# Rise and Fall of the Mongols, 1162–1783

> Interactive animated map on Moving Polygons by chrisjager, 1 May 1162 – 8 Apr 1783: 73 keyframes, 10 layers, 22 events.

- Map: https://www.movingpolygons.com/map/chrisjager/rise-and-fall-of-the-mongols-11621783
- Article: [Rise and Fall of the Mongols, 1162–1783: Genghis Khan and the Khanates That Outlived His Empire](https://www.movingpolygons.com/blog/rise-and-fall-of-the-mongols-1162-1783)
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- Last updated: 2026-11-12

## About this map

How a fatherless boy from the Onon River built the largest contiguous land empire in history, and how his descendants' realms fell apart over the next five centuries.

Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khan, 1162–1227) gets the closest look: uniting the steppe tribes, the 1206 kurultai, the wars on Western Xia, Jin China, Qara Khitai and Khwarazm, and Jebe and Subutai's raid to the Kalka. His heirs reached Hungary, Baghdad, Syria and Yunnan, then split in 1260 into four khanates: Yuan China, the Golden Horde, the Chagatai Khanate and the Ilkhanate. The map follows each to its end, plus the later Genghisid states (Crimea, Kazan, Astrakhan, Sibir), the Northern Yuan, the Oirat Mongol khanates and, for context, Timur's Turco-Mongol empire.

Pale fill = vassals and tributaries. Borders are approximate: steppe power meant tribute more than fixed lines. Russian events carry their Old Style (Julian) dates.

This map is the overview, with ten layers and no neighbouring states; “The Mongol Empire, 1206–1368” shows the conquests in detail, with every neighbouring state and the campaign routes.

From 1438 the Uzbek and Kazakh khanates, also ruled by descendants of Jochi, hold Central Asia; they lasted into the 19th century. Not shown: India's Mughals, founded by Babur, a descendant of Timur and, through his mother, of Genghis Khan. Mongolia regained independence in 1911.

Sources: Wikipedia (Timeline of the Mongol Empire; Mongol conquests of Western Xia, Jin and Khwarazm; Siege of Zhongdu; Battle of the Kalka River; First Mongol invasion of Hungary; Battle of Ain Jalut; Toluid Civil War; Division of the Mongol Empire; Battle of Yamen; Ilkhanate; Chagatai Khanate; Golden Horde; Great Horde; Great Stand on the Ugra River; Northern Yuan; Ejei Khan; Siege of Kazan; Astrakhan Khanate), Britannica, World History Encyclopedia. Territories are assembled from Natural Earth provinces and geoBoundaries counties, so neighbouring states share exact borders.

## Timeline

The map animates between these keyframes.

