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Jan 1, 1180
Temujin Gains Power
A powerful khan, Temujin starts to defeat his rivals and unite all of the Mongolian clans in Central Asia to build an empire. -
Jan 1, 1200
Mongols Appear
Fierce nomads from the steppes of central Asia start to gain power in China. These Mongols were successful bacause of their advanced weapons and tactics. -
Jan 1, 1206
Christened Genghis Khan
Temujin is a successful Khan, he Is christened Genghis Khan and unites all the Mongols under his rule. He sets out on a campaign with his army of fierce Mongols to try and build an empire. -
Jan 1, 1207
Empire of Gennghis Khan Grows
Over the next twenty years Genghis Kahn's army would conquer much of Asia and build a huge empire. They're war strategy, siege warfare, was far beyond that of any other army. They also had the use of gunpowder to make guns. Seige Warfare- The surrounding or blockading of a city, town, or fortress, of an army trying to capture it. -
Jan 1, 1227
Death of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan dies after a long and successful rule. The Mongols divide the empire into four khanates, each ruled by an heir of Genghis Khan. Kublai Khan, was the main ruler over the whole empire, known as the Great Khan. He worked on finishing conquering China and Korea. Hulegu ruled the Ilkhanate and went to conquer Persia. Batu controlled the Golden Horde, which put their efforts toward conquering Russia. Lastly, the Khanate of Chagatai held Central Asia for Mongolia. -
Jan 1, 1235
Kublai Khan Starts the Conquest of China
Kublai Khan begins the invade of highly protected China. He wants to conquer it and control it because of it's perfect geographic setup. He attacks with the Khanate of the Great Khan. -
Jan 1, 1236
Golden Horde Invades Russia
Under Genghis Khan's son, Batu, the Golden Horde invades Russia, captures the city of Moscow, and tear down the city of Kiev. They also march through Hungary and Poland, and by the luck of western Europe, are turned around by the death of their Great Khan. The Golden Horde- The khanate of Batu who ravaged russia and northern Asia. -
Jan 1, 1260
Kublai Khan Continues to Conquer China
Kublai Khan was technically the Great Khan of Mongolia but he really only had control over the Khanate of the Great Khan. At this time he focused his army on the conquest of China. -
Jan 1, 1271
Marco Polo Sets Off
Marco Polo begins his journey through China to discover and learn about the mysterious chinese world. -
Jan 1, 1279
The Song Dynasty is Finally Defeated
The Song Dynasty of Southern China resisted Mongolian invaders for many years, but they eventually fell. When they did, Kublai Khan creates a new dynasty, the Yuan dynasty. He was emperor over the Chinese who did not like him, but he slowly started to gain their respect. Song Dynasty- The dynasty in China that Kublai Khan conquered in order to form the Yuan dynasty. -
Jan 1, 1294
Kublai Khan Dies
After many military defeats and loss of money due to public-works projects, the Yuan dynasty was already weakening. Kublai Khan tried to invade Japan two separate times, but both were unsuccessful due to huge storms that wiped out the Mongolian fleet. But after the death of Kublai Khan, the dynasty started to crumble due to floods, power struggles, and rising taxes.
