This was the Eastern part of the Mongol Empire, which was largely China.  It was established by Kublai Khan.  It lasted from 1271–1368.

Rise

The Eastern part of the Mongolian Empire, a grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, set his sights on China, which was ruled by the Song dynasty.  It was not easy to conquer China, so, Kublai Khan conquest took from 1235 to 1271.  He tried to stick close to Chinese tradition.  Using the Mandate of Heaven, he established the Yuan dynasty.

Government, Wealth and Art

Kublai Khan proved to be skilled at governing a large, diverse territory.  Like his grandfather, he instituted a policy of religious tolerance, which inspired loyalty in formerly oppressed groups such as Buddhists and Daoists, who were out of favor in China at the time.  His policies were also tolerant towards Muslims and Christians.

With these and other reforms and the protection of Mongolian armies, most Chinese initially enjoyed the rule of Kublai Khan; he brought prosperity to China because of cultural exchanges and improved trade with other countries, including European ones.  Chinese art and literature enjoyed a golden period during the Yuan Dynasty.

Marco Polo

Marco Polo worked in the government of Kublai Khan.  Click the link here to learn more about him.

Decline of the Yuan Dynasty

Despite Kublai Khan's adoption of Chinese customs, Mongolian leaders eventually alienated many Chinese.  They hired foreigners for government rather than native-born Chinese.  Th Mongols dismantled the civil service exam system. This angered the Chinese scholar-gentry. Although the official policy was tolerance,  the Chinese remained sperate from the Mongols and were prohibited from speaking Mongolian.

The Mongols of China failed to expand beyond China.  Most famously, the Mongol fleet failed to conquer Japan (twice).  This made the Chinese feel that the Mongols were not as fearsome as they once had been.  In 1368, a Buddhist monk from a peasant family, led a revolt that overthrew the Yuan dynasty and founded the Ming Dynasty.

Edited from 2018 AMSCO p246-247