{{infobox monarch|name	Khubilai
Title	Khagan of the Mongol EmpireFounder of the Yuan DynastyEmperor of China
Reign	May 5, 1260 – February 18, 1294()|coronationMay 5, 1260
Given name	Khubilai Kubilay Chinese transcription: 忽必烈)
othertitles	Setsen Khan (Цэцэн хаан)Temple name: Shizu (世祖)Posthumous name: Emperor Shengde Shengong Wenwu(聖德神功文武皇帝)Era names:Zhongtong (中統) 1260–1264Zhiyuan (至元) 1264–1294
Predecessor	Mongke Khan
Successor	Temur Khan
heir	Zhenjin
queen	TegulenChabiNambui
royal house	Borjigin ()
royal anthem	There is only god in heaven and only one lord Chingis Khan on earth.
Father	Tolui
Mother	Sorghaghtani Beki
Birth date	23 September 1215
Death date	18 February 1294 (aged 78)
Death place	Dadu (Khanbalic)
Place of burial	Burkhan Khaldun, Khentii province

Kublai Khan (; , ''Xubilaĭ xaan''; , "King Qubilai"; September 23, 1215 – February 18, 1294), born Kublai (, ''Xubilaĭ''; ; ; also spelled Khubilai) and also known by the temple name Shizu (), was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in East Asia. As the second son of Tolui and Sorghaghtani Beki and a grandson of Genghis Khan, he claimed the title of Khagan of the ''Ikh Mongol Uls'' (Mongol Empire) in 1260 after the death of his older brother Möngke in the previous year, though his younger brother Ariq Böke was also given this title in the Mongolian capital at Karakorum. He eventually won the battle against Ariq Böke in 1264, and the succession war essentially marked the beginning of disunity in the empire. Kublai's real power was limited to China and Mongolia after the victory over Ariq Böke, though his influence still remained in the Ilkhanate, and to a lesser degree, in the Golden Horde, in the western parts of the Mongol Empire. His realm reached from the Pacific to the Urals, from Siberia to modern day Afghanistan – one fifth of the world's inhabited land area.

In 1271, Kublai established the Yuan Dynasty, which at that time ruled over present-day Mongolia and China, and some adjacent areas, and assumed the role of Emperor of China. By 1279, the Yuan forces had successfully annihilated the last resistance of the Southern Song Dynasty, and Kublai thus became the first non-Chinese Emperor who conquered all China. He was the only Mongol khan after 1260 to win new great conquests.

A theoretical construction of Kublai, the "Pleasure Dome," is the subject of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 1797 poem ''Kublai Khan''. Coleridge's work brought Kublai and his achievements to the attention of a widespread audience, and today Kublai is a well-known historical figure.

Early years

Kublai (b. 23 Sep. 1215) was the fifth son of Tolui and Sorghaghtani Beki. As his grandfather Genghis Khan advised, Sorghaghtani chose as her son's nurse a Buddhist Tangut woman whom Kublai later honored highly.

On his way back home after the conquest of Khwarizmian Empire, Genghis Khan performed the ceremony on his grandsons Mongke and Kublai after their first hunting in 1224 near the Ili River. Kublai was nine years old and with his eldest brother killed a rabbit and an antelope. His grandfather smeared fat from killed animals onto Kublai's middle finger following the Mongol tradition.

After the Mongol-Jin War, in 1236, Ogedei gave Hebei Province (attached with 80,000 households) to the family of Tolui who died in 1232. Kublai received an estate of his own and 10,000 households there. Because he was inexperienced, Kublai allowed local officials free rein. Corruption amongst his officials and aggressive taxation caused the flight of large numbers of Chinese peasants, which in turn led to a decline in tax revenues. Kublai quickly came to his appanage in Hebei and ordered reforms. Sorghaghtani sent new officials to help him and tax laws were revised. Thanks to those efforts, people returned to their old towers.

The most prominent, and arguably influential component of Kublai Khan's early life was his study and strong attraction to contemporary Chinese culture. Kublai invited Haiyun, the leading Buddhist monk in North China, to his ordo in Mongolia. When he met Haiyun in Karakorum in 1242, Kublai asked him about the philosophy of Buddhism. Haiyun named Kublai's son, Zhenjin (True Gold in Chinese language), who was born in 1243. Haiyun also introduced Kublai the former Taoist and now Buddhist monk, Liu Bingzhong. Liu was a painter, calligrapher, poet and mathematician, and became Kublai's advisor when Haiyun returned to run his temple in modern Beijing. Kublai soon added the Shanxi scholar Zhao Bi to his entourage. Kublai employed other nationalities as well, for he was keen to balance local and imperial interests, Mongol and Turk.

Conversion to Buddhism

Genghis Khan's grandson and 5th Great Khan of Mongol empire Kublai was the first Mongol emperor to convert to Tibetan form of buddhism from the existing Shamamism religion. His conversion was made under miraculous circumstances. While most Mongols in contact with Muslims in Middle East and Eastern Europe converted to Islam, Kublai Khan converted to Buddhism and made Buddhism the state official religion.

Khagan's viceroy in North China

In 1251, his eldest brother Möngke became Khan of the Mongol Empire, and Khwarizmian Mahmud Yalavach and Kublai were sent to China. Kublai received the viceroyalty over North China and moved his ordo to central Inner Mongolia. During his years as viceroy, Kublai managed his territory well, boosting the agricultural output of Henan and increasing social welfare spendings after receiving Xi'an. These acts received great acclaim from the Chinese warlords and were essential to the building of the Yuan Dynasty. In 1252 Kublai criticized Mahmud Yalavach, who never stood high in the valuation of his Chinese associates, over his cavalier execution of suspects during a judicial view and Zhao Bi attacked him for his presumptuous attitude toward the throne. With Chinese Confucian-trained officials' resistance, Mongke dismissed Mahmud Yalavach.

In 1253, Kublai was ordered to attack Yunnan, and he asked the Kingdom of Dali to submit. The ruling faimly, Gao, resisted and murdered Mongol envoys. The Mongols divided their forces into three. One wing rode eastward into the Sichuan basin. The second column under Subotai's son Uryankhadai took a difficult way into the mountains of western Sichuan. Kublai himself headed south over the grasslands, meeting up with the first column. While Uryankhadai galloping in along the lakeside from the north, Kublai took the capital city of Dali and spared the residents despite the slaying of his ambassadors. The Mongols appointed King Duan Xingzhi as local ruler and stationed a pacification commissioner there. After Kublai's departure, unrest broke out among the Black jang. By 1256, Uryankhadai had completely pacified Yunnan.

Kublai was attracted by the abilities of Tibetan monks as healers. In 1253 he made Drogön Chögyal Phagpa of the Sakya order member of his entourage. Phagpa bestowed on Kublai and his wife, Chabi (Chabui), a Tantric Buddhist initiation. Kublai appointed Uyghur Lian Xixian (1231–1280) to head his Pacification Commission in 1254. Some officials who were jealous of Kublai's success muttered that he was getting above himself, dreaming of his own empire by rivalling Mongke's capital Karakorum (Хархорум). The Great Khan Mongke sent 2 tax inspectors, Alamdar (Ariq Böke's close friend and governor in North China) and Liu Taiping, to audit Kublai's officials in 1257. They found fault, listed 142 breaches of regulations, accused Chinese officials, even had some executed and Kublai's new Pacification Commission was abolished. Kublai sent a two-man embassy with his wives and then in person appealed to Mongke as brother to brother. Mongke publicly forgave his younger brother and reconciled with him.

The Taoists had exploited their wealth and status by seizing Buddhist temples. Mongke demanded that the Taoists cease their denigration of Buddhism repeatedly and ordered Kublai to end the clerical strife between the Taoists and Buddhists in his territory. Kublai called a conference of Taoist and Buddhist leaders in early 1258. At the conference, the Taoist claim was officially declared refuted and Kublai forcibly converted their 237 temples to Buddhism and destroyed all copies of the fraudulent texts.

In 1258, Möngke put Kublai in command of the Eastern Army and summoned him to assist with attack on Sichuan. Already suffering from gout, Kublai was allowed to stay, however, he moved to assist his brother, Mongke. Before Kublai could arrive in 1259, word reached him that Möngke had died. Kublai decided to keep the death of his brother a secret and continued to attack Wuhan, near Yangtze. While his force was besieging Wuchang, Subotai's son Uryankhadai joined him.

Enthronement and civil war

The Song minister Jia Sidao made a secret approach to Kublai to propose terms and asked whether the Song paid an annual tribute of 200,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk, in exchange for the Mongols agreeing that the Yangtze should be the frontier between the states. Kublai first declined but reached a peace agreement with Jia Sidao and returned north to the Mongolian plains because he learned in a message from his wife that Ariq Böke had been raising troops.

He soon received news that his younger brother Ariq Böke had held a kurultai at the Mongolian imperial capital of Karakorum and was pronounced Great Khan by Mongke's old officials. Most of Genghis Khan's descendants favored Ariq Böke as Great Khan; however, his two brothers Kublai and Hulegu opposed this. Kublai's Chinese staff encouraged him to ascend the throne, and virtually all the senior princes in North China and Manchuria supported his candidacy. Upon returning to his own territories, Kublai summoned his own kurultai. Few members of the royal family supported Kublai's claims to the title, though the small number of attendees included representatives of all the Borjigin lines except that of Jochi. This kurultai proclaimed him Great Khan, on April 15, 1260, despite his younger brother Ariq Böke's apparently legal claim. This subsequently led to warfare between Kublai and his younger brother Ariq Böke, resulting in the eventual destruction of the Mongolian capital at Karakorum. In Shaanxi and Sichuan, Mongke's army supported Ariq Böke. Kublai dispatched Lian Xixian to Shaanxi and Sichuan where they executed Ariq Böke's civil administrator Liu Taiping and won over several wavering generals. To secure the southern front, Kublai did attempt a diplomatic resolution by sending envoys to Hangzhou, but Jia broke his promise and arrested them. Kublai sent Abishqa as new khan to the Chagatai Khanate. Ariq Böke captured Abishqa, two other princes and 100 men and had his own man, Alghu, crowned khan of Chagatai's territory. In the first armed clash between Ariq Böke and Kublai Ariq Böke lost and his commander Alamdar was killed at the battle. In revenge, Ariq Böke had Abishqa executed. Kublai cut off the food supply to Karakorum with the support of his cousin Khadan, son of Ogedei Khan. Karakorum fell quickly at the hands of Kublai's large army, but following Kublai's departure it was temporarily re-taken by Ariq Böke in 1261. During the war with Ariq Böke, Yizhou governor Li Tan revolted against Mongol rule in February 1262. Hearing this, Kublai ordered his Chancellor Shi Tianze and Shi Shu to attack Li Tan. The two armies crushed Li Tan's revolt in just a few months and Li Tan was executed. These armies also executed Wang Wentong, the father-in-law of Li Tan who had been appointed the Chief Administrator of the Zhongshusheng, "Department of Central Governing") early in Kublai's reign and became one of the most trusted Han Chinese officials of Kublai. The incident instilled in Kublai a distrust of ethnic Hans. After becoming emperor, Kublai banned the titles of and tithes to Han Chinese warlords.

