möngke's general Qoridai stabilized his control over Tibet, inducing leading monasteries to submit to Mongol rule. Subutai's son Uryankhadai reduced the neighboring peoples of Yunnan to submission and defeated the [[Trần dynasty]] in northern Vietnam in 1257, but they had to draw back in 1258.<ref name=atwood-255/> The Mongol Empire tried to invade Vietnam again in 1284 and 1287 but were defeated both times.

====New invasions of the Middle East and Southern China====
{{main article|Mongol invasions of the Levant}}
{{See also|Mongol invasion of China|Siege of Baghdad (1258)}}
[[File:DiezAlbumsFallOfBaghdad.jpg|thumb|Mongol invasion of Baghdad]]

After stabilizing the empire's finances, Möngke once again sought to expand its borders. At kurultais in Karakorum in 1253 and 1258 he approved new invasions of the Middle East and [[South Central China|south China]]. Möngke put Hulagu in overall charge of military and civil affairs in Persia, and appointed Chagataids and Jochids to join Hulagu's army.<ref name="Morgan. The Mongols. p. 129">Morgan. ''The Mongols''. p. 129.</ref>

The Muslims from [[Qazvin]] denounced the menace of the [[Nizari]] [[Ismailis]], a heretical sect of [[Shiites]]. The Mongol Naiman commander [[Kitbuqa]] began to assault several Ismaili fortresses in 1253, before Hulagu deliberately advanced in 1256. Ismaili Grand Master [[Rukn ud-Din]] surrendered in 1257 and was executed. All of the Ismaili strongholds in Persia were destroyed by Hulagu's army in 1257, though Girdukh held out until 1271.<ref name="Morgan. The Mongols. p. 129"/>

[[File:Bagdad1258.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Colorful medieval depiction of a siege, showing the city of Baghdad surrounded by walls, and the Mongol army outside|[[Siege of Baghdad (1258)|Fall of Baghdad, 1258]]]]

The center of the Islamic Empire at the time was Baghdad, which had held power for 500 years but was suffering internal divisions. When its caliph [[al-Mustasim]] refused to submit to the Mongols, [[Battle of Baghdad (1258)|Baghdad was besieged and captured]] by the Mongols in 1258, an event considered as one of the more catastrophic events in the history of Islam, and sometimes compared to the rupture of the [[Kaaba]]. With the destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate, Hulagu had an open route to Syria and moved against the other Muslim powers in the region.<ref name="Morgan. pp. 132">Morgan. ''The Mongols''. pp. 132–135.</ref>

His army advanced towards [[Ayyubid]]-ruled Syria, capturing small local states en route. The sultan [[Al-Nasir Yusuf]] of the Ayyubids refused to show himself before Hulagu; however, he had accepted Mongol supremacy two decades earlier. When Hulagu headed further west, the [[Lesser Armenia|Armenians]] from [[Cilicia]], the [[Seljuks]] from [[Rum]] and the Christian realms of [[Antioch]] and [[Tripoli]] submitted to Mongol authority, joining the Mongols in their assault against the Muslims. While some cities surrendered without resisting, others such as Mayafarriqin fought back; their populations were massacred and the cities were sacked.<ref name="Morgan. pp. 132"/>

====Death of Möngke Khan (1259)====
[[File:MongolEmpire.jpg|thumb|alt=Map of Asia|The extent of the Mongol Empire after the death of [[Möngke Khan]] (reigned 1251–59).]]

Meanwhile, in the northwestern portion of the empire, Batu's successor and younger brother [[Berke]] sent punitive expeditions to Ukraine, Belarus, [[Lithuania]], and Poland. Dissension began brewing between the northwestern and southwestern sections of the Mongol Empire as Batu suspected that Hulagu's invasion of Western Asia would result in the elimination of Batu's own predominance there.<ref>Morgan. ''The Mongols''. pp. 127–128.</ref>

In the southern part of the empire, Möngke Khan himself led his army to complete the conquest of China. Military operations were generally successful, but prolonged, so the forces did not withdraw to the north as was customary when the weather turned hot. Disease ravaged the Mongol forces with bloody epidemics, and Möngke died there on August 11, 1259. This event began a new chapter of history for the Mongols, as again a decision needed to be made on a new great khan. Mongol armies across the empire withdrew from their campaigns to once again convene for a new kurultai.<ref>Lane. p. 9.</ref>

===Disunity===
<!--Linked from [[Mongol invasions and conquests]]-->

====Dispute over succession====
[[File:DiezAlbumsArmedRiders II.jpg|thumb|The Mongols at war]]

Möngke's brother Hulagu broke off his successful military advance into Syria, withdrawing the bulk of his forces to [[Mughan]] and leaving only a small contingent under his general [[Kitbuqa]]. The opposing forces in the region, the Christian Crusaders and Muslim Mamluks, both recognizing that the Mongols were the greater threat, took advantage of the weakened state of the Mongol army and engaged in an unusual passive truce with each other.<ref name="Morgan. The Mongols. p. 138">Morgan. ''The Mongols''. p. 138.</ref>

In 1260, the Mamluks advanced from Egypt, being allowed to camp and resupply near the Christian stronghold of [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], and engaged Kitbuqa's forces just north of Galilee at the [[Battle of Ain Jalut]]. The Mongols were defeated, and Kitbuqa executed. This pivotal battle marked the western limit for Mongol expansion, and the Mongols were never again able to make any serious military advances farther than Syria.<ref name="Morgan. The Mongols. p. 138"/>

In a separate part of the empire, [[Kublai Khan]], another brother of Hulagu and Möngke, heard of the great khan's death at the Huai River in China. Rather than returning to the capital, he continued his advance into the [[Wuchang District|Wuchang]] area of China, near the [[Yangtze River]]. Their younger brother [[Ariq Böke|Ariqboke]] took advantage of the absence of Hulagu and Kublai, and used his position at the capital to win the title of great khan for himself, with representatives of all the family branches proclaiming him as the leader at the kurultai in Karakorum. When Kublai learned of this, he summoned his own kurultai at [[Kaiping]], and nearly all the senior princes and great noyans in North China and Manchuria supported his own candidacy over that of Ariqboke.<ref name="Morgan. p. 104"/>

====Mongolian Civil War ====
{{See also|Toluid Civil War|Berke–Hulagu war}}
[[File:YuanEmperorAlbumKhubilaiPortrait.jpg|thumb|left|[[Kublai Khan]], [[Genghis Khan]]'s grandson and founder of the Yuan dynasty]]

Battles ensued between the armies of Kublai and those of his brother Ariqboke, which included forces still loyal to Möngke's previous administration. Kublai's army easily eliminated Ariqboke's supporters and seized control of the civil administration in southern Mongolia. Further challenges took place from their cousins, the Chagataids.<ref name="Wassaf p. 12">Wassaf. p. 12.{{full citation needed|date=November 2012}}</ref><ref name="Jackson. p. 109">Jackson. ''Mongols and the West''. p. 109.</ref><ref name="Barthold. Turkestan. p. 488">Barthold. ''Turkestan''. p. 488.</ref> Kublai sent Abishka, a Chagataid prince loyal to him, to take charge of Chagatai's realm. But Ariqboke captured and then executed Abishka, having his own man [[Alghu]] crowned there instead. Kublai's new administration blockaded Ariqboke in Mongolia to cut food supplies, causing a famine. Karakorum fell quickly to Kublai, but Ariqboke rallied and re-took the capital in 1261.<ref name="Wassaf p. 12"/><ref name="Jackson. p. 109"/><ref name="Barthold. Turkestan. p. 488"/>

