Guo Kan

Guo Kan
Governor of Baghdad
In office 1258–1259
Succeeded by	Ata-Malik Juvayni
Personal details
Born	1217
Died	1277
Nationality	Han chinese
Military service
Allegiance	Mongol Empire, Ilkhanate, Yuan dynasty
Rank	General
Battles/wars	Mongol–Jin War, Siege of Baghdad (1258), Battle of Xiangyang

Guo Kan or Kuo K'an (Chinese: 郭侃; pinyin: Guō Kǎn), (1217–1277) was a famous general of Han Chinese descent who served the Mongol Khans in their Western conquests and the conquest of China itself. He was descended from a lineage of Chinese generals. Both his father and grandfather had served the Khan, while his ancestor was Guo Ziyi, a famed general of the Tang Dynasty. He was not a senior Mongol commander but was in charge of Chinese artillery units under the Mongol Empire. He was one of the foreign legions that served the Mongol Empire, and some of the later conquests of the Mongols were done by armies under his command. The biography of this Han Chinese commander in the Yuan Shi ("History of Yuan") said that Guo Kan's presence struck so much fear in his foes that they called him the "Divine Man".

Guo Kan was raised in the household of Prime Minister Shi Tianzhe (who was also a Han Chinese, and whose father and two brothers all served the Yuan).

He took part in the final drive in the conquest of the Jin Dynasty, including the capture of Kaifeng, and may have served in the European campaign with Subutai a few years following the fall of the Jin Dynasty. He then served in Hulagu's invasion of the Middle East, playing a major role in the capture and Battle of Baghdad, reportedly devising the strategy of using the dikes to drown the Caliph's army, and supervising the reduction of Baghdad's walls. He was then appointed Governor of Baghdad by Hulagu. and at some point after Khubilai Khan's accession as Khan, Guo Kan went to serve him, instead of his brother, and assisted Khubilai Khan in the conquest of the Southern Song, and ultimately the unification of China proper under the Yuan Dynasty.

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