The Chagatayid Khan Alghu declared his allegiance to Kublai Khan and defeated a punitive expedition sent by Ariq Böke against him in 1262. Ilkhan Hulegu also sided with Kublai and criticized Ariq Böke. Ariq Böke surrendered to Kublai at Xanadu on August 21, 1264. The rulers of western khanates acknowledged the reality of Kublai's victory and rule in Mongolia. When Kublai summoned them to organize another kurultai, Alghu Khan demanded security for his illegal position from Kublai in return. Despite tensions between them, both Hulegu and Berke, khan of the Golden Horde, accepted Kublai's invitation at first. However, they soon declined to attend the new kurultai. Although, Kublai pardoned his younger brother, he executed Ariq Böke's chief supporters.

Reign

Great Khan of the Mongols

Suspicious deaths of 3 Jochid princes in Hulegu's service, the sack of Baghdad, and unequal distribution of war booties strained the Ilkhanate's relations with the Golden Horde. In 1262, Hulegu's complete purge of the Jochid troops, and support for Kublai in his conflict with Ariq Böke brought open war with the Golden Horde. Khagan Kublai reinforced Hulegu with 30,000 young Mongols in order to stabilize the political crises in western regions of the Mongol Empire. As soon as Hulegu died on 8 February 1264, Berke marched to cross near Tiflis to conquer the Ilkhanate, but died on the way. Within a few months of these deaths, Alghu Khan of the Chagatai Khanate also died. In the new official version of the family history, Kublai Khan refused to write Berke's name as the khan of the Golden Horde because of his support for Ariq Böke and wars with Hulegu, however, Jochi's family was fully recognized as legitimate family members.

Kublai Khan named Abagha as the new Ilkhan and nominated Batu's grandson Mongke Temur for the throne of Sarai, the capital of the Golden Horde. The Kublaids in the east retained suzerainty over the Ilkhans (obedient khans) until the end of its regime. Kublai also sent his protege Baraq to overthrow the court of Oirat Orghana, the empress of the Chagatai Khanate, who put her young son Mubarak Shah on the throne in 1265, without Kublai's permission after her husband's death. Ogedeid prince Kaidu declined to personally come to the court of Kublai. Kublai instigated Baraq to attack him. Baraq began to expand his realm northward, fighting Kaidu and the Golden Horde after he seized power in 1266. He also pushed out Great Khan's overseer from the Tarim basin. When Kaidu and Mongke Timur defeated him together, Baraq joined an alliance with the House of Ogedei and the Golden Horde against Kublai in the east and Abagha in the west. Meanwhile, Mongke Temur stayed out of any direct military expedition against Kublai's realm. The armies of Mongol Persia defeated Baraq's invading forces in 1269. When Baraq died the next year, Kaidu took control of the Chagatai Khanate.

Meanwhile, Kublai tried to stabilize the control over Korea by mobilizing another Mongol invasion after he appointed Wonjong (r. 1260-1274) as the new Goryeo king in 1259 in Kanghwa. He forced two rulers of the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate to call a truce with each other in 1270 despite the Golden Horde's interests in the Middle East and Caucasia. He called 2 Iraqi siege engineers from the Ilkhanate in order to destroy the fortresses of the Song China. After the fall of Xiangyang in 1273, Kublai's commanders, Aju and Liu Zheng, proposed to him a final campaign of annihilation against the Song Dynasty, and Kublai made Bayan the supreme commander. Therefore, Kublai ordered Mongke Temur to revise the second census of the Golden Horde to provide sources and men for his conquest of China. The census took place in all parts of the Golden Horde, including Smolensk and Vitebsk in 1274-75. The Khans also sent Nogai to Balkan to strengthen Mongol influence there.

As Kublai Khan renamed the Mongol regime in China Dai Yuan in 1271, he sought to sinicize his image as Emperor of China in order to win the control of millions Chinese people. When he moved his headquarters to Khanbalic or Dadu at modern Beijing, there was an uprising in the old capital Karakorum that he barely staunched. His actions were condemned by traditionalists and his critics still accused him of being too closely tied to Chinese culture. They sent a message to him: "The old customs of our Empire are not those of the Chinese laws… What will happen to the old customs?". Even Kaidu attracted the other elites of Mongol Khanates, declaring himself to be a legitimate heir to the throne instead of Kublai who had turned away from the ways of Genghis Khan. Defections from Kublai's Dynasty swelled the Ogedeids' forces. The Song imperial family surrendered to the Yuan in 1276, making the Mongols the first non-Chinese people to conquer all of China. Three years later, Yuan marines crushed the last of the Song loyalists. The Song Empress Dowager and her grandson, Zhao Xian, were then settled in Khanbalic where they were given tax-free property. Kublai's wife Chabi took a personal interest in their well-being. However, Kublai had Zhao sent away to become a monk to Zhangye later. Kublai succeeded in building powerful Empire, creating an academy, offices, trade ports and canals and sponsoring arts and science. The record of the Mongols lists 20,166 public schools created during his reign. Achieving actual or nominal dominion over much of Eurasia, and having seen his successful conquest of China, Kublai was in a position to look beyond China. However, Kublai's costly invasions of Burma, Annam, Sakhalin and Champa secured only the vassal status of those countries. Mongol invasions of Japan (1274 and 1280) and Java (1293) failed. At the same time his nephew Ilkhan Abagha tried to form a grand alliance of the Mongols and the Western Europeans to defeat the Mamluks in Syria and North Africa that constantly invaded the Mongol dominions. Abagha and his uncle Kublai focused mostly on foreign alliances, and opened trade routes. Khagan Kublai dined with a large court every day, and met with many ambassadors, foreign merchants.

Kublai's son Nomukhan and generals occupied Almaliq from 1266-76. In 1277, a group of Genghisid princes under Mongke's son Shiregi rebelled, kidnapping Kublai's two sons and his general Antong. The rebels handed them over to Kaidu and Mongke Temur. The latter was still allied with Kaidu who fashioned an alliance with him in 1269, although, he promised Kublai Khan his military support to protect him from the Ogedeids. Great Khan's armies suppressed the rebellion and strengthened the Yuan garrisons in Mongolia and Uighurstan. However, Kaidu took control over Almaliq. In 1279-80, Kublai decreed death for those who performed Islamic-Jewish slaughtering of cattles, which offended Mongolian custom. When the Ahmad Teguder seized the throne of the Ilkhanate in 1282, attempting to make peace with the Mamluks, Abagha's old Mongols under prince Arghun appealed to the Great Khan. After the execution of Ahmad, Kublai confirmed Arghun's coronation and awarded his commander in chief Buqa who helped his master the title of chingsang.

Kublai's niece Kelmish, who was married a Khunggirat general of the Golden Horde, was powerful enough to have Kublai's sons Nomuqan and Kokhchu returned. The court of the Golden Horde sent them back as a peace overture to the Yuan Dynasty in 1282 and induced Kaidu to release the general of Kublai. Konchi, khan of White Horde, established friendly relations with the Yuan and the Ilkhanate, receiving luxury gifts and grain from Kublai as reward. Despite political disagreement between contending branches of the family over the office of Khagan, the economic and commercial system which trumped their squabbles continued.

Warfare and foreign relations

thumb|right|175px|Hand cannon from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) Despite that Kublai restricted the functions of kheshig (khan's bodyguard), he created a new imperial bodyguard, at first entirely Chinese in composition but later strengthened with Kipchak, Alan (Asud), and Russian units. Once his own kheshig was organized in 1263, Kublai put three of the four shifts of the kheshig under descendants of Genghis Khan's four steeds, Borokhula, Boorchu and Muqali. Kublai Khan began the practice of having the four great aristocrats in his kheshig sign all jarliqs (decree), a practice that spread to all other Mongol khanates. Both Mongol and Chinese units were organized according to the same decimal organization that Genghis Khan used. The Mongols eagerly adopted new artillery and technologies. While Kublai's younger brother Hulegu used 1,000 Chinese mangonel operators under Barga Mongol Ambaghai, he brought siege engineers, Ismail and Al al-Din, from Iraq and Iran. The world's earliest known cannon, dated 1282, was found in Mongol-held Manchuria. Kublai and his generals avoided total destruction of South China for economic benefits. Effective assimilation of Chinese naval techniques allowed the Yuan army to quickly conquer the Song and advance beyond the seas.

Diplomatically and militarily, Kublai's foreign policy, as the previous Mongolian Khagans, was imperialistic. Kublai Khan invaded then made Goryeo (Korea) a tributary vassal in 1260. After the Mongol invasion in 1273, the Goryeo was subjugated and fully integrated in the Yuan realm. The Goryeo in Korea became a Mongol military base and several myriarchy commands were established there. The court of the Goryeo supplied Korean troops and ocean naval force for the Mongol campaigns. Despite the opposition of his Confucian-trained Chinese advisers, Kublai decided to invade Japan, Burma, Vietnam and Java, following his Mongol officials. These costly conquests along with the introduction of paper currency, caused inflation. From 1273 to 1276 war against the Song Dynasty and Japan made emissions of paper currency explode from 110,000 ding to 1,420,000 ding.

Invasions of Japan

Kublai Khan twice attempted to invade Japan. Both times it is believed that bad weather, or a flaw in the design of ships that were based on river boats without keels, destroyed his fleets. The first attempt took place in 1274, with a fleet of 900 ships. The second invasion occurred in 1281.The Mongols sent two separate forces this time; an impressive force of 900 ships containing 40,000 Korean, Chinese, and Mongol troops set out from Masan, while an even larger force of 100,000 sailed from southern China in 3,500 ships, each close to long. The fleet was hastily assembled and ill-equipped to handle the sea. In November, they sailed out into the treacherous waters that separated Korea and Japan by 110 miles. The Mongols easily took over Tsushima Island about halfway across the strait and then Ika Island closer to Kyushu. The Korean fleet reached Hakata Bay on June 23, 1281 landing its forces and animals, but the ships from China were nowhere to be seen.

The samurai warriors rode out against the Mongol forces for individual combat, but the Mongols held their formation. As usual, the Mongols fought as a united force, not as individuals. Instead of coming out for duels, the Mongols bombarded the samurai with exploding missiles and showered them in arrows. Eventually, the remaining Japanese withdrew from the coastal zone inland to a fortress. The Mongol forces did not chase the fleeting Japanese into an area about which they lacked reliable intelligence at that time.

