History of the Yuan dynasty History of the Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty was the ruling dynasty of China and Mongolia established by Kublai Khan and a khanate of the Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan united the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the steppes and became Great Khan in 1206. He and his successors expanded the Mongol Empire across Asia. Under the reign of Genghis' third son, Ögedei Khan, the Mongols destroyed the weakened Jin dynasty in 1234 and conquered most of northern China. Ögedei offered his nephew Kublai a position in Xingzhou, Hebei. Kublai was unable to read Chinese, but had several Han Chinese teachers
Division of the Mongol Empire state of the Mongol army and engaged in an unusual passive truce with each other. In 1260, the Mamluks advanced from Egypt, being allowed to camp and resupply near the Christian stronghold of Acre, and engaged Kitbuqa's forces just north of Galilee, at the Battle of Ain Jalut. The Mongols were defeated, and Kitbuqa was executed. This pivotal battle marked the western limit for Mongol expansion, as the Mongols were never again able to make any serious military advances farther than Syria. In a separate part of the empire, another brother of Hulagu and Möngke, Kublai Khan, heard of the