The Mongols conquered vast swathes of Asia in the 13th and 14th century CE thanks to their fast light cavalry and excellent bowmen, but another significant contribution to their success was the adoption of their enemies' tactics and technology that allowed them to defeat established military powers in China, Persia, and Eastern Europe. Adapting to different challenges and terrain, the Mongols became adept at both siege and naval warfare, very different pursuits from their nomadic origins on the Asian steppe. In addition, diplomacy, espionage, and terror were used in equal measure to win many a battle before it had even begun. Ultimately, the Mongols would establish the largest empire the world had ever seen, and their ruthlessness in battle would cast a long shadow of fear over those they conquered with generals earning fearsome nicknames such as the 'hounds of war' and their soldiers being labelled 'the devil's horsemen.'
More about: Mongol WarfareDefinition
Timeline
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1205The Mongols attack the Jurchen Jin state in northern China.
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1205 - 1255Life of the Mongol military commander and grandson of Genghis Khan, Batu Khan.
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1206 - 1368The Mongol Empire rules in Central and East Asia.
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1206 - 1227Reign of Genghis Khan as the ruler of the Mongol Empire.
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1209The Mongols attack the Jurchen Jin state in northern China.
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1209The Mongols attack the Tangut state of Xi Xia.
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1211The Mongols attack the Jurchen Jin state in northern China.
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1212 - 1215The Mongols attack Song China, sacking over 90 cities.
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1214The Jurchen Jin state signs a short-lived peace treaty with the Mongol Empire and is obliged to pay tribute.
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1215The Mongols attack the Tangut state of Xi Xia.
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1215The Mongols sack Beijing.
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1215The Mongols attack the Jurchen Jin state in northern China.
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1218 - 1220The Mongols attack the Khwarazm Empire in Central Asia.
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1219A Goryeo army allies with the Mongols to attack the Khitan in northern Korea.
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1221The Mongols attack northern Afghanistan.
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1223The Mongols defeat an army of the Kievan Rus at Kalka.
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1229 - 1241Reign of Ogedei Khan as the ruler of the Mongol Empire.
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1230 - 1231The Mongols attack the Jurchen Jin State.
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1231 - 1232Ogedei Khan leads a Mongol invasion into Korea.
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1233Kaifeng, capital of the Jurchen Jin State, falls after a lengthy siege by the Mongols.
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Feb 1234The Mongols attack and conquer the Jurchen Jin State in northern China.
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1235The Mongols invade northern Iraq and western Asia
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1236 - 1242Multiple Mongol armies attack western Asia, Russia, Poland, and Hungary.
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21 Dec 1237The city of Ryazan (Riazan) is besieged and captured by the Mongols.
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1238The Mongols invade Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.
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7 Feb 1238The Mongols capture the city of Vladimir.
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23 Mar 1238The Mongols capture the city of Torshok.
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6 Dec 1240The Mongols capture Kiev.
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9 Apr 1241The Mongols defeat an army led by Henry the Pious, the Duke of Silesia, near Liegnitz (Legnica).
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10 Apr 1241 - 11 Apr 1241The Mongols defeat an army led by Bela IV, king of Hungary, at the Battle of Mohi.
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Dec 1241The Mongols capture Buda and Pest.
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Dec 1241The Mongols capture the great city of Gran (Esztergom) in Hungary.
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1253 - 1260A Mongol army led by Hulegu invades Persia and the Middle East.
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1256The Mongols defeat the Ismailis (aka the Assassins) in Persia.
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1257The Mongols invade Vietnam.
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1257The Mongols conquer the Dali kingdom in southern China.
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1258An uprising restores the monarchy in Korea and makes peace with the Mongol Empire.
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1258The Mongols conquer the Abbasid Caliphate. During this campaign there is the infamous sacking of Baghdad and murder of the caliph.
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Dec 1259The Mongols besiege and capture Aleppo in Syria.
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1260 - 1294Reign of Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire.
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1260Battle of Ain Jalut; Mongol advance to the heartland of Islam is halted.
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1260 - 1264Kublai Khan fights a civil war with his brother Ariq Boke for control of the Mongol Empire.
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1262Kublai Khan captures Karakorum after his rival nAriq Boke (1219-1266 CE) used it as his base.
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1268Kublai Khan resumes the Mongol attacks on Song Dynasty China.
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1270Part of northern Korea is conquered by the Mongol Empire.
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1273Xiangyang falls into Mongol hands.
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1275 - 1279The Mongols led by Kublai Khan attack and conquer the last remnants of Song China.
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28 Mar 1276Lin'an, the capital of the Song Dynasty, is captured by a Mongol army.
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1277The Mongols/Yuan Dynasty invade Burma.
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19 Mar 1279The Mongols complete their conquest of Song Dynasty China with victory at the naval battle at Yaishan.
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1281The Mongols/Yuan Dynasty China invade Vietnam for a second time.
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1286The Mongols/Yuan Dynasty China re-invade Vietnam.
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1287The Mongols/Yuan Dynasty China re-invade Burma.
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1292A Mongol/Yuan Dynasty naval force attacks Java.