Dr. Kenzo Hayashida, a marine archaeologist, headed the investigation that discovered the wreckage of the second invasion fleet off the western coast of Takashima. His team's findings strongly indicate that Kublai Khan rushed to invade Japan and attempted to construct his enormous fleet in only one year (a task that should have taken up to 5 years). This forced the Chinese to use any available ships, including river boats, in order to achieve readiness. Most importantly, the Chinese, then under Kublai's control, were forced to build many ships quickly in order to contribute to the fleet in both of the invasions. Hayashida theorizes that, had Kublai used standard, well-constructed ocean-going ships, which have a curved keel to prevent capsizing, his navy might have survived the journey to and from Japan and might have conquered it as intended.

David Nicolle writes in ''The Mongol Warlords'' that "Huge losses had also been suffered in terms of casualties and sheer expense, while the myth of Mongol invincibility had been shattered throughout eastern Asia." He also wrote that Kublai Khan was determined to mount a third invasion, despite the horrendous cost to the economy and to his and Mongol prestige of the first two defeats, and only his death and the unanimous agreement of his advisers not to invade prevented such a third attempt.

After his first invasion of Japan, in response, the Japanese pirates, known as Wokou, raided Korea. But the Mongol-Korean forces pushed them back, and the Wokou pirates experienced a low point of their activity due to the higher degree of military preparedness in the Goryeo and the Kamakura. In 1293, the Yuan navy captured 100 Japanese from Okinawa.

Invasions of Vietnam

thumb|right|200px|Map depicting [[Mongol invasions of Vietnam|Mongol campaign in Đại Việt(the name for Vietnam at the time, which consisted of the present-day northern Vietnam) in the north and Champa in the south in 1285]]Kublai Khan also twice invaded Đại Việt. When Kublai became the Great Khan in 1260, the Trần Dynasty sent tribute every 3 years and received a darugachi. But their king soon declined to attend the court in person. The first incursion (the second Mongol invasion of Đại Việt) began in December 1284 when Mongols under the command of Toghan, the prince of Kublai Khan, crossed the border and quickly occupied Thăng Long (now Hanoi) in January 1285 after the victorious battle of Omar in Vạn Kiếp (north east of Hanoi). At the same time Sogetu from Champa moved northward and rapidly marched to Nghe An (in the north central region of Vietnam now) where the army of the Tran under general Tran Kien surrendered to him. However, the Trần kings and the commander-in-chief Trần Hưng Đạo changed tactics from defence to attack and struck against the Mongols. In April, General Trần Quang Khải defeated Sogetu in Chuong Duong (now part of Hanoi) and then the Trần kings won a big battle in Tây Kết where Sogetu died. Soon after, general Trần Nhật Duật also won a battle in Hàm Tử (now part of Hưng Yên) while Toghan was defeated by General Trần Hưng Đạo and Kublai Khan failed in his first attempt to invade Đại Việt. Toghan had to hide himself inside a bronze pipe to avoid being killed by the Đại Việt archers; this shameful act became a disastrous humiliation for the Mongol Empire and for Toghan himself.

After his first failure, Kublai wanted to install Nhan Tong's brother Tran Ich Tac, who had defected to the Mongols, as king of Annam, but hardship in the Yuan's supply base in Hunan, and Kaidu's invasion aborted his planned invasion. In 1285 the Brigung sect rebelled, attacking monasteries of Paghspa's sect in Tibet. The Chagatayid Khan, Duwa, came in to aid the rebels, and laid siege to Kara-Kocho while defeating Kublai's garrisons in the Tarim basin. Kaidu destroyed an army at Beshbalik and occupied the city the next year. Many Uyghurs abandoned Kashgar for safer bases back east in the Yuan. Only after Kublai's grandson Buqa-Temur crushed the resistance of the Brigung sect, killing 10,000 Tibetans in 1291, Tibet was fully pacified.

The second invasion of Đại Việt by Kublai Khan began in 1287 and was better organized than the previous effort, utilizing a large fleet and plentiful stocks of food. The Mongols, under the command of Toghan, moved to Vạn Kiếp (from the north west) and met the infantry and cavalry of Omar (coming by another way along the Red River) and there they quickly won the battle. The naval fleet rapidly attained victory in Vân Đồn (near Ha Long Bay) but they left the heavy cargo ships stocked with food behind which General Trần Khánh Dư quickly captured. As foreseen, the Mongolians in Thăng Long (now Hanoi) suffered an acute shortage of sustenance. Without any news about the supply fleet Toghan found himself in a tight corner and had to order his army to retreat to Vạn Kiếp. This was when Đại Việt's Army began the general offensive by recapturing a number of locations occupied by the Mongol invaders. Groups of infantry were given orders to attack the Mongols in Vạn Kiếp. Toghan had to split his army into two and retreat.

In early April the naval fleet led by Kublai's Kipchak commander Omar and escorted by infantry fled home along the Bạch Đằng river. As bridges and roads were destroyed and attacks were launched by Đại Việt's troops, the Mongols reached Bạch Đằng without an infantry escort. Đại Việt's small flotilla engaged in battle and pretended to retreat. The Mongols eagerly pursued Đại Việt troops and fell into their prearranged battlefield. "Thousands" of Đại Việt's small boats from both banks quickly appeared, fiercely launched the attack and broke the combat formation of the enemy. Meeting a sudden and strong attack, the Mongols tried to withdraw to the sea in panic. Hitting the stakes, their boats were halted, many of which were broken and sank. At that time, a number of fire rafts quickly rushed toward them. Frightened, the Mongolian troops jumped down to get to the banks where they were dealt a heavy blow by an army led by the Trần king and Trần Hưng Đạo. The Mongolian naval fleet was totally destroyed and Omar was captured. At the same time, Đại Việt's Army made continuous attacks and smashed to pieces Toghan's army on its route of withdrawal through Lạng Sơn. Toghan risked his life making a shortcut through thick forest to flee home. Nevertheless, the Đại Việt and the Kingdom of Champa had recognized Kublai's supremacy in order to avoid more conflicts.

Southeast Asia and South seas

Three expeditions against Burma (1277, 1283, 1287) brought the Mongol forces to the Irrawaddy delta, and the Mongols captured Bagan, the capital of Pagan Kingdom in Burma, and established their puppet government. Kublai had to be content with the acknowledgment of a formal suzerainty again but the Burmese finally became tributary state and sent tributes until the expulsion of the Mongols from China. The Khmer kingdom of Cambodia and small states in Malay and South India submitted to Kublai's rule between 1278-1294. Mongol interests in these parts had always been purely commercial and tributary relationship.

During the last years of his reign Kublai launched a naval punitive expedition of 20-30,000 men against the Javanese kingdom of Singhasari (1293), but the Mongol forces were compelled to withdraw, by the Majapahit Dynasty, after considerable losses of more than 3,000 troops. In 1294, two Thai kingdoms of Sukhotai and Chiangmai became vassal states of Kublai's empire.

Conquest of Sakhalin

The Mongol forces made several attacks on Sakhalin, beginning in 1264 and continuing until 1308. Economically, the conquest of new peoples provided further wealth for the tribute-based Mongol Dynasty. The Nivkhs and the Oroks were subjugated by the Mongols. However, the Ainu people raided Mongol posts and fought with the indigenous people of Sakhalin, who submitted to the Great Khan. Finally, the Ainu tribes accepted Mongol supremacy in 1308.

Europe

Under Kublai, the opening of direct contact between East Asia and the West, made possible by the Mongol control of the central Asian trade routes and facilitated by the presence of efficient postal services, was another spectacular phenomenon in the Mongol Empire. In the beginning of the 13th century, large numbers of Europeans and Central Asians - merchants, travelers, and missionaries of different orders - made their way to China. The presence of the Mongol power also enabled throngs of Chinese, bent on warfare or trade, to make their appearance everywhere in the Mongol Empire, all the way to Russia, Persia, and Mesopotamia.

Marco Polo, Niccolo Polo's son, accompanied his father and his uncle Maffeo Polo, on their second trip to China starting in 1271. Marco Polo was probably the best-known foreign visitor ever to set foot in China and Mongolia. It is said that after reaching China in 1275, he spent the next 17 years (1275–1292) under the administration and patronage of Kublai Khan, including official service in the salt administration and trips through the provinces of Yunnan and Fukien. Although the numerous flaws in his description of China have tempted modern historians to dispute his sojourn in the Middle Kingdom, the popularity of his journal, ''Description of the World'', was such that it subsequently generated unprecedented enthusiasm in Europe for going east.

Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty

Kublai used traditional decimal organization of the Mongol Empire and set up special gerfalcon posts exclusively for the highest officials in 1261. He adopted Chinese political and cultural models, and also worked to minimize the influences of regional lords who had held immense power before and during the Song Dynasty. Kublai heavily relied on his Chinese advisers until 1276. He had many Han Chinese advisers such as Liu Bingzhong and Xu Heng. He employed 66 Uyghur Turks, 21 of whom were resident commissioner running Chinese districts.

Kublai also appointed Phagspa Lama his state preceptor, giving him power over all the empire's Buddhist monks. In 1270, after Phagspa created the Square script, he was promoted to imperial preceptor. Kublai established the Supreme Control Commission under Phagspa to administer affairs of both Tibetan and Chinese monks. During Phagspa's absence in Tibet, the Tibetan monk Sangha rose to high office and had the office renamed the Commission for Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs. In 1286, Tibetan Sangha became the dynasty's chief fiscal officer. However, their corruption later embittered Kublai. Thenceforwards, Kublai came to rely wholly on younger Mongol aristocrats. While Antong of the Jalayir, and Bayan of the Baarin served as grand councillors from 1265, Oz-temur of the Arulad headed the censorate. Borokhula's descendant, Ochicher, headed a kheshig and the palace provision commission.

In the 8th Year of Zhiyuan (1271), Kublai Khan officially declared the creation of the Yuan Dynasty, and proclaimed the capital to be at Dadu (, lit. "Great Capital", known as Daidu to the Mongols, at today's Beijing) in the following year. His summer capital was in Shangdu (, "Upper Capital", a.k.a. Xanadu, near what today is Dolonnur). To unify China, Kublai Khan began a massive offensive against the remnants of the Southern Song Dynasty in the 11th year of Zhiyuan (1274), and finally destroyed the Song Dynasty in the 16th year of Zhiyuan (1279), unifying the country at last. China proper, Korea and Mongolia itself were administered in 11 provinces during his reign with a governor and vice-governor each. Aside from the 11 provinces was the Central Region (), consisting of much of present-day North China, was considered the most important region of the dynasty and directly governed by the Zhongshusheng (Chinese: 中書省, "Department of Central Governing") at Dadu. In addition, Tibet was governed by another top-level administrative department called the Xuanzheng Institute ().

