ainty of the Yuan dynasty or the Mongol Empire over the Pagan Empire and annual payments in taxes to the Yunnan government in exchange for the evacuation of Mongol troops from northern Burma . But the treaty never really took effect as Narathihapate was assassinated in July 1287 , and no authority who could honor the treaty emerged . The Mongol command at Yunnan now deemed the imperial order to withdraw void , and ordered an invasion of central Burma . They may not have reached Pagan , and even if they did , after having suffered heavy casualties , they returned to Tagaung .   The Pagan Empire disintegrated and anarchy ensued . The Mongols , who probably preferred the situation , did nothing to restore order in the next ten years . In March 1297 , they accepted the voluntary submission of King Kyawswa of Pagan although he controlled little beyond the capital city of Pagan ( Bagan ) . But Kyawswa was overthrown nine months later , and the Mongols were forced to intervene , leading to their second invasion in 1300 – 01 .   Marco Polo reported the first invasions ( 1277 – 87 ) in his travelogue , Il Milione . The Burmese referred to the invaders as the Taruk ( after the central Asian Turkic troops that largely made up the Mongol invasion army ) ; today , the term Taruk ( တရုတ ် ) refers to the Han Chinese instead . King Narathihapate is unkindly remembered in Burmese history as Taruk @-@ Pye Min , ( " the King who Fled from the Taruk " ) .   = = Background = =   = = = Pagan and Dali = = =   In the 13th century , the Pagan Empire , along with the Khmer Empire , was one of the two main empires in mainland Southeast Asia . For much of its history , Pagan 's neighbor to the northeast was not China but the independent Dali Kingdom and its predecessor Nanzhao , both with Dali as their capital city . Dali @-@ based kingdoms were a power in their own right , at times allying themselves with the Tibetan Empire to their west and at other times with China 's Tang and Song dynasties . Indeed , Nanzhao 's mounted armies ventured deep into what is today Burma and may have been behind the founding of the medieval city of Pagan and the Pagan Dynasty itself .   Between the newly conquered Mongol territory and Pagan were a wide swath of borderlands stretching from present @-@ day Dehong , Baoshan and Lincang prefectures in Yunnan as well as the Wa and Palaung regions ( presumably in present @-@ day northern Shan State ) , which Pagan and Dali had both claimed and exercised overlapping spheres of influence . Then as now , the borderlands mostly consist of forbidding terrains of high mountain ranges .   = = = Mongol conquest of Dali = = =   The Mongol Empire first arrived at the doorstep of the Pagan Empire in 1252 by invading the Dali Kingdom in its attempt to outflank Song China . The Mongol armies captured the capital , Dali , on 7 January 1253 , and went on to pacify much of the kingdom by 1257 .   The arrival of the Mongols did not initially upset the existing order at the borderlands as the Mongols were intent on finishing off the Song . For the next dozen years , they consolidated their hold over the newly conquered land , which not only provided them with a base from which to attack the Song from the rear but also was strategically located on the trade routes from China to Burma and India . The Mongols set up military garrisons , manned mostly by Turkic @-@ speaking Muslims from Central Asia , in 37 circuits of the former Dali Kingdom .   = = = Decline of Pagan = = =   By then , the Pagan Empire , despite outward appearances of calm , had been in long and slow decline since the early 13th century . The continuous growth of tax @-@ free religious wealth had greatly reduced the tax base of the kingdom . The crown had lost resources needed to retain the loyalty of courtiers and military servicemen , inviting a vicious circle of internal disorders and external challenges . Although it was able to put down the first batch of serious rebellions in 1258 – 60 in South Arakan and Martaban ( Mottama ) , the decline continued . On the eve of the Mongol invasions , between one and two @-@ thirds of Upper Burma 's cultivable land had been donated to religion . The crown 's ability to mobilize defenses was in serious jeopardy .   = = Prelude to war = =   = = = First Mongol mission ( 1271 – 72 ) = = =   The period of calm for Pagan ended in the early 1270s . By then , the Song were on the ropes , and Emperor Kublai Khan , who officially founded the Yuan
ain ty Ġof Ġthe ĠYuan Ġdynasty Ġor Ġthe ĠMongol ĠEmpire Ġover Ġthe ĠPagan ĠEmpire Ġand Ġannual Ġpayments Ġin Ġtaxes Ġto Ġthe ĠYun nan Ġgovernment Ġin Ġexchange Ġfor Ġthe Ġevacuation Ġof ĠMongol Ġtroops Ġfrom Ġnorthern ĠBurma Ġ. ĠBut Ġthe Ġtreaty Ġnever Ġreally Ġtook Ġeffect Ġas ĠNar ath ih ap ate Ġwas Ġassassinated Ġin ĠJuly Ġ12 87 Ġ, Ġand Ġno Ġauthority Ġwho Ġcould Ġhonor Ġthe Ġtreaty Ġemerged Ġ. ĠThe ĠMongol Ġcommand Ġat ĠYun nan Ġnow Ġdeemed Ġthe Ġimperial Ġorder Ġto Ġwithdraw Ġvoid Ġ, Ġand Ġordered Ġan Ġinvasion Ġof Ġcentral ĠBurma Ġ. ĠThey Ġmay Ġnot Ġhave Ġreached ĠPagan Ġ, Ġand Ġeven Ġif Ġthey Ġdid Ġ, Ġafter Ġhaving Ġsuffered Ġheavy Ġcasualties Ġ, Ġthey Ġreturned Ġto ĠTag aun g Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠPagan ĠEmpire Ġdisinteg rated Ġand Ġanarchy Ġensued Ġ. ĠThe ĠMong ols Ġ, Ġwho Ġprobably Ġpreferred Ġthe Ġsituation Ġ, Ġdid Ġnothing Ġto Ġrestore Ġorder Ġin Ġthe Ġnext Ġten Ġyears Ġ. ĠIn ĠMarch Ġ12 97 Ġ, Ġthey Ġaccepted Ġthe Ġvoluntary Ġsubmission Ġof ĠKing ĠKy aw sw a Ġof ĠPagan Ġalthough Ġhe Ġcontrolled Ġlittle Ġbeyond Ġthe Ġcapital Ġcity Ġof ĠPagan Ġ( ĠB agan Ġ) Ġ. ĠBut ĠKy aw sw a Ġwas Ġoverth rown Ġnine Ġmonths Ġlater Ġ, Ġand Ġthe ĠMong ols Ġwere Ġforced Ġto Ġintervene Ġ, Ġleading Ġto Ġtheir Ġsecond Ġinvasion Ġin Ġ1300 ĠâĢĵ Ġ01 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠMarco ĠPolo Ġreported Ġthe Ġfirst Ġinv asions Ġ( Ġ12 77 ĠâĢĵ Ġ87 Ġ) Ġin Ġhis Ġtravel ogue Ġ, ĠIl ĠMil ione Ġ. ĠThe ĠBur m ese Ġreferred Ġto Ġthe Ġinvaders Ġas Ġthe ĠTar uk Ġ( Ġafter Ġthe Ġcentral ĠAsian ĠTurk ic Ġtroops Ġthat Ġlargely Ġmade Ġup Ġthe ĠMongol Ġinvasion Ġarmy Ġ) Ġ; Ġtoday Ġ, Ġthe Ġterm ĠTar uk Ġ( Ġá Ģ Ĳ á Ģ Ľ á Ģ ¯ á Ģ Ĳ Ġá Ģ º Ġ) Ġrefers Ġto Ġthe ĠHan ĠChinese Ġinstead Ġ. ĠKing ĠNar ath ih ap ate Ġis Ġun kind ly Ġremembered Ġin ĠBur m ese Ġhistory Ġas ĠTar uk Ġ@ - @ ĠP ye ĠMin Ġ, Ġ( Ġ" Ġthe ĠKing Ġwho ĠF led Ġfrom Ġthe ĠTar uk Ġ" Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠBackground Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠPagan Ġand ĠD ali Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġthe Ġ13 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġthe ĠPagan ĠEmpire Ġ, Ġalong Ġwith Ġthe ĠKh mer ĠEmpire Ġ, Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġtwo Ġmain Ġempires Ġin Ġmainland ĠSoutheast ĠAsia Ġ. ĠFor Ġmuch Ġof Ġits Ġhistory Ġ, ĠPagan Ġ' s Ġneighbor Ġto Ġthe Ġnortheast Ġwas Ġnot ĠChina Ġbut Ġthe Ġindependent ĠD ali ĠKingdom Ġand Ġits Ġpredecessor ĠNan z hao Ġ, Ġboth Ġwith ĠD ali Ġas Ġtheir Ġcapital Ġcity Ġ. ĠD ali Ġ@ - @ Ġbased Ġkingdoms Ġwere Ġa Ġpower Ġin Ġtheir Ġown Ġright Ġ, Ġat Ġtimes Ġall ying Ġthemselves Ġwith Ġthe ĠTibetan ĠEmpire Ġto Ġtheir Ġwest Ġand Ġat Ġother Ġtimes Ġwith