Timeline of the Mongol Empire


This is the timeline of the Mongol Empire from the birth of Temüjin, later Genghis Khan, to the ascension of Kublai Khan as emperor of the Yuan dynasty in 1271, though the title of Khagan continued to be used by the Yuan rulers into the Northern Yuan dynasty, a far less powerful successor entity, until 1634.

13th century

1220s

YearDateEvent
122015 FebruaryMongol conquest of Khwarezmia: Genghis Khan takes Bukhara and places Yelü Ahai in control of Transoxiana
122016 MarchMongol conquest of Khwarezmia: Genghis Khan takes Samarkand and Muhammad II of Khwarezm flees to Nishapur; Genghis Khan dispatches Jebe and Subutai to destroy the sultan
1220MayMongol conquest of Khwarezmia: Jebe and Subutai take Balkh and capture Muhammad II of Khwarezm's mother Terken Khatun and family in the Zagros Mountains
1220winterMongol conquest of Khwarezmia: Muhammad II of Khwarezm dies
1221MarchMongol conquest of Khwarezmia: Tolui destroys Merv
1221AprilMongol conquest of Khwarezmia: Jochi, Chagatai, and Ögedei destroy Urgench while Tolui takes Nishapur and Herat
1221springBattle of Parwan: Jalal al-Din Mangburni defeats a Mongol army led by Shigi Qutuqu in the Hindu Kush
1221Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia: Genghis Khan takes Termez
1221Siege of Bamyan: Genghis Khan takes Bamyan; Chagatai's son Mutukan dies in the process
1221NovemberBattle of Indus: Genghis Khan defeats Jalal al-Din Mangburni, who swims across the Indus River and escapes
1222Subutai and Jebe conquer the Kuban steppe and crush the Cumans
1222SeptemberBattle of Khunan: Subutai and Jebe defeat the Kingdom of Georgia in battle and mortally injure their king George IV of Georgia on their way north of the Caucasus.
1223Jin dynasty: Muqali dies and the Mongol Empire loses control of Henan, central Shaanxi, and southeast Shandong
1223springGenghis Khan returns to Mongolia
122331 MayBattle of the Kalka River: Subutai and Jebe defeat the forces of Mstislav Mstislavich, Mstislav III of Kiev, Daniel of Galicia, Mstislav II Svyatoslavich, and Köten before sacking Novhorod-Siverskyi and heading back to Mongolia
1223Mongol Empire sacks Sudak
1224Battle of Samara Bend: Bulgars ambush Subutai and Jebe near Saqsin
1224Goryeo stops paying tribute
1226FebruaryMongol conquest of Western Xia: Mongol Empire seizes Khara-Khoto from Western Xia and sack cities across the Gansu Corridor
1226NovemberMongol conquest of Western Xia: Mongol Empire sacks Lingzhou
12264 DecemberMongol conquest of Western Xia: Genghis Khan crosses the Yellow River and defeats a Tangut relief column
1227SeptemberMongol conquest of Western Xia: Emperor Mozhu of Western Xia surrenders to the Mongol Empire and is promptly executed; so ends the Western Xia
1227Jochi dies and is succeeded by his son Batu Khan
1227AugustGenghis Khan dies near the Jing River and Tolui becomes regent
122913 SeptemberÖgedei Khan is elected ruler of the Mongol Empire at a kurultai near the Kherlen River
1229Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria: Sunitay and Kukedey attack Bulgar outposts on the Ural River