He ruled well, promoting economic growth with the rebuilding of the Grand Canal, repairing public buildings, and extending highways. However, Kublai Khan's domestic policy also included some aspects of the old Mongol living traditions, and as Kublai Khan continued his reign, these traditions would clash more and more frequently with traditional Chinese economic and social culture. Kublai decreed that partner merchants of the Mongols should be subject to taxes in 1263 and set up the Office of Market Taxes to supervise them in 1268. With the Mongol conquest of the Song, the merchants expanded their sphere of operations to the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean. In 1286 maritime trade was put under the Office of Market Taxes. The main source of revenue of the government was the salt monopoly.

The Mongol administration issued paper currencies from 1227 on. In August 1260, Kublai created the first unified paper currency with bills that circulated throughout the Yuan with no expiration date. To guard against devaluation, the currency was convertible with silver and gold, and the government accepted tax payments in paper currency. In 1273, He issued a new series of state sponsored bills to finance his conquest of the Song, although eventually a lack of fiscal discipline and inflation turned this move into an economic disaster in the later course of the dynasty. It was required to pay only in the form of paper money called Chao. To ensure its use in circles, Kublai's government confiscated gold and silver from private citizens as well as foreign merchants. But traders received government-issued notes in exchange. That is why Kublai Khan is considered to be the first of fiat money makers. The paper bills made collecting taxes and administering the huge empire much easier while reducing cost of transporting coins. In 1287 Kublai's minister Sangha created a new currency, Zhiyuan, to deal with the budget shortfall. It was non-convertible and denominated in copper cash. Later Gaykhatu of the Ilkhanate attempted to adopt the system in Persia and Middle east, which was however a complete failure, and he was assassinated shortly after that.

He encouraged Asian arts and demonstrated religious tolerance. Despite his anti-Taoist edicts, Kublai respected the Taoist master and appointed Zhang Liushan the patriarch of Taoist Xuanjiao order. Under Zhang's advice, Taoist temples were put under the Academy of Scholarly Worthies. The empire was visited by several Europeans, notably Marco Polo in the 1270s who may have seen the summer capital Shangdu.

The capital city of the Emperor

After Kublai was proclaimed Khagan at his residence in Shangdu on 5 May 1260, he began to organize the country. Zhang Wenqian, who was a friend of Guo and like him was a central government official, was sent by Kublai Khan in 1260 to Daming where unrest had been reported in the local population. Guo accompanied Zhang on his mission. Guo was not only interested in engineering, but he was also an expert astronomer. In particular he was a skilled instrument maker and understood that good astronomical observations depended on expertly made instruments. He now began to construct astronomical instruments, including water clocks for accurate timing and armillary spheres which represent the celestial globe. Turkestani architect Ikhtiyar al-Din (also known as Igder) designed the buildings of the city of Khagan or Khanbalic. The Great Khan also employed many foreign artists to build his new capital. One of them named Arniko from Nepal built the White Stupa which was the largest structure in Khanbalic/Dadu.

Zhang advised Kublai Khan that his friend Guo was a leading expert in hydraulic engineering. Kublai knew the importance of water management, for irrigation, transport of grain, and flood control, and he asked Guo to look at these aspects in the area between Dadu (now Beijing or Peking) and the Yellow River. To provide Dadu with a new supply of water, Guo found the Baifu spring in the Shenshan Mountain and had a 30 km channel built to bring the water to Dadu. He proposed connecting the water supply across different river basins, built new canals with many sluices to control the water level, and achieved great success with the improvements which he was able to make. This pleased Kublai Khan and led to Guo being asked to undertake similar projects in other parts of the country. In 1264 he was asked to go to Gansu province to repair the damage that had been caused to the irrigation systems by the years of war during the Mongol advance through the region. Guo travelled extensively along with his friend Zhang taking notes of the work which needed to be done to unblock damaged parts of the system and to make improvements to its efficiency. He sent his report directly to Kublai Khan.

Nayan's rebellion

During the conquest of the Jin, Genghis Khan's younger brothers received large appanages in Manchuria. Descendants of them strongly supported Kublai's coronation in 1260, but the younger generation desired more independence. Kublai enforced Ogedei Khan's regulations that the Mongol noblemen could appoint overseers, along with the Great Khan's special officials, in their appanages, but otherwise respected appanage rights. His son Manggala established direct control over Singan and Shansi in 1272. In 1274 Kublai Khan appointed Lian Xixian to investigate abuses of power by Mongol appanage holders in Manchuria. Lia-tung region was brought immediately under the Khagan's control, in 1284, eliminating autonomy of the Mongol nobles there. Threatened by the advance of the Great Khan's bureaucratization, Belgutei's fourth generation descendant, Nayan (not confused with Temuge's descendant Nayan), instigated revolt in 1287. Nayan attempted to link up with Kublai's competitor Kaidu in Central Asia. Manchuria's native Jurchens and Water Tatars, who had suffered famine, supported Nayan. Virtually all the fraternal lines under Qadaan, a descendant of Khachiun, and Shikqtur, a grandson of Qasar, joined his rebellion. Because Nayan was popular prince, Ebugen, a grandson of Genghis Khan's son Khulgen, and the family of Khuden, a younger brother of Guyuk Khan, contributed troops for his rebellion.

The rebellion was crippled by early detection and timid leadership. Kublai sent Bayan to keep Nayan and Kaidu apart by occupying Karakorum, while he himself led another army against the rebels in Manchuria. Kublai's commander Oz Temur's Mongol force attacked Nayan's 60,000 green soldiers on June 14, while Chinese and Alan guards under Li Ting protected Kublai. The army of Chungnyeol of Goryeo assisted Kublai in battle. After the hard fight, Nayan's troops withdrew behind their carts, and Li Ting began bombardment and attacked Nayan's camp that night. Kublai's force pursued Nayan, who was eventually captured and executed in the traditional way for princes, without shedding of blood. Meanwhile, the rebel prince Shikqtur invaded the Chinese districts in Liaoning but was defeated within a month. Kaidu pulled back westward to avoid a battle. However, Kaidu defeated a major Yuan army in Khangai and briefly occupied Karakorum in 1289. Kaidu had ridden away before Kublai himself mobilized a larger army.

Widespread but uncoordinated risings of Nayan's supporters continued until 1289 but were ruthlessly repressed. The rebel princes' troops were taken from them and redistributed among the imperial family. Kublai harshly punished the darugachis appointed by the rebels in Mongolia and Manchuria. This rebellion forced Kublai to approve the creation of the Liaoyang Branch Secretariat on December 4, 1287, while rewarding loyal fraternal princes.

Later years

Kublai dispatched his grandson Gammala to Burkhan Khaldun in 1291. Because Kublai wanted to make sure that he laid claims to the sacred place (Ikh Khorig), Burkhan Khaldun, where Genghis was buried, Mongolia was strongly protected by the Kublaids. With Bayan in control of Karakorum and reestablishing control over surrounding areas in 1293, Kublai's rival relative Kaidu did not attempt anything large-scale for the next three years. From 1293 on Kublai's army cleared Kaidu's forces out of Central Siberian Plateau.

Kublai Khan originally designated his son Zhenjin as his successor. Zhenjin became the head of Zhongshusheng ("Department of Central Governing"), and actively administrated the dynasty in the Confucian fashion. After Nomukhan returned from the captivity in the Golden Horde, he expressed his resentment that Zhenjin had been made heir apparent. However, he was banished north. An official proposed that Kublai's abdicate in favor of Zhenjin in 1285. This action angered Kublai Khan, who refused to see his son. Unfortunately, Zhenjin died in 1285, 9 years before his father. Kublai regretted and remained very close to his wife, Bairam (also known as Kokejin). With the death of Chabi, he began to withdraw from direct contact with his advisers, issuing instructions through one of his other queens Nambui. Kublai Khan, on the other hand, developed severe gout in the later part of his life. He also gained weight due to a fondness for eating animal organs and other delicacies. This also more than likely increased the amount of purines in his blood, leading to his problems with gout.

His illness may have been related to the deaths of not only his favorite wife, but also his chosen heir Zhenjin. Before his death, Kublai made Zhenjin's son Temür the new Crown Prince, who in turn became the next Khagan of the Mongol Empire and the second ruler of the Yuan Dynasty after the death of Kublai Khan. Seeking an old companion to comfort him in his final illness, the palace staff could choose only Bayan, more than 30 years his junior. Kublai weakened steadily, and on 18 February 1294 he died. Two days later, the funeral cortege was ready and set out for the burial place of the khans in Mongolia.

Family

Kublai married Tegulen at first but she died very early. Then he married Chabi Khatun of the Khunggirat. Chabi was his most beloved empress. After her death in 1286, Kublai married her young cousin, Nambui, in accordance with Chabi's wish.

Kublai and his wives' children included:

Dorji. He was the director of the Secretariat and head of the Bureau of Military Affairs from 1263. But he was sickly and died young.

Zhenjin. He was the father of Temur Khan, Kublai's successor.

Manggala. He was a viceroy in Shaanxi.

Nomukhan.

Khungjil

Aychi

Saqulghachi

Qughchu

Toghan, led Mongol armies into Burma and Vietnam.

Khulan-temur

Tsever

Khutugh beki. She married the king Chungnyeol and became the Empress of the Goryeo.

and 1 son and 2 daughters

Legacy

Kublai's seizure of power in 1260 pushed the Mongolian Empire into a new direction. Despite his controversial election, which accelerated the disunity of the Mongols, his willingness to formalize the Mongol realm's symbiotic relation with China gave the Mongolian Empire a cultural and administrative brilliance that impressed the world.

Kublai and his predecessors' conquests were largely responsible for re-creating a unified, militarily powerful China. The Mongol rule of Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia proper from a capital at modern Beijing also supplied the precedent for the Qing Dynasty's Inner Asian Empire.

See also

References in Art

Kublai and Shangdu or Xanadu are the subject of various later artworks, including the English Romantic Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem "Kubla Khan", in which Coleridge makes Xanadu a symbol of mystery and splendour.

Kublai Khan and Xanadu are both mentioned in the song "Xanadu" by Canadian band Rush.

Kublai Khan is mentioned by Indie Hip Hop Artist Vinnie Paz Where he glorifies his battle thirst.

Kublai Khan is mentioned by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros in their song Mega Bottle Ride.

Historical Fiction

Kublai Khan is depicted in Italo Calvino's novel ''Invisible Cities'', where he converses with Marco Polo about imaginary cities in his empire.

Along with Marco Polo, Kublai Khan is depicted in the 2011 Young Adult novel ''Daughter of Xanadu'' by Dori Jones Yang.

Notes

General note: Dates given here are in the Julian calendar. They are not in the proleptic Gregorian calendar. Weatherford, Jack 'Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World' pg.210-211

References

Rossabi, Morris. ''Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times '' (University of California Press (May 1, 1990)) ISBN 0-520-06740-1.

Saunders, J.J. ''The History of the Mongol Conquests'' (University of Pennsylvania Press (March 1, 2001)) ISBN 0-8122-1766-7.

