Events in Mongolian History
Genghis Khan Sacks Peking
1215-06-01 Peking [Beijing], then a city of over one million, under the control of Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured and looted for a month by the Mongols under Genghis Khan
- 1220-02-15 Khwarezmian city of Bukhara taken by Genghis Khan's Mongol army after a 12-day siege, with the death of about 30,000 of its citizens
- 1221-11-24 Battle of the Indus: Genghis Khan's Mongol force defeats Shah Jalal ad-Din's army, last battle in Mongolian conquest of Khwarezmian Empire
- 1222-05-15 Mongolian leader Genghis Khan meets the leader of the Taoist Dragon Gate sect Chang Chun at his camp in Parwan (Afghanistan)
- 1223-05-31 Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol force led by Jebei and Subedei defeat a Russian alliance, after feigning their retreat, leading to the death of 20,000 Russians
- 1229-09-11 Ögedei, son of Genghis Khan, is elected the Mongolian Khan, succeeding Genghis after his father's death (or 13 Sept)
- 1232-04-08 Mongol army under General Subedei begins the siege of Chinese Jin capital of Kaifeng - 1st occasion gunpowder used in a major engagement
- 1233-05-29 Chinese city of Kaifeng, capital of the Jurchen Jin dynasty, surrenders to the Mongols under General Subedei after a siege of more than a year
- 1234-02-09 Mongol army takes the Jin city of Caizhou, last holdout of Jin Emperor Ai-Tsung, who commits suicide rather than be captured
- 1237-12-21 Mongolian forces take the Russian city of Ryazan after a five-day siege during their invasion of the Rus
- 1238-02-07 Mongolian forces led by General Batu capture and burn the important Russian city of Vladimir, after an eight-day siege
- 1238-03-04 Battle of the Sit River: Mongol forces of Batu Khan overcome Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal near Yaroslavl in Russia, ending Russian resistance
- 1240-10-18 Ukrainian city of Chernigov surrenders, despite this still sacked and pillaged by Mongolian army of Batu
Mongol Siege of Kyiv
1240-11-28 Batu Khan's Mongol army lays siege to Kyiv and begins assaulting its city walls with catapults, city falls 8 days later
- 1240-12-06 Mongols led by Batu Khan occupy and destroy Kyiv after an 8 day siege; out of 50,000 people in the city only 2,000 survive
- 1241-03-18 Mongolian armies rout the forces of Boleslaw IV at Chmielnik and sack and burn the city of Kraków to the ground
- 1241-04-09 Battle of Liegnitz - Mongolian armies inflict one of the largest defeats in Polish history on Polish and Germans force led by Henry of Silesia with 20-25,000 killed or massacred, including Henry
- 1241-04-11 Battle of Mohi: Mongols led by Batu and Subedei defeat Hungarian King Béla IV in the major battle in during Mongolian invasion of Hungary, with 30,000 Hungarians slain
- 1243-06-26 Battle of Köse Dağ: Mongols under Baiju defeat Seljuk army of Sultan Kaykhusraw II during Mongol attacks in north east Turkey
- 1245-04-16 Franciscan envoys Giovanni da Pian del Carpine and Benedict to Pole depart Lyon on first Catholic mission to the Mongols. Carpine returns 1247 as first European with account of a Mongolian court
- 1246-08-15 Güyük (Kuyuk), son and successor of Ogodei, formally elected Great Khan of the Mongols at Sira Ordu, five years after the death of his father
- 1249-02-16 Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khan of the Mongols
- 1250-04-15 Kublai is acclaimed the Great Khan by a Mongol Great Council
- 1253-05-07 Flemish friar William of Rubruck sets off to convert the Mongols to Christianity, a mission ordered by French king Louis IX - one of the most famous travel accounts in the Medieval world
- 1256-12-15 Hulagu Khan captures and destroys Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut, in present-day Iran, part of the Mongol offensive on Islamic southwest Asia
- 1258-01-18 Mongol army of 150,000, led by Hulagu, grandson of Genghis Khan, arrives at the walls of Baghdad (city falls Feb 13)
- 1258-01-29 Mongols defeated by Dai Viet at the battle of Dong Bo Dau
Abbasid-Era Baghdad
1258-02-13 Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, tens of thousands slaughtered, ending the Islamic Golden Age
Coronation of Kublai Khan
1260-05-05 Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire
- 1260-05-21 Hao Jing, envoy of Mongol leader Kublai Khan imprisoned by order of the high Chancellor of China, Jia Sidao at the Song Dynasty court of Emperor Lizong while attempting to negotiate with the Song
