Kublai Khan.
Grandson of the esteemed Genghis Khan. Conqueror of China. Founder of the Yuan Dynasty.
Kublai Khan was born while his grandfather still reigned as Emperor of the Mongols in
1215. Growing up, the Emperor-to-be was prepared early on for future warfare and
hunting in addition to receiving an education in subjects such as philosophy, reading,
and writing. He was particularly familiar with both Mongolian and Chinese works,
likely due to his mother’s own interests. She was a Keraite
Princess by the name of Sorkhotani Beki whilst Kublai’s father was known as Tolui.
When Kublai was 36 years old, his elder brother, Mongke, ascended the Mongolian throne while Kublai
was building his reputation as a trusted military leader. His military victories came at the loss
of contemporary leadership in the north of China as the Mongolian brothers moved to conquer the
whole of the Chinese lands. Kublai did his part quite well, but his brother, Mongke,
had more cruel luck as he was killed fighting the Song Dynasty in the Chinese southern region in
1259. It was assumed, at least by Kublai himself, that he would be the one to receive his brother’s
empty throne when news of his death arrived - but assumptions are not always worth being trusted…
Arigboge, another of the Great Khan’s brothers, would be named the new Mongol Emperor in Mongke’s
place. This was decisively unacceptable for Kublai, and could not simply be ignored. The
logical solution to Kublai at the time was thus to work up a truce with the embattled
Song Dynasty allowing him to make a swift advance back into Mongolia to challenge the ascension of
Arigboge. Upon his arrival, Kublai called for a “great assembly” or kuriltai at which he,
just like his brother, was declared Great Khan and successor to the deceased Mongke. This,
occurring in the spring of 1260, led to a civil war between the estranged brothers which would
last into the summer of 1264 when Arigboge at long last surrendered and gave up his fight.
With Kublai Khan now standing as the sole ruler of the Mongol Empire, despite a lingering threat from
another relative, Kaidu, a grandson of Ogodei, the attention of the Great Khan turned to the
Chinese lands once more. Kublai was fascinated by the Chinese culture, although not enough to
believe the people to be equal to his own. After bringing the whole of the Song Dynasty under his
supervision throughout the 1270s, Kublai Khan hoped to both appeal to the Chinese people
whilst establishing the Mongolians as a clearly higher class in the social hierarchy. In 1271,
the Mongol Emperor had rebranded his people and lands as the Yuan Dynasty and set up a
new capital in today’s Beijing, embracing the traditions, views, and functions of the local
people. None of this was enough to prioritize those locals, however, as Kublai established
a rather clear hierarchy within Yuan society. The Mongols, predictably, topped the hierarchy
just above the foreign administrative officials, who were of course above the masses of Chinese
peasantry. The Khan was known as a tolerant man, especially when it came to religion, but he also
was known to prioritize certain belief systems, such as Buddhism, above the local counterparts.
All of this, and the increasing poverty rate amongst the Chinese, meant that he wasn’t
unequivocally beloved in China, but he was in the least less oppressive than others before him.
Nevertheless, a lack of brutality over his conquered subjects didn’t
mean that Kublai Khan was a pacifist or unmotivated leader. Even near the end
of his reign, the Great Khan was no stranger to foreign conflict…
At the end of the 13th century, Kublai Khan had hopes of bringing more territories under
the ascendancy of his empire, with Java being one of those aims. Thus,
an envoy by the name of Meng-qi was sent to speak with the King of Singhasari in Java to
negotiate the kingdom submitting itself to Mongolian authority and protection for the
price of a tribute. This suggestion was tremendously ill-received by the king,
Kertanagara, who lashed out at the messenger. Meng-qi’s ears were mercilessly sliced off and
his face was branded with a scorching iron before being sent shyly back to the Mongol
emperor. Kublai Khan was categorically furious with the action of the Singhasari king toward
his envoy and subsequently called for a punitive mission to the lands of Java.
