306 A BRIEF SURVEY OF HUMAN HISTORY

cadent limbs of humanity, and what is more they opened
up Asia as well as Europe for mutual intercourse. They"
not only moved armies from Asia to Europe, but also esta-
blished lines of civil contacts between the two continents,
The travels of Marco Polo were only one indication of this.

Chengiz Khan was succeeded by his son, Oghotai, who
was more humane than his father. " Our Kagan Chengiz ",
he declared, " built up our imperial house with great labour;
now it is time to give the peoples peace and prosperity, and
to alleviate their burdens." Yet under him the Mongol
conquests in Europe were further extended. His general
Sabutai subdued Russia, Poland, and Hungary. But after
the death of Oghotai disruption commenced. Mangu be-
came the Great Khan in 1252. He appointed Kublai Khan
to the government of China. Mangu had his capital at
Karakorum and Kublai built for himself a new one at
Peking. The Western Mongols became Muslims and the
Eastern Buddhists; those in Russia, Poland, and Hungary
obviously adopted Christianity as their religion. Mangu's
successor, Hulagu, destroyed Bagdad and ended the Abba-
sid Caliphate in 1258. This may be considered as also the
end of the Arab civilisation and the beginning of the more
destructive era of the Turks who were indistinguishable
from the Mongols.

Meanwhile in China Kublai Khan, as previously stated,
founded the Yuan dynasty. He also added Tongking,
Annam, and even part of Burma to his dominions. His
attempt to conquer Japan and Malaysia, however, proved
futile as the Mongols had no navy equal to the task. After
Kublai's death, in 1292 the Empire of the Mongols split
up into independent kingdoms like (1) the Yuan dominions
of China, (2) the Golden Horde of Russia, Poland, and
Hungary, (3) the Ilkhan territory of Hulagu, including