First Mongol invasion of Burma

Significance

The first Mongol invasion of Burma, conducted between 1277 and 1287 by Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty against the Pagan Empire, resulted in the destruction of one of the region's major polities. The invasions toppled the 250-year-old Pagan Empire and brought Yuan control over Pagan territories in present-day Dehong, Yunnan, and northern Burma as far as Tagaung. Within the broader arc of Mongol invasions and conquests, the campaign extended Yuan power into mainland Southeast Asia. Its consequences extended well beyond the immediate military outcome: the collapse of Pagan initiated roughly 250 years of political fragmentation in Burma and contributed to the rise of ethnic Tai-Shan states across mainland Southeast Asia, a regional realignment that outlasted Mongol power itself.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (8)