Song Dynasty falls as Mongols complete conquest of China (2024)

This Day in World History

March 19, 1279

Song Dynasty falls as Mongols complete conquest of China


The Song Dynasty ruled parts of China for more than three centuries. That reign ended on March 19, 1279, when a Mongol fleet defeated a Song fleet in the Battle of Yamen and completed its conquest of China.

The Song began ruling China in 960, but the Song state was constantly under pressure from non-Chinese peoples to the north and west. After years of fighting, the Jurchen people overran the Song in 1127. The Jurchens set up a new dynasty, the Jin, in northern China while the Song remnant fled to the south, creating the Southern Song.

Song Dynasty falls as Mongols complete conquest of China (1)

Pressure on that state from outside China resumed in the early 1200s, when Genghis Khan led the Mongol people on their great expansion. They overran the Jin state and by the 1260s — under their new leader, Kublai Khan — began to threaten the Southern Song. The Song had a chance to avoid conquest when Kublai sent an emissary to discuss peace. The head of the Song government had the diplomat arrested, infuriating the Mongol leader and provoking an assault on Song territory beginning in 1267.

After obtaining Xiangyang (modern Xianfan) in 1273, the Mongols gained access to the Yangzi River — and the chance to penetrate deep into Song territory. More and more Song land fell into Mongol hands, and the government moved further south. It took refuge in Guangzhou and eventually fled the mainland by boat to offshore islands.

Finally, in March 1279, the Mongol navy engaged the Song fleet and defeated it. The last Song prince drowned in the battle, perhaps because he was thrown into the water by a despairing Song official. The Mongols quickly ended remaining resistance, and China — for the first time in its history — was entirely in foreign hands.

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Song Dynasty falls as Mongols complete conquest of China (2)

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  1. Abusali

    Short, clear and crisp post about the Song Dynasty and it’s falling. Learned about Kublai Khan too. thanks for this post about the Chinese and mongalose ruling.

  2. […] 1279A Mongolian victory at the naval Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China. MORE […]

  3. […] Dynasty fleets destroyed the final Song holdouts in the waters around their island refuge at the Battle of Yamen on China’s southern […]

  4. […] Dynasty fleets destroyed the final Song holdouts in the waters around their island refuge at the Battle of Yamen on China’s southern […]

  5. Khurrum

    the Mongol Empire had split into four parts: the Golden Horde of Russia (1242-1359), the Ilkhanate of Iran and Iraq (1256-1353), the Chinese Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) ruled by Kublai Khan, and finally the Mughal Empire of India (1527-1707).

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Song Dynasty falls as Mongols complete conquest of China (2024)

FAQs

Did the Song dynasty fall as Mongols complete conquest of China? ›

That reign ended on March 19, 1279, when a Mongol fleet defeated a Song fleet in the Battle of Yamen and completed its conquest of China. The Song began ruling China in 960, but the Song state was constantly under pressure from non-Chinese peoples to the north and west.

Why did the Song dynasty fall to the Mongols? ›

Political corruption and invasions from external tribes, and civilian uprisings greatly weakened the Northern Song Dynasty. Due to weak military strength the Northern Song were not able to withstand the invasion from the Jin Dynasty.

What was the downfall of the Song dynasty? ›

The rule of the Song ended in 1279 when Mongol leader Khubilai Khan, having conquered the Jurchen regime in northern China, swept through southern China and brought the Song territories entirely within the fold of the newly proclaimed Yuan dynasty.

Why did the Mongols repeatedly fail to conquer the Song dynasty? ›

Answer. The Mongols repeatedly fail to conquer the Song dynasty before Kublai Khan's conquest because the Song army had trebuchets. Thus, option first is correct.

When did the Mongols fully conquer China? ›

In 1279, the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan formally established the Yuan dynasty in the Chinese tradition, having crushed the last Song resistance, marking the reunification of China under Mongol rule, the first time that non-Han people had ruled the entire country.

Did the Song dynasty conquer? ›

The Song dynasty (/sʊŋ/) was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Ten Kingdoms, ending the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

How did China lose to Mongols? ›

Mongols took advantage of the fractured state of China, which was then divided into the Song Empire in the south and the Jin Empire in the north. Genghis Khan allied his forces with defectors from the Jin state in order to overtake their army.

Which dynasty fell to the Mongols? ›

In the south, after the fall of Xiangyang in 1273, the Mongols sought the final conquest of the Song dynasty in South China. In 1271, Kublai renamed the new Mongol regime in China as the Yuan dynasty and sought to sinicize his image as Emperor of China to win the control of the Chinese people.

What changes occurred after the Mongols conquered the Song Dynasty? ›

After the Song empire had been conquered, the population of China was divided into four classes. The first class was the Mongols themselves, a tiny but privileged minority. Next came the semuren (“persons with special status”), confederates of the Mongols such as Turks or Middle Eastern Muslims.

What was the biggest threat to the Song Dynasty? ›

North China faced the particular pressure of military incursions by non-Chinese peoples of the northern steppe; among these, a Mongol tribe known as the Khitans were the greatest threat.

When did the Song Dynasty decline? ›

The Song forces fought on until 1276, when their capital fell. The dynasty finally ended in 1279 with the destruction of the Song fleet near Guangzhou (Canton).

How did Song Dynasty impact China? ›

Just a few of these advancements included improvements in agriculture, development of moveable type, uses for gunpowder, invention of a mechanical clock, superior shipbuilding, the use of paper money, compass navigation, and porcelain production.

Who destroyed the Song dynasty? ›

The Mongols (Yuan dynasty, 1279-1368), after defeating the Jurchen in the early 13th century, went on and fully defeated the Song to control all of China.

What finally stopped the Mongols? ›

As it happens, the Mongols never came back. The Mongols were finally stopped militarily by the Mamluk Turks, the rulers of Egypt as of the thirteenth century, who held back a Mongol invasion in 1260.

Who defeated the Mongols? ›

Hulagu Khan died in 1265 and was succeeded by his son Abaqa. The Muslim Mamluks defeated the Mongols in all battles except one. Beside a victory to the Mamluks in Ain Jalut, the Mongols were defeated in the second Battle of Homs, Elbistan and Marj al-Saffar.

Who completed the conquest of the Song Dynasty? ›

The Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty or the Song-Yuan War beginning under Ögedei Khan (r. 1229–1241) and completed under Kublai Khan (r. 1260–1294) was the final step of the Mongol conquest of China.

Did the Mongols conquer the whole of China? ›

Hisson Ogodei conquered all of North China by 1234 and ruled it from 1229 to 1241. Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, defeated the Chinese Southern Song in 1279, and for the first time all of China was under foreign rule.

Which dynasty overthrew the Mongols in China? ›

(1368-1644) The Chinese people rallied behind a peasant named Chu Yüan-chang, and together they overthrew Mongol rule. In 1368 Chu took the imperial name Hung-wu and called his dynasty the Ming.

What dynasty replaced the Mongols in China? ›

Northern Yuan Ming dynasty

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