Kublai Khan
Ruler
The grandson of marauding conqueror Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan is famous as the founder of the Yuan or Mongol Dynasty of China. Kublai Khan centralized taxes and administration, improved agriculture, and established a famously splendid court at Cambaluc (now Beijing). He also welcomed foreign traders, including the traveller Marco Polo. He was immortalized in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's 1816 poem Kubla Khan, which begins "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan a stately pleasure-dome decree."Four Good Links
Infoplease: Kublai Khan
Basic 200-word biography, hits all the high points
The Mongols in World History
Great comprehensive resource from Columbia University
1911 Encyclopedia: Cambaluc
Helpful old-school account of Kublai Khan's city
Coleridge's Kubla Khan
Full text of the famous poem plus a few notes
Vital Stats
Birth
1215 (?)
Birthplace
?
Death
Best Known As
Founder of the Mongol Dynasty in China