It has been claimed that the Khan was able to muster up to 30,000 men and 1,000 ships for use
in this 1292 campaign. To the great revelation of the Mongol invaders, upon their arrival in Java,
King Kertanagara was dead. He had been murdered by one of his vassal leaders by the name of
Jayakatwang who thus took his place as monarch. This left the Yuan troops to decide if they wanted
to turn around and head back home since the man responsible for the treatment of their envoy had
already been dealt with, or if they would like to continue to chastise the kingdom nevertheless.
Raden Wijaya, a son-in-law of the dead king, jumped on what he saw as an impassable
opportunity. He formed a hasty alliance with the Yuan men shortly after their landing at Java,
joining forces to defeat Jayakatwang - but this was not his only motive. After submitting himself
to the Yuan Khan, the newfound allies attacked the successor Singhasari king until he had met
his end and his forces were wholly defeated. This made Kublai Khan’s expedition thus far a success,
and they celebrated their victory as such while Wijaya offered to return to his homeland of
Majapahit to gather his tribute for the Yuan ruler. Of the Khan’s three military officers,
Ike Mese, Shi-bi, and Gaoxing, the latter was the only that found such a move to be problematic,
but his colleagues dismissed his concerns and allowed Wijaya to leave on his own as he wished.
For one reason or another, after arriving home in Majapahit, Raden Wijaya then requested that
some of the Yuan forces come to his territory unarmed - and the request was heeded. As the
Mongol men thus neared Majapahit, Wijaya sent his own soldiers on the offensive and attacked
the approaching unarmed troops. This slaughter was only the precursor to an ambush then launched on
the remainder of the Khan’s men. The Mongols were radically staggered by the unprecedented attack
and failed to gain a sure footing to repel their alleged ally. Any attempt at a defensive stance
crumbled and the Mongols were sent hurtling toward their ships as to evacuate Java while
the weather was still in their favor. Thousands of men had been lost as the Yuan troops were sent
sailing back to their Khan with the demoralizing news of their unforeseen defeat. The loss would
have been especially exasperating for Gaoxing as he had warned his fellow officers of such a
possibility but they had not heeded his cautions. Kublai Khan found empathy for this foresight as
a result of his men’s return home and went so far as to reward Gaoxing with 50 taels of
gold for his efforts to prevent the humiliating crisis that needlessly occurred. Both Ike Mese
and Shi-bi were significantly disciplined for their contrary failures and naivety,
losing each a third of their owned properties. These penalties were a show of authority by the
Khan, but they were far from an indication of the strength with which Majapahit would
be retaliated against - because there came no punishment for Raden Wijaya.
By now, Kublai Khan was old and his health was devastatingly failing.
After familial and military losses weighed heavy on his broken heart,
the Mongol ruler turned to food and drink to comfort his aching soul. The once-mighty Khan
was beginning to overeat excessively and gain a startling amount of weight. It soon caught
up with him and his overall health, crippling the great leader more than any army ever could.
On February 18, 1294, Kublai Khan breathed his last breath. He was 79 years old…
The Yuan Dynasty would fail to last even another century after the Great
Khan’s passing. Java would be home to the now-flourishing Majapahit Empire,
not a vassal of Kublai’s short-lived Yuan Dynasty. The expedition to Java had looked so promising
and yet had effectively been a failure from the very start. The entire reason, or person,
that led to the penalizing mission had been killed before the Mongols could even punish him, so they
instead had to turn that violent discipline on his killer-turned-successor. Their ally in doing
so then betrayed them despite one of the Yuan officers having predicted such a possibility,
and the Mongols who survived the chaos were left skittering away with their tails between
their legs. It was a catastrophe, and it sadly marked the end of Kublai Khan’s reign. Defeat
and death around him had grown too much for his heavy heart. He was soon dead, and in his place
in Java stood the man who had bested his most skilled men, and the empire which he thus created…