Conquest. The Mongols were pastoral nomads who lived in a tribal society in Mongolia in the eleventh century. Superb horsemen and warriors, they frequently came into conflict with the Tatars, their neighbors to the West. When the Mongols began to develop an ethnic consciousness, Temujin exploited this political situation. In 1206 he claimed the title Genghis Khan (meaning "Universal Ruler" or "Khan from Ocean to Ocean") and began to invade China in 1211. He died in 1227 during the campaign, and thereafter the Mongol Empire was divided between his sons and grandson. Kublai Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson, becoming Great Khan in 1260, transferred the capital to Beijing in 1264 and adopted in 1271 a Chinese name, Yuan, as the title of his dynasty. When the last Song loyalists were defeated at sea in 1279, the Mongols became the first nomadic conquerors to rule all of China.

Adaptation. Under...