Jurchens

The Jurchen people originally came from the forests of northeast China, where they primarily relied on hunting and fishing to survive. Hunting was culturally significant for the Jurchen people, and all Jurchen men were expected to participate in group hunts. Archeological finds also cement this fact: excavated Jurchen tombs contain significantly more hunting and fishing implements than agricultural ones.

The Jurchens rose to power under the leadership of Wanyan Aguda in 1115 CE. Originally subjugated by the Liao dynasty of the neighboring Khitans, Wanyan spurred his people to rebellion and eventually overthrew the Khitans in a series of military offensives. The Jurchens found allies in the Song, who were also keen to be rid of the Liao, before eventually betraying them as well to establish the Jin dynasty. The destruction of the Khitans in 1125 CE cemented Jin dominance of the northern steppes, but Wanyan Aguda died the same year. His brother, Wanyan Sheng, took up the reins of leadership and continued Jin incursions south, pushing further into Song territory.

From a military perspective, the Jurchens knew from their previous alliance that the Song armies were ripe for conquest. Their geographic origin as a northern steppe tribe meant superior horses, and nearly the entire Jurchen army was comprised of cavalry units. Primarily fighting as mounted bowman, the Jurchen cavalry attacks devastated the southern armies and allowed them to gain control over southern China all the way to the Huai River. While the bow and arrow were their preferred weapons, they also effectively used spears and swords from horseback. One of their most famous forces were the iron pagodas, formidable heavily armored cavalry units, which fought in tight formations with Dao swords or spears.

The Jurchens famously utilized gunpowder to devastating effect in battle. After the Song armies deployed gunpowder bombs and gunpowder arrows against the Jurchens in their 1126 CE attack against Kaifeng, the Jurchens quickly created their own explosives. They returned to Kaifeng and – in one of the first battles in world history to showcase gunpowder weapons on both sides – prevailed against the Song with gunpowder bombs, fire lances, and fire arrows. They eventually developed a weapon called the thunderclap bomb, which they used against Mongol invaders in the siege of Kaifeng in 1232 CE.

The Jurchens successfully maintained the Jin dynasty without contention for almost 80 years until the Mongols arrived. Successfully unified under Genghis Khan in 1206 CE, the Mongols in turn looked south and attacked the Jin in 1209 CE. Like the Song and Liao dynasties before them, the Jurchens' long tenure in power had caused them to neglect their armies, placing them in a dangerous position. The Mongols destroyed the Northern Jurchen capital Zhongdu (modern day Beijing) in 1215 CE, forcing the Jin to flee to their southern capital, Kaifeng, which was deep in originally Song territory. The Song, seeing a powerful ally against a common rival, joined forces with the Mongols. These powers simultaneously defeated the Jurchens in 1235 CE, toppling the Jin dynasty.