Earlier walls built by the Qin and Han dynasties were mostly of rammed earth and have largely disappeared. After the Ming dynasty was forced out of Mongolia, and humiliated when the Mongols captured the emperor at Tumu in 1449, the court decided to build a defensive barrier. From about 1474 to the 1620s the Ming rebuilt and extended the walls in brick and stone with battlements, watchtowers, garrison forts and beacon towers, about 8,850 km in length. The section at Badaling near Beijing, built in 1505, and Mutianyu are the best-known. The wall stopped neither the Mongols nor the Manchus, who entered at Shanhai Pass in 1644.
Before and after
- 1472Founding of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- 1473Construction of Sistine Chapel
- c. 1473William Caxton prints the first book in English
- 19 February 1473Birth of Nicolaus Copernicus
- from c. 1470s to 1620sThe Ming dynasty rebuilds the Great Wall in brick and stone
- from 1475 to 1479War of the Castilian Succession
- 1475Construction of Dormition Cathedral
- 6 March 1475Birth of Michelangelo
- 28 June 1476Birth of Paul IV
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- 691 CEConstruction of Dome of the Rock
- 8th centuryConstruction of Borobudur Temple
- 1066Construction of Tower of London
- from 1368 to 1644Ming dynasty
- from 1370 to 1789Construction of Bastille
- from 1438 to 1533Inca Empire
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 15th century.