Mongol conquest of China

The Mongol conquest of China was a long and important time when the Mongol Empire worked hard to take control of many different lands in China. This big effort lasted for 74 years, from 1205 to 1279, and happened mostly in the 1200s. During this time, the Mongols fought against several groups, including the Jin dynasty, Western Liao, Western Xia, Tibet, the Dali Kingdom, the Southern Song, and the Eastern Xia.

It all began when Genghis Khan, the leader of the Mongols, started with small attacks on Western Xia in the years 1205 and 1207. Many years later, in 1279, another Mongol leader named Kublai Khan finished the job. He set up a new government called the Yuan dynasty, which brought all of China together under Mongol control for the first time. This was special because it was the first time people who were not from the main Chinese group, the Han, ruled the whole country. It also meant that Tibet was joined with the rest of China for the first time.

Conquest of Western Xia

Main article: Mongol conquest of Western Xia

In the early 1200s, Temujin, who later became known as Genghis Khan, began to gather power in Mongolia. After a rival leader sought refuge in the land of Western Xia, Temujin used this as a reason to attack in 1205. He raided border areas and some local leaders agreed to follow him.

Genghis Khan continued his attacks on Western Xia. In 1207, he invaded again and captured several towns. By 1209, he demanded that Western Xia submit to him. After a failed attempt to flood their main city, the leader of Western Xia agreed to follow Genghis Khan. However, when Western Xia later refused to help Genghis in another battle, he returned with a large army in 1225. Over the next few years, the Mongols moved through Western Xia, taking city after city. By 1227, the main city of Western Xia, Yinchuan, was captured, marking the end of Western Xia.

Conquest of Jin dynasty

Main article: Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty

Genghis Khan wanted to defeat the Jin dynasty to get revenge, gain riches from northern China, and show the Mongols as a strong power in East Asia.

Genghis Khan started war in 1211. The Mongols won many battles but had trouble capturing big cities at first. They learned better ways to attack forts with help from Chinese engineers, which made them very good at sieges.

By 1213, Genghis had taken Jin lands up to the Great Wall. He used soldiers who switched sides from the Jin, including many Han Chinese and Khitan people, to help his armies. These new soldiers were important in beating the Jin. In 1215, the Mongols captured the Jin capital, Yanjing (now Beijing). The Jin emperor moved to Kaifeng, but that city fell in 1232. The Jin dynasty ended after the siege of Caizhou in 1234.

The Mongols also spared important people like doctors, craftsmen, and religious leaders when they took cities in northern China.

Conquest of Dali Kingdom

In 1253, a leader named Möngke Khan sent his brother Kublai to the Dali Kingdom to help defeat another kingdom called the Song. The rulers of Dali, the Gao family, did not want to work with the Mongols and hurt their messengers. The Mongols split their army into three groups. One group went east into Sichuan, another went through tough mountain paths, and Kublai led the third group south.

Kublai and his team reached the capital city of Dali. Even though the Dali king had hurt their messengers, they did not hurt the people living there. The king of Dali decided to join the Mongols, and they used his soldiers to take control of the rest of the area called Yunnan. The Mongols let the king stay in charge but also put one of their own leaders there to help keep peace.

After Kublai left, some people in Dali became unhappy. But by 1256, another Mongol leader named Uryankhadai brought peace to the whole Yunnan area. The rulers of Dali continued to lead, but under the control of the Mongol leaders. Later, other local leaders in nearby areas also agreed to follow the Mongol rules and were allowed to keep their positions.

Southwestern China

Many small kingdoms and chiefdoms in southwestern China were allowed to keep their land after they agreed to follow the rules of the new rulers, the Yuan dynasty. These included places like the Kingdom of Dali and several chiefdoms such as Bozhou, Lijiang, Shuidong, Sizhou, Yao'an, Yongning, and Mu'ege. Even faraway lands like the Goryeo dynasty and the Kingdom of Qocho were allowed to stay independent in this way.

Some important Han Chinese families, like the Duke Yansheng and the Celestial Masters, were also allowed to keep their special titles during the time of the Yuan dynasty.

Conquest of Southern Song

Main article: Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty

At first, the Mongols worked together with the Southern Song because they both had a common enemy, the Jin. But this friendship ended when the Jin were destroyed in 1234. After the Song captured some important cities from the Mongols and killed a Mongol messenger, the Mongols declared war on the Song. The Mongol armies quickly pushed the Song back to the Yangtze River, and the war lasted for about four decades until the Song finally fell in 1276.

The Mongols used new weapons, like special throwing machines made by engineers from Islamic countries, which helped them capture strong Song fortresses. They also used soldiers from different ethnic groups, including many from the Kingdom of Dali, to fight against the Song. Even though the Song had strong weapons like fire lances and rockets, the Mongols still had to fight very hard to win. After the death of their leader Möngke, the Mongols focused on capturing the city of Xiangyang, which was a key Song stronghold. With help from new weapons, they finally took Xiangyang. Soon after, the Song leader made a poor decision in a battle, leading to defeat. With no more soldiers or supplies, the Song surrendered in 1276.

Though the Song court gave in, some Song loyalists kept fighting for a few more years. They even set up a new government in Guangdong and used the Song navy to continue resistance. In 1279, the Mongols fought and won a big battle against the Song navy near modern Hong Kong. The last Song emperor and some of his followers died by their own hands after the battle. However, some members of the Song royal family lived on under Mongol rule. The Mongols were gentle to the Song royal family, unlike how they treated other groups they had defeated. They even allowed a Mongol princess to marry a former Song emperor.

Chinese resistance in Vietnam against the Mongols

The ancestors of the Trần clan came from Fujian and later moved to Đại Việt, where they became rulers under the Trần dynasty. This dynasty governed Vietnam (Đại Việt). Even though some family members married into the Lý dynasty and the royal court, certain Trần family members could still speak Chinese. For example, in 1282, a Yuan dynasty messenger met with Trần Quốc Tuấn, a Trần prince who spoke Chinese.

After the Mongols invaded the Song dynasty, some Chinese people, like Zhao Zhong and Xu Zongdao, escaped to Vietnam. They helped the Trần dynasty fight against the Mongols. Xu Zongdao, a Daoist priest from Fujian, wrote about the Mongol invasion, calling them "Northern bandits." Historical records from the Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư tell us that Zhao Zhong served as a guard for Nhật Duật and played a big role in defeating the Mongols. The Trần dynasty successfully defended Vietnam against the Mongol invasions of Vietnam.

Many Chinese soldiers and officials from the Southern Song also went to Vietnam and other places like Champa. They joined the Vietnamese army that Trần Thánh Tông, the emperor, prepared for the second Mongol invasion.

Tactics and policies

Main articles: Mongol invasion of Central Asia, Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia, Siege of Baghdad (1258), Mongol Empire, and Ilkhanate

The Mongol Empire used people from many places in their armies, including China. They hired Chinese soldiers who knew how to use special machines like catapults and gunpowder to help them fight. These Chinese experts also went with the Mongols to other places. The Mongols valued people who had special skills.

Chinese engineers and soldiers went with the Mongols when they attacked places far away. For example, during the attack on Baghdad in 1258, there were Chinese leaders helping. The Mongols also used smart tactics when fighting, such as telling some groups to stop working together before attacking them.

Siege strategy

When cities agreed to give up without a fight, the Mongols often did not hurt them. This happened in places like Kaifeng and Hangzhou. People from these places sometimes joined the Mongols instead of fighting them. The Mongols wanted to save towns that surrendered to avoid destroying them.