Why is Mongol Ascendancy important?

Because Mongol Ascendancy refers to a time in Chinese history when the Mongols were able to successfully conquer and hold most of Asia, and extended their Empire nearly to Europe. The Mongolian people, mostly nomadic tribes residing to the northwest of China, were and sometimes still are painted as barbaric figures, although they certainly were a warlike people. Yet they also brought many interesting changes to China.

You can date the Mongol Ascendancy to the 1200s CE, when a warrior leader named Temujin united most of the nomadic Mongol tribes. The name for ruler in Mongolian is khan, and Temujin took the name Genghis Khan, meaning universal ruler. With the support of most of the Mongol tribes, Genghis was able to conquer a large portion of northern China and Central Asia. Within 20 years of the first assault on China, the Mongolian people held most of Asia.