Kublai Khan facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Kublai Setsen Khan
Emperor Shizu of Yuan
YuanEmperorAlbumKhubilaiPortrait.jpg
Portrait of Kublai Khan
5th Khagan of the Mongol Empire
Reign 5 May 1260 – 18 February 1294
Coronation 5 May 1260
Predecessor Möngke Khan
Successor Temür Khan (Yuan dynasty)
1st Emperor of the Yuan dynasty
Reign 18 December 1271 – 18 February 1294
Successor Temür Khan
Born 23 September 1215
Mongol Empire
Died 18 February 1294 (aged 78)
Khanbaliq, Yuan dynasty, China
Burial Burkhan Khaldun (now Khentii Province, Mongolia)
Religion Tibetan Buddhism

Kublai was the fifth Khagan (Great Khan) of the Mongol Empire, reigning from 1260 to 1294. He also founded the Yuan dynasty in China as a conquest dynasty in 1271, and ruled as the first Yuan emperor until his death in 1294.

Kublai was the fourth son of Tolui and a grandson of Genghis Khan. He succeeded his older brother as Khagan in 1260, but had to defeat his younger brother in the Toluid Civil War lasting until 1264. This episode marked the beginning of disunity in the empire.

Kublai's seizure of power in 1260 pushed the Mongol Empire into a new direction. Despite his controversial election, which increased the conflict with Mongols, Kublai's willingness to formalize the Mongol realm's joint relations with China brought the Mongol Empire to international attention. Kublai and his predecessors conquests were largely responsible for re-creating a unified powerful China.

Kublai's real power was limited to China and Mongolia, though as Khagan he still had influence in the Ilkhanate and to a lesser degree, in the Golden Horde. If one counts the Mongol Empire at that time as a whole, his realm reached from the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea, from Siberia to what is now Afghanistan.

In 1271, Kublai established the Yuan dynasty, which ruled over present-day Mongolia, China, Korea, and some adjacent areas, and assumed the role of Emperor of China. By 1279, the Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty was completed and Kublai became the first non-Han emperor to conquer all of China.

Kublai wrote many pages of Chinese poetry, though most of his works have not survived.

He succeeded in building a powerful empire, created an academy, offices, trade ports and canals and sponsored science and the arts. The record of the Mongols lists 20,166 public schools created during Kublai's reign.

Kublai promoted economic growth by rebuilding the Grand Canal, repairing public buildings, and extending highways. Kublai encouraged Asian arts and demonstrated religious tolerance.

Muslim scholars, scientists and astronomers contributed to the construction of the observatory in Shaanxi. Astronomers such introduced 7 new instruments and concepts that allowed the correction of the Chinese calendar.

Muslim mathematicians introduced Euclidean Geometry, spherical trigonometry and arabic numerals in China, cartographers made accurate maps of all the nations along the Silk Road and greatly influenced the knowledge of Yuan dynasty rulers and merchants.

The imperial portrait of Kublai was part of an album of the portraits of Yuan emperors and empresses, now in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei.

White, the color of the royal costume of Kublai, was the imperial color of the Yuan dynasty.

Images for kids

  • Dafosi - This hall is the reputed birthplace of Kublai Khan

    The apparent birthplace of Kublai Khan

  • Dschingis Khan und Kublai Khan Monument1

    Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan memorial in Holin Gol, China

  • Qubilai Setsen Khaan

    Portrait of young Kublai

  • Liu-Kuan-Tao-Jagd

    Painting of Kublai Khan on a hunting expedition c. 1280

  • ArghunLetterToPhilippeLeBelExtract1289

    Extract of the letter of Arghun to Philip IV of France, in the Mongolian script, dated 1289

  • Yuan Dynasty 1294

    The Yuan Dynasty of China c. 1294

  • Theatre actors, Yuan Dynasty

    Chinese opera flourished during Yuan China

  • Yuan chinese gun

    A Yuan dynasty hand cannon

  • Mirror with Dragons Chasing Flaming Pearls LACMA M.2000.15.181

    Two dragons chasing a flaming pearl influenced Yuan dynasty's preferences for dragons

  • Kublai Khan and His Empress Enthroned

    Kublai Khan and His Empress

  • KangnidoMap

    The Gangnido reflects the Chinese geographical knowledge during the Mongol Empire about countries in the West

  • Takezaki suenaga ekotoba3

    Japanese samurai boarding Yuan ships in 1281

  • VoyagesOfRabbanBarSauma

    Rabban Bar Sauma, ambassador of Great Khan Kublai, travelled from Dadu to Rome, Paris, and Bordeaux to meet with European rulers in 1287–88

  • Miaoyingsi baita

    The White Stupa of Dadu - Beijing

  • Belt plaque with dragon design

    A Yuan dynasty jade belt plaque featuring carved designs of the Azure Dragon, highly regarded as a symbol of Yuan dynasty China's maritime strength

  • Summer Palace, Beijing, China

    Longevity Hill in Beijing, where Kublai Khan wrote his poem

  • YuanEmpressAlbumChabi

    Chabi - Empress of the Mongol Empire

  • Khubilai statue

    Statue of Kublai Khan in Sükhbaatar Square, Ulaanbaatar

  • MokoShuraiE-Kotoba I

    Mongol soldiers

  • MokoShuraiE-Kotoba III

    Mongol ships

  • Kublai giving support to the Venetians

    Kublai gives financial support to the Polo family

  • YuanJunk(14thcentury)

    14th-century prized Yuan dynasty junk

  • Marco Polo Kubilai Khan

    Marco Polo and his brother in the court of Kubilai Khan

  • The book of Ser Marco Polo - the Venetian concerning the kingdoms and marvels of the East (1903) (14582982968)

    Portrait of Kublai Khan


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