Genghis Khan Conquers the Jin and Western Xia States
The Mongols turn south, sacking the Jin capital and forcing Western Xia into vassalage
Quick facts
- Jin capital
- Yanjing (modern Beijing), fell 1215
- Western Xia
- Vassalage forced by 1210
- Army size at Jin, 1211
- Two armies of 50,000 men each
- Jin dynasty's final collapse
- 1234, under Ogedei Khan
What happened
Genghis Khan began raiding the Tangut state of Western Xia in 1205 and 1207, forcing its ruler to surrender by 1210 and become a Mongol vassal. He then turned on the larger Jurchen Jin dynasty, which ruled northern China, attacking in 1205, 1209, and 1211, the latter invasion using two Mongol armies of 50,000 men each. The Jin capital, then called Yanjing (modern Beijing), fell after a lengthy siege in 1215, forcing the Jin emperor to abandon the northern half of his territory. Western Xia later tried to ally with the Jin and Song against the Mongols, a betrayal Genghis Khan would punish with the state's near-total destruction in 1225 to 1227.
Why it matters
The Jin capital's fall in 1215 gave the Mongols their first taste of siege warfare against a major fortified state and a foothold in northern China they never gave up, a war that would drag on for another two decades before the Jin dynasty finally collapsed in 1234. Western Xia's conquest secured the Mongols' southern flank before Genghis Khan turned west toward Khwarazm.
How we know
The Jin capital's 1215 fall and the Western Xia campaigns are recorded across the World History Encyclopedia's articles on Genghis Khan and the Jurchen Jin Dynasty, drawing on Chinese dynastic histories.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Genghis Khan · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- World History Encyclopedia. Jurchen Jin Dynasty · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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