103
See also: The First Emperor unifies China 54–57 ■ The An Lushan revolt 84–85 ■
Marco Polo reaches Shamgdu 104–05 ■ Hongwu founds the Ming dynasty 120–27 ■
The Mongol invasions of Japan are repulsed 133 ■ The Revolt of the Three Feudatories 186–87THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
The old informal hierarchies of
the steppes no longer sufficed to
administer a land that contained
great cities, and the immediate
rewards of plunder were replaced
by the deferred benefits gained
by good governance and taxation.
As a result, many Mongols missed
the old ways. To appease his fellow
Mongols, Kublai gave them greater
rights and privileges than the native
Chinese. Meanwhile, to gain favor
with the traditional Chinese elites,
he promoted Confucian scholars,
funded Taoist temples, and had hisson educated in Buddhist scripture.
He also set up schools for peasants
and introduced the Mongol postal
system of using horses and relay
stations to link up the empire,
which benefited the merchants.The end of the empire
The need to restore stability in
northern China delayed Kublai’s
attempts to subjugate the Song
in the south until 1268. Although
ultimately successful, the 11-year
campaign was ruinously costly.
To preserve their warrior identity,the Mongols needed the spoils of
conquest to fund their huge army.
Kublai’s successors failed to work
out how to preserve their identity
while also keeping their monopoly
of power, and the Mongol military
gradually declined. After decades
of famine, lethal epidemics, and
corruption at court, in 1368 the
heirs of Kublai were defeated in
a rebellion led by Zhu Yuanzhang,
founder of the Ming dynasty. After
more than a century of occupation,
China was back in the hands of the
native (Han) Chinese. ■Genghis Khan unites
a number of nomadic
Mongol tribes. The Mongols
grow strong
enough
to conquer
advanced states
like China.Mongol rulers have
difficulties preserving their
nomadic ways while
governing large areas.Other tribes join
the Mongols or
are conquered.Kublai Khan Grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai
Khan (1215–94) governed northern
China for his elder brother Möngke,
who became Great Khan (the
senior Mongol ruler) in 1251.
Kublai’s restoration of Chinese-
style administration displeased
many Mongols and he was nearly
removed in 1258, but Möngke’s
death led to Kublai achieving the
position of Great Khan himself
in 1260. Kublai established a
bureaucracy staffed largely by
Chinese officials, but he placed
Mongol officers (darughachi) in
key towns to ensure loyalty to
the empire. He took measuresto restore the economy, initially
encouraged religious tolerance,
and welcomed foreigners such
as Marco Polo to the Mongol
court, aware of the expertise
they might bring. After the
successes in China, Kublai
dispatched armies to Japan,
Annam (Vietnam), Myanmar
(Burma), and Java; however,
these either failed or did not
establish a lasting Mongol
presence. By his death, Kublai
was a disappointed man, who
drank to excess, suffered from
obesity, and had to be carried
to his final campaigns in a litter.Mongols lose military
effectiveness; their
empire collapses.US_102-103_kubla_khan_conquers_song.indd 103 15/02/2016 16:41