In the southwestern Ilkhanate, Hulagu was loyal to his brother Kublai, but clashes with their cousin Berke, the ruler of the [[Golden Horde]] in the northwestern part of the empire, began in 1262. The suspicious deaths of Jochid princes in Hulagu's service, unequal distribution of war booty, and Hulagu's massacres of the Muslims increased the anger of Berke, who considered supporting a rebellion of the Georgian Kingdom against Hulagu's rule in 1259–1260.<ref>L. N.Gumilev, A. Kruchki. ''Black legend''</ref>{{full citation needed|date=November 2012}} Berke also forged an alliance with the Egyptian Mamluks against Hulagu and supported Kublai's rival claimant, Ariqboke.<ref name=barthold>Barthold. ''Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion''. p. 446.</ref>

Hulagu died on February 8, 1264. Berke sought to take advantage and invade Hulagu's realm, but he died along the way, and a few months later Alghu Khan of the Chagatai Khanate died as well. Kublai named Hulagu's son [[Abaqa Khan|Abaqa]] as a new Ilkhan, and Abaqa sought foreign alliances, such as attempting to form a [[Franco-Mongol alliance]] with the Europeans against the Egyptian Mamluks. Kublai nominated Batu's grandson [[Möngke Temür]] to lead the Golden Horde.<ref>Prawdin. ''Mongol Empire and Its Legacy''. p. 302.</ref> Ariqboqe surrendered to Kublai at [[Shangdu]] on August 21, 1264.<ref>Weatherford. p. 120.</ref>

==== Campaigns of Kublai Khan (1264–1294) ====
{{Main article|Kublai Khan's Campaigns}}
[[File:Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba 2.jpg|thumb|right|The [[samurai]] [[Takezaki Suenaga|Suenaga]] facing Mongol arrows and bombs. ''[[Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba]]'' (蒙古襲来絵詞), circa 1293.]]

In the south, after [[Battle of Xiangyang|the fall of Xiangyang]] in 1273, the Mongols sought the final conquest of the Song dynasty in South China. In 1271, Kublai renamed the new Mongol regime in China as the [[Yuan dynasty]] and sought to [[sinicize]] his image as [[Emperor of China]] to win the control of the Chinese people. Kublai moved his headquarters to [[Khanbaliq|Dadu]], the genesis for what later became the modern city of [[Beijing]], although his establishment of a capital there was a controversial move to many Mongols who accused him of being too closely tied to [[Chinese culture]].<ref>Man. ''Kublai Khan''. p. 74.</ref><ref>Sh.Tseyen-Oidov – Ibid. p. 64.</ref>

The Mongols were eventually successful in their campaigns against (Song) China, and the Chinese [[Southern Song|Song imperial family]] surrendered to the Yuan in 1276, making the Mongols the first non-Chinese people to conquer all of China. Kublai used his base to build a powerful empire, creating an academy, offices, trade ports and canals, and sponsoring arts and science. Mongol records list 20,166 public schools created during his reign.<ref name=man/>

[[File:Mongol warrior of Genghis Khan.jpg|thumb|left|Mongol warrior on horseback, preparing a mounted archery shot.]]

After achieving actual or nominal dominion over much of Eurasia and successfully conquering China, Kublai pursued further expansion. His [[First Mongol invasion of Burma|invasions of Burma]] and [[Sakhalin]] were costly, and his [[Mongol invasions of Vietnam|attempted invasions]] of [[Vietnam|Annam]] and [[Champa]] ended in devastating defeat, but secured vassal statuses of those countries. The Mongol armies were massacred and smashed repeatedly in Annam and at the [[Battle of Bạch Đằng (1288)]]. Annam (Vietnam) was ruled by the [[Tran dynasty]]. The Chinese region of [[Fujian]] was the original home of the Chinese Tran (Chen) clan before they migrated under Trần Kinh (陳京, Chén Jīng) to Dai Viet and whose descendants established the Trần dynasty which ruled Vietnam Đại Việt, and certain members of the clan could still speak Chinese when a Yuan dynasty envoy had a meeting with the Chinese-speaking Trần prince Trần Quốc Tuấn (later King [[Trần Hưng Đạo]]) in 1282.<ref name="Taylor2013">{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=K. W.|title=A History of the Vietnamese|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6UHi9JXNokEC&pg=PA103|accessdate=21 September 2016|edition=1st|year=2013|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-107-24435-1|pages=103, 120}}</ref><ref name="Hall2008">{{cite book|editor=Kenneth R. Hall|title=Secondary Cities and Urban Networking in the Indian Ocean Realm, C. 1400-1800|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyPjBevBHxcC&pg=PA159|accessdate=21 September 2016|year=2008|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-0-7391-2835-0|page=159}}</ref><ref name="WernerWhitmore2012">{{cite book|editor1=Dutton, George E.|editor2=Jayne S. Werner|editor3=John K. Whitmore|title=Sources of Vietnamese Tradition|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZHD4Asj0FagC&pg=PT90|year=2012|publisher=Columbia University Press|isbn=978-0-231-51110-0|page=90}}</ref><ref name="Gunn2011">{{cite book|last=Gunn|first=Geoffrey C.|title=History Without Borders: The Making of an Asian World Region, 1000-1800|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E10tnvapZt0C&pg=PA112|accessdate=21 September 2016|year=2011|publisher=Hong Kong University Press|isbn=978-988-8083-34-3|page=112}}</ref><ref name="EmbreeLewis1988">{{cite book|last1=Embree|first1=Ainslie Thomas|authorlink1=Ainslie Embree|author2=Robin Jeanne Lewis|title=Encyclopedia of Asian history|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cNwpAQAAMAAJ|accessdate=21 September 2016|year=1988|publisher=Scribner|page=190}}</ref><ref name="Woodside1971">{{cite book|last=Woodside|first=Alexander|title=Vietnam and the Chinese Model: A Comparative Study of Vietnamese and Chinese Government in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0LgSI9UQNpwC&pg=PA8|accessdate=21 September 2016|year=1971|publisher=Harvard Univ Asia Center|isbn=978-0-674-93721-5|page=8}}</ref> However, further [[Mongol invasion of Japan|Mongol invasions of Japan]] in 1274 and 1280, and of [[Mongol invasion of Java|Java]] in 1293 failed.<ref name=man>Man. ''Kublai Khan''. p. 207.</ref>

Nogai and [[Köchü|Konchi]], the khan of the [[White Horde]], established friendly relations with the Yuan dynasty and the Ilkhanate. Political disagreement among contending branches of the family over the office of great khan continued, but the economic and commercial success of the Mongol Empire continued despite the squabbling.<ref>Weatherford. p. 195.</ref><ref>Vernadsky. ''The Mongols and Russia''. pp. 344–366.{{full citation needed|date=November 2012}}</ref><ref>Henryk Samsonowicz, Maria Bogucka. ''A Republic of Nobles''. p. 179.{{full citation needed|date=November 2012}}</ref>

===Disintegration into competing entities===
{{Main article|Division of the Mongol Empire}}
[[File:Funérailles de Tchaghataï.jpeg|thumb|The funeral of [[Chagatai Khan]].]]

