1. Introduction

Why did the Mongolians see the seizing of power by Khubilai Khan as the same as the decline of the Mongol Empire? How come that the Chinese respect and revere Khubilai Khan (also known among the Mongolians as Khubilai Sechen Khan, the Wise Khan), despite the fact that he was a foreign ruler? I also wondered how it was possible to rule such a vast empire? I want to point out that I am no expert in this field, this is something I just put together because I am interested in this era of world history. And also because I find Khubilai Khan to be a remarkable person. I also want to apologize for any incorrectness that might be in this report. It is not easy to translate the Chinese and Mongolian words correctly, especially since I do not know either language.

Khubilai Khan was born in the year 1215 CE, in the same that year his grandfather Chingis Khan conquered Beijing, Khubilai Khan’s death in 1294 CE, coincided with the decline and divide that in the end led to the fall of the Mongol empire. The West probably would not have any special knowledge about Khubilai Khan, if it had not been for the Venetian Marco Polo, one of many foreign visitors at the court of Khubilai Khan.

Khubilai Khan did not just affect the development in China and Asia but also in some extent the European history. Many of his contemporary fellow rulers knew about Khubilai Khan throughout the entire known world, he is also mentioned in a number of books from the 11th and 12th century, written in all kinds of languages. Many artists from different countries painted the portrait of Khubilai Khan. He is represented as a Mongol in the conventional Chinese paintings, as a typical Muslim potentate, dressed and with the looks like a caliph in Persian miniatures and as a European king with a Caucasian look in the stories of Marco Polo. Every civilization described Khubilai Khan in its own way. This was surely one of the causes that Khubilai Khans reputation was so spread throughout the world.

Khubilai Khan was one of the first great nomadic leaders that started to rule over his realm instead of just conquer and exploit his subjects. He also continued the military campaigns of the Mongolians, he conquered Southern China and he attacked Japan and Southeast Asia. But he also strived to rule as an emperor over China and to continue to be Khaghan, the Khan of Khans in the Mongol provinces. In his efforts to make his governing possible he recruited and used an international body of advisors, these were Chinese Confucians, Persian Muslims, Tibetan Buddhists and European Christians. During his rule a capital was built, the development of a Code of Laws and a new written language for all languages in the Mongolian provinces began. The support and protection of the imperial court made it possible for theatre, art, craftsmanship, science and medicine to blossom.

Before the days of Khubilai Khan there were no Mongol historians, all history was maintained by so called storytellers; this tradition still exists in Mongolia today. These storytellers’ travels from place to place, they sing, play and tell about the old legends. These legends have not been written down and have been told from generation to generation orally. When Khubilai’s grandfather seized power, he soon realized the limitation of not having a standardized written language. Therefore, he had already begun on a new written language for the Mongolians. Khubilai Khan understood the importance that a written language had and so he concluded the work that his grandfather had started.