The Mongol Empire, One of The Greatest Empires in History

INDEPHEDIA.com - The Mongol Empire (Mongolia) was a great empire of the Mongols in the 13th century AD.

By historians, the Mongols are often equated or differentiated with the title of the Tatars.

The Mongol Empire is said to be the second largest empire in world history after the British Empire.

The British Empire at its peak was the most powerful of all the medieval empires.

Founder of the Mongol Empire

The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan (Mongol khan and military leader) in 1206 AD. Its territory covers most of the Eurasian continent.

Then, the eastern part includes China and the western part includes the Islamic caliphate.

Genghis Khan (founder of the Mongol Empire) was born with the name Temujin sometime between 1162 and 1167.

Temujin was the eldest son of Yesugei, this chief of the Kiyad (Kiyan) tribe, born in the Khentii Mountains region of present-day Mongolia.

Under Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire embarked on numerous conquests across the Eurasian continent, starting with the conquest of the Western Xia Dynasty in North China and the Kingdom of Khawarezmia in Persia.

At its peak, the Mongol Empire controlled most of Southeast Asia to central Europe.

After the death of Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire was divided into four parts, namely the Yuan Dynasty (China), Ilkhanate (Persia), Chagatai Khanate (Central Asia) and Golden Horde (Russia).

In government, the Mongol Empire was led by the Khagan (Khan Agung descended from Genghis Khan) for generations.

Ever Invasion of Java

Mongolia during the reign of Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, the main khanate of the Mongol Empire, succeeded in expanding its territory to all of China, Korea, Burma, Vietnam and Cambodia.

In addition, Mongolian troops had carried out military aggression against Japan and Java, Indonesia (Singosari Kingdom), but the invasion attempts were unsuccessful.

The Mongol invasion of Java Island was a military effort by Kublai Khan to attack Java.

King Kertanegara of Singhasari (Singosari) rejected Kublai Khan's wish and finally the founder of the Yuan Dynasty invaded Java.

In 1293, Kublai Khan who felt humiliated by Kertanegara sent a large fleet to Java with around 20,000 to 30,000 troops.

This was a punitive expedition against King Kertanegara of Singhasari, who refused to pay tribute to Yuan and injured one of his ministers, Men Shi or Meng-qi.

Before the Mongol invasion, Men Shi was sent to Java but was not well received there.

The king of Singhasari, Kertanagara, was offended by Men Shi's proposal and branded his face with hot irons.

Stamped his face with this hot iron just like the kingdom did to common thieves, cut off his ears, and sent him back home to the Mongols.

Kublai Khan was shocked at what Raja Singhasari had done to his minister and ordered a punitive expedition against Kertanagara, whom he called barbaric in 1292.

However, when Yuan troops arrived in Java in 1293, Raden Wijaya, the founder and first king of the Majapahit Empire sent an envoy from Madura.

From various attempts at attack, Raden Wijaya's troops managed to defeat the Mongol army and they sailed safely to Quanzhou for 68 days.

As a result of the attack, Shi Bi's Northern Han army lost over 3,000 men, while the newly formed army lost much more.

In June 1293, the Mongol army arrived in China. They brought Jayakatwang's children and several of his officers, who numbered more than 100.

They also obtained country maps, population records and a letter in gold letters written by the king.

This failure was also Kublai Khan's last military expedition. Conversely, Majapahit became the most powerful state in its time in the archipelago.

Kublai khan had planned another invasion of Java with a force of around 100,000 troops, but after Kublai Khan's death this plan was cancelled. (*)