Yuan dynasty

Yuan dynasty
元朝 ᠶᠡᠬᠡ ᠦᠨ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ
Khagan-ruled division of the Mongol Empire Conquest dynasty in China
1271–1368
Yuan dynasty circa 1294 The situation of Goryeo was disputed
Capital		Khanbaliq (Beijing)
Languages		Mongolian Chinese
Religion		Buddhism (Tibetan Buddhism as de facto state religion), Heaven worship, Shamanism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion, Chinese Nestorian Christianity, Roman Catholic Christianity, Judaism, Chinese Manichaeism, Islam
Government		Monarchy
Emperor
•	1260–1294	Kublai Khan
•	1333–1368	Toghon Temür
Historical era		Postclassical Era
•	Genghis Khan founds Mongol Empire	Spring, 1206
•	Formal proclamation of the Yuan dynasty	18 December 1271
•	Battle of Xiangyang	1268-1273
•	Conquest of Southern Song	4 February 1276
•	Battle of Yamen	19 March 1279
•	Red Turban Rebellion	1351-1368
•	Fall of Khanbaliq	14 September 1368
•	Formation of Northern Yuan dynasty	1368-1388
Area
•	1310	11,000,000 km² (4,247,124 sq mi)
Population
•	1290 est.	77,000,000
•	1293 est.	79,816,000
•	1330 est.	83,873,000
•	1350 est.	87,147,000
Currency		Predominantly Paper Currency (Chao), with a small amount of Chinese cash in use
Preceded by Succeeded by Mongol Empire Song dynasty Northern Yuan dynasty Ming dynasty

Yuan dynasty
"Yuan dynasty" in Chinese (top) and Mongolian (bottom) script
Chinese name
Chinese	元朝
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yuán cháo Wade–Giles Yüan2 ch'ao2 IPA [y̯ɛ̌n ʈʂʰǎu̯] Wu Suzhounese Nyœ́ záu Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yùhn chìuh Jyutping Jyun4 ciu4 Southern Min Tâi-lô Guân tiâo
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese	大元
Literal meaning	Great Yuan
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Dà Yuán
Mongolian name
Mongolian script
Transcriptions SASM/GNC Yehe Yüan Ulus

The Yuan dynasty (Chinese: ; pinyin: Yuán Cháo), officially the Great Yuan (Chinese: ; pinyin: Dà Yuán; Mongolian: Yehe Yuan Ulus), was the empire or ruling dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan, leader of the Mongolian Borjigin clan. Although the Mongols had ruled territories including today's North China for decades, it was not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaimed the dynasty in the traditional Chinese style, and the conquest was not complete until 1279. His realm was, by this point, isolated from the other khanates and controlled most of present-day China and its surrounding areas, including modern Mongolia. It was the first foreign dynasty to rule all of China and lasted until 1368, after which its Genghisid rulers returned to their Mongolian homeland and continued to rule the Northern Yuan dynasty. Some of the Mongolian Emperors of the Yuan mastered the Chinese language, while others only used their native language (i.e. Mongolian) and the 'Phags-pa script.

The Yuan dynasty is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and an imperial Chinese dynasty. It was the khanate ruled by the successors of Möngke Khan after the division of the Mongol Empire. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song dynasty and preceding the Ming dynasty. The dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, yet he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu. In the Proclamation of the Dynastic Name, Kublai announced the name of the new dynasty as Great Yuan and claimed the succession of former Chinese dynasties from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the Tang dynasty.