External links

Inflation under Kublai

Relics of the Kamikaze (Archaeological Institute of America)

Category:1215 births Category:1294 deaths Category:Yuan Dynasty emperors Category:Great Khans of the Mongol Empire Category:13th-century Mongolian monarchs Category:13th-century Chinese monarchs Category:Borjigin

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name	Jedi Mind Tricks
img size	150px
background	group_or_band
alias	JMT
origin	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
genre	Hip hop
years active	1993–present
label	Enemy Soil
associated acts	Army of the Pharaohs, Outerspace, Ill Bill, R.A. The Rugged Man, Apathy
website	jmthiphop.com
current members	Vinnie PazStoupe the Enemy of MankindJus Allah
former members	}}

Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) is a hip hop Trio with Vinnie Paz and Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Jus Allah from Camden, New Jersey. The group was founded by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz (Vincenzo Luvineri) and producer/DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind (Kevin Baldwin). In 1999 the New Jersey rapper Jus Allah (James Bostick) joined the group to record the second studio album by JMT, ''Violent by Design'' but left shortly after for reasons that remain unexplained. The track "The Rebuilding" (2006) marked his unofficial return to JMT since the split, but made a full fledged return aside Vinnie Paz for the sixth studio album, ''A History of Violence'' (2008).

DJ Kwestion is also a part of the group, mainly scratching choruses on the turntable. Kwestion (or Kwes) is also a part of the group Skratch Makaniks. Kwestion was a replacement for JMT's previous tour DJ, Drew Dollars, who is no longer affiliated with the group.

JMT has collaborations with both regional MCs and rap veterans, including GZA, Kool G Rap, 7L & Esoteric, Sean Price, Ras Kass, Canibus, Percee P, Killah Priest, Immortal Technique, Virtuoso, Louis Logic, R.A. the Rugged Man, Tragedy Khadafi, and Ill Bill. The group has sold over 250,000 albums in the United States and 400,000 albums worldwide, all of which were released independently.

History

Amber Probe EP and Psycho-Social LP

JMT officially debuted with the ''Amber Probe EP''.

"The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological, And Electro-Magnetic Manipulation Of Human Consciousness" known as "The Psycho-Social" for short was released under Babygrande Records and is JMT's first full length LP. It featured 12 tracks and 6 bonus tracks. It is considered JMT's most groundbreaking and influential album.

Five Perfect Exertions EP and Violent By Design

Prior to the release of their first LP, Vinnie Paz had conceived the idea of forming a rotating, collaborative super-group of underground East Coast artists called the Army of the Pharaohs (AotP). 1998 saw the first result of these efforts in The Five Perfect Exertions EP. The release featured Virtuoso, 7L & Esoteric, Chief Kamachi and Bahamadia as well as Vinnie Paz himself. The EP was later remixed for JMT's next LP, ''Violent by Design'' (2000), albeit without Chief Kamachi's verse.

The LP was originally titled "Nyugha Reincarnation of the Hologramic Christ". Vinnie Paz became noticeably more aggressive, abandoning his cosmic, paranoid rhyme style from The Psycho-Social CD for more violent lyrics. The LP also introduced Jus Allah, a founding member of JMT who had left for college but dropped out a short while after. A self-proclaimed five-percenter, Jus was present on every non-AotP track on ''Violent by Design'' as JMT's unofficial third member. Most of the lyrics in Violent By Design show Jus and Paz describing exaggerated ways of killing people as well as their metaphorical superhuman powers. Typically, they do this by combining themes of hardcore/gangsta rap with mythological or fantasy imagery.

The list of guest artists on this album was also their longest, including Mr. Lif, Planetary of OuterSpace, Louis Logic, Diamondback, Philip King Rappah,Coffee Gangsta Child L-Fudge, B.A. Barakus, J-Treds, Killa Sha, C-Baz and Tragedy Khadafi, plus a couple of odd phone-call interludes by Mr. Len.

During the course of ''Violent by Design's'' 1999-2000 recording period, Paz changed his alias to Vinnie Paz, inspired by the boxer of the same name. The reason for this has been reported to be the result of a short-lived rivalry instigated by fellow Philly underground rapper iCON the Mic King. Vinnie Paz decided to settle on his new moniker in order to prevent any further confusion. It was also around this time that he formally declared himself to be a follower of Islam, alluding to this fact several times on record.

Visions of Gandhi

In late 2001, JMT was made an offer by Babygrande Records founder Chuck Wilson to sign a deal. Jus Allah's uncertainty caused him to leave the group on good terms. Stoupe and Vinnie Paz closed their homegrown Superegular label and migrated to Babygrande. Before his ''White Nightmare'' EP on Virtuoso's "Omnipotent Records" label, Jus was somewhat isolated from the entire Philadelphia underground scene; the two sides wouldn't talk to each other for over three years. Virtuoso was also estranged from JMT and AOTP for his support of Jus, among other reasons.

Mid-2003 saw the release of JMT's third LP, ''Visions of Gandhi''. In an interview, Vinnie Paz said the title was inspired by Foxy Brown's verse in Nas's song "Affirmative Action", and expresses the need for a prominent figure of non-violent social change such as Gandhi in a post-9/11 world.

Stoupe, now supplied with a professional studio in New York, also expanded his variety of production, incorporating grand orchestral samples and a stronger Latin feel. In response, some longtime fans felt let down by Vinnie Paz's lyricism and delivery, as well as the abundance of slick, upbeat loops adopted by Stoupe . Nevertheless, the album helped expand the group's audience as its popularity and commercial success continued to grow.

Legacy of Blood and Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell

A little over a year later, JMT continued their creative streak with ''Legacy of Blood'', this time intentionally keeping guest artists to a minimum. Carrying with them their lessons from Gandhi, Stoupe and Vinnie tried to strike a balance between the past two albums. Vinnie Paz also added a more personal aspect to his lyrics, most notably in the last song "Before the Great Collapse".

In February, 2005, Babygrande officially announced that Jus Allah had signed on to the label after reconciling with his former partners. Babygrande released his long-awaited debut LP, ''All Fates Have Changed'', in May of that year. However, after a dispute with label CEO Chuck Wilson soon after the album's release, Jus left Babygrande and denied any new association with JMT.

In March, 2006, a reunited Army of the Pharaohs released ''The Torture Papers'' LP. The crew now consisted of Vinnie Paz, Chief Kamachi, 7L & Esoteric, Apathy, Celph Titled, Planetary & Crypt the Warchild of Outerspace, King Syze, Faez One, Reef the Lost Cauze, and new Jedi Mind Tricks hype-man Des Devious. This time, however, Virtuoso and Bahamadia were not featured and are no longer associated with the Army.

The fifth Jedi Mind Tricks album, titled ''Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell'', was released on September 19, 2006. The release coincided with the beginning of the album's supportive tour, which kicked off in New York City's Time Square. The album was widely acclaimed, unlike the group's two previous albums, which both received mixed reviews. A large part of the acclaim was due to the album's lyrical and musical diversity, both missing from their previous efforts. The album featured the single "Heavy Metal Kings" with Ill Bill, the Shara Worden-assisted "Razorblade Salvation", and the storytelling track "Uncommon Valor: A Vietnam Story" with R.A. The Rugged Man. A day after the release of the album, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks did an interview with The Breakdown, a show on ItsHipHop.tv where he discussed the album and his thoughts on Jus Allah.

In early 2006, rumors spread that the group had reunited with estranged member Jus Allah, and that he would be featured on ''Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell'', but no collaboration appeared. However, on September 20, 2006 a newly-recorded Jedi Mind Tricks/Jus Allah collaboration, produced by Brods, titled "The Rebuilding" appeared online. Jus is also planning to release his second album, ''The Colossus'', in the summer of 2007. In a January 2007 interview Paz stated that Jus will be featured on the group's upcoming sixth album, titled ''A History of Violence''. Jus Allah, Doap Nixon and Demoz were added to the AotP roster in 2007, and will contribute verses to the group's second studio album ''Ritual of Battle'', scheduled for release on September 25, 2007. Also, in summer 2008, Jedi Mind Tricks' Label, Babygrande, will be releasing a JMT DVD. "With a 12+ year career under their belt and a continually growing rabid fan base, the history of Jedi Mind Tricks has never been officially documented…until summer 2008, “Divine Fire: The Story of Jedi Mind Tricks DVD,” promises an insightful excursion into the roots of an underground empire." This is from Babygrande's Newsletter.

Reunion with Jus Allah and A History of Violence

In an interview conducted in September 2007 on the Art of Rhyme website, Jus Allah announced that he has rejoined Jedi Mind Tricks. In the interview he states that "I'm back in the group [and that] I'm focused on... putting out the next Jedi Mind Tricks album... a History of Violence."

Enemy Soil

Jedi Mind Tricks recently started their own record label called Enemy Soil which features Reef The Lost Cauze, Dutch (Stoupe's side group), Vinnie Paz (solo), Jedi Mind Tricks and Army of the Pharaohs.

Vinnie Paz released his first solo album "Season of the Assassin" on June 22, 2010. Jus Allah is also releasing a solo album titled, "MMA (Meanest Man Alive)". They are also releasing a new Jedi Mind Tricks record in 2011, "Violence Begets Violence". Army of the Pharaohs has a new album called The Unholy Terror which was released on March 30, 2010 and had an early release date on undergroundhiphop.com. Reef the Lost Cauze released his new album on Enemy Soil titled "Fight Music" on June 8, 2010, a collaboration with Guns & Butter. Stoupe also teamed up with Liz Fullerton and put out "A Bright Cold Day" on June 8, 2010 through Enemy Soil & Dusty Pockets.