Major changes occurred in the Mongol Empire in the late 1200s. Kublai Khan, after having conquered all of China and established the Yuan dynasty, died in 1294, and was succeeded by his grandson [[Temür Khan]], who continued Kublai's policies. At the same time, the [[Toluid Civil War]], along with the [[Berke–Hulagu war]] and the subsequent [[Kaidu–Kublai war]] greatly weakened the authority of the great khan over the entirety of the Mongol Empire and the empire fractured into autonomous khanates, including the Yuan dynasty and the three western khanates (the [[Golden Horde]], the [[Chagatai Khanate]] and the [[Ilkhanate]]). All of them became functionally autonomous; only the Ilkhanate remained loyal to the Yuan court but endured its own power struggle, in part because of a dispute with the growing Islamic factions within the southwestern part of the empire.<ref name="ReferenceA">Prawdin. {{Page needed|date=February 2012}}</ref>

After the death of [[Kaidu]], the Chatagai ruler Duwa initiated a peace proposal and persuaded the Ögedeids to submit to Temür Khan.<ref>d.Ohson. ''History of the Mongols. p. II''. p. 355.{{full citation needed|date=November 2012}}</ref><ref>Sh.Tseyen-Oidov. ''Genghis bogdoos Ligden khutagt khurtel (khaad)''. p. 81.{{full citation needed|date=November 2012}}</ref> In 1304, all khanates approved a peace treaty and accepted Yuan emperor Temür's supremacy.<ref>Vernadsky – ''The Mongols and Russia''. p. 74.</ref><ref>Oljeitu's letter to Philipp the Fair</ref><ref>J. J. Saunders ''The History of the Mongol conquests''</ref><ref>Howorth. p. 145.</ref> This established the nominal supremacy of the Yuan dynasty over the western khanates. While this supremacy based on nothing like the same foundations as that of the earlier Khagans (such as the continued border clashes among them) and each of the four khanates continued to develop separately and function as different states, the nominal supremacy did last for a few decades.

Nearly a century of conquest and civil war was followed by relative stability (''[[Pax Mongolica]]''), and international trade and cultural exchanges flourished between Asia and Europe. Communication between the Yuan dynasty in China and Ilkhanate in Persia further encouraged trade and commerce between east and west. Patterns of Yuan royal textiles could be found on the opposite side of the empire adorning Armenian decorations; trees and vegetables were transplanted across the empire; and technological innovations spread from Mongol dominions towards the West.<ref>Weatherford. p. 236.</ref>{{citation needed|date=February 2012}} [[Pope John XXII]] was presented a memorandum from the eastern church describing the Pax Mongolica: "... Khagan is one of the greatest monarchs and all lords of the state, e.g., the king of Almaligh (Chagatai Khanate), emperor Abu Said and Uzbek Khan, are his subjects, saluting his holiness to pay their respects."<ref>Vernadsky. p. 93.</ref> However, while the four khanates continued to interact with one another well into the 14th century, they did so as [[sovereign state]]s and never again pooled their resources in a cooperative military endeavor.<ref>The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, by Denis C. Twitchett, Herbert Franke, John King Fairbank, p413</ref>

====Developments of the khanates====
[[File:Temür Chabar Toqta Öldjeïtu.jpeg|thumb|A European depiction of the four khans, Temür (Yuan), Chapar ([[House of Ögedei]]), [[Toqta]] (Golden Horde), and Öljaitü (Ilkhanate), in the ''Fleur des histoires d'orient''.<ref>Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits. Division occidentale. Nouvelle acquisition française 886, fol. 37v</ref>]]

In spite of his conflicts with Kaidu and Duwa, Yuan emperor Temür established a tributary relationship with the war-like [[Shan people|Shan]] brothers after his series of military operations against [[Thailand]] from 1297 to 1303. This was to mark the end of the southern expansion of the Mongols.

When [[Ghazan]] took the throne of the Ilkhanate in 1295, he formally accepted Islam as his own religion, marking a turning point in Mongol history after which Mongol Persia became more and more Islamic. Despite this though, Ghazan continued to strengthen ties with Temür Khan and the Yuan dynasty in the east. It was politically useful to advertise the great khan's authority in the Ilkhanate, because the [[Golden Horde]] in Russia had long made claims on nearby Georgia.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Within four years, Ghazan began sending tributes to the Yuan court and appealing to other khans to accept Temür Khan as their overlord. He oversaw an extensive program of cultural and scientific interaction between the Ilkhanate and the Yuan dynasty in the following decades.<ref>Allsen. ''Culture and Conquest''. pp. 32–35.</ref>

Ghazan's faith may have been Islamic, but he continued his ancestors' war with the Egyptian Mamluks, and consulted with his old Mongolian advisers in his native tongue. He defeated the Mamluk army at the [[Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar]] in 1299, but he was only briefly able to occupy Syria, due to distracting raids from the [[Chagatai Khanate]] under its ''de facto'' ruler [[Kaidu]], who was [[Kaidu–Kublai war|at war]] with both the Ilkhans and the Yuan dynasty.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

Struggling for influence within the Golden Horde, Kaidu sponsored his own candidate Kobeleg against [[Bayan (khan)|Bayan]] (r. 1299–1304), the khan of the White Horde. Bayan, after receiving military support from the Mongols in Russia, requested assistance from both Temür Khan and the Ilkhanate to organize a unified attack against Kaidu's forces. Temür was amenable and enlarged counterattacks against Kaidu a year later. After a bloody battle with Temür's armies near [[Zawkhan River]] in 1301, the old valiant Kaidu died and was succeeded by [[Duwa]].<ref>René Grousset. ''The Empire of the Steppes''</ref><ref>Atwood. p. 445.</ref>

[[File:MongolsInHungary1241.jpg|thumb|Hungarian King [[Béla IV]] in flight from the Mongols under general [[Kadan]] of the [[Golden Horde]].]]
Duwa was challenged by Kaidu's son Chapar, but with the assistance of Temür, Duwa defeated the Ögedeids. [[Tokhta]] of the Golden Horde, also seeking a general peace, sent 20,000 men to buttress the Yuan frontier.<ref>Atwood. p. 106.</ref> Tokhta died in 1312, though, and was succeeded by [[Ozbeg]] (r. 1313–41), who seized the throne of the Golden Horde and persecuted non-Muslim Mongols. The Yuan's influence on the Horde was largely reversed and border clashes between Mongol states resumed. [[Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan]]'s envoys backed Tokhta's son against Ozbeg.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

