China The Song dynasty was formed after the fall the Tang dynasty. It was founded by Zhao Kuangyin, later known as Emperor Taizu, with the support of military commanders. The Song dynasty was an era of Chinese history that began in 960 and continued until 1279. It succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods. The Song dynasty was divided into two distinct periods: Northern (960–1127) and Southern (1127–1279). During the Northern period, the Song were unable to contain attacks from nomadic tribes in the north. This led to the split of the Song dynasty and the emergence of the Southern Song dynasty. The dynasty also had several political and religious clashes with the emergence of neo-Confucianism, which reversed the popularity of Buddhism and went against imperial authority. These political fractions weakened the empire and made it difficult to withstand the Mongol invasion.

Russia

The Kievan Rus state emerged in the ninth century