End of the Song Dynasty

Date: March 19, 1279 • Location: Xinhui, China

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1276–1279.

Mongol conquest of Song China: Zhao Bing (pictured), the last Song emperor, drowned at the end of the Battle of Yamen, bringing the Song dynasty to an end after three centuries.

The Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty was the final phase of the Mongol conquest of China, beginning under Ögedei Khan and being completed under Kublai Khan. It is considered the last great military achievement of the Mongol Empire; upon its completion, the Mongols ruled all of continental East Asia under the Han-style Yuan dynasty that had been founded as a division of the Mongol Empire.