Temujin, a Mongol clan leader, fights to unify the Mongols under his leadership. One by one, he beats all his rivals and claims the title Genghis Khan, or universal ruler.
Genghis Khan invades northern Jin Empire but his attention goes to the Islamic region west of Mongolia.
Genghis Khan launched a campaign of terror across Central Asia in which the Mongols destroyed the cities of Utrar, Samarkand, and Bukhara.
Genghis Khan dies of illness but his successors continue to expand the Mongol Empire. They create the largest unified land empire in history.
Mongols halt their westward campaign even though Vienna and Venice are in their grasp and turn their attention to Persia.
Mongols divide their empire into four sections, also known as Khanates. A descendent of Genghis ruled each khanate.
Marco Polo, a young Venetian trader who traveled with his uncle and father along the Silk Roads arrived to Kublai Khans court. The most famous European to visit China in this time.
After conquering China, Kublai Khan tries to conquer Japan. He sent huge fleets of ships filled with warriors to try to conquer Japan but the Japanese won.
After his death the Yuan Dynasty began to fade. There re no strong rulers, and there were many rulers in a very short period of time.
Mauryan and Gupta Empires
Chandragupta gathers an army and kills the Nanda king and then claims the throne. This was the start of the Mauryan Empire.
In 1398, the city of Delhi was destroyed by Timur the Lame. Though, Delhi was eventually rebuilt.
In 1494, the area that is now currently Uzbekistan and Tajikistan was inherited by an 11 year old boy. His name was Babur and soon afterwards his elders took the land and drove him south. But Babur created an army and later set up the foundation for the Mughal Empire.
In 1526, Babur led 12,000 troops against an army of 100,000 troops and ended up winning the battle. The commander of the other army was a sultan of Delhi.
Akbar, "great", ruled India with wisdom and tolerance from 1556-1605. Akbar was the grandson of Babur.
Shah Jahan's wife died in 1631 while giving birth to her 14th child at age 39. Shah Jahan ordered that a tomb be built to honor her, the Taj Mahal.
in 1657, Shah Jahan became ill and his four sons fought for the power of the throne. The third son killed his older brother and put his father (Shah Jahan) in prison and then claimed the throne.
Aurangzeb was a military strategist and an aggressive builder who reigned from 1658 to 1707. The power of the empire weakened during his reign but he did expand the Mughal empire.
In 1348, the woman Laura who Petrarch wrote about died of the plague.
In 1434, Cosimo de Medici won control of Florence's government. He was the wealthiest European of his time. He died in 1464.
The life of Leonardo da Vinci, he painted the Mona Lisa. He had a mysterious life and was interested in how things works. He was also a Renaissance man.
In 1453, the Turks conquered Constantinople and Christian scholars from Constantinople fled to Rome with Greek manuscripts.
In 1453, the Hundred Years' War ends between France and England and many cities grow.
In the late 1460s, Donatello created a sculpture/ statue.
Cosimo's grandson, Lorenzo de Medici, came to power. He acted like a dictator but pretended to have an elected government.
The life of Michelangelo Buonarroti, he was a Renaissance man and a painter.
The life of Vittoria Colonna was born of a noble family and had a great influence. She helped write the Courier.
In 1494, the throne of Naples was claimed by a French King who then launched an invasion through northern Italy.
In 1509, The Praise of Folly was written by Erasmus. It was his most famous work.
In 1513 The Prince was written by Niccoló Macchiavelli which examines the imperfect conduct of humans.
In 1516, Thomas More wrote the book Utopia to show a better model of society.
In 1528, Baldassare Castiglione wrote a book, The Courtier, that taught how to be such a person.
After 1550, Flemish painting reached its peak with the work of Peter Bruegel the Elder.
Queen Elizabeth ruled from 1558-1603. The age after her reign was called the Elizabethian Age.