Jin Dynasty

One of the shortest-lived Chinese Dynasties, the Jin only held power for a little over a hundred years. In the early 12th century, allied with the Song Dynasty, the Jin successfully rebelled against the Liao Dynasty that at the time held much of northern China and Manchuria. After seeing the ineffectual military of their “allies”, the Jin also attacked the Song Dynasty. In 1127, the Jin sacked Bianjing, the Song Capital. After capturing both the Emperor and his father, the Jin managed to push the Song out of northern China. However, the Song managed to hold them at the Yangtze River, and after a decade of fighting the two sides signed a ceasefire.

By the early 13th century, the Jin began to feel the threat from the Mongols, and despite a valiant defence, by 1234 they had been completely conquered by Ögedei Khan and his then-allies, the Southern Song Dynasty.