In the Chagatai Khanate, [[Esen Buqa I]] (r. 1309-1318) was enthroned as khan after suppressing a sudden rebellion by Ögedei's descendants and driving Chapar into exile. The Yuan and Ilkhanid armies eventually attacked the Chagatai Khanate. Realizing economic benefits and the Genghisid legacy, Ozbeg reopened friendly relations with the Yuan in 1326, and strengthened ties with the Muslim world as well, building mosques and other elaborate places such as baths.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}} By the second decade of the 14th century, Mongol invasions had further decreased. In 1323, [[Abu Sa'id (Ilkhanid dynasty)|Abu Said Khan]] (r. 1316-35) of the Ilkhanate signed a peace treaty with Egypt. At his request, the Yuan court awarded his custodian [[Chupan]] the title of commander-in-chief of all Mongol khanates, but Chupan died in late 1327.<ref>Allsen. ''Culture and Conquest''. p. 39.</ref>

[[Civil war]] erupted in the Yuan dynasty in 1328–29. After the death of Yesün Temür in 1328, [[Tugh Temür]] became the new leader in Dadu, while Yesün Temür's son [[Ragibagh Khan|Ragibagh]] succeeded to the throne in Shangdu, leading to the civil war known as the [[War of the Two Capitals]]. Tugh Temür defeated Ragibagh, but the Chagatai khan [[Eljigidey]] (r. 1326–29) supported [[Kusala]], elder brother of Tugh Temür, as great khan. He invaded with a commanding force, and Tugh Temür abdicated. Kusala was elected khan on August 30, 1329. Kusala was then poisoned by a [[Kypchak]] commander under Tugh Temür, who returned to power. Tugh Temür (1304–32) was knowledgeable about Chinese language and history and was also a creditable poet, calligrapher, and painter. In order to be accepted by other khanates as the sovereign of the Mongol world, he sent Genghisid princes and descendants of other notable Mongol generals to the Chagatai Khanate, Ilkhan Abu Said, and Ozbeg. In response to the emissaries, they all agreed to send tribute each year.<ref>Franke. pp. 541–550.</ref> Furthermore, Tugh Temür gave lavish presents and an imperial seal to Eljigidey to mollify his anger.

===Relict states of the Mongol Empire===
[[File:MongolEmpireDivisions1300.png|thumb|250px|left|alt=Map of Asia|The relict states of the Mongol Empire by 1300.]]

With the death of Ilkhan [[Abu Sa'id (Ilkhanid dynasty)|Abu Said Bahatur]] in 1335, Mongol rule faltered and Persia fell into political anarchy. A year later his successor was killed by an Oirat governor, and the Ilkhanate was divided between the Suldus, the [[Jalayir]], [[Jöchi Khasar|Qasarid]] [[Togha Temür]] (d. 1353), and Persian warlords. Taking advantage of the chaos, the Georgians pushed the Mongols out of their own territory, and the Uyghur commander [[Ghiyath al-Din Eretna|Eretna]] established an independent state ([[Ertenids]]) in [[Anatolia]] in 1336. Following the downfall of their Mongol masters, the loyal vassal, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, received escalating threats from the Mamluks and were eventually overrun.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

Along with the dissolution of the Ilkhanate in Persia, Mongol rulers in China and the [[Chagatai Khanate]] were also in turmoil. The plague known as the [[Black Death]], which started in the Mongol dominions and spread to Europe, added to the confusion. Disease devastated all the khanates, cutting off commercial ties and killing millions.<ref>Morgan. ''The Mongols''. pp. 117–118.</ref> Plague may have taken 50 million lives in Europe alone in the 14th century.<ref>Ole Jørgen Benedictow, The Black Death, 1346-1353: The Complete History (2004), [https://books.google.com/books?id=KjLHAOE7irsC&lpg=PP1&dq=black%20death%20numbers%20by%20country&pg=PA382#v=onepage&q=black%20death%20numbers%20by%20country&f=false p.382.]</ref>

[[File:Князь Данило Острозький у битві на Синіх Водах.1362 рік.jpg|thumb|The [[Battle of Blue Waters]] between the armies of [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania|Lithuania]] and the [[Golden Horde]] in 1362]]

As the power of the Mongols declined, chaos erupted throughout the empire as non-Mongol leaders expanded their own influence. The [[Golden Horde]] lost all of its western dominions (including modern [[Belarus]] and [[Ukraine]]) to Poland and [[Lithuania]] from 1342 to 1369. Muslim and non-Muslim princes in the Chagatai Khanate warred with each other from 1331–43, and the Chagatai Khanate disintegrated when non-Genghisid warlords set up their own puppet khans in [[Transoxiana]] and [[Moghulistan]]. [[Janibeg]] Khan (r. 1342–1357) briefly reasserted Jochid dominance over the Chaghataids to restore their former glory. Demanding submission from an offshoot of the Ilkhanate in [[Azerbaijan]], he boasted that "today three uluses are under my control".<ref name="Prawdin. p. 379">Prawdin. p. 379.</ref>

[[File:Menli I Giray.jpg|thumb|left|[[Crimean]] [[Tatar]] [[Khan (title)|khan]], [[Mengli Giray]].]]

However, rival families of the Jochids began fighting for the throne of the Golden Horde after the assassination of his successor [[Berdibek]] Khan in 1359. The last Yuan ruler [[Toghan Temür]] (r. 1333–70) was powerless to regulate those troubles because the empire had nearly reached its end. His court's unbacked currency had entered a [[hyperinflation]]ary spiral and [[Red Turban Rebellion|the Han-Chinese people revolted]] due to the Yuan's harsh restrictions. In the 1350s [[Gongmin of Goryeo]] successfully pushed Mongolian garrisons back and exterminated the family of Toghan Temür Khan's empress while [[Tai Situ Changchub Gyaltsen]] managed to eliminate the Mongol influence in Tibet.<ref name="Prawdin. p. 379"/>

Increasingly isolated from their subjects, the Mongols quickly lost most of China to the rebellious [[Ming dynasty|Ming forces]] in 1368 and fled to their homeland Mongolia. After the overthrow of the [[Yuan dynasty]], the Golden Horde lost touch with Mongolia and China, while the two main parts of the Chagatai Khanate were defeated by [[Timur]] (Tamerlane) (1336–1405), who founded the [[Timurid Empire]]. However, remnants of the Chagatai Khanate survived; the last Chagataid state to survive was the [[Yarkent Khanate]], until its defeat by the Oirat [[Dzungar Khanate]] in the [[Dzungar conquest of Altishahr]] in 1680. The Golden Horde broke into smaller Turkic-hordes that declined steadily in power through four long centuries. Among them, the khanate's shadow [[Great Horde]] survived until 1502, when one of its successors, the [[Crimean Khanate]], sacked Sarai.<ref name="Halperin. p. 28">Halperin. p. 28.</ref> The Crimean Khanate lasted until 1783, whereas khanates such as the [[Khanate of Bukhara]] and the [[Kazakh Khanate]] lasted even longer.

