Throughinvasions and conquests theMongols established a vast empire that included many political divisions, vassals and tributary states. It was the largest contiguous land empire in history. However, after the death ofMöngke Khan, theToluid Civil War and subsequent wars had led to thefragmentation of the Mongol Empire. By 1294, the empire had fractured into four autonomous khanates, including theGolden Horde in the northwest, theChagatai Khanate in the middle, theIlkhanate in the southwest, and theYuan dynasty[a] in the east based in modern-dayBeijing, although the Yuan emperors held the nominal title ofKhagan of the empire.
Persia, Georgia, Armenia, Cilicia and Turkey (former Seljuk ruled parts) underAmu Dar'ya Department
Golden Horde. According to notable Russian scholars A.P.Grigorev and O.B.Frolova, the Ulus of Jochids had 10 provinces: 1.Khiva or Khorazm, 2. Desht-i-Kipchak, 3.Khazaria, 4. Crimea, 5. the Banks of Azov, 6. the country ofCircassians, 7.Bulgar, 8.Walachia, 9.Alania, 10. Russian lands.[11]
When Genghis Khan was campaigning inCentral Asia, his entrusted generalMuqali (1170–1223) attempted to set up provinces and established branch departments of state affairs. But Ögedei abolished them and divided the areas of North China into 10 routes (lu, 路) according to the suggestion ofYelü Chucai, a prominentConfucian statesman ofKhitan ethnicity. He also divided the empire into Beshbalik administration, Yanjing administration while the headquarters in Karakorum directly dealt with Manchuria, Mongolia and Southern Siberia. Late in his reign, Amu Darya administration was established. UnderMöngke Khan, these administrations were renamed Branch Departments.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the nominal vassal. However, Mongols underOrda andBurundai successfully invaded southern regions of Lithuania in 1241 and in 1259 (LaterNogai),Jogaila,the Grand Duke of Lithuania and the King of Poland, officially acknowledgedTokhtamysh as overlord in 1382 after the fall of the Yuan in 1368. The Mongols of theGolden Horde always counted the Lithuanians among their subjects, and Tokhtamysh demanded the Lithuanian ruler for him to collect taxes fromKiev (then under Jogaila and his successors) for his campaign against theTimurids.[12]
A number of Russian states, including theRepublic of Novgorod,Pskov andSmolensk.[13] Batu Khan could not reach northern part of Russia due to the marshlands surrounding city-states such as Novgorod and Pskov in 1239. But the combined effects ofAlexander Nevsky's diplomacy, Mongol threats and invasions by theTeutonic Knights, forced Novgorod and later Pskov to accept the terms of vassalage. In 1274, the last of the Russian principalities became subject to the Horde ofMöngke-Temür.
Second Bulgarian Empire.[14] During the end of Mongol invasion of Europe, theBulgarians underIvan Asen II tried to destroy Mongol tumen. ButKadan's raids through Bulgaria on his retreat from Central Europe induced the youngKaliman I of Bulgaria to pay tribute and accept Mongol suzerainty. According to a letter ofBéla IV to the pope written in 1254 indicates that at that time the Bulgarians were still paying tribute to the Mongols.
Kingdom of Serbia.[14] Around 1288Milutin launched an invasion to pacify two Bulgarian nobles in what is now north-east Serbia, in the Branicevo region, but those nobles were vassals of the Bulgarian prince of Vidin,Shishman. Shishman attacked Milutin but was defeated and Milutin in return sacked his capital Vidin. But Shishman was a vassal ofNogai Khan, thede facto ruler of theGolden Horde. Nogai Khan threatened to punish Milutin for his insolence, but changed his mind when the Serbian king sent him gifts and hostages. Among the hostages was his sonStefan Dečanski, who managed to escape back toSerbia after Nogai Khan's death in 1299.
