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Temüjin is born on the steppes (grasslands) of what is now Mongolia. He is the son of Yesügei, a member of the royal Borjigin clan of the nomadic Mongol people.
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A band of Tatars, another nomadic people, poisons Temüjin’s father. With Yesügei dead, the rest of Temüjin’s clan abandon him, his mother, and his siblings.
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mongols conquests and empire
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Genghis Khan directs an attack against the Tangut kingdom of Xi Xia, a northwestern border-state of China. The attack ends in 1209 after a declaration of allegiance by the Xi Xia king.
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Temüjin rises to power by cultivating powerful allies and ultimately forming an army of his own. He conquers rival clans and makes sure that his men kill all rival leaders. In 1206 he is accepted as emperor of all the steppe people and is proclaimed Genghis Khan, a title that means “universal ruler.” This event is regarded as the beginning of the Mongol Empire.
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regin of genghis khan
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conquest of northern china
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The Mongols capture Beijing in northern China. They continue their conquests, sometimes fighting multiple campaigns at once.
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conquest of persia
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Mongol troops penetrate into southern Russia and raid cities in Crimea.
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Genghis Khan dies in 1227. His son Ögödei is chosen to lead the empire in 1229. The empire now stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to the China Sea in the east and from Siberia in the north to Tibet in the south.
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The Mongols defeat the Khwārezm-Shāh Dynasty of Central Asia.
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conquest of Russia
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The western part of the empire, known as the Golden Horde, annihilates the Bulgars in eastern Europe.
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Batu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, expands the domain of the Golden Horde in a series of brilliant campaigns that includes the sacking and burning of the city of Kyiv (Kiev) in 1240. (At this time Kyiv is the major city in Russia.)
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Ögödei dies during a drinking bout. Mongol leaders cease their advances in Europe and the Near East so that they can be present in Mongolia when a new supreme ruler of the Mongols, or great khan, is selected. It is only Ögödei’s death that prevents Batu from invading western Europe.
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Töregene, Ögödei’s widow, rules the empire by common consent of the Mongol nobles. In 1246 her son Güyük becomes great khan.
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capture of Baghdad
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Conquest of southern china
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The Yuan ruled China from 1279 to 1368. It was followed by the Ming Dynasty. The Chinese had fought with the Mongol tribes of the north for hundreds of years.