==Military organization==
{{Main article|Mongol military tactics and organization}}
[[File:Genghis Khan The Exhibition (5465078899).jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of a Mongol warrior]]

The number of troops mustered by the Mongols is the subject of some scholarly debate,<ref>Sverdrup. p. 109.</ref> but was at least 105,000 in 1206.<ref>Sverdrup. p. 110.</ref> The Mongol military organization was simple but effective, based on the [[decimal]] system. The army was built up from squads of ten men each, arbans (10 people), zuuns (100), [[Mingghan]]s (1000), and [[Tumen (unit)|tumens]] (10,000).<ref name="Morgan. pp. 80">Morgan. ''The Mongols''. pp. 80–81.</ref>

The Mongols were most famous for their [[Mounted archery|horse archers]], but troops armed with lances were equally skilled, and the Mongols recruited other military talents from the cities they conquered. With experienced Chinese engineers and bombardier corps who were experts in building [[trebuchet]]s, [[Battle of Xiangyang|Xuanfeng]] catapults and other machines, the Mongols could lay siege to fortified positions, sometimes building machinery on the spot using available local resources.<ref name="Morgan. pp. 80"/>

[[File:Subudei.jpg|thumb|left|Mongol general [[Subutai]] of the [[Golden Horde]]]]

Forces under the command of the Mongol Empire were trained, organized, and equipped for mobility and speed. Mongol soldiers were more lightly armored than many of the armies they faced but were able to make up for it with maneuverability. Each Mongol warrior would usually travel with multiple horses, allowing him to quickly switch to a fresh mount as needed. In addition, soldiers of the Mongol army functioned independently of [[Military supply chain management|supply lines]], considerably speeding up army movement.<ref name="Morgan. The Mongols. pp. 74–75">Morgan. ''The Mongols''. pp. 74–75</ref>

Skillful use of couriers enabled these armies to maintain contact with each other and their leadership. Discipline was inculcated during a ''nerge'' (traditional hunt), as reported by [[Ata al-Mulk Juvayni|Juvayni]]. These hunts were distinctive from hunts in other cultures where they were the equivalent to small unit actions. Mongol forces would spread out in a line, surround an entire region, and then drive all of the [[game (food)|game]] within that area together. The goal was to let none of the animals escape and to slaughter them all.<ref name="Morgan. The Mongols. pp. 74–75"/>

Another advantage of the Mongols was their ability to traverse large distances, even in unusually cold winters; for instance, frozen rivers led them like highways to large urban centers on their banks. In addition to siege engineering, the Mongols were also adept at river-work, crossing the river [[Sajó]] in spring flood conditions with thirty thousand cavalry soldiers in a single night during the [[Battle of Mohi]] (April 1241) to defeat the Hungarian king [[Béla IV]]. Similarly, in the attack against the Muslim [[Muhammad II of Khwarezm|Khwarezmshah]], a flotilla of barges was used to prevent escape on the river.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

Traditionally known for their prowess with ground forces, the Mongols rarely used [[navy|naval]] power, with a few exceptions. In the 1260s and 1270s they used seapower while conquering the [[Song dynasty]] of China, though their attempts to mount seaborne campaigns against Japan were unsuccessful. Around the Eastern Mediterranean, their campaigns were almost exclusively land-based, with the seas controlled by the Crusader and Mamluk forces.<ref>Morgan. ''Mongols and the Eastern Mediterranean''</ref>

All military campaigns were preceded by careful planning, reconnaissance, and gathering sensitive information relating to enemy territories and forces. The success, organization, and mobility of the Mongol armies permitted them to fight on several fronts at once. All adult males up to the age of 60 were eligible for conscription into the army, a source of honor in their tribal warrior tradition.<ref>Morgan. ''The Mongols''. p. 75</ref>

==Society==
{{Main article|Society of the Mongol Empire}}

===Law and governance===
{{See also|Organization of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan}}
[[File:DiezAlbumsExecution.jpg|thumb|The executed - long and full beard probably means he is not a Mongol - has been thrown off a cliff.]]

The Mongol Empire was governed by a code of law devised by Genghis, called ''[[Yassa]]'', meaning "order" or "decree". A particular canon of this code was that those of rank shared much of the same hardship as the common man. It also imposed severe penalties — e.g., the death penalty was decreed if one mounted soldier following another did not pick up something dropped from the mount in front. Penalties were also decreed for rape and to some extent for murder. Any resistance to Mongol rule was met with massive collective punishment. Cities were destroyed and their inhabitants slaughtered if they defied Mongol orders.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}} On the whole, the tight discipline made the Mongol Empire extremely safe and well-run.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

Under ''Yassa'', chiefs and generals were selected based on [[meritocracy|merit]]. The empire was governed by a non-democratic, [[parliament]]ary-style central assembly, called [[kurultai]], in which the Mongol chiefs met with the great khan to discuss domestic and foreign policies. Kurultais were also convened for the selection of each new great khan.<ref>San,T. "Dynastic China: An Elementary History" .pg 297</ref> Throughout the empire, trade routes and an extensive postal system (''yam'') were created. Many merchants, messengers, and travelers from China, the Middle East, and Europe used the system. Genghis Khan also created a national seal, encouraged the use of a written alphabet in Mongolia, and exempted teachers, lawyers, and artists from taxes, although taxes were heavy on all other subjects of the empire.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

At the same time the Mongols imported Central Asian Muslims to serve as administrators in China, the Mongols also sent Han Chinese and Khitans from China to serve as administrators over the Muslim population in Bukhara in Central Asia, using foreigners to curtail the power of the local peoples of both lands.<ref>{{cite web|jstor=41930343|journal=Journal of Asian History|title=Sino-Khitan Administration in Mongol Bukhara|last=BUELL|first=Paul D.|volume=Vol. 13|number=No. 2|date=1979|pages=137–8|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag}}</ref> The Mongols were very tolerant of other religions, and never persecuted people on religious grounds. This was associated with their culture and progressive thought. Some historians of the 20th century thought this was a good military strategy: when Genghis was at war with Sultan Muhammad of Khwarezm, other Islamic leaders did not join the fight, as it was seen as a non-holy war between two individuals.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

===Religions===
{{main article|Religion in the Mongol Empire}}
[[File:GhazanConversionToIslam.JPG|thumb|alt=Painting of a stylized building, showing Ghazan kneeling and accepting conversion|[[Persian miniature]] depicting [[Ghazan]]'s conversion from Buddhism to [[Islam]].]]

