Mongolia

The Mongol Empire arose on the Mongolian Plateau, where a 1206 assembly proclaimed Temüjin as Genghis Khan. His armies and those of his descendants conquered lands from China to eastern Europe, but succession wars divided the empire into rival realms by 1294.

In 1368 Ming forces captured Dadu and the Yuan court withdrew to Mongolia, where its successors are known as the Northern Yuan. Dayan Khan and Mandukhai Khatun reunited most Mongol tribes in the late fifteenth century, but their successors divided authority among princely branches. The Later Jin conquered the Northern Yuan in 1635.