Fall of Zhongdu

Also called: Siege of Zhongdu, Battle of Zhongdu

The Mongols took Zhongdu (present-day Beijing), the Jin capital — after the Jin court had already moved south to Bianjing.

Besieged in Zhongdu by the Mongols in 1214, Emperor Xuanzong of Jin bought peace with a princess and tribute, then moved his capital south of the Yellow River to Bianjing (Kaifeng). Genghis Khan treated this as a breach of the peace and sent his army back. In the fifth month of 1215 the starving city fell and was burned and plundered. Around this time the Khitan Jin official Yelü Chucai entered Mongol service, later shaping Ögedei’s administration.