At the time of Genghis Khan, virtually every religion had found Mongol converts, from [[Buddhism]] to [[Christianity]] and [[Manichaeism]] to [[Islam]], while all religions were accepted in Mongol society. To avoid strife, Genghis Khan set up an institution that ensured complete religious freedom, though he himself was a [[tengrism|tengrist]]. Under his administration, all religious leaders were exempt from taxation and from public service.<ref>Weatherford. p. 69.</ref>

Initially there were few formal places of worship because of the nomadic lifestyle. However, under [[Ögedei Khan|Ögedei]] (1186–1241), several building projects were undertaken in the Mongol capital of [[Karakorum]]. Along with palaces, Ögedei built houses of worship for the Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, and [[Taoism|Taoist]] followers. The dominant religions at that time were [[Shamanism]], [[Tengrism]], and [[Buddhism]], although Ögedei's wife was a Nestorian Christian.<ref>Weatherford. p. 135.</ref> Eventually, each of the successor states adopted the dominant religion of the local populations: the Chinese-Mongolian [[Yuan dynasty]] in the East (originally the great khan's domain) embraced [[Buddhism]], while the three Western khanates (the Central Asian [[Chagatai Khanate]], the Iranian [[Ilkhanate]] and the Eastern European [[Golden Horde]]) adopted [[Islam]].<ref name="Foltz. pp. 105–106">Foltz. pp. 105–106.</ref><ref>Ezzati. ''The Spread of Islam: The Contributing Factors''. p. 274.</ref><ref>Bukharaev. ''Islam in Russia: The Four Seasons''. p. 145.</ref>

===Arts and literature===
{{See also|List of historical cities and towns of Mongolia}}
The oldest surviving literary work in the [[Mongolian language]] is ''[[The Secret History of the Mongols]]'', which was written for the royal family some time after Genghis Khan's death in 1227. It is the most significant native account of Genghis's life and genealogy, covering his origins and childhood through to the establishment of the Mongol Empire and the reign of his son, Ögedei.

Another classic from the empire is the ''[[Jami' al-tawarikh]]'', or "Universal History". It was commissioned in the early 14th century by the Ilkhan [[Abaqa Khan]] as a way of documenting the entire world's history, to help establish the Mongols' own cultural legacy.

Mongol scribes in the 14th century used a mixture of resin and vegetable pigments as a primitive form of [[correction fluid]];<ref>Hull. ''The Mongol Empire''. p. 60</ref> this is arguably its first known usage.

The Mongols also appreciated the visual arts, though their taste in portraiture was strictly focused on portraits of their horses, rather than of people.

===Mail system===
{{main article|Yam (route)}}
[[File:OljeituToPhilippeLeBel1305.jpg|thumb|alt=A partially unrolled scroll, opened from left to right to show a portion of the scroll with widely spaced vertical lines in the Mongol language. Imprinted over two of the lines is an official-looking square red stamp with an intricate design.| A 1305 letter (on a scroll measuring {{convert|302|by|50|cm|ft}}) from the Ilkhan Mongol [[Öljaitü]] to King [[Philip IV of France]].]]

The Mongol Empire had an ingenious and efficient mail system for the time, often referred to by scholars as the [[Yam (route)|Yam]], which had lavishly- furnished and well-guarded relay posts known as ''örtöö'' setup all over the Empire. The ''yam'' system would be replicated later in the United States, in the form of the [[Pony Express]].<ref name="Chambers">Chambers, James. ''The Devil's Horsemen'' Atheneum, 1979, ISBN 0-689-10942-3</ref> A messenger would typically travel {{convert|25|mi|km}} from one station to the next, either receiving a fresh, rested horse, or relaying the mail to the next rider to ensure the speediest possible delivery. The Mongol riders regularly covered {{convert|125|mi|km|-1}} per day, better than the fastest record set by the Pony Express some 600 years later.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

Genghis and his successor [[Ögedei]] built a wide system of roadways, one of which carved the [[Altai Range]]. After his enthronement, Ögedei further organized the road system, ordering the Chagatai Khanate and Golden Horde to link up roads in western parts of the Mongol Empire.<ref>''Secret History of the Mongols''</ref> In order to reduce pressure on households, he set up relay stations with attached households every {{convert|25|mi|km}}. Anyone with [[paiza]] was allowed to stop there for re-mounts and specified rations, while those carrying military identities used the Yam even without a paiza. When the great khan died in Karakorum, news reached the Mongol forces under [[Batu Khan]] in Central Europe within 4–6 weeks thanks to the Yam.<ref name="Weatherford. p. 158"/>

[[Kublai Khan]], founder of the [[Yuan dynasty]], built special relays for high officials, as well as ordinary relays that had hostels. During Kublai's reign, the Yuan communication system consisted of some 1,400 postal stations, which used 50,000 horses, 8,400 oxen, 6,700 mules, 4,000 carts, and 6,000 boats.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

In [[Manchuria]] and southern [[Siberia]], the Mongols still used [[dogsled]] relays for the yam. In the Ilkhanate, Ghazan restored the declining relay system in the Middle East on a restricted scale. He constructed some hostels and decreed that only imperial envoys could receive a stipend. The Jochids of the Golden Horde financed their relay system by a special yam tax.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

==Silk Road==
<!-- This section is linked from [[Silk Road]] -->
{{Main article|Silk Road}}
{{see also|Pax Mongolica|Black Death}}
[[File:Toda Mongke and His Mongol Horde.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Tuda Mengu]] of the [[Golden Horde]].]]

The Mongols had a history of supporting merchants and trade. Genghis Khan had encouraged foreign merchants early in his career, even before uniting the Mongols. Merchants provided him with information about neighboring cultures, served as diplomats and official traders for the Mongols, and were essential for many needed goods, since the Mongols produced little of their own.

Mongols sometimes provided capital for merchants and sent them far afield, in an ''ortoq'' (merchant partner) arrangement. As the empire grew, any merchants or ambassadors with proper documentation and authorization received protection and sanctuary as they traveled through Mongol realms. Well-traveled and relatively well-maintained roads linked lands from the Mediterranean basin to China, greatly increasing overland trade and resulting in some dramatic stories of those who travelled through what would become known as the Silk Road.

Western explorer [[Marco Polo]] traveled east along the Silk Road, and the Chinese Mongol monk [[Rabban Bar Sauma]] made a comparably epic journey along the route, venturing from his home of [[Khanbaliq]] (Beijing) as far as Europe. European missionaries, such as [[William of Rubruck]], also traveled to the Mongol court to convert believers to their cause, or went as papal envoys to correspond with Mongol rulers in an attempt to secure a [[Franco-Mongol alliance]]. It was rare, however, for anyone to journey the full length of Silk Road. Instead, merchants moved products like a bucket brigade, goods being traded from one middleman to another, moving from China all the way to the West; the goods moving over such long distances reached extravagant prices.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

[[File:成吉思汗金币.JPG|thumb|left|An [[Islam]]ic [[gold]] [[coin]] inscribed in the name of [[Genghis Khan]]]]

After Genghis, the merchant partner business continued to flourish under his successors Ögedei and Güyük. Merchants brought clothing, food, information, and other provisions to the imperial palaces, and in return the great khans gave the merchants tax exemptions and allowed them to use the official relay stations of the Mongol Empire. Merchants also served as tax farmers in China, Russia and Iran. If the merchants were attacked by bandits, losses were made up from the imperial treasury.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

Policies changed under the Great Khan [[Möngke Khan|Möngke]]. Because of money laundering and overtaxing, he attempted to limit abuses and sent imperial investigators to supervise the ''ortoq'' businesses. He decreed all merchants must pay commercial and property taxes, and he paid off all drafts drawn by high-ranking Mongol elites from the merchants. This policy continued in the Yuan dynasty.{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}