| Date | What the map shows |
| --- | --- |
| 1 May 1162 | c. 1162 · Temüjin born by the Onon River |
| 1 Jun 1189 | c. 1189 · Temüjin elected khan of the Mongols |
| 1 Oct 1202 | 1202 · Temüjin annihilates the Tatars |
| 1 Oct 1203 | 1203 · Toghrul's Keraites overthrown |
| 1 Oct 1204 | 1204 · Naimans and Merkits crushed |
| 1 May 1206 | 1206 · Kurultai proclaims Genghis Khan |
| 1 Mar 1208 | 1207–08 · Forest peoples submit to Jochi |
| 15 Jan 1210 | 1209–10 · Uyghurs join; Western Xia submits |
| 1 Sep 1211 | 1211 · Genghis Khan invades Jin China |
| 1 Jun 1215 | 1215 · Zhongdu (Beijing) falls |
| 1 Jun 1218 | 1218 · Qara Khitai falls; Kuchlug killed |
| 20 Mar 1220 | 1220 · Bukhara and Samarkand fall |
| 24 Nov 1221 | 1221 · Khwarazm crushed; battle of the Indus |
| 31 May 1223 | 1223 · Jebe and Subutai win at the Kalka |
| 18 Aug 1227 | 1227 · Xia destroyed; Genghis Khan dies |
| 1 Aug 1231 | 1231 · Chormaqan overruns northern Persia |
| 9 Feb 1234 | 1234 · The Jin dynasty is destroyed |
| 1 Oct 1236 | 1236 · Volga Bulgaria is overrun |
| 1 Mar 1238 | 1237–38 · Ryazan and Vladimir sacked |
| 6 Dec 1240 | 1240 · Kiev falls to Batu |
| 11 Apr 1241 | 1241 · Legnica and Mohi; Hungary overrun |
| 1 Apr 1242 | 1242 · Ögedei dead; Mongols leave Hungary |
| 26 Jun 1243 | 1243 · Seljuks crushed at Köse Dağ |
| 1254 | 1254 · Kublai conquers Dali (Yunnan) |
| 19 Nov 1256 | 1256 · Hulagu breaks the Assassins of Alamut |
| 10 Feb 1258 | 1258 · Hulagu sacks Baghdad |
| 11 Aug 1259 | 1259 · Möngke dies; Korea submits |
| 1 Mar 1260 | 1260 · Aleppo, Damascus: the united empire's peak |
| 3 Sep 1260 | 1260 · Ain Jalut; civil war splits the empire |
| 21 Aug 1264 | 1264 · Kublai wins the civil war |
| 18 Dec 1271 | 1271 · Kublai proclaims the Yuan dynasty |
| 20 Nov 1274 | 1274 · First invasion of Japan fails |
| 4 Feb 1276 | 1276 · Hangzhou, the Song capital, surrenders |
| 19 Mar 1279 | 1279 · Battle of Yamen: the Song dynasty ends |
| 15 Aug 1281 | 1281 · A typhoon wrecks the Japan invasion |
| 18 Feb 1294 | 1294 · Kublai Khan dies |
| 1 Sep 1304 | 1304 · Peace among the four khanates |
| 29 Nov 1335 | 1335 · Abu Sa'id marches against Özbeg's Horde |
| 1 Dec 1335 | 1335 · Abu Sa'id dies; the Ilkhanate collapses |
| 1 Jun 1347 | 1347 · Chagatai Khanate splits in two |
| 1 Dec 1354 | 1354 · Changchub Gyaltsen takes Tibet from Sakya |
| 1 Apr 1356 | 1356 · Zhu Yuanzhang takes Nanjing; Korea free |
| 14 Sep 1368 | 1368 · Ming take Dadu; Yuan court flees north |
| 9 Apr 1370 | 1370 · Timur becomes master of Transoxiana |
| 8 Sep 1380 | 1380 · Russians defeat Mamai at Kulikovo |
| 18 May 1388 | 1388 · Ming crush the Northern Yuan at Buir |
| 15 Apr 1395 | 1395 · Timur shatters the Golden Horde |
| 20 Jul 1402 | 1402 · Timur defeats the Ottomans at Ankara |
| 18 Feb 1405 | 1405 · Timur dies marching on China |
| 1 Jun 1420 | c. 1420 · Oirats rise; Timurids have lost the west |
| 1 Jun 1438 | 1438 · Kazan breaks away; Uzbeks hold the east |
| 1 Jun 1441 | 1441 · Crimean Khanate founded |
| 1 Sep 1449 | 1449 · Oirat Esen captures the Ming emperor |
| 1 Jun 1466 | 1466 · The Golden Horde breaks apart |
| 11 Nov 1480 | 1480 · Great Stand on the Ugra: Russia free |
| 1 Jun 1502 | 1502 · Sheikh Ahmed, last khan of the Great Horde |
| 28 Jun 1502 | 1502 · Crimea destroys the Great Horde |
| 23 May 1507 | 1507 · Uzbeks end Timurid rule at Herat |
| 1510 | 1510 · Dayan Khan reunites the Mongols |
| 2 Oct 1552 | 1552 · Ivan IV conquers Kazan |
| 1 Aug 1556 | 1556 · Russia annexes Astrakhan |
| 1 Jun 1578 | 1578 · Altan Khan creates the title Dalai Lama |
| 23 Oct 1582 | 1582 · Yermak beats Kuchum at Chuvash Cape |
| 26 Oct 1582 | 1582 · Cossacks take Sibir's capital |
| 12 Jun 1635 | 1635 · Northern Yuan ends; Dzungars rise |
| 1 Jun 1642 | 1642 · Oirat Güshi Khan becomes king of Tibet |
| 1 Jun 1678 | 1678 · Afaq Khoja, exiled, seeks Dzungar help |
| 1 Jun 1680 | 1680 · Dzungars conquer the Tarim Basin |
| 29 May 1691 | 1691 · Khalkha Mongols submit to the Qing |
| 1 Jun 1723 | 1723 · Dzungar onslaught on the Kazakhs |
| 1 Jun 1757 | 1755–57 · Qing destroy the Dzungar Khanate |
| 5 Jan 1771 | 1771 · Kalmyk exodus; khanate abolished |
| 8 Apr 1783 | 1783 · Russia annexes Crimea; Kazakh khans remain |

## Layers

| Layer | First shown | Last keyframe |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vassal and tributary states | 1 May 1162 | 11 Nov 1480 |
| Mongol Empire → Yuan → Northern Yuan → Khalkha Mongols | 1 May 1162 | 29 May 1691 |
| Golden Horde (Ulus of Jochi) | 1 May 1162 | 28 Jun 1502 |
| Chagatai Khanate → Moghulistan | 1 May 1162 | 1 Jun 1680 |
| Ilkhanate (Persia) | 1 May 1162 | 18 Feb 1405 |
| Timurid Empire (Turco-Mongol, non-Genghisid) | 1 May 1162 | 23 May 1507 |
| Kazan, Astrakhan and Sibir khanates | 1 May 1162 | 26 Oct 1582 |
| Crimean Khanate | 1 May 1162 | 8 Apr 1783 |
| Oirat Mongols: Dzungar, Khoshut, Kalmyk | 1 May 1162 | 5 Jan 1771 |
| Uzbek and Kazakh khanates (Jochid) | 1 May 1162 | 1 Jun 1757 |

