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Mongolia / China: Kublai Khan (r.1260-1294), 5th Khagan of the Mongol Empire. Founder and First Yuan Emperor Shizu.

Mongolia / China: Kublai Khan (r.1260-1294), 5th Khagan of the Mongol Empire. Founder and First Yuan Emperor Shizu.

Kublai (or Khubilai) Khan (pinyin: Hūbìliè, (September 23, 1215 – February 18, 1294) was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in East Asia. As the second son of Tolui and Sorghaghtani Beki and a grandson of Genghis Khan, he claimed the title of Khagan of the Ikh Mongol Uls (Mongol Empire).

In 1271, Kublai established the Yuan Dynasty, which at that time ruled over present-day Mongolia, Tibet, Eastern Turkestan, North China, much of Western China, and some adjacent areas, and assumed the role of Emperor of China. By 1279, the Yuan forces had successfully annihilated the last resistance of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Kublai thus became the first non-Chinese Emperor who conquered all China. He was the only Mongol khan after 1260 to win new great conquests.

Kublai, the youngest brother of Mongkhe Khan, was born in 1215, the blue pig year. He assumed the throne in 1260, the white monkey year. Kublai Khan transferred the political centre of the Mongolian Empire to Beijing in the south and founded the Chinese Yuan dynasty. Kublai Khan passed away in 1294, the blue horse year.