- 1260-09-03 Battle of Ain Jalut: Bahr: Mamluk of Egypt defeat Mongol army led by Kitbuqa in the Levant - often labelled a turning point in world history, saving the Arabic-Islamic civilization from destruction
- 1264-08-21 Kublai Khan accepts the surrender of his younger brother Ariq Böke at Xanadu, at the end of the Mongol civil war
- 1271-12-18 Mongol Emperor Kublai Khan renames his empire "Yuan" (元 yuán), marking the start of the Yuan Dynasty of China
Mongol Invasion of Japan
1274-10-05 Around 1,000 soldiers of the Mongol army land on the Japanese island of Tsushima, the first attack of Kublai Khan's Mongol invasion of Japan
- 1274-11-19 Mongol army lands at Hakata Bay in Japan during their first invasion attempt and are defeated; a typhoon destroys most of their fleet as they withdraw
- 1276-06-14 While taking exile in Fuzhou, southern China, from advancing Mongol invaders, remnants of the Song Dynasty court hold coronation ceremony for young prince Zhao Shi, making him Emperor Duanzong of Song
- 1279-03-19 A Mongolian victory at the naval Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China
- 1279-07-29 Five emissaries dispatched by Kublai Khan from the Mongol Yuan dynasty are beheaded by Japan
- 1280-02-20 Japanese Imperial Court orders all temples and shrines to pray for victory in the impending second Mongol invasion
- 1281-08-14 During Kublai Khan's second Mongol invasion of Japan his invading Chinese fleet of 3,500 vessels disappears in a typhoon near Japan
- 1363-08-30 Beginning of the Battle of Lake Poyang; two Chinese rebel leaders Chen Youliang and Zhu Yuanzhang are pitted against each other in what was one of the largest naval battles in history during Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty
- 1380-09-08 Battle on Kulikovo: Moscow's great monarch Dimitri defeats the Mongols beginning the decline of the Tatars
Tamerlane Destroys Baghdad
1401-07-09 Turko-Mongol ruler Tamerlane (Timur) destroys Baghdad, killing 20,000
- 1449-09-08 Battle of Tumu Fortress - Mongolians capture the Chinese Emperor Yingzong of Ming
The Great Stand on the Ugra River
1480-10-08 Great Stand on the Ugra river: Standoff between forces of Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Great Horde and Ivan III, Grand Prince of all Rus. Ends with a Tatar-Mongol retreat, leading to the disintegration of the Horde.
- 1561-07-12 "Trinity Church" (now Saint Basil's Cathedral) is consecrated in Moscow, Russia, built to commemorate defeat of the Mongols at battle of Kazan
Event of Interest
1658-07-31 Aurangzeb appoints himself Mongol emperor
- 1911-12-29 Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty
- 1921-02-25 The Living Buddha, Hutuktu, is crowned King of Mongolia as the country declares independence from China
- 1921-03-13 Mongolia (formerly Outer Mongolia) declares independence from China
- 1921-07-11 Mongolia gains independence from China (National Day)
- 1921-11-05 Soviet Russia signs a treaty with Mongolia, temporarily supporting the new government against China and Japanese incursions
- 1923-07-13 American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews discovers the first recognised dinosaur eggs, in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia
- 1924-11-26 Mongolian People's Republic proclaimed
- 1939-08-20 Russian offensive under General Zjoekov against Japanese invasion in Mongolia
- 1939-08-31 Japanese invasion army driven out of Mongolia
- 1960-07-05 Mongolia adopts constitution
- 1961-10-27 Outer Mongolia & Mauritania become 102nd & 103rd members of United Nations
- 1981-03-22 Soyuz 39 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Mongolian) to Salyut 6
- 1993-06-06 Punsalmaagiyn Otsjirbat recognized as President of Mongolia
- 1998-01-01 Mongolia switches from a 46 hour to 40 hour work week
- 2001-12-19 A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.
- 2013-06-27 Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj is re-elected President of Mongolia
- 2015-10-31 Breeders' Cup Horse Racing, Keeneland Racetrack; Day 2 winners: Songbird, Mongolian Saturday, Wavell Avenue, Stephanie's Kitten, Runhappy, Tepin, Nyquist, Found, American Pharoah
- 2020-09-01 Rare protests in Mongolia against moves to teach school subjects in Mandarin instead of Mongolian
- 2020-12-17 China's Chang'e-5 mission successfully returns from collecting rock samples from the Moon, landing in Siziwang Banner, Mongolia
Famous Mongolians
Genghis Khan
Kublai Khan
Tamerlane
Temür Khan