ĠChina Ġ' s ĠTang Ġand ĠSong Ġdyn ast ies Ġ. ĠIndeed Ġ, ĠNan z hao Ġ' s Ġmounted Ġarmies Ġventured Ġdeep Ġinto Ġwhat Ġis Ġtoday ĠBurma Ġand Ġmay Ġhave Ġbeen Ġbehind Ġthe Ġfounding Ġof Ġthe Ġmedieval Ġcity Ġof ĠPagan Ġand Ġthe ĠPagan ĠDynasty Ġitself Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠBetween Ġthe Ġnewly Ġconquered ĠMongol Ġterritory Ġand ĠPagan Ġwere Ġa Ġwide Ġswath Ġof Ġborder lands Ġstretching Ġfrom Ġpresent Ġ@ - @ Ġday ĠDe h ong Ġ, ĠBa osh an Ġand ĠL inc ang Ġpre fect ures Ġin ĠYun nan Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġthe ĠWa Ġand ĠPal aun g Ġregions Ġ( Ġpresumably Ġin Ġpresent Ġ@ - @ Ġday Ġnorthern ĠShan ĠState Ġ) Ġ, Ġwhich ĠPagan Ġand ĠD ali Ġhad Ġboth Ġclaimed Ġand Ġexercised Ġoverlapping Ġspheres Ġof Ġinfluence Ġ. ĠThen Ġas Ġnow Ġ, Ġthe Ġborder lands Ġmostly Ġconsist Ġof Ġforb idding Ġterr ains Ġof Ġhigh Ġmountain Ġranges Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠMongol Ġconquest Ġof ĠD ali Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠMongol ĠEmpire Ġfirst Ġarrived Ġat Ġthe Ġdoorstep Ġof Ġthe ĠPagan ĠEmpire Ġin Ġ12 52 Ġby Ġinvading Ġthe ĠD ali ĠKingdom Ġin Ġits Ġattempt Ġto Ġout fl ank ĠSong ĠChina Ġ. ĠThe ĠMongol Ġarmies Ġcaptured Ġthe Ġcapital Ġ, ĠD ali Ġ, Ġon Ġ7 ĠJanuary Ġ12 53 Ġ, Ġand Ġwent Ġon Ġto Ġpac ify Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġkingdom Ġby Ġ12 57 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġarrival Ġof Ġthe ĠMong ols Ġdid Ġnot Ġinitially Ġupset Ġthe Ġexisting Ġorder Ġat Ġthe Ġborder lands Ġas Ġthe ĠMong ols Ġwere Ġintent Ġon Ġfinishing Ġoff Ġthe ĠSong Ġ. ĠFor Ġthe Ġnext Ġdozen Ġyears Ġ, Ġthey Ġconsolidated Ġtheir Ġhold Ġover Ġthe Ġnewly Ġconquered Ġland Ġ, Ġwhich Ġnot Ġonly Ġprovided Ġthem Ġwith Ġa Ġbase Ġfrom Ġwhich Ġto Ġattack Ġthe ĠSong Ġfrom Ġthe Ġrear Ġbut Ġalso Ġwas Ġstrategically Ġlocated Ġon Ġthe Ġtrade Ġroutes Ġfrom ĠChina Ġto ĠBurma Ġand ĠIndia Ġ. ĠThe ĠMong ols Ġset Ġup Ġmilitary Ġgar ris ons Ġ, Ġmanned Ġmostly Ġby ĠTurk ic Ġ@ - @ Ġspeaking ĠMuslims Ġfrom ĠCentral ĠAsia Ġ, Ġin Ġ37 Ġcircuits Ġof Ġthe Ġformer ĠD ali ĠKingdom Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠDecl ine Ġof ĠPagan Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠBy Ġthen Ġ, Ġthe ĠPagan ĠEmpire Ġ, Ġdespite Ġoutward Ġappearances Ġof Ġcalm Ġ, Ġhad Ġbeen Ġin Ġlong Ġand Ġslow Ġdecline Ġsince Ġthe Ġearly Ġ13 th Ġcentury Ġ. ĠThe Ġcontinuous Ġgrowth Ġof Ġtax Ġ@ - @ Ġfree Ġreligious Ġwealth Ġhad Ġgreatly Ġreduced Ġthe Ġtax Ġbase Ġof Ġthe Ġkingdom Ġ. ĠThe Ġcrown Ġhad Ġlost Ġresources Ġneeded Ġto Ġretain Ġthe Ġloyalty Ġof Ġcourt iers Ġand Ġmilitary Ġservic emen Ġ, Ġinviting Ġa Ġvicious Ġcircle Ġof Ġinternal Ġdisorders Ġand Ġexternal Ġchallenges Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġit Ġwas Ġable Ġto Ġput Ġdown Ġthe Ġfirst Ġbatch Ġof Ġserious Ġrebell ions Ġin Ġ12 58 ĠâĢĵ Ġ60 Ġin ĠSouth ĠA rak an Ġand ĠMart aban Ġ( ĠM ott ama Ġ) Ġ, Ġthe Ġdecline Ġcontinued Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġeve Ġof Ġthe ĠMongol Ġinv asions Ġ, Ġbetween Ġone Ġand Ġtwo Ġ@ - @ Ġthirds Ġof ĠUpper ĠBurma Ġ' s Ġcultiv able Ġland Ġhad Ġbeen Ġdonated Ġto Ġreligion Ġ. ĠThe Ġcrown Ġ' s Ġability Ġto Ġmobilize Ġdefenses Ġwas Ġin Ġserious Ġjeopardy Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠPrelude Ġto Ġwar Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠFirst ĠMongol Ġmission Ġ( Ġ12 71 ĠâĢĵ Ġ72 Ġ) Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġperiod Ġof Ġcalm Ġfor ĠPagan Ġended Ġin Ġthe Ġearly Ġ12 70 s Ġ. ĠBy Ġthen Ġ, Ġthe ĠSong Ġwere Ġon Ġthe Ġropes Ġ, Ġand ĠEmperor ĠKub l ai ĠKhan Ġ, Ġwho Ġofficially Ġfounded Ġthe ĠYuan