1230s

YearDateEvent
1230Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty: Doqolqu and Subutai attack Tong Pass and are defeated by Wanyan Heda
1230autumnMongol conquest of the Jin dynasty: Ögedei Khan and Tolui take Fengxiang
1231AugustMongol conquest of Khwarezmia: Chormaqan defeats Jalal al-Din Mangburni, who escapes only to be killed by some random Kurd; so ends the Khwarazmian dynasty
1231Mongol invasions of Korea: Sartai subjugates Goryeo, however the Mongol overseers are immediately killed afterwards
1231"Thunder crash bombs" are employed by Jin troops in destroying a Mongol warship.
1232springMongol conquest of the Jin dynasty: Tolui invades Henan and Ögedei Khan pushes through the Tong Pass
123213 FebruaryMongol conquest of the Jin dynasty: Tolui kills Wanyan Heda
12328 AprilSiege of Kaifeng (1232): Subutai lays siege to Kaifeng
1232Mongol invasions of Korea: Sartai heads back to Goryeo and dies from an arrow
1232Mongol invasions of Georgia: Chormaqan subjugates Azerbaijan
1232Tolui is struck by sickness and dies
1232Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty: Reusable fire lance barrels made of durable paper are employed by Jin troops during the Mongol siege of Kaifeng.
12335 MarchSiege of Kaifeng (1232): Kaifeng surrenders
1233DecemberSiege of Caizhou: Mongol Empire lays siege to Caizhou
12349 FebruarySiege of Caizhou: Emperor Aizong of Jin abdicates to a distant relative, Hudun, who becomes Emperor Mo of Jin, and commits suicide; Emperor Mo of Jin is killed by the Mongols; so ends the Jin dynasty
1234Ögedei Khan announces his plans to conquer Goryeo, the Song dynasty, and Cumania
1235Ögedei Khan constructs Karakorum
1236Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria: Subutai destroys Bolghar and takes Saqsin
1236Mongol invasions of Georgia: Chormaqan subjugates Georgia and Armenia
123721 DecemberSiege of Ryazan: Batu, Orda, Güyük, and Möngke sack Ryazan and Suzdal
1237Large bombs requiring several hundred men to hurl using trebuchets are employed by Mongols in the siege of Anfeng.
12384 MarchBattle of the Sit River: Mongol Empire kills Yuri II of Vladimir
1238springSiege of Kozelsk: Batu struggles to take Kozelsk for two months before Kadan and Büri take it in three days
1238Mongol Empire conquers Crimea
12393 MarchMongol invasion of Rus': Mongol Empire sacks Pereiaslav
123918 OctoberMongol invasion of Rus': Mongol Empire sacks Chernihiv

1240s

YearDateEvent
12406 DecemberSiege of Kiev (1240): Mongol Empire sacks Kiev, Halych, and Vladimir-Suzdal, so ends Kievan Rus
1240Mongol invasions of Tibet: Doorda Darkhan sacks Reting Monastery
12419 AprilBattle of Legnica: Orda defeats the combined force of Henry II the Pious, Mieszko II the Fat, Sulisław of Cracow, and Boleslaus Děpoltic
124111 AprilBattle of Mohi: Boroldai and Subutai defeat a combined army from the Kingdom of Hungary, Croatia, and Knights Templar
1241DecemberMongol invasion of Europe: Kadan crosses the Danube
124111 DecemberÖgedei Khan dies on a hunting trip after lengthy drinking and his wife Töregene Khatun becomes regent
1241Siege of Lahore (1241): A Mongol force led by Tair Bahadur sacks the city of Lahore, marking a major incursion into the Delhi Sultanate.
1242Mongol invasion of Europe: Mongol Empire forces Bulgaria to pay tribute
1242SpringMongol invasion of Europe: Mongol forces retreat after receiving news of Ögedei Khan's death; Batu Khan stays at the Volga River and his brother Orda Khan returns to Mongolia
1242Mongol invasions of Anatolia: Mongols take Erzurum
1242Chagatai Khan dies and his grandson Qara Hülegü succeeds him
124326 JuneBattle of Köse Dağ: Baiju defeats Kaykhusraw II and subjugates the Sultanate of Rum and Empire of Trebizond
1244The Ayyubid dynasty gives tribute to the Mongols
1244Badr al-Din Lu'lu' of Mosul submits to the Mongol Empire
1246Temüge tries to seize the throne without a kurultai but fails
124624 AugustGüyük Khan is elected ruler of the Mongol Empire at a kurultai on the Kherlen River
1246Güyük Khan appoints Yesü Möngke as head of the Chagatai Khanate
124820 AprilGüyük Khan dies on his way to confront Batu Khan and his wife Oghul Qaimish becomes regent