Nayan (Mongol Prince) Nayan (Mongol Prince) Nayan was a prince of the Borjigin royal family of the Mongol Empire. He raised a noteworthy and serious rebellion against the Mongolian Khagan, Kublai Khan. He was a Nestorian Christian. Much of what is known of Nayan was recorded by the Venetian traveller Marco Polo. Nayan was a member of a collateral branch of the Mongol royal dynasty, being a descendant of one of the brothers of Genghis Khan. He was either a great-great grandson of Temüge, Genghis Khan's youngest full brother, or of Belgutai his half-brother. More than one prince named Nayan existed and their
Kublai Khan Europeans and Central Asians – merchants, travelers, and missionaries of different orders – made their way to China. The presence of Mongol power allowed large numbers of Chinese, intent on warfare or trade, to travel to other parts of the Mongol Empire, all the way to Russia, Persia, and Mesopotamia. After Kublai Khan was proclaimed Khagan at his residence in Xanadu on May 5, 1260, he began to organize the country. Zhang Wenqian, a central government official, was sent by Kublai in 1260 to Daming where unrest had been reported in the local population. A friend of Zhang's, Guo Shoujing,