60 MARCH/APRIL 2020
KUBLAI’S
CAPITAL
Kublai made his
capital city in Dadu,
now called Beijing.
The restored red
Drum Tower (above)
stands on the same
site as Kublai’s
original structure,
built in 1272.W
hen the fourth Mongol great
khan, Möngke, died in 1259, his
brother, Kublai, never doubted
who was his rightful successor.
While Möngke had been ex-
panding Mongol rule into Syria in the far west,
Kublai had proved to be a brilliant general, con-
quering a swath of what is now southwestern
China as well as modern-day Vietnam. He had
proved his mettle, but there were others who
sought to rule.
News reached Kublai that another of his
brothers, Arigböge, also wanted to proclaim
himself emperor. Kublai, then age 45, hastily
made his way to his residence at Shangdu
(later immortalized as Xanadu in Samuel
Taylor Coleridge’s famous poem “Kubla Khan”)
to decide what to do next.
Kublai knew that whoever succeeded Möngke
would need formidable diplomatic as well as
military skills to hold together a colossal patch-
work of lands that stretched from northern Chi-
na through Persia to Russia. To face down the
threat from Arigböge he chose an impressiveThe Last
Great Khan
1215
Kublai Khan is born, the son
of a Christian princess. His
father, Tolui, is the fourth
son of the Mongol Empire’s
leader, Genghis Khan.1251
Möngke, Kublai’s brother,
becomes the great khan.
While focusing on western
expansion, he entrusts rule of
northern China to Kublai.1260
Following Möngke’s death
in 1259, Kublai proclaims
himself the great khan. He
must defeat another brother,
Arigböge, for the title.1271
Intensifying the war to unite
the whole of China under his
rule, Kublai styles himself as
the head of a new Chinese
dynasty, the Yuan.1279
The Song dynasty of southern
China falls to Kublai. His rule
takes on a distinctly Chinese
flavor, creating tensions with
Mongol nobles.1281
Kublai undertakes a second,
failed attempt to invade Japan.
Despite other lackluster
military ventures, the empire
is prosperous.1294
Kublai dies at 79, succeeded
by his grandson. The empire
will decline from the 1330s,
and the Yuan dynasty will be
toppled by the Ming in 1368.CHINESE VASE MADE IN THE LATE YUAN PERIOD
(CIRCA 1350). PHILADELPHIA MUSEUM OF ART
BRIDGEMAN/ACIDUKAI/GETTY IMAGES