Mongol Empire Timeline

Temujin is proclaimed Genghis Kahn

Jan 30, 1206

Over two decades, Temunjin created a group of faithful followers and organized alliances with a variety of chiefs. This facilitated his missions to regain the Kiyat clan and later the Borjigin Tribe. He had united the Mongol tribes by 1189, and was declared Genghis Khan, the universal ruler of the Mongols, in 1206

The Xia surrenders to Genghis in 1210.

Jan 30, 1210

Genghis Khan’s campaign against the Xia was the first he had ever enacted outside his empire. After a salvo of raids, the Mongols made it to Yinchuan, the capital of the Xia. The Mongols employed a false withdrawal, and then brought the city under siege. Although they did not completely succeed in their efforts to destroy the capital, the Xia ruler surrendered. The surrender was in 1210.

Genghis and his army go to war against the Khwarezmid Empire

Jan 31, 1219

In 1218 Genghis Khan sent an envoy to the Khwarezmid empire. The leader, Shah Ala al-Din Muhammad II, has all of the envoys executed. Genghis, in response, goes to war against the empire. He sends more elite soldiers with the intent of them finding Shah Muhammad and killing him. Genghis Khan has the Mongol army divide in order to be able to attack from various directions all at once.

Twenty thousand Mongols kill over eighty thousand Kievan Rus

Jan 31, 1223

When Genghis Khan was leading the Mongol army back to Mongolia through Afghanistan, a large group of twenty thousand soldiers, commanded by Subutai and Jebe, went to the Caucasus, a region between the Black and Caspian seas. There they battled an army of the Kievan Rus that was over eighty thousand men, and won. After the win, they returned to Mongolia.

Genghis Khan dies while at war

Aug 31, 1227

After Genghis Khan launched a military campaign against the Xia, Hin, and Tangut, the Mongol army captured the city of Lingzou and executed all of its leaders. Although a victory, Genghis Khan died that August, still on the campaign. His cause of death was unkown, although many historians attribute it to the war against the Chinese. He was sixty five years old.

Ogedai is elected Great Khan

Feb 1, 1229

After Mongol leaders gather for a mass meeting, known as a Kuriltai, the next Khan was elected. Ogedai, who Genghis Khan had chosen to be the next great Khan before his death, was elected. Genghis’s other sons, Jochi, Tolui, and Chagatai would also be Khans along with Ogedai. Ogedai is elected in 1229. At this time, the Mongol empire is four times larger than the Roman Empire.

Mongols Invade Korea

Feb 1, 1236

The Mongols forced the Koreans to pay large tribute, resulting in distaste in Korea towards the Mongols. The Koreans killed the Mongol envoy Chu-ku-yu, prompting war with the Mongols. Ogedai Khan ordered an invasion of Korea in 1231, and in response Korea moved their imperial court to Ganghwa Island, using the Mongols’ weakness of attacking above water against them. In 1236 the Mongols invaded Korea.

Guyuk elected Great Khan

Feb 1, 1246

After Ogedai Khan died in 1241, Odegai’s wife, Toregene, works behind the scenes to have Guyuk, Ogedai’s oldest son elected as the succeeding Great Khan. Her efforts are successful, and in 1246 Guyuk is elected to be Great Khan. His enthronement ceremony was extremely well attended, with as many as three to four thousand guests coming from various parts of Eurasia.

The Abbasid Caliphate falls to the Mongols

Feb 1, 1258

Since the eighth century, Baghdad had been the seat for the Abbasid caliphs. After making it through Mesopotamia, the Mongol army was at Baghdad, and demanded surrender. The city surrendered, and the Mongols plundered it, killing over two hundred thousand residents. The Mongols also killed the Caliph. The Abbasid Caliphate falls under Mongol control.

The Monghols conquer China

Jan 30, 1279

The Mongols cut off the Jin army’s supply lines. After starving the Jin army for three days, a snowstorm broke out. The Mongols were strategic, and left a fake escape route. The Jin army took the route, and the Mongols ambushed them, a huge win for the Monghols. Later, the Jin did strike back with a victory against the Mongols, but there was so much turmoil and instability within the empire that they weakened themselves. The Mongols destroyed the empire when they attacked Caizhou.