CHINESE  HISTORY  :  SECOND  PERIOD  13
of  conquering  Eastern  Asia,  the  first  being  under  the  command ­
  of  Genghis  himself.  All  three  were  successful,  and
the  territory  as  far  as  the  Shantung  peninsula  was  entirely
subjugated.
Next,  expeditions  were  sent  out  for  the  conquest  of
Western  Asia.  They  overran  the  territory  to  the  south-east
of  China,  pierced  the  mountain  passes  of  the  Himalayas,  won
a  great  victory  on  the  banks  of  the  Indus,  and  penetrated
into  Eastern  Europe,  destroying  many  of  the  cities  of
Russia.  All  the  places  conquered  by  the  armies  of  Genghis
Khan  were  razed  to  the  ground  and  the  inhabitants  put  to
the  sword.
Genghis  Khan  was  succeeded  in  1229  by  his  son  Ogotai,
who  continued  his  father’s  glorious  career  of  conquest.  He
conducted  an  expedition  into  the  heart  of  Europe,  overrunning ­
  Russia,  Hungary,  and  Poland.
Upon  the  rise  of  the  Mongols,  the  Emperor  of  the
Southern  Sung  Dynasty,  Li-tsung  (a.d.  1225-1265),  entered
into  an  alliance  with  their  chief,  offering  his  assistance
against  the  much  hated  Kin.  The  offer  was  accepted,  and
when  the  Kin  had  been  subdued,  the  Chinese  naturally
considered  they  were  entitled  to  a  part  of  the  spoils,  and
proposed  to  reoccupy  their  old  capital  at  Kaifeng.  The
Mongols,  who  had  only  made  use  of  the  Chinese  as  long  as  it
suited  their  own  convenience,  objected  to  this  course,  and
ordered  them  to  evacuate  Honan.  Upon  the  Chinese
refusing  to  comply  with  this  command,  war  was  declared,
and  the  conquest  of  China  was  begun.
The  chief  part  in  the  conquest  of  China  was  played  by
Kublai  Khan,  the  grandson  of  Genghis.  His  armies  overran
all  the  territory  in  the  south  occupied  by  the  Sungs,  and
the  last  Emperor  was  obliged  to  flee  to  the  Island  of  Yaishan,
south  of  Canton.  The  harbor  of  the  town  to  which  he  had
retreated  was  blockaded  by  the  Mongol  fleet,  and  finally,
to  avoid  falling  into  the  hands  of  his  enemies,  the  Emperor
and  the  Imperial  family  committed  suicide  by  throwing
themselves  into  the  sea.
Thus,  for  the  first  time  in  Chinese  history,  China  was