Discography

Albums

{| |- style="background:#ccc;" !align="left"|Album information |- |align="left"|''The Psycho-Social, Chemical, Biological & Electro-Magnetic Manipulation of Human Consciousness''

Released: November 4, 1997 (Re-released May 6, 2003 on Babygrande Records)

Label: Superegular Records

Sales: 25,000 copies

Singles: "I Who Have Nothing"

|- |align="left"|''Violent by Design''

Released: October 3, 2000 (Re-released May 25, 2004 on Babygrande Records)

Label: Superegular Records

Sales: 50,000 copies

Singles: "Heavenly Divine"/"Trinity", "Genghis Khan", "Retaliation"/"Blood Runs Cold"

|- |align="left"|''Visions of Gandhi''

Released: August 26, 2003

Label: Babygrande Records

Sales: 50,000 copies

Singles: "Animal Rap", "Kublai Khan", "Rise of the Machines"

|- |align="left"|''Legacy of Blood''

Released: August 24, 2004

Label: Babygrande Records

Sales: 50,000 copies

Singles: "Before the Great Collapse"/"On the Eve of War", "The Age of Sacred Terror"/"Saviorself"

|- |align="left"|''Servants in Heaven, Kings in Hell''

Released: September 19, 2006

U.S. Sales: 75,000 copies

Label: Babygrande Records

Singles: "Heavy Metal Kings"

|- |align="left"|''A History of Violence''

Released: November 11, 2008

U.S. Sales: 11,205

Label: Babygrande Records

Singles: "Monolith","Godflesh"

|- |align="left"|''Violence Begets Violence'' Release Date: October 25, 2011

U.S. Sales:

Label: Enemy Soil

Singles:

|}

EPs/Singles

{| |- style="background:#ccc;" !align="left"|Album information |- |align="left"|''Amber Probe EP''

Released: 1996

Label: Superegular Records

|- |align="left"|''"Heavenly Divine"''

Released: 1999

Label: Superegular Records

B-Side: "Trinity" (featuring Louis Logic & L-Fudge), "Heavenly Divine (Remix)"

|- |align="left"|''"Raw is War"'' (Vinnie Paz)

Released: 2000

Label: Direct Records

B-Side: "Language is Fatal" (featuring Doap Nixon, Jus Allah & Planetary)

|- |align="left"|''"Genghis Khan"'' (featuring Tragedy Khadafi)

Released: 2000

Label: Superegular Records

B-Side:

|- |align="left"|''"Retaliation"''

Released: 2001

Label: Superegular Records

B-Side: "Blood Runs Cold" (featuring Sean Price)

|- |align="left"|''"Animal Rap" (Arturo Gatti Mix)'' (featuring Kool G Rap)

Released: 2003

Label: Babygrande Records

B-Side: "Animal Rap" (Micky Ward Mix)

|- |align="left"|''"Kublai Khan"'' (featuring Goretex & Tragedy Khadafi)

Released: 2003

Label: Babygrande Records

B-Side:

|- |align="left"|''"Rise of the Machines"'' (featuring Ras Kass)

Released: 2004

Label: Babygrande Records

B-Side:

|- |align="left"|''"Before the Great Collapse"''

Released: 2004

Label: Babygrande Records

B-Side: "On the Eve of War" (Julio César Chávez Mix) (featuring GZA),"On the Eve of War" (Meldrick Taylor Mix) (featuring GZA) |- |align="left"|''"The Age of Sacred Terror"''

Released: 2005

Label: Babygrande Records

B-Side: "Saviorself" (featuring Killah Priest)

|- |align="left"|''"Heavy Metal Kings"'' (featuring Ill Bill)

Released: August 1, 2006

Label: Babygrande Records

B-Side:

|}

Compilations

{| |- style="background:#ccc;" !align="left"|Album information |- |align="left"|''The Greatest Feature''

Released: June 23, 2009

Label: Babygrande Records

|}

Jus Allah discography

{| |- style="background:#ccc;" !align="left"|Album information |- |align="left"|''"White Nightmare"'' (EP/Single)

Released: 2002

Label: Omnipotent Records

B-Side: "Reign of the Lord"

|- |align="left"|''"All Fates Have Changed"'' (Full-length album)

Released: May 10, 2005

Label: Babygrande Records

Singles: "Pool of Blood"/"Hell Razors", "G-O-D"/"Supreme"

|- |align="left"|''"Pool of Blood"'' (featuring GZA) (Single)

Released: 2005

Label: Babygrande Records

B-Side: "Hell Razors" (featuring Evil Dead)

|- |align="left"|''"G-O-D"'' (Single)

Released: 2005

Label: Babygrande Records

B-Side: "Supreme"

|- |align="left"|''"MMA (Meanest Man Alive)"'' (Second full-length album)

Released: 2011

Label: Enemy Soil

|}

References

External links

Official Jedi Mind Tricks website

Official Babygrande website

Official CrackSpace page

Category:People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Musical groups from Pennsylvania Category:Musical groups from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:East Coast hip hop groups Category:Rappers from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Horrorcore groups Category:Underground rappers

da:Jedi Mind Tricks de:Jedi Mind Tricks es:Jedi Mind Tricks fr:Jedi Mind Tricks it:Jedi Mind Tricks pl:Jedi Mind Tricks ru:Jedi Mind Tricks simple:Jedi Mind Tricks fi:Jedi Mind Tricks sv:Jedi Mind Tricks tr:Jedi Mind Tricks

name	Benedict Cumberbatch
birthname	Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch
birth date	July 19, 1976
birth place	London, England
occupation	Actor
yearsactive	2001–present
parents	Timothy CarltonWanda Ventham
spouse	}}

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch (born 19 July 1976) is an English film, television, and theatre actor. His most acclaimed roles include: Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama ''Hawking'' (2004); William Pitt in the historical film ''Amazing Grace'' (2006); the protagonist Stephen Ezard in the miniseries thriller ''The Last Enemy'' (2008); Paul Marshall in ''Atonement'' (2007); Bernard in ''Small Island'' (2009); and Sherlock Holmes in the modern BBC adaptation series ''Sherlock'' (2010). He will also be the voices of both Smaug the Dragon and the Necromancer in ''The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey''.

Early life and education

Cumberbatch was born in London, England, the son of actors Timothy Carlton (birth name Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch) and Wanda Ventham.

Cumberbatch was educated at two independent schools, Brambletye School in West Sussex and Harrow School in northwest London, where he began performing as an actor. After school, he took a gap year to teach English in a Tibetan monastery. He then attended the University of Manchester, where he studied drama. After graduating, Cumberbatch continued his training as an actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

Career

Theatre

Since 2001, Cumberbatch has had major roles in a dozen classic plays at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, Almeida Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, and the National Theatre. He was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role for his performance as Tesman in ''Hedda Gabler'', a role he performed at the Almeida Theatre on 16 March 2005, as well as at the Duke of York's Theatre when it transferred to the West End on 19 May 2005.

Cumberbatch acted in ''The Children’s Monologues'', a star-studded theatrical event at London's Old Vic Theatre on 14 November 2010. The show was produced by Dramatic Need. In February 2011, he began playing, on alternate nights, both Dr Frankenstein and his creature, opposite Jonny Lee Miller, in the stage adaptation of Mary Shelley's ''Frankenstein'' at the National Theatre. ''Frankenstein'' was broadcast to cinemas as a part of National Theatre Live in March 2011. Both ''The Children’s Monologues'' and ''Frankenstein'' are directed by Danny Boyle.

Television

Cumberbatch's television roles include two separate guest roles in ''Heartbeat'' (2000, 2004), Freddy in ''Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Edward Hand in ''Cambridge Spies'' (2003), and Rory in the ITV comedy drama series ''Fortysomething'' (2003). He was also featured in ''Spooks'' and ''Silent Witness''.

In 2004, he starred as Stephen Hawking in ''Hawking''. He was nominated for the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actor and won the Golden Nymph for Television Films – Best Performance by an Actor. (He later provided Hawking's voice in the first episode of the Curiosity television series.) He also appeared in the BBC miniseries Dunkirk as Lieutenant Jimmy Langley.

In 2005, Cumberbatch starred as the protagonist Edmund Talbot in the miniseries ''To The Ends of the Earth'', based on William Golding's trilogy. Director David Attwood said:

We found Benedict Cumberbatch fairly early. We needed a very good actor, someone young enough to be believable as an aristocratic, an almost slightly dislikeable character who is an adolescent in terms of his views of the world, his upbringing. But we also needed someone who could hold the screen for four and half hours, in every scene. We needed someone with experience who was not only a very good actor, but also with terrific comic timing. Benedict was the ideal answer to that.

Producer Lynn Horsford added:

Benedict was remarkable. He carried the Golding novels with him on set and constantly referred to them. We needed him every single day and he just didn't stop, nor complain. He simply became Edmund Talbot. And that commitment spread to every cast member. The process of making this film echoed the journey the characters went on in the story—we really got to know each other during our four months on location and we became very close.

He also made brief appearances in the comedy sketch show ''Broken News'' in 2005.

Cumberbatch next starred alongside Tom Hardy in the television adaptation of the book ''Stuart: A Life Backwards'', which aired on the BBC in September 2007. In 2008, he starred in the BBC miniseries drama ''The Last Enemy'', for which he was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film.

In 2009, Cumberbatch starred in ''Marple: Murder Is Easy'' as Luke Fitzwilliam. Also in 2009, he played Bernard in the TV adaptation of ''Small Island''; the performance earned him a nomination for BAFTA Television Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Cumberbatch narrated the 6-part series ''South Pacific'' (U.S. title: ''Wild Pacific''), which aired May to June 2009 on BBC 2.

Cumberbatch, a fan of long-running British science fiction show ''Doctor Who'', suggested in a July 2010 interview that he would be interested in appearing as a main or recurring character on the show, run by ''Sherlock'' producer and personal friend Steven Moffat. In 2008 he had discussed with David Tennant taking over the part of The Doctor but had decided not to try for the role.

In 2010, Cumberbatch portrayed Vincent van Gogh in ''Van Gogh: Painted with Words''. ''The Telegraph'' called his performance "[a] treat ... vividly bringing Van Gogh to impassioned, blue-eyed life." Also in 2010, Cumberbatch began playing Sherlock Holmes in the first series of the BBC television programme ''Sherlock'', to critical acclaim.

Film

In 2006, Cumberbatch played William Pitt in ''Amazing Grace''. The film is the story of William Wilberforce's intense and lengthy political fight in the late 18th century to eliminate slave trade in the British Empire. Pitt was Wilberforce's closest friend and staunchest political ally, and became Prime Minister at an early age. The role garnered Cumberbatch a nomination for the London Film Critics Circle British Breakthrough Acting Award.

Cumberbatch subsequently appeared in major roles in ''Atonement'' (2007) and ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008). In 2009, he appeared in the Darwin bio-pic ''Creation'' as Darwin's friend Joseph Hooker. In 2010, he appeared in ''The Whistleblower''.

He is scheduled to appear in Steven Spielberg's ''War Horse'' (2011). He is also slated to play Peter Guillam in the 2012 adaptation of the John le Carré novel ''Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'', directed by Tomas Alfredson, also starring Gary Oldman, Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. He will also voice the roles of Smaug the Dragon and the Necromancer in ''The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'' in 2012.

Radio

In May 2009, BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation of John Mortimer's novel ''Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders''. Cumberbatch played the "young Rumpole", and Timothy West took the part of the "old Rumpole". Cumberbatch plays Capt Martin Crieff in the BBC's Cabin Pressure.

Personal life

Cumberbatch was in a romantic relationship with actress Olivia Poulet, whom he met at university, for over 12 years. They separated in March 2011.

