Yuan Dynasty
~The Yuan dynasty 元 (1279-1368) was founded by Khubilai Khan, a grandson of the great Mongolianconqueror Činggis Qaɣan. The Yuan empire was one state (ulus) within the larger Mongolian unity of states. It included the three states that had formerly controlled the soil of China, namely the TangutanWestern Xia empire 西夏 (1038-1227), which was the first to be conquered by the Mongols, the Jurchenempire of Jin 金 (1115-1234), which was located in northern China, and the Southern Song empire 南宋 (1127-1279). The Yuan empire also included various Uyghurian communities in the region of modern Gansu and Xinjiang, as well as the Western Liao empire 西遼 (1124-1218) that had controlled the western parts of Xinjiang, as well as part of the steppe of Central Asia further west.
GEOGRAPHY
Capital of the Yuan empire was Dadu 大都 "Great Capital", known as Khanbalik (Qanbaliq "City of the Khan") and today as Beijing; the secondary capital was the Shangdu 上都 "Upper Capital" (Kaiping 開平; known as Xanadu in the western accounts), located near modern Dolonnur 多倫, Inner Mongolia. The old capital of the Mongols, Karakhorum (Qaraqorum, "Helin 和林"), was located in modern Mongolia.
The relations the the southeast Asian countries were that of a tribute system. As long as Bagan, Pegu (Burma), Sukhotai (Thailand), Chanla, Champa and Vietnam ("Annam" 安南) paid tributes, they were left unchallenged. Vietnam was still ruled by the Trần Dynasty 陳 and was not administered by a branch secretariate. Korea (Koryŏ 高麗) only became an own state again after the downfall of the Mongols. Tibet was ruled by the Yuan Dynasty through the Commission for Buddhist and Tibetian affairs (Xuanzhengyuan 宣政院).
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