The Yuan Dynasty is the empire established by Kublai Khan, leader of the Mongolian Borjigin clan, after he conquers Southern Song dynasties in China.

Although the Mongols have ruled territories, which included today's northern China for decades, it is not until 1271 that Kublai Khan officially proclaims the dynasty in the traditional Chinese style.

His realm – the Great Yuan Empire – is by this point isolated from the other khanates and controls only most of present-day China and its surrounding areas including modern Mongolia.

It is the first foreign dynasty to rule all of China and lasts until 1368, after which its remnants in Mongolia are known as the Northern Yuan.The Yuan is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and as an imperial Chinese dynasty.

In official Chinese histories, the Yuan Dynasty bears the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song Dynasty and preceding the Ming Dynasty.

Although the dynasty is established by Kublai Khan, he places his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu.In addition to Emperor of China, Kublai Khan also claims the title of Great Khan, supreme over the other successor khanates: the Chagatai, the Golden Horde, and the Ilkhanate.

As such, the Great Yuan Empire is also sometimes referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan.

However, although this claim of the emperors of the Yuan Dynasty is at times recognized by the western khans, their subservience is merely nominal and they each continue their own separate development.