List of credits

Film credits

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes, awards and nominations
2002		The Man
2003	''To Kill a King''	Royalist
2006		Patrick Watts
2006		William Pitt the Younger
2007	''Inseparable'' (short)	Joe/Charlie
2007		Paul Marshall
2008
2008	''Burlesque Fairytales''	Henry Clark
2009
2010	''Four Lions''	Ed
2010	''Third Star''	James
2010	''The Whistleblower''	Nick Kaufman
2010	''Wreckers''	David
2011		Major Stewart	Post-production
2011		Peter Guillam	Post-production
2012-2013		Sauron (voice)Smaug (voice)	Filming

Television credits

! Year	! Title	! Role	! Notes	Awards and nominations
2002	''Fields of Gold''	Jeremy	TV film
2002		Freddy	Drama serial
2002	''Silent Witness''	Warren Reid	Drama series; 2 episodes
2003	''Cambridge Spies''	Edward Hand	Drama serial; 1 episode
2003	''Spooks''	Jim North	Drama series; 1 episode
2003		Rory	Comedy drama
2004		Lt. Jimmy Langley	Docu-drama
2004		Stephen Hawking	TV film	Festival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo
2005	''[[To the Ends of the Earth''	Edmund Talbot	Drama serial
2005	''Broken News''	Will Parker	Comedy series; 3 episodes
2005	''Nathan Barley''	Robin	Comedy series; 2 episodes
2007	''Stuart: A Life Backwards''	Alexander Masters	TV film
2008		Stephen Ezard	Drama serial
2009		Luke Fitzwilliam	TV film
2009		Bernard Bligh	Drama serial
2010	''Van Gogh: Painted with Words''	Vincent van Gogh	Docudrama
2010	''Have I Got News For You''	Guest host	Panel show
2010–			Drama series	Crime Thriller Awards – Best Actor (Won)National Television Awards – Outstanding Drama Performance (Nominated)Broadcasting Press Guild Awards – Best Actor (Won)BAFTA Television Award – Best Leading Actor (Nominated)	TV Choice>TV Choice Awards 2011 - Best Actor (Pending)
2011	''The Rattigan Enigma by Benedict Cumberbatch''	Presenter	Documentary
2012	''Parade's End''	Christopher Tietjens	Drama series

Theatre credits

! Year	! Title	! Role	Venue	Awards and nominations
2001	''Love's Labour's Lost''	Ferdinand	Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2001	''A Midsummer Night's Dream''	Demetrius	Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2002	''As You Like It''		Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2002	''Romeo and Juliet''	Benvolio	Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2002	''Oh, What a Lovely War!''		Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park
2004	''The Lady from the Sea''	Lyngstrand	Almeida Theatre
2005	''Hedda Gabler''	Tesman	Almeida TheatreDuke of York's Theatre
2006	''Period of Adjustment''	George	Almeida Theatre
2007		Bérenger	Royal Court Theatre
2007		Eisenring	Royal Court Theatre
2008	''The City''	Chris	Royal Court Theatre
2010		David Scott-Fowler
2011		The Creature/Victor Frankenstein

Voice credits

! Year	! Title	! Role	Format	Awards and nominations
2004	''The Raj Quartet''	Nigel Rowan	BBC Radio 4 series
2008	''Casanova''	Narrator	Audiobook
2008	''Death in a White Tie''	Narrator	Audiobook
2008–		Capt. Martin Crieff	BBC Radio 4 comedy series
2009		Narrator	TV documentary
2009	''Rumpole and the Penge Bungalow Murders''	Young Rumpole	BBC Radio 4 series
2009	''Metamorphosis''	Narrator	BBC Radio 7
2010		Narrator	Discovery Channel/Channel 4 series
2010	Sherlock Holmes: The Rediscovered Railway and Other Stories	Narrator	Audiobook
2011	Tom and Viv	TS Eliot	BBC Radio 7
2011	''The Nightjar''	Narrator	Video game

References

External links

Benedict Cumberbatch unofficial website

Benedict Cumberbatch Online

Category:Living people Category:1976 births Category:English stage actors Category:English film actors Category:English television actors Category:English radio actors Category:English voice actors Category:Audio book narrators Category:Shakespearean actors Category:Alumni of the Victoria University of Manchester Category:People associated with the University of Manchester Category:Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Category:Old Harrovians

cs:Benedict Cumberbatch de:Benedict Cumberbatch eu:Benedict Cumberbatch fr:Benedict Cumberbatch it:Benedict Cumberbatch nl:Benedict Cumberbatch ja:ベネディクト・カンバーバッチ pl:Benedict Cumberbatch pt:Benedict Cumberbatch ru:Камбербэтч, Бенедикт fi:Benedict Cumberbatch sv:Benedict Cumberbatch zh:班奈狄克·康柏拜區

Name	Marco Polo
Birth place	''c''. 1254, presumably in Venice, Italy
Death date	January 08, 1324
Death place	Venice, Venetian Republic
Resting place	Church of San Lorenzo
Resting place coordinates
Known for	''The Travels of Marco Polo''
Occupation	Merchant, Explorer
Spouse	Donata Badoer
Children	Fantina, Bellela, and Moretta
Parents	Mother: UnknownFather: Niccolò Polo }}

Marco Polo (; ; ''c''. 1254 – January 8, 1324) was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in ''Il Milione'', a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa; Marco was imprisoned, and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a wealthy merchant, married and had 3 children. He died in 1324, and was buried in San Lorenzo.

''Il Milione'' was dictated by Marco Polo to Rustichello da Pisa while both were prisoners of the Genova Republic. Rustichello translated it from Venetian Language to Tuscan dialect, subsequently embellished, copied by hand and adapted by many others; there is no authoritative version. It documents his father's journey to meet the Kublai Khan, who asked them to become ambassadors, and communicate with the pope. This led to Marco's quest, through Acre, and to the Mongol court in China. Marco apparently wrote of his extensive travels throughout Asia on behalf of the Khan, and their eventual return after 15000 miles (24000 km) and 24 years of adventures.

Their pioneering journey inspired Christopher Columbus and others. Marco Polo's other legacies include Venice Marco Polo Airport, the Marco Polo sheep, and several books and films. He also had an influence on European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.

Life

Early life and Asian travel

The exact time and place of Marco Polo's birth are unknown, and current theories are mostly conjectural. One possible place of birth is Venice's former contrada of San Giovanni Crisostomo, which is sometimes presented by historians as the birthplace, and it is generally accepted that Marco Polo was born in the Venetian Republic with most biographers pointing towards Venice itself as Marco Polo's home town. Some biographers suggest that Polo was born in the town of Korčula (Curzola), on the island of Korčula in today's Croatia. The most quoted specific date of Polo's birth is somewhere "around 1254". His father Niccolò was a merchant who traded with the Middle East, becoming wealthy and achieving great prestige. Niccolò and his brother Maffeo set off on a trading voyage, before Marco was born. In 1260, Niccolò and Maffeo were residing in Constantinople when they foresaw a political change; they liquidated their assets into jewels and moved away. According to ''The Travels of Marco Polo'', they passed through much of Asia, and met with the Kublai Khan. Meanwhile, Marco Polo's mother died, and he was raised by an aunt and uncle. Polo was well educated, and learned merchant subjects including foreign currency, appraising, and the handling of cargo ships, although he learned little or no Latin.

In 1269, Niccolò and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time. In 1271, Marco Polo (at seventeen years of age), his father, and his uncle set off for Asia on the series of adventures that were later documented in Marco's book. They returned to Venice in 1295, 24 years later, with many riches and treasures. They had traveled almost .

Genoese captivity and later life

Upon the Polos' return to Italy, Venice was at war with Genoa. Genoese admiral Lamba D'Oria overwhelmed a Venetian fleet at the Battle of Curzola near the island of Korčula, and Marco Polo was taken prisoner. He spent several months of his imprisonment dictating a detailed account of his travels to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated tales of his own as well as other collected anecdotes and current affairs from China. The book, soon spread throughout Europe in manuscript form, became known as ''The Travels of Marco Polo'', and depicts the Polos' journeys throughout Asia, giving Europeans their first comprehensive look into the inner workings of the Far East, including China, India, and Japan.

While Polo's book describes paper money and the burning of coal, it fails to mention the Great Wall of China, chopsticks, and footbinding, making skeptics wonder if Marco Polo had really gone to China, or wrote his book based on hearsay. However, researchers note that the Great Wall familiar to us today is a Ming structure, post-dating Marco Polo's travels by more than two centuries. The Yuan rulers whom Polo served, as well as the preceding Jin and Liao Empires controlled territories both north and south of the today's wall, and would have no reasons to maintain any fortifications that may have remained there from the earlier dynasties. Other Europeans who traveled to Khanbaliq during the Yuan Dynasty, such as Giovanni de' Marignolli and Odoric of Pordenone, said nothing about the wall either.

Marco Polo was finally released from captivity in August 1299, and returned home to Venice, where his father and uncle had purchased a large house in the central quarter named ''contrada San Giovanni Crisostomo''. The company continued its activities and Marco soon became a wealthy merchant. Polo financed other expeditions, but never left Venice again. In 1300, he married Donata Badoer, the daughter of Vitale Badoer, a merchant. They had three daughters, called Fantina, Bellela and Moreta.

Death

In 1323, Polo was confined to bed, due to illness. On January 8, 1324, despite physicians' efforts to treat him, Polo was on his deathbed. To write and certify the will, his family requested Giovanni Giustiniani, a priest of San Procolo. His wife, Donata, and his three daughters were appointed by him as co-executrices. The church was entitled by law to a portion of his estate; he approved of this and ordered that a further sum be paid to the convent of San Lorenzo, the place where he wished to be buried. He also set free a "Tartar slave" who may have accompanied him from Asia.

He divided up the rest of his assets, including several properties, between individuals, religious institutions, and every guild and fraternity to which he belonged. He also wrote-off multiple debts including 300 lire that his sister-in-law owed him, and others for the convent of San Giovanni, San Paolo of the Order of Preachers, and a cleric named Friar Benvenuto. He ordered 220 soldi be paid to Giovanni Giustiniani for his work as a notary and his prayers. The will, which was not signed by Polo, but was validated by then relevant "signum manus" rule, by which the testator only had to touch the document to make it abide to the rule of law, was dated January 9, 1324. Due to the Venetian law stating that the day ends at sunset, the exact date of Marco Polo's death cannot be determined, but it was between the sunsets of January 8 and 9, 1324.

Travels of Marco Polo

An authoritative version of Marco Polo's book does not exist, and the early manuscripts differ significantly. The published versions of his book either rely on single scripts, blend multiple versions together or add notes to clarify, for example in the English translation by Henry Yule. Another English translation by A.C. Moule and Paul Pelliot, published in 1938, is based on the Latin manuscript which was found in the library of the Cathedral of Toledo in 1932, and is 50% longer than other versions. Approximately 150 variants in various languages are known to exist, and without the availability of a printing press many errors were made during copying and translation, resulting in many discrepancies.

