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Liaoyang Province 遼陽等處行中書省
Province of theYuan dynasty
1271–1368
Manchuria within the Yuan dynasty under the Liaoyang Province
Capital	Yizhou
• Type	Yuan hierarchy
History
• Established	1271
• Disestablished	1368
• Ming campaign against the Uriankhai	1387
Preceded by Succeeded by Mongol Empire Northern Yuan dynasty Ming dynasty

Manchuria under Yuan rule refers to theYuan dynasty's rule overManchuria, corresponding to modernManchuria (Northeast China) andOuter Manchuria (includingSakhalin), from 1271 to 1368.Mongol rule over Manchuria was established after theMongol Empire'sconquest of the Jin dynasty and theEastern Xia dynasty in the early 13th century. It became a part of theYuan dynasty of China led byKublai Khan in 1271. During the Yuan, it was administered asLiaoyang Province. Even after the overthrow of the Yuan dynasty by theMing dynasty in 1368, Manchuria was still controlled by theNorthern Yuan dynasty for almost 20 years, until it was conquered by the Ming during itscampaign against Naghachu andput under Ming rule.

In 1211, after the conquest ofWestern Xia,Genghis Khan, the founder of theMongol Empire mobilized an army toconquer theJin dynasty, which controlled much ofNorth China includingManchuria. They successfully destroyed the Jin forts there. TheKhitans under Yelü Liuge declared their allegiance to Genghis Khan and established the nominally autonomousEastern Liao in Manchuria in 1213. However, the Jin forces dispatched apunitive expedition against them. The Mongol generalJebe went there again and pushed out the Jin force. The Jin general,Puxian Wannu, rebelled against the Jin dynasty and founded the kingdom ofEastern Xia in Dongjing (Liaoyang) in 1215.Ögedei Khan's sonGüyük crushed the Eastern Xia dynasty in 1233, pacifying southern Manchuria. Some time after 1234 Ögedei also subdued theWater Tatars in the northern part of the region and began to receivefalcons,harems andfurs as taxation. During the conquest of Manchuria the Mongols had formed temporary alliances of convenience with many local groups, but by 1233 they had terminated many such relations and established military dominance in Manchuria.

Having destroyed existing governmental structures and displaced political elites, the Mongols did not immediately establish firm control. Rather, the Mongols developed a fluid system of governance in Manchuria designed to extract economic and military resources while maintaining local stability. With the establishment of theYuan dynasty inChina by Mongol leaderKublai Khan, Manchuria became a part of the Yuan. Kublai Khan set up the Liaoyang province (遼陽行省) orLiaoyang Branch Secretariat (遼陽等處行中書省) in 1269, and the province had extended to northeasternKorean Peninsula. It became a Xuanweisi (宣慰司) in 1286. Manchuria was home to an unusual concentration of Mongol princes. The influence of these princes extended intoNorth China andKorea. Mongol commanderNayan led a rebellion against Kublai Khan in Manchuria, a region under the direct jurisdiction of Kublai Khan, in 1287. Nayan also allied himself withKaidu, Kublai's enemy inCentral Asia andde facto ruler of theChagatai Khanate. Kublai Khan decided to personally lead the campaign against Nayan, since he must have believed that the threat posed by the dissident leader was critical. Kublai recruited a sizable force, and despite his age and ailments, he had himself carried to the battlefield in a palanquin mounted on the backs of fourelephants. In theautumn of 1287, the two sides faced each other, and later in the day the tide turned against theNestorian Christian Nayan. Kublai captured him and had him executed.^[1]

After Nayan's defeat the Liaoyang province was re-established to govern Manchuria, and it oversaw sevencircuits such as the Kaiyuan Circuit (開元路). During most of the 14th century, the capital of the Liaoyang province was located in Yizhou (懿州). It would be misleading to portray the Liaoyang province or Liaoyang Branch Secretariat as a purely civilian administration staffed by career bureaucrats. As members of theNortheast Asian elite, the Korean Hong family dominated the Liaoyang Branch Secretariat during the late 13th and the early 14th centuries.Hong Dagu headed the province in 1287 after the defeat of the Mongol princes Nayan and Qadan. When Qadan resumed his revolt and attacked theGoryeo capital ofKaesong, the YuanZhongshu Sheng specifically appointed Hong Dagu to pacify the region east of theLiao River and granted him wide latitude to accomplish this task. Hong Dagu's younger brother and son would later hold his post during the 1390s and 1400s (decade). Furthermore, Mongolian nobles such asDorji also served in senior positions in the general administration in Manchuria.^[2]

Kublai Khan's efforts to restore order in the region after the revolts by Nayan and Qadan reflect the complex nature of Manchuria under the Mongols. The establishment of the Liaoyang province was part of his efforts to consolidate control over Manchuria. He also appointed such loyal generals as the KoreanHong Kun-sang to senior posts within the administration of Manchuria. Finally, Kublai Khan was careful to permit Nayan's relatives to retain his lands and privileges. The Yuan court needed the allegiance of the Mongol aristocracy as a whole even when it was forced to strike against individual members. Kublai stove to balance the interests of the Goryeo throne, local Mongol nobles, leaders of the Korean community in Manchuria, and his own court to restore order in the northeast.^[3]

During the 14th century, no open military conflict marred relations between the Yuan court and the imperial princes in Manchuria. The Liaoyang province exercised more local control than in previous decades. However, the Yuan government still felt the need to periodically dispatch special emissaries to assist officials in Manchuria in tours of inspections. In sum, the Mongol court continued to work at a balance among its own interest, Chinese populations, center-oriented local administration, and Mongol princes in the region. According toYuanshi, the official history of the Yuan dynasty,the Mongols invaded Sakhalin and militarily subdued the Guwei (骨嵬, Gǔwéi), and by 1308, all inhabitants ofSakhalin had submitted to the Yuan dynasty. A military institution named the Zhengdong Marshal Office (征東元帥府) was established to govern the region surrounding the lower course of theAmur River and the Sakhalin. During thecivil war of the Yuan dynasty known as theWar of the Two Capitals after the death ofYesün Temür, Mongolian princes and high-ranking Mongolian officials based in Manchuria and eastern Mongolia fought on both sides of the war. After theRed Turban Rebellion that overthrew the Mongol Yuan dynasty by theMing dynasty in 1368, Manchuria was still under the control of the Mongols under theNorthern Yuan dynasty based inMongolia for a while.Naghachu, an Yuan official in Manchuria since 1362, won hegemony over the Mongol tribes in the region. In 1387 the Ming senta military campaign to attack Naghachu. The campaign concluded with the surrender of Naghachu and Manchuria wasput under Ming rule.

• Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty
• Manchuria under Ming rule
• Manchuria under Qing rule
• Korea under Yuan rule
• Mongolia under Yuan rule
• Tibet under Yuan rule
• Yuan dynasty in Inner Asia
• History of Manchuria

• States and territories established in 1271
• States and territories disestablished in 1368
• History of Yuan dynasty by region
• Provinces of the Yuan dynasty
• History of Manchuria

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