Who is Khubilai Khan from Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World and what is their importance?

Khubilai Khan lived from 1215 to 1294 and was the fifth Great Khan, ruling from 1260 to 1294. He created the Yuan Dynasty in China and was the grandson of Genghis Khan, inheriting the title from his older brother Mongke. Early on he had to wrest the disputed title of Great Khan from his brother, Ariq Boke. But the war of succession marked the beginning of the splits within the empire. Khubilai's power laid over China though he had influence in order parts of the empire. His part of the empire covered one fifth of the inhabitable land in the world. Khubilai helped to create a unified China and became Emperor in 1271. By 1279, he successfully destroyed the Sung dynasty.