Kublai Khan

1215 – 1294 · died at about 79^[1][2]

Politics & Leadership

Fun Facts About Kublai Khan

• Kublai Khan rushed to build his invasion fleet against Japan in one year instead of up to five, an archaeologist's team found from its wreckage, forcing the use of riverboats.^[1]
• At age nine, after Kublai's first hunt, his grandfather Genghis Khan smeared fat from the kill onto Kublai's middle finger and told everyone to heed the boy's words.^[1][3][4]
• The Italian explorer Marco Polo served as Kublai's foreign emissary and lived in his lands for 17 years.^[1][5][6]
• In 1260 Kublai created the first unified paper currency, the Jiaochao, whose bills circulated with no expiration date.^[1]
• Under Kublai, the Mongols became the first non-Han Chinese people to conquer all of China, and his summer capital, Shangdu, was also called Xanadu.^[1]
• Mongol records list 20,166 public schools created during Kublai's reign.^[1]
• Kublai Khan was alive at the same time as Dante Alighieri — their lives overlapped for about 29 years (c. 1265–1294).^[1][2][7][8]
• Kublai Khan lived to about 79, from 1215 until 1294.^[1][2]

Kublai Khan, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the dynastic name "Great Yuan" in 1271, and ruled Yuan China until his death in 1294.^[1]

Contemporaries

Rumi

58 yr overlap

Thomas Aquinas

49 yr overlap

Marco Polo

40 yr overlap

Dante Alighieri

29 yr overlap

Mansa Musa

14 yr overlap

Genghis Khan

12 yr overlap

Their World

Questions About Kublai Khan

When was Kublai Khan born?

Kublai Khan was born in 1215 and died in 1294.

How old was Kublai Khan at death?

Kublai Khan died in 1294 at about 79 years old (1215–1294).

What was Kublai Khan known for?

Kublai Khan was known for: Mongol emperor of China. Kublai Khan, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the dynastic name "Great Yuan" in 1271, and ruled Yuan China until his death in 1294.

Who was alive at the same time as Kublai Khan?

Kublai Khan's closest contemporary was Rumi. Their lives overlapped for 58 years.