Mongols take China

It's 1200 B.C.E. and us Mongols have a sick leader by the name of Genghis Khan. He is going to take over everyone in his path to the Pacific Ocean.

Genghis Khan did not live to complete the siege of China, but over a 150 year period his heirs dominated much of Asia. Of his heirs was his grandson Kublai Khan. Kublai Khan tried to prevent the Mongols from being absorbed into Chinese civilization. When he was ruling in China he reserved the highest government jobs for the Mongols if they did not serve in the army.

The Mongols were not mean to you, as long as you regularly paid tribute to them. Genghis Khan had set up an example for his successors by ruling conquered lands with toleration and justice. He had no use for city life, but he did respect scholars, artists, and artisans. He also listened to the ideas of other religions such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. The sons and grandsons of Genghis Khan established peace and order within their domains. Political stability paved the path for economic growth. Cultural exchanged increased substantially. Under Mongol rule, an uneasy mix of Chinese and foreign customs developed. Kublai Khan had named his dynasty the Yuan Dynasty.

Marco Polo, a Venician merchant, traveled to China and spent some 17 years in Kublai Khan's service. His writings of his time in China were extremely detailed and left a vivid account of the wealth and splendor of China. He described the royal palace of Kublai Khan and also described China's efficient mail system. His also told of how cities were 10 times larger than that of Venice. In the next centuries Polo's writings sparked European interest in the riches of Asia.

The Yuan Dynasty declined after the death of Kublai Khan in 1294.