Tue, Aug 9, 1994
Sometime around 1200, a young Mongol warrior emerged to claim leadership of the Mongol tribes. They named him Genghis Khan. From 1207 and for the next twenty years he led the Mongol armies on a campaign that stretched from northern China to the Hindu Kush; from Afghanistan to Russia, conquering all in their path.
Tue, Aug 16, 1994
The legacy of Genghis was taken up by his son, Ogedei - who set about consolidating the conquest of northern China, Russia and eastern Europe. Ogedei realised the empire would have to be governed, and in a break with centuries of nomadic tradition built a capital city in the heart of the eastern steppe: Quarakorum. From there, in 1237, he led an army into Europe where it encountered and crushed the Teutonic Knights and Knights Templar.
Tue, Aug 30, 1994
The last truly great Khan of Khans, Khubilai. In contrast to his grandfather Genghis, Khubilai is educated, cultured and practiced in all the religions of the Empire. he consolidates all of China under one ruler, establishes a new dynasty and for the first time opens up China to foreign merchants and expands trade with the rest of the empire. The empire now consists of four Khanates: Russia (the Golden Horde), the Ilkhanate (the Middle East), Central Asia and China, where the local Mongol rulers have been completely assimilated. Khubilai rules the largest land-based empire in history from the Pacific to Hungary.