Đại Việt (Vietnam).[15] After the Vietnamese captured Mongol envoys sent to ask a route to attack Southern China, the Mongol forces invaded theTrần dynasty in 1257. The Mongols routed city defenders and massacred inhabitants of capital Thăng Long (Hanoi). King Than Tong agreed to pay tributes to Möngke Khan to spare his country. At the same time, the Mongols were unable to withstand the tropical heat, mosquitoes and malaria. So they retreated after securing a promise of tribute from the king. When Kublai Khan demanded full submission of the dynasty where Mongol darughachis were well received before,[16] the relationship between two states deteriorated in 1264. The Mongols then launched two large-scale invasions in 1285 and 1288, both were repulsed. But the king of Đại Việt or Trần dynasty eventually accepted Mongolsuzerainty to avoid further conflicts.
Champa.[15] Although king Ve Indrawarman of Champa expressed his desire to accept the Yuan rule in 1278, his son and subjects ignored the submission. The Mongol forces lost in the country and their general was killed, however, they defeated all forces of Champa in open battles in 1283. But Champa force managed to wear down the invading force by waging a guerrilla warfare against them. The Mongols finally retreated. AfterMongol invasion in 1288 failed, the king of Champa also started sending tributes to avoid further bloodshed.
Khmer Empire.[15] In 1278, a Mongol envoy was executed by theKhmer king. An envoy was sent again to demand submission when the Yuan army was besieging the fortress in Champa. 100 Mongol cavalries sent to Khmer after the imprisonment of the second envoy. They were ambushed and destroyed by the Khmers. However, the King of Khmer Empire asked a pardon and sent tribute in 1285 due to his war-like neighbours and Kublai Khan's rage.
Sukhothai Kingdom andChiangmai orTaiyo. When Kublai sent Mongol forces to protect his vassals in Burma,Thai states including Sukhothai and Taiyo accepted Mongol supremacy. KingRamkhamhaeng and other Thai and Khmer leaders visited the Yuan court to show their loyalty several times.[17]
TheKingdom ofGoryeo. TheMongol invasions of Korea consisted of a series of campaigns by the Mongol Empire against Korea, then known as Goryeo, from 1231 to 1270. There were six major campaigns at tremendous cost to civilian lives throughout the Korean peninsula, ultimately resulting in Korea becoming asemi-autonomous vassal state of the Mongol Yuan dynasty for approximately 80 years.[18] The Mongol Empire and the Kingdom of Goryeo tied with marriages as Mongol princesses were married to Korean Kings, while Mongol Emperors took many Korean women as concubines. A Korean woman called theEmpress Gi became an empress through her marriage withUkhaantu Khan, and her son,Biligtü Khan of theNorthern Yuan dynasty, became a Mongol Khan. KingChungnyeol of Goryeo married a daughter of Kubilai Khan, and marriages between Mongol and Korea continued for eighty years. The Goryeo dynasty survived under Mongolian influence until King Gongmin began to push Mongolian garrisons of the Yuan back starting in the 1350s. Goryeo was the lowest rank vassal of the Mongols, below the Karluks and Uighurs, because the Koreans surrendered last.
TheKingdom of Qocho, a Buddhist Uighur Kingdom. When the Mongols placed the Uighurs of theKingdom of Qocho over the Koreans at the court the Korean King objected, then the Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan rebuked the Korean King, saying that theUighur King of Qocho was ranked higher than the Karluk Kara-Khanid ruler, who in turn was ranked higher than the Korean King, who was ranked last, because the Uighurs surrendered to the Mongols first, the Karluks surrendered after the Uighurs, and the Koreans surrendered last, and that the Uighurs surrendered peacefully without violently resisting.[19][20]
TheMaharajah of Yunnan. King Duan Xingzhi of Dali was then enfeoffed asMaharaja (摩诃罗嵯) by the Yuan Emperor Kublai Khan, and the Dali Kingdom Duan royal family continued to hold the title of Maharaja in Yunnan as vassals to the Mongols. After theMing dynasty conquered Yunnan from the Yuan, the Duan royals were shipped off to the Ming capital of Nanjing by theHongwu Emperor.[citation needed]
ThePrincipality of Antioch and theCounty of Tripoli.[21] - The small crusader state paid annual tributes for many years. The closest thing to actual Frankish cooperation with Mongol military actions was the overlord-subject relationship between the Mongols and the Franks of Antioch and others. Mongols lost their vassal and allyFranks as the fall ofAntioch in 1268 andTripoli in 1289 to the Mamluks.
