1259
August 11 – While conducting a siege against the Song Dynasty city known as Fishing Town in the province of Chongqing, China, the Mongol Khagan, Mongke Khan dies in the nearby hills. Persian, Chinese, and Mongol records have different accounts of how he died, including succumbing to an arrow wound received by a Chinese archer in the siege, dysentery, and even cholera epidemic. His death sparks a succession crisis in the Mongol Empire, while his brothers Ariq Böke and Kublai soon convene their own kuriltai to elect themselves as the next Khan of Khans, opening the path to a four year long civil war from 1260 to 1264. In the end, Ariq Böke surrendered to Kublai.