Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, proclaimed the Yuan dynasty in 1271 and took the Southern Song capital Hangzhou in 1276. In 1279 at the sea battle of Yamen, the last Song loyalists were defeated and the child emperor was carried by his minister into the water to drown. China was united under foreign rule for the first time as a whole. Kublai moved the capital to Dadu (Beijing), used foreign officials, including Marco Polo according to his own account, extended the Grand Canal and issued paper money. The Yuan fell to the Ming in 1368.
Before and after
- 1275Construction of Reims Cathedral
- c. 1275Construction of the Hofburg Palace
- c. 1276Birth of Giotto
- from 1277 to 1287First Mongol invasion of Burma
- 1279Kublai Khan completes the conquest of China
- c. 1280sConstruction of Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd
- c. 1280sPolynesian navigators settle New Zealand
- c. 1280Eruption of Quilotoa
- 1281The Mongol invasions of Japan
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- from 6 April 1453 to 29 May 1453Fall of Constantinople
The era
This moment belongs to the Medieval world (500 CE to 1500 CE), kingdoms, faiths and trade routes. You can also browse everything in the 13th century.