Kamikaze- The huge storms that took out the Mongolian fleets at Japan. Now it is what the Japanese suicide bombers are called. -
Jan 1, 1295
Marco Polo's Story is Heard
After Marco Polo returned home to Venice from his adventures, he was imprisoned during a battle. While in prison, he told a fellow prisoner his stories, this prisoner was intrigued by them and published a book about them. The accounts by Marco Polo of the extravagent cities of the Mongolian Empire fascinated Europeans and made the book a huge success. -
Jan 1, 1350
Black Death Spreads from Asia
Many scholars believe that the Black Death, which originated in Asia, spread to Europe and the Middle East from Asia at this time. It killed a lot of Europeans and greatly effected these areas. Black Death- More formally known as the Black Plague, this virus is a strain of the bubonis plague that could be the cause of the biggest pandemic in human history. -
Jan 1, 1368
Chinese Rebellions Overthrow Mongolian Empire
After many years of civil war, the rebellion army defeats the Mongolian lead Yuan Dynasty. The Mongols are kicked out of China and flee to Manchuria. This restores domestic rule in China. -
Jan 1, 1368
The Ming Dynasty Begins
Under Hongwu, the peasant army overthrew the Yuan Dynasty and started the Ming Dyansty. He hated Mongols and for this, he kicked them all out. He was very cautious about his rivals and this caused him to kill most of them and anyone else who spoke against him. Hongwu worked to restore Confucian ideas to China and rid them of Mongolian ideas. -
Jan 1, 1398
Hongwu Dies
Hongwu, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, dies. leaving a huge and successful empire up for grabs. -
Jan 1, 1402
Yonglo Takes Over
After awhile, Yonglo, Hongwu's son, emerges from the power struggle as the new Emperor of China. He rules for about 22 years, during these years he moves the capitol to Beijing and builds the Forbidden City. -
Jan 1, 1405
Yonglo Sponsors Sea Voyages
With the money of Yonglo, Zheng He leads seven voyages across the Indian Empire. He used a variety of ships including Junks, and treasure ships. One of these voyages made it all the way to Africa. These voyages show the Ming Dynasty's wealth and power. Junks- Smaller trading ships that carried cargo on long voyages acrossed the sea. -
Jan 1, 1405
Forbidden City is Built
Yonglo builds the forbidden city, a city in which nothing can enter without permission. It is extremely protected and almost impossible to breach. Forbidden City- Inside the capitol of Beijing, this imperial city, which was built by Yonglo, was virtually impossible to breach, making it the safest place in the empire. -
Jan 1, 1433
New Emperor Stops Voyages
The emperor of China that takes over after Yonglo ends the voyages of Zheng He, because they waisted money that should be used for frontier defense. -
Jan 1, 1550
China for Isolation
China has made a decision to isolate itself from the rest of the world because they don't like the influence it has on the people. Mainly Europeans and Christian missiionaries were effected by this. -
Jan 1, 1580
Ming Dynasty Starts to Weaken
Due to a cycle of extremely unworthy rulers, corruption in the government increased, and taxes were raised. This extremely angered the angered the citizens and rebellions started to breaks out. -
Matteo Ricci Gains Respect in China
The European priest, Matteo Ricci, gains the respect of the Chinese by adopting their culture and learning their language. He eventually gains a spot in the Ming Court where he is able to influence China with European ideas. During this time, the Ming also worked on the restoration of the Great Wall. The Great Wall of China- A huge wall stretching across the northern edge of China in order to protect them from threats in the north, Many diferent dynasties contributed to the building of the Wall -
Manchu Take Over
The Manchu people, who originated in northwest Manchuria, took advantage of this crumbled dynasty, and formed the Qing Dynasty. -
The Manchu and the Chinese
It took the Manchu awhile to gain respect and loyalty from the Chinese but they eventually did by adopting their culture. However, Manchu couldn't marry Chinese. Also, to separate each other, Manchu women could not bind thier feet, and chinese men had to wear Manchu style hair. Foot Binding- The tight wrapping of one's feet to prevent them from growing, causing them to be petite but deformed. Queue- A traditional Manchu hairstyle that involves a long, braided pigtail. -
Kangxi Becomes Emperor
Kangxi was a great Qing Emperor who eased up the taxes on peasants. He greatly supported the arts and learning. While he was Emperor he expanded the empire into some parts of Central Asia. -
Qianlong Rises Up His Dynasty
Qianlong, the grandson of Kangxi, was the Emperor who brought the Qing to their height. He expanded the Empire to the largest size it would ever be and boosted the population to over 300 million people. Everything in the Empire flourished at this time including farming, and trade. -
Cao Zhan's Bestseller
During this time literature was becoming more andn more popular, especially fiction. Chinese writer Cao Zhan wrote a book about the falling of an upper-class Chinese family, called "Dream of the Red Chamber." This was a bestseller in China and is considered China's greatest novel, even today. -
Lord Macartney Tries to Change Chinese Trade Policy
Lord George Macartney traveled to China to discuss the Qing Dynasty's foreign trade policy and try to persuade a change. The Chinese quickly learned that his British goods were less advanced than their own. That combined with the fact that he would not kowtow to the Emperor forced the Qing to send him away. Kowtowing- kneeling in front of the emperor and touching your forehead to the ground nine times.