## Events

- **1 May 1162, Temüjin is born**: Born to Yesügei of the Borjigin clan, by tradition at Delüün Boldog near the Onon River. After his father was poisoned, the clan abandoned the family and the boy grew up in poverty and danger.
- **1 May 1206, Kurultai on the Onon: Genghis Khan**: In spring 1206 a great assembly of the steppe tribes proclaims Temüjin “Genghis Khan” (Chinggis Khan). He reorganises the tribes into decimal army units and a personal guard, the start of the Mongol Empire.
- **1 Sep 1211, Battle of Yehuling (Wild Fox Ridge)**: Mongol cavalry destroys a huge Jin army in the passes north-west of Zhongdu, at Wild Fox Ridge and Badger Mouth (Huan'erzui), opening north China to invasion.
- **1 Jun 1215, Fall of Zhongdu (Beijing)**: After a long blockade and famine, the Jin capital surrenders in June 1215 and is plundered. The Jin court had already fled south to Kaifeng.
- **1 Sep 1219, Siege of Otrar**: Otrar's governor had massacred a Mongol trade caravan in 1218, and the Shah then had one of Genghis Khan's envoys killed and the others humiliated. Genghis answers with the full-scale invasion of Khwarazm.
- **31 May 1223, Battle of the Kalka River**: Jebe and Subutai, on a reconnaissance ride round the Caspian, draw a Rus’ and Cuman army after them with a feigned retreat, then turn and crush it: the Mongols’ first clash with the Rus’.
- **18 Aug 1227, Death of Genghis Khan**: Genghis Khan dies in August 1227 during the final campaign against Western Xia, most likely in camp near the Liupan mountains (the exact place and cause are uncertain). His burial place in Mongolia was kept secret and has never been found.
- **6 Dec 1240, Fall of Kiev**: Batu storms the greatest city of the Rus’.
- **11 Apr 1241, Battle of Mohi**: Two days after Legnica, Batu and Subutai annihilate the Hungarian army of King Béla IV. The Mongols withdraw in 1242, traditionally linked to news of Ögedei’s death in December 1241.
- **10 Feb 1258, Sack of Baghdad**: Hulagu takes Baghdad, executes the last Abbasid caliph and massacres much of the population, ending the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad.
- **5 May 1260, Kublai proclaimed Great Khan**: Kublai’s supporters elect him at Kaiping (later Shangdu). A rival kurultai in Mongolia chooses his brother Ariq Böke, and the civil war begins.
- **3 Sep 1260, Battle of Ain Jalut**: With Hulagu gone east after Möngke’s death, the Mamluks of Egypt defeat and kill the general Kitbuqa: the first major check on Mongol expansion.
- **18 Dec 1271, Kublai founds the Great Yuan**: An edict names the dynasty Da Yuan, “Great Origin”, after the Book of Changes. Dadu (Khanbaliq, today’s Beijing) becomes its capital.
- **19 Mar 1279, Battle of Yamen**: The last Song fleet is destroyed; an official leaps into the sea with the child emperor. Kublai now rules all of China.
- **15 Aug 1281, Second invasion of Japan**: A huge Yuan fleet is wrecked by a typhoon in Imari Bay off Kyushu: the “kamikaze”, or divine wind.
- **14 Sep 1368, Ming armies take Dadu**: The last Yuan emperor, Toghon Temür, flees north to the steppe; his heirs continue as the Northern Yuan.
- **9 Apr 1370, Timur takes power at Balkh**: After his rival Amir Husayn surrenders Balkh and is killed, Timur becomes sole master of Transoxiana. Not a Genghisid, he rules through a puppet khan and as a royal son-in-law.
- **1 Jun 1465, Kazakh Khanate founded**: The Jochid sultans Kerei and Janibek leave Abu’l-Khayr’s Uzbek khanate with their clans and settle on the Chu river. Kazakh tradition dates the khanate to about 1465.
- **8 Oct 1480, Great Stand on the Ugra**: Akhmat Khan of the Great Horde faces Ivan III’s army across the Ugra, waits in vain for Lithuanian help and withdraws. Russian tradition dates the end of the “Tatar yoke” to this standoff.
- **12 Jun 1635, The Yuan seal passes to the Manchus**: After Ligdan Khan’s death in 1634, his son Ejei Khan surrenders in the Ordos to Hong Taiji’s army and hands over the Yuan imperial seal. The Northern Yuan ends; the Manchus proclaim the Qing dynasty in 1636.
- **8 Apr 1783, Epilogue: Mongolia under the Qing until 1911**: The Mongol homeland, under Qing rule since 1691, declares independence in 1911 under the Bogd Khan.
- **8 Apr 1783, Russia annexes Crimea**: Catherine II annexes the khanate, ending some 340 years of rule by the Giray khans, descendants of Genghis Khan through Jochi. Genghisid khans still reign on the Kazakh steppe until the 1820s.
- Plus 69 smaller events, shown as dots on the map.