The fall of the Mongol Empire in the 14th century led to the collapse of the political, cultural, and economic unity along the Silk Road. Turkic tribes seized the western end of the route from the [[Byzantine Empire]], sowing the seeds of a Turkic culture that would later crystallize into the [[Ottoman Empire]] under the [[Sunni]] faith. In the East, the native Chinese overthrew the Yuan dynasty in 1368, launching their own [[Ming dynasty]] and pursuing a policy of economic isolationism.<ref name="footsteps">Guoli Liu ''Chinese Foreign Policy in Transition''. p. 364</ref>

==Legacy==
{{see also|History of Mongolia}}
[[File:Mongols-map.png|thumb|alt=Map of Asia|Map showing the boundary of 13th century Mongol Empire compared to today's Mongols in [[Mongolia]], Russia, the [[Central Asia]]n States, and China]]

The Mongol Empire — at its height the largest contiguous empire in history — had a lasting impact, unifying large regions. Some of these (such as eastern and western Russia and the western parts of China) remain unified today, albeit under different rulership.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Timothy May |url=http://worldhistoryconnected.press.illinois.edu/5.2/may.html |title=The Mongol Empire in World History|volume=5|issue=2|journal=World History Connected|publisher=University of Illinois|date=February 2008|accessdate=2014-02-15}}</ref> Mongols other than the main population might have been assimilated into local populations after the fall of the empire, and some of these descendants adopted local [[religion]]s — for example, the eastern khanate largely adopted [[Buddhism]], and the three western khanates adopted [[Islam]], largely under [[Sufi]] influence.<ref name="Foltz. pp. 105–106"/>

According to some{{specify|date=February 2012}} interpretations, Genghis Khan's conquests caused wholesale destruction on an unprecedented scale in certain geographical regions, leading to changes in the demographics of Asia, such as the mass migration of the Iranian tribes of Central Asia into modern-day Iran. The [[Islamic world]] was also subject to massive changes as a result of Mongol invasions. The population of the Iranian plateau suffered from widespread disease and famine, resulting in the deaths of up to three-quarters of its population, possibly 10 to 15 million people. Historian Steven Ward estimates that Iran's population did not again reach its pre-Mongol levels until the mid-20th century.<ref name="Steve Ward">{{cite book|last=R. Ward|first=Steven|title=Immortal: A Military History of Iran and Its Armed Forces|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8eUTLaaVOOQC&pg=PA39&dq#v=onepage&q=&f=false|publisher=Georgetown University Press|year=2009|page=39|isbn=1-58901-258-5}}</ref>

Non-military achievements of the Mongol Empire included the introduction of a writing system, a Mongol alphabet based on [[Uyghur language]] characters, that is still used today in [[Inner Mongolia]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hahn|first1=Reinhard F.|title=Spoken Uyghur|year=1991|publisher=University of Washington Press|location=London and Seattle|isbn=978-0-295-98651-7}}</ref>

[[File:Facial Chronicle - b.10, p.049 - Tokhtamysh at Moscow.jpg|thumb|[[Tokhtamysh]] and the armies of the [[Golden Horde]] initiate the [[Siege of Moscow (1382)]].]]

Some of the other long-term consequences of the Mongol Empire include:

* Moscow rose to prominence during the [[Timeline of the Tataro-Mongol Yoke in Russia|Mongol-Tatar yoke]], some time after Russian rulers were accorded the status of tax collectors for the Mongols. The fact that the Russians collected tribute and taxes for the Mongols meant that the Mongols themselves would rarely visit the lands that they owned. The Russians eventually gained military power, and their ruler [[Ivan III of Russia|Ivan III]] overthrew the Mongols completely to form the [[Moscow principality|Russian Tsardom]]. After the [[Great stand on the Ugra river]] proved the Mongols vulnerable, the Grand Duke of Moscow gained independence.
* Europe's knowledge of the known world was immensely expanded by the information brought back by ambassadors and merchants. When [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]] sailed in 1492, his missions were to reach [[Cathay]], the land of the Grand Khan in China, and give him a letter from the monarchs [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]] and [[Isabella I of Castile]].{{citation needed|date=February 2012}}
* Some studies indicate that the [[Black Death]] that devastated Europe in the late 1340s may have traveled from China to Europe along the trade routes of the Mongol Empire. In 1347, the [[Republic of Genoa|Genoese]] possessor of [[Feodosiya|Caffa]], a great trade emporium on the [[Crimean Peninsula]], came under siege by an army of Mongol warriors under the command of [[Janibeg]]. After a protracted siege during which the Mongol army was reportedly withering from the disease, they decided to use the infected corpses as a [[biological weapon]]. The corpses were catapulted over the city walls, infecting the inhabitants.<ref>Svat Soucek. ''A History of Inner Asia''. Cambridge University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-521-65704-0. P. 116.</ref> The Genoese traders fled, transferring the plague via their ships into the south of Europe, whence it rapidly spread. The total number of deaths worldwide from the pandemic is estimated at 75 million people, with an estimated 20 million deaths in Europe alone.

[[File:Meczennicy Sandomierscy.jpg|thumb|upright|Dominican martyrs killed by Mongols during the [[Second Mongol invasion of Poland|Mongol invasion of Poland]] in 1260.]]

* Western researcher [[R. J. Rummel]] estimated that 30 million people were killed under the rule of the Mongol Empire. This is a low-end estimate, as some estimates go as high as 80 million, with 50 million deaths being the middle ground. The population of China fell by half in fifty years of Mongol rule. Before the Mongol invasion, the territories of the Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people. While it is tempting to attribute this major decline solely to Mongol ferocity, scholars today have mixed opinions regarding this subject. Scholars such as Frederick W. Mote argue that the wide drop in numbers reflects an administrative failure to record rather than a ''de facto'' decrease, whilst others such as Timothy Brook argue that the Mongols reduced much of the south Chinese population, and very debatably of the Han Chinese population, to an invisible status through cancellation of the right to passports and denial of the right to direct land ownership. This meant that the Chinese had to depend on and be cared for chiefly by Mongols and Tartars, which also involved recruitment into the Mongol army. Other historians such as William McNeill and David Morgan argue that the Bubonic Plague was the main factor behind the demographic decline during this period.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}}
* David Nicole states in ''The Mongol Warlords'', "terror and mass extermination of anyone opposing them was a well tested Mongol tactic."<ref name="Mongol Conquests">{{cite web|url=http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat0.htm#Mongol |title=Mongol Conquests |publisher=Users.erols.com |date= |accessdate=2014-02-15}}</ref> About half of the Russian population may have died during the invasion.<ref name="parallelsixty.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.parallelsixty.com/history-russia.shtml |title=History of Russia, Early Slavs history, Kievan Rus, Mongol invasion |publisher=Parallelsixty.com |date= |accessdate=2014-02-15}}</ref> However, [[Colin McEvedy]] (''Atlas of World Population History, 1978'') estimates the population of Russia-in-Europe dropped from 7.5 million prior to the invasion to 7 million afterwards.<ref name="Mongol Conquests"/> Historians estimate that up to half of Hungary's two million population at that time were victims of the [[Mongol invasion of Europe|Mongol invasion]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-34789/Hungary |title=The Mongol invasion: the last Arpad kings |publisher=Britannica.com |date=2013-11-20 |accessdate=2014-02-15}}</ref> Historian Andrea Peto says that [[Rogerius of Apulia|Rogerius]], an eyewitness, said "the Mongols killed everybody regardless of gender or age" and that "the Mongols especially 'found pleasure' in humiliating women."<ref>Andrea Peto in {{cite book|author1=Richard Bessel|author2=Dirk Schumann|title=Life After Death: Approaches to a Cultural and Social History of Europe During the 1940s and 1950s|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NilW70Yol74C&pg=PA143|year=2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=143}}</ref>

[[File:Babur and Humayun.jpg|thumb|The first [[Mughal Emperor]] [[Babur]] and his heir [[Humayun]].]]

