Kublai Khan

Kublai Khan, the thirteenth-century Mongolian prince who became warrior emperor of China, was perhaps the most powerful man who ever lived.

Grandson of the great Genghis Khan, he inherited the largest land empire in history – and doubled it. Driven to fulfil his grandfather’s destiny and ensure Mongol supremacy, Kublai’s realm would embrace over half of all Asia: a staggering one-fifth of the world’s inhabited land area.

But Kublai Khan was not born to rule. It was his brilliant, scheming mother who placed him in line for the throne. Seizing power when in his forties, he perceived China rather than Mongolia as the key to empire and, after twenty years of war, became the first ‘barbarian’ to conquer all China. Bringing together vast wealth, military strength and shrewd government, he was to transform his dominion into the prototype of today’s superpower.

Drawing on his own travels through Mongolia and China, bestselling historian John Man brings the remarkable world of Kublai Khan to vibrant life