TheEmpire of Trebizond- TheSeljuks and the military forces of Trebizond weredefeated by the Mongols in 1243. After that,Kaykhusraw II, the Sultan ofIconium was compelled to pay tribute and supply annually horses, hunting dogs, and jewels. The emperorManuel I of Trebizond, realizing the impossibility of fighting the Mongols, made a speedy peace with them and, on condition of paying an annual tribute, became a Mongol vassal. The empire reached its greatest prosperity and had opportunity to export the produce of its own rich hinterland during the era ofIlkhans. But with the decline of Mongol power in 1335, Trebizond suffered increasingly from Turkish attacks, civil wars, and domestic intrigues.[22]
Theindigenous people ofSakhalin. The Mongol forces madeseveral attacks on Sakhalin, beginning in 1264 and continuing until 1308.[23] Economically, the conquest of new peoples provided further wealth for the tribute-based Yuan dynasty. TheNivkhs and theOroks were subjugated by the Mongols. However, theAinu people raided Mongol posts every year.[24] The Ainus finally accepted Mongol supremacy in 1308.
TheByzantine Empire.[25] When an Egyptian diplomat was arrested by emperorMichael VIII Palaiologos, SultanBaibars insisted his allyBerke Khan to attack the Greek Empire. In the winter of 1265Nogai Khan led a Mongol raid on ByzantineThrace with his vassal Bulgaria. In the spring of 1265 he defeated the armies of Michael and freed the diplomat and former Seljuk sultanKaykaus II. Instead of fighting, most of the Byzantines fled. Michael managed to escape with the assistance of Italian merchants. After this Thrace was plundered by Nogai's army, and the Byzantine emperor signed a treaty with Berke of theGolden Horde, giving his daughterEuphrosyne in marriage to Nogai. Michael also sent much valuable fabric to the Golden Horde as a tribute thereafter. But after that event, the imperial court ofByzantium developed and retained a policy of good relations with both the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate, which became allies against intrusion of the Mamluks of Egypt and the Ghazi emirs of Anatolia.[citation needed]
Small states of theMalay Peninsula. Kublai sent surrounding nations his envoys to demand their submission in 1270-1280. Most of states inIndo-China and Malay accepted the demand. According to Marco Polo, those subjects sent tribute on to the Mongol court, includingelephants,rhinoceroses, jewels and a tooth ofBuddha. One notable scholar identified that these acts of submission were more ceremonial in some regard. During theMongol invasion of Java in 1293, small states of Malay andSumatra submitted and sent envoys or hostages to them.Native people of modernTaiwan andPhilippines helped the Mongol armada but they were never conquered.[citation needed]
^As per modern historiographical norm, the "Yuan dynasty" in this article refers exclusively to the realm based inDadu (present-dayBeijing). However, theHan-style dynastic name "Great Yuan" (大元) as proclaimed byKublai, as well as the claim to Chinese political orthodoxy were meant to be applied to the entireMongol Empire.[6][7][8][9] In spite of this, "Yuan dynasty" is rarely used in the broad sense of the definition by modern scholars due to thede factodisintegrated nature of the Mongol Empire.
^A COMPENDIUM OF CHRONICLES: Rashid al-Din's Illustrated History of the World (The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, VOL XXVII)ISBN0-19-727627-X, the reign of Möngke
^A. P. Grigorev and O. B. Frolova "Geographicheskoy opisaniye Zolotoy Ordi" inEncyclopedia al-Kashkandi-Tyurkologicheskyh sbornik, 2001-p. 262-302
^René GroussetThe Empire of the Steppes, Ж.Бор Еварзийн дипломат шашстир II боть