Narrative

The book starts with a preface about his father and uncle traveling to Bolghar where Prince Berke Khan lived. A year later, they went to Ukek and continued to Bukhara. There, an envoy from Levant invited them to meet Kublai Khan, who had never met Europeans. In 1266, they reached the seat of the Kublai Khan at Dadu, present day Beijing, China. Khan received the brothers with hospitality and asked them many questions regarding the European legal and political system. He also inquired about the Pope and Church in Rome. After the brothers answered the questions he tasked them with delivering a letter to the Pope, requesting 100 Christians acquainted with the Seven Arts (grammar, rhetoric, logic, geometry, arithmetic, music and astronomy). Kublai Khan requested that an envoy bring him back oil of the lamp in Jerusalem. The long ''sede vacante'' between the death of Pope Clement IV in 1268 and the election of his successor delayed the Polos in fulfilling Khan's request. They followed the suggestion of Theobald Visconti, then papal legate for the realm of Egypt, and returned to Venice in 1269 or 1270 to await the nomination of the new Pope, which allowed Marco to see his father for the first time, at the age of fifteen or sixteen. In 1271, Niccolò, Maffeo and Marco Polo embarked on their voyage to fulfill Khan's request. They sailed to Acre, and then rode on camels to the Persian port of Hormuz. They wanted to sail to China, but the ships there were not seaworthy, so they continued overland until reaching Khan's summer palace in Shangdu, near present-day Zhangjiakou. Three and one-half years after leaving Venice, when Marco was about 21 years old, Khan welcomed the Polos into his palace. The exact date of their arrival is unknown, but scholars estimate it to be between 1271 and 1275. On reaching the Yuan court, the Polos presented the sacred oil from Jerusalem and the papal letters to their patron.

Marco knew four languages, and the family had accumulated a great deal of knowledge and experience that was useful to Khan. It is possible that he became a government official; he wrote about many imperial visits to China's southern and eastern provinces, the far south and Burma.

Kublai Khan declined the Polos' requests to leave China. They became worried about returning home safely, believing that if Khan died, his enemies might turn against them because of their close involvement with the ruler. In 1292, Khan's great-nephew, then ruler of Persia, sent representatives to China in search of a potential wife, and they asked the Polos to accompany them, so they were permitted to return to Persia with the wedding party — which left that same year from Zaitun in southern China on a fleet of 14 junks. The party sailed to the port of Singapore, travelled north to Sumatra , sailed west to the Trincomalee port of Jaffna under Savakanmaindan and to Pandyan of Tamilakkam. Describing the Pandyan kingdom under Lord Emperor Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I as the richest empire in existence, Polo arrived during the reign of Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan I, son of Jatavarman Sundara Pandyan I and one of five brother kings on the continent. Eventually Polo crossed the Arabian Sea to Hormuz. The two-years voyage was a perilous one - of the six hundred people (not including the crew) in the convoy only eighteen had survived (including all three Polos). The Polos left the wedding party after reaching Hormuz and travelled overland to the port of Trebizond on the Black Sea, the present day Trabzon.

Legacy

Further exploration

Other lesser-known European explorers had already travelled to China, such as Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, but Polo's book meant that their journey was the first to be widely known. Christopher Columbus was inspired enough by Polo's description of the Far East to visit those lands for himself; a copy of the book was among his belongings, with handwritten annotations. Bento de Góis, inspired by Polo's writings of a Christian kingdom in the east, travelled in three years across Central Asia. He never found the kingdom, but ended his travels at the Great Wall of China in 1605, proving that Cathay was what Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) called "China".

Commemoration

The Marco Polo sheep, a subspecies of ''Ovis aries'', is named after the explorer, who described it during his crossing of Pamir (ancient Mount Imeon) in 1271. In 1851, a three-masted Clipper built in Saint John, New Brunswick also took his name; ''the Marco Polo'' was the first ship to sail around the world in under six months. The airport in Venice is named Venice Marco Polo Airport, and the frequent flyer program of Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific is known as the "Marco Polo Club". The travels of Marco Polo are fictionalised in Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne's ''Messer Marco Polo'' and Gary Jennings' 1984 novel ''The Journeyer''. Polo also appears as the pivotal character in Italo Calvino's novel ''Invisible Cities''. The 1982 television miniseries, ''Marco Polo'', directed by Giuliano Montaldo and depicting Polo's travels, won two Emmy Awards and was nominated for six more. Marco Polo also appears as a Great Explorer in the 2008 strategy video game ''Civilization Revolution''.

Cartography

Marco Polo's travels may have had some influence on the development of European cartography, ultimately leading to the European voyages of exploration a century later. The 1453 Fra Mauro map was said by Giovanni Battista Ramusio to have been partially based on the one brought from Cathay by Marco Polo:

See also

Chronology of European exploration of Asia

Silk Road, which Marco Polo traveled.

1284 Yuan expedition to Sri Lanka

''Did Marco Polo go to China?''

Notes

References

Bibliography

(Article republished in 2006 World Almanac Books, available online from History.com)

Marco Polo. (2010). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 28, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/468139/Marco-Polo

Further reading

(Original from the University of Wisconsin - Madison) ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' — Volume 1 and Volume 2, written by Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa, were published by Project Gutenberg (Young Adult novel)

Television

''In the Footsteps of Marco Polo'' is a 2009 PBS documentary about two friends (Denis Belliveau and Francis O’Donnell), who conceived of the ultimate road trip to retrace Marco Polo's journey from Venice to China via land and sea. A 1982 miniseries featured Ken Marshall and Ruocheng Ying. The 2007 television miniseries, ''Marco Polo'', starring Brian Dennehy as Kublai Khan, and Ian Somerhalder as Marco, portrays Marco Polo being left alone in China while his uncle and father return to Venice, to be reunited with him many years later.

External links

The birthplace of Marco Polo

National Geographic Marco Polo: Journey from Venice to China

In the Footsteps of Marco Polo: A Journey through the Met to the Land of the Great Khan

Category:Italian Roman Catholics Category:1254 births Category:1324 deaths Category:13th-century explorers Category:Expatriates in China Category:Explorers of Asia Category:Explorers of Central Asia Category:Venetian explorers Category:Venetian merchants Category:Italian travel writers Category:People from Venice (city)

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name	Conn Iggulden
birth date	1971
occupation	Author
nationality	British
period	Since 2003
genre	Mainly Historical fiction
notableworks	Dangerous Book For Boys Series, Conqueror Series, Emperor Series
influences	Patrick O'Brian, David Gemmell, Bernard Cornwell, George MacDonald Fraser, Wilbur Smith, C. S. Forester
website	http://www.conniggulden.com
portaldisp	}}

Conn Iggulden (born 1971) is a British author who mainly writes historical fiction. He also co-authored ''The Dangerous Book for Boys''.

Background

Born in 1971 to an English father and Irish mother (whose grandfather was a seanchaí), he attended St. Martins School in Northwood before moving on to Merchant Taylors' School. He studied English at the University of London, and went on to teach the subject for seven years, becoming head of the English department at St Gregory's Roman Catholic School in London, where one of his students was Fearne Cotton. He eventually left teaching to write his first novel, ''The Gates of Rome''. He is married, has three children and lives in Hertfordshire, England.

Career

Historical fiction

Iggulden's debut book was ''The Gates of Rome'', the first in a four-part series entitled ''Emperor''. The series is based around the life of Julius Caesar, from childhood (''The Gates of Rome'') to his eventual betrayal and death (''The Gods of War''). The film option has been sold to Spitfire Productions (an Intermedia company).

The author has indicated that in the future he will write a fifth book that deals with the events after the end of ''The Gods of War''. He mentions it on his website 'projects'.

After completing the fourth book in the ''Emperor'' series, Iggulden began research for his next series of books, the ''Conqueror'' series, based on the life of Mongol warlords Genghis, Ogedai and Kublai Khan. His first book was available from 2007. ''Bones of the Hills'' , the third in the series, was released on 1 September 2008. In September 2010 ''Empire of Silver'' was released, which revolves around the life of Genghis Khan's son, Ogedai. Iggulden has confirmed on his official website that he will be writing two more books after ''Empire of Silver'' on Kublai Khan and then one more Emperor book on Augustus.

Children's books

Iggulden co-wrote a book with his brother Hal, ''The Dangerous Book for Boys''. It covers around eighty topics, from building a soapbox racer and tying knots, to learning about famous battles and how to make potassium aluminium sulphate crystals. It was released in the UK in June 2006, reprinted a month later and was voted British Book of the Year at the Galaxy British Book Awards.

On September 2009 he wrote a children's book Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children through HarperCollins. Iggulden has since written three stories to accompany the story of the Tollins.

Other works

In March 2006, Iggulden released a novelette entitled ''Blackwater'', part of the ''Quick Reads'' initiative of World Book Day 2006. Being a thriller, ''Blackwater'' was a change in genre for Iggulden who had mainly written historical fiction.

Bibliography

''Emperor'' series

''The Gates of Rome'' (2003)

''The Death of Kings'' (2004)

''The Field of Swords'' (2005)

''The Gods of War'' (2006)

''1 untitled fifth book (TBA)

''Conqueror'' series

''Wolf of the Plains'' (2007, ISBN 978-0007201754) (titled ''Genghis: Birth of an Empire'' in North America, 2010, ISBN 978-0385344210)

''Lords of the Bow'' (2008, ISBN 978-0007201778) (titled ''Genghis: Lords of the Bow'' in North America, 2010, ISBN 978-0385342797)

''Bones of the Hills'' (2008, ISBN 978-0007201792) (titled ''Genghis: Bones of the Hills'' in North America, 2010, ISBN 978-0385342803)

''Empire of Silver'' (2010, ISBN 978-0007288007) (titled ''Khan: Empire of Silver'' in North America, 2010, ISBN 978-0385339544)

''Conqueror'' (2011)

''1 untitled sixth book (TBA)

''Dangerous books''

''The Dangerous Book for Boys'' (2007) (with Hal Iggulden)

''The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Do'' (2007) (with Hal Iggulden)

''The Dangerous Book for Boys Yearbook'' (2007) (with Hal Iggulden)

''The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Things to Know'' (2008) (with Hal Iggulden)

''The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Wonders of the World'' (2008) (with Hal Iggulden)

''The Pocket Dangerous Book for Boys: Facts, Figures and Fun'' (2008) (with Hal Iggulden)

''The Dangerous Book of Heroes'' (2009) (with David Iggulden)

Other

''Blackwater'' (2006)

''Tollins: Explosive Tales for Children'' (September 2009)

''How to Blow Up Tollins (with Lizzy Duncan) (October 2010)

References

External links

Conn Iggulden page on publisher HarperCollins' website

Conn Iggulden page on the website of Agent A.M. Heath & Company

Information about the 'Quick Reads' initiative on World Book Day 2006

Conn Iggulden on Fantastic Fiction

Conn Iggulden at the Internet Book List

Category:1971 births Category:Alumni of the University of London Category:Living people Category:English historical novelists Category:English novelists Category:Old Merchant Taylors Category:Writers of historical fiction set in Antiquity Category:Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages

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