* One of the more successful tactics employed by the Mongols was to wipe out urban populations that refused to surrender. In the [[Mongol invasion of Rus']], almost all major cities were destroyed. If they chose to submit, the people were generally spared, though this was not guaranteed. For example, the city of Hamadan in modern-day Iran was destroyed and every man, woman, and child executed by Mongol general Subadai, after surrendering to him but failing to have enough provisions for his Mongol scouting force. Several days after the initial razing of the city, Subadai sent a force back to the burning ruins and the site of the massacre to kill any inhabitants of the city who had been away at the time of the initial slaughter and had returned in the meantime. Mongolian armies made use of local peoples and their soldiers, often incorporating them into their armies. Prisoners of war sometimes were given the choice between death and becoming part of the Mongol army to aid in future conquests.<ref>The Story of the Mongols Whom We Call the Tartars= Historia Mongalorum Quo s Nos Tartaros Appellamus: Friar Giovanni Di Plano Carpini's Account of His Embassy to the Court of the Mongol Khan by Da Pian Del Carpine Giovanni and Erik Hildinger (Branden BooksApril 1996 ISBN 978-0-8283-2017-7)</ref> In addition to intimidation tactics, the rapid expansion of the empire was facilitated by military hardiness (especially during bitterly cold winters), military skill, meritocracy, and discipline.

[[File:Kalmyk exodus (Geoffroy, 1845).JPG|thumb|Kalmyk migration from Russia to China in 1770–1771]]

* The [[Crimean Khanate]] and other descendants, such as the [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] royal family of South Asia, are also descended from Genghis Khan: [[Babur]]'s mother was a descendant — whereas his father was directly descended from [[Timur]] (Tamerlane). The word ''"Mughol"'' is a Persian word for Mongol.
* The [[Kalmyks]] were the last Mongol nomads to penetrate European territory, having migrated to Europe from Central Asia at the turn of the 17th century. In the winter of 1770–1771, approximately 200,000 Kalmyks began the journey from their pastures on the left bank of the [[Volga River]] to [[Dzungaria]], through the territories of their [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]] and [[Kyrgyz people|Kyrgyz]] enemies. After several months of travel, only one-third of the original group reached Dzungaria in northwest China.<ref>Michael Khodarkovsky (2002)."''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Ti51WfA68RYC&pg=&dq&hl=en#v=onepage&q=&f=false Russia's Steppe Frontier: The Making Of A Colonial Empire, 1500–1800]''". Indiana University Press. p.142. ISBN 0253217709</ref>
* Some Turko-Mongol Khanates lasted into recent centuries: The Crimean Khanate lasted until 1783; the [[Khanate of Bukhara]] until 1785; the [[Kazakh Khanate]] until 1847; the [[Khanate of Kokand]] until 1876; and the [[Khanate of Khiva]] survived under a Russian protectorate until 1917.

==See also==
* [[Mughal-Mongol genealogy]]
* [[Destruction under the Mongol Empire]]
* [[Yelü Chucai]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{Clear}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|30em}}

=== Sources ===
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* {{cite book |author=Allsen, Thomas T.|title=Culture and conquest in Mongol Eurasia|year=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-60270-9}}
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==Further reading==
* Brent, Peter. ''The Mongol Empire: Genghis Khan: His Triumph and his Legacy''. Book Club Associates, London. 1976.
* {{cite book|last1=Buell|given1=Paul D.|year=2003|title=Historical Dictionary of the Mongol World Empire|publisher=The Scarecrow Press, Inc.|isbn=0-8108-4571-7}}
* Cleaves, Francis Woodman. 1954. “A Medical Practice of the Mongols in the Thirteenth Century”. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 17 (3/4). Harvard-Yenching Institute: 428–44. doi:10.2307/2718323. http://www.jstor.org/stable/2718323 
* Halperin, Charles J.. 1983. “Russia in the Mongol Empire in Comparative Perspective”. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 43 (1). Harvard-Yenching Institute: 239–61. doi:10.2307/2719023.
* May, Timothy. "The Mongol Art of War." Westholme Publishing, Yardley. 2007. ISBN 978-1-59416-046-2 / ISBN 1-59416-046-5
* May, Timothy. ''The Mongol Conquests in World History'' (Reaktion Books, distributed by University of Chicago Press; 2012) 319 pages
* Ostrowski, Donald. 1998. “The "tamma" and the Dual-administrative Structure of the Mongol Empire”. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 61 (2). Cambridge University Press: 262–77. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3107652.
* Rossabi, Morris. ''The Mongols: A Very Short Introduction.'' Oxford University Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0199840892

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mongol Empire}}
{{Wikivoyage|Mongol Empire}}
* [http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h11mon.htm Genghis Khan and the Mongols]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090618031319/http://www.allempires.com:80/article/index.php?q=The_Mongol_Empire The Mongol Empire]
* [http://www.accd.edu/sac/history/keller/Mongols/intro.html Mongols]
* [http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/ The Mongols in World History]
* [http://elibrary.sd71.bc.ca/subject_resources/socials/mogolempire.htm The Mongol Empire for students]
* [http://www.paradoxplace.com/Insights/Civilizations/Mongols/Mongols.htm Paradoxplace Insight Pages on the Mongol Emperors]
* [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/rubruck.html William of Rubruck's Account of the Mongols]
* [http://steppes.proboards23.com/index.cgi?board=board18&action=print&thread=1167258099 Mongol invasion of Rus (pictures)]
* [http://necrometrics.com/pre1700a.htm#Mongol Worldwide Death Toll]
* [http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=758258 Mongol Empire Google Earth]

{{Mongol Empire}}
{{Yuan dynasty topics}}
{{Empires}}
{{Inner Asia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mongol Empire| ]]
[[Category:Former countries in Central Asia]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Asia]]
[[Category:History of Central Asia]]
[[Category:History of Mongolia]]
[[Category:Khaganates]]
[[Category:Mongols|Empire]]
[[Category:Mongol states]]
[[Category:Nomadic groups in Eurasia]]
[[Category:Nomads of the Eurasian steppe]]
[[Category:Medieval Asia]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1206]]
[[Category:1368 disestablishments in the Mongol Empire]]
[[Category:1206 establishments in the Mongol Empire]]