Which Jin dynasty capital did Genghis Khan sack in 1215?

Genghis Khan’s forces sacked the Jin dynasty capital of Zhongdu in 1215. Zhongdu stood near present-day Beijing and served as the Jin dynasty’s central political center in northern China.

The Mongol campaign against the Jin began in 1211, after relations between Genghis Khan and the Jin emperor deteriorated. Mongol armies repeatedly defeated Jin forces and captured or isolated important towns. Zhongdu resisted for months, but famine, disease, and internal weakness eventually undermined its defenses.

The city fell in June 1215 after a prolonged siege. Contemporary accounts describe extensive destruction and loss of life, although the exact scale is difficult to establish. Genghis Khan did not immediately conquer all Jin territory; the war continued for years, and the Jin dynasty was finally destroyed in 1234 under Ögedei Khan.

Zhongdu is often confused with Kaifeng, another major Jin capital. Kaifeng became the Jin capital after the court moved south in 1214, while Zhongdu was the northern capital captured by the Mongols the following year.