The Mongol Invasions of Japan

They are some of the largest bodies of freshwater on Earth, yet they weren’t carved by ice, but by a continent literally tearing itself apart. These lakes are older, deeper, and more biologically diverse than almost any others on the planet, home to thousands of unique species an ...  Show more

Long before modern democracies, before constitutions or elections as we know them, a society of Viking settlers gathered in a windswept valley to create laws, settle disputes, and govern themselves without a monarch. Against the odds, this institution endured for over a thousand ...  Show more

Major military efforts were taken by Kublai Khan of the Yuan dynasty in 1274 and 1281 to conquer the Japanese archipelago after the submission of the Korean kingdom of Goryeo to vassalhood. Ultimately a failure, the invasion attempts are of massive importance because they set a l ...  Show more

At the height of the Mongol Empire, Kublai Khan set his sights on the island of Japan. He launched two enormous invasions of that nation in 1274 and 1281 - but both of them were defeated, aided by sudden and disastrous storms that tore his fleets apart. The story of these kami ...

The Warring States period brought Japan to its knees. It was a time of turbulence and treachery, with rival warlords fighting bitterly for control of the land. But by the dawn of the 17th century, one of Japan's 'Great Unifiers' had emerged victorious - Tokugawa Ieyasu, the fi ...

The Mongols are widely known for one thing: conquest. Through the ages, word "horde" has entered the English lexicon with a negative connotation, conjuring up images of warriors on horseback, sweeping across the plain--a virtual human flood destroying everything in its path and t ...  Show more