EMPEROR OF THE SEAS

A biography of Mongol ruler Kublai Khan, focused on his role in creating a unified China and a maritime empire.

Genghis Khan, Kublai’s grandfather, gained control of large parts of China, along with much of the rest of Asia and Eastern Europe. But southern China, ruled by the Song dynasty, was protected by broad rivers that the Mongols found challenging to bring their warriors across. Kublai and his generals overcame the traditional Mongol distrust of boats and developed strategies that allowed them to cross the rivers and defeat the Song. With all of China in his grasp, Kublai began to look farther; Japan, Korea, and Vietnam seemed ripe for conquest. At the same time, Mongol outposts in Persia and the Middle East would be easier to reach by sea than by the often dangerous overland routes of the time. Pu Shougeng, who had overseen coastal defense and shipping for the Song, was enlisted to build a navy and a merchant fleet for the Mongol dynasty. Mongol invasions of Japan and Vietnam failed, but the merchant fleets more than repaid Kublai’s investment, making China the preeminent economic power of its day. Shortly before his death, Kublai managed to launch an impressive fleet to carry a Mongol princess to Persia to marry its Mongol ruler. Marco Polo, whose writings provided most of what Europeans knew of Kublai and his realm for generations to come, traveled with that fleet on his return to Europe. Weatherford puts Kublai’s accomplishments in full context, following up with a summary of China’s maritime history right up to the present day. Readers will find this a valuable treatment of a part of history previously familiar primarily to specialists.

A detailed look at one of history’s most powerful rulers, and his impact on a huge swath of the world.