defeating the western European powers and invade Europe. But the key thing is that as I mentioned, the lands to the north and east of the Black Sea were ruled by the Golden Horde. By the time Kublai became Great Khan, the Mongol Empire was functionally four different realms. There was obviously Mongolia and China, which were Kublai’s domains, but there was also the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, the aforementioned Golden Horde in eastern Russia, and the Ilkhanate in Persia. The three latter khanates nominally owed loyalty to Kublai, and indeed the Ilkhanate was originally founded and ruled by his brother Hulaagu, but the fact was that they were independent and did what they wanted. For the most part. This is where the logically no part comes in. Kublai came to power after a civil war with his younger brother Ariq Boke, and the war essentially solidified the independent nature of the other three Khanates. To sum up a long answer, yes the Mongols could have done it if they wanted to, but they didn’t because of their own political situation and the fact that Kublai was a sinophile who ended up adopting the Chinese culture and system because it suited his needs and ambition.
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