Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan (1216-94), Mongol Emperor.

Kublai Khan was the grandson of Genghis Khan.

In 1264, he became the Great-Khan (supreme ruler) of the Mongol Empire which included Mongolia and Northern China. At the head of armies of horsemen, he conquered the rest of China.

He invaded Japan but was driven back. Kublai Khan's empire covered a vast area of Asia and Europe. It stretched from 55 degrees North to the South China Sea and from Korea to the borders of Hungary.

He set up his court at Cambaluc (near present-day Beijing, China) and lived in splendor.

He encouraged art and literature as well as trade, and he made Buddhism the religion of his empire.

People in the Western World heard about the wonders of Kublai Khan's court from Marco Polo. He worked for the Khan for seventeen years.

See Morris Rossabi Khubilai Khan