The Mongol Empire was proclaimed under Genghis Khan in 1206.
At a kurultai, or political and military assembly, Temüjin was granted the title Genghis Khan and recognized as ruler of a united Mongol confederation. The event marked the formal beginning of the Mongol Empire, although Temüjin had spent years defeating and absorbing rival steppe groups.
Genghis Khan reorganized his followers into units that crossed older tribal divisions and created a disciplined military structure. His campaigns expanded Mongol power across much of Central and East Asia before his death in 1227.
The empire reached its greatest territorial extent under later rulers and became the largest contiguous land empire in history. It eventually fragmented into major khanates, including the Yuan dynasty in China, the Chagatai Khanate, the Ilkhanate, and the Golden Horde.