Before the rise of the Mongols in the 13th century, what is now central and western Inner Mongolia, especially the Hetao region, alternated in control between Chinese agriculturalists in the south and Xiongnu, Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, Tujue, and other Mongol nomads of the north.

Before attacking a settlement, the Mongol generals demanded submission to the Khan, and threatened the initial villages with complete destruction if they refused to surrender.

Before Hulegu set forth toward Persia, the threat to the Muslim world posed by the swelling Mongol force was perceived by the Ismaili Imam ‘ Ala al-Din Muhammad, who in 1238 joined the Abbasid caliph, al-Mustansir, in appealing to the European monarchs of England and France to coalesce in a Christian-Muslim alliance against the Mongols.

Before his death, Genghis Khan divided his empire among his sons and immediate family, making the Mongol Empire the joint property of the entire imperial family who, along with the Mongol aristocracy, constituted the ruling class.

A History of Russian Architecture ( Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993 ) ISBN 978-0-521-40333-7 ( Chapter Three: " Vladimir and Suzdal Before the Mongol Invasion ")

Before the Mongol invasion of Hungary, at least seven villages with churches existed in the area.

Before his death, he returned to Christendom College each month during the school year to deliver public lectures on select historical topics, ranging from the history of the country of Malta, the Mongol leader Genghis Khan, the French Revolution, and topics from the 20th century, with lectures on Emperor Karl of Austria and the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Before the Mongol conquest, Russians of Novgorod and Vladimir repeatedly looted and attacked the area, thereby weakening the Bulgar state's economy and military power.

' Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq Dr. Muayad Said described the structure before the filling of the reservoir: ' It has an octagonal body enhanced by alcoves, some of which are blind.

Before the invasion of the Huns the Gothic Chernyakhov culture produced jewelry, vessels, and decorative objects in a style much influenced by Greek and Roman craftsmen.

Before 1946, children as well as adults were content in carving and shaping wooden replicas from block wood kits, often depicting enemy aircraft to help in identification in case of invasion.

Before the Roman invasion, begun in 43, Iron Age Britain already had established cultural and economic links with Continental Europe, but the Roman invaders introduced new developments in agriculture, urbanisation, industry and architecture.

Before the Norman invasion in 1066, the parish of Higher Mutley was owned by a man Alwin of Tamerton, and Lower Mutley by another man called Goodwin, but at the time of the Domesday Book ( 1086 ) both were owned by Odo, whose feudal overlord was Juhel of Totnes.

Before the Roman invasion Caratacus is associated with the expansion of his tribe's territory.

Before the treaty reached the Senate for ratification, and even before news of its signing reached New Orleans, a massive British invasion force was utterly defeated at the Battle of New Orleans, which made a national hero out of General Andrew Jackson.

Before the invasion, the Fenians had received some intelligence from like-minded supporters within Canada but did not receive support from all Irish Catholics there who saw the invasions as threatening the emerging Canadian sovereignty.

Before the Turkish invasion there was much archaeological activity there ; one French Mission was excavating at Enkomi, another at Salamis and the Department of Antiquities was busy almost throughout the year with repairs and restorations of monuments and was engaged in excavations at Salamis.

Before the German invasion of Poland in 1939, he destroyed all records of his existence then moved to Turkey, where he worked for Turkish radio and set up an intelligence organisation.

Before the British invasion of Virginia forced the temporary closure of the College of William and Mary and disbandment of the Phi Beta Kappa there early in 1781, Elisha Parmelee, an alumnus of Yale College and Harvard College, passed through Williamsburg and took charters from the Phi Beta Kappa to establish branches of the society at these schools.

Before the war, Moltke also moved 180, 000 men to eastern Germany to defend against the Russian invasion of East Prussia.

Before the invasion in March 2003, polls showed 47-60 % of the US public supported an invasion, dependent on U. N. approval.

Before the invasion, the revolution was weak.

Before his invasion of Greece, Xerxes I spent three years amassing supplies from all over Asia ; Herodotus wrote that the Persian army was so large it " drank the rivers dry ".

Before trial, the court granted Flynt's motion for summary judgment on the invasion of privacy claim, and the remaining two charges proceeded to trial.

Before the 1955 invasion of Tibet, many of the texts and information that are now available would have been esoteric and restricted.

Before the main invasion, the offshore islands of Tanegashima, Yakushima, and the Koshikijima Islands were to be taken, starting on X-5.

Before the invasion, it had not yet been decided whether mainland France would be attacked ; this would depend on the outcome of Fall Gelb.

In 1065, Before his invasion of Anglo-Saxon England, William of Normandy warned his rivals in Brittany and Anjou to abstain from any attacks on his duchy, on the grounds that his mission bore the papal banner.

Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the zoo housed 650 animals.

Before the invasion the brigade had been informed that they would stay in France for only a few days.

Before becoming a king, he had other offices and was known for his resistance against the Genoese invasion against Cyprus.

Before the 1980s, Chinese publishers hired teams of workers and selected a few thousand type pieces from an enormous Chinese character set.

Before the Han Dynasty ( 202 BC – 220 AD ), Chinese ploughs were made almost entirely of wood, except the iron blade of the ploughshare.

* Before 1893 – 8, 000 Chinese arrive in Cuba.

* The Chinese Buddhist monk Huiyuan, who founded the Pure Land Buddhism sect and the monastery on Mount Lushan, writes the book On Why Monks Do Not Bow Down Before Kings in this year.

Before his death, he asked Emperor Yong Le that ( 1 ) Brunei and Sungai Kinabatangan be made ( or annexed as ) Chinese territories, ( 2 ) named Gunung Kinabalu, and ( 3 ) that he himself be buried in China.

Before the 20th century, the Zhou Dynasty ( 1046 – 256 BC ) was the earliest Chinese dynasty that could be verified from its own records.

Before this, Huang ( 皇 ) and Di ( 帝 ) were given as titles of a number of rulers from the era known as the " sage kings " period, supposedly predating written history, but probably coinciding with or following the invention and early stages of evolution for the Chinese writing system.

Before this, the only forms of punctuation found in Chinese writings were punctuations to denote quotes, proper nouns, and emphasis.

Before the early 17th century Taiwan was inhabited by aborigines and Han Chinese migrants resulting from successive waves of migration in antiquity.

Before 140 BC: Chinese begin extensive horse-breeding to support a proper cavalry.

Before the close of the first chapter ( and subsequent end of the game itself ), he is instructed by Master Chen to seek out the help of a master of the Chinese martial arts located in Wan Chai named Lishao Tao.

Before Jayavarman, Cambodia had consisted of a number of politically independent principalities collectively known to the Chinese by the names Funan and Chenla.

Before the CCP ( Chinese Communist Party ) took control, hunger was rarely used to control prisoners.

Before the reign of John III, the Portuguese had already reached Siam ( 1511 ), the Moluccas ( 1512 ), the Chinese littoral ( 1513 ), Canton ( 1517 ) and Timor ( 1515 ).

Before the Xi ' an incident, the Chinese Communist Party had established itself in Shaanxi province following being driven from Jiangxi and other regions in southern China in 1934.

Before the creation of Hangul, only members of the highest class were literate ( hanja was typically used to write Korean by using adapted Chinese