1279

1279 is a year in the late 13th century best known for the completion of the Mongol conquest of the Southern Song and the establishment of Yuan rule over all of China. In East Asia, the decisive campaigns culminated with the Battle of Yamen on the southeastern coast, in which Zhao Bing, the last emperor of the Southern Song, died and the Song court effectively ceased to exist. The Song capital Lin’an (modern Hangzhоu) had already fallen to Mongol forces in 1276, leaving the Song state functionally dissolved; by 1279 the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty controlled the heartland of China.

These events marked the culmination of the Song conquest and the formal founding of the Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khan, which governed China thereafter. The unification under Mongol rule represented a major political shift, influencing governance, military organization, and administrative practices. The Yuan era also affected neighboring regions by altering trade dynamics across the Silk Road and maritime routes, fostering cross-cultural exchange between China and other parts of Eurasia during this period. The 1279 turning point thus stands as a key moment in Chinese and Eurasian history, signaling the rise of Yuan authority in China and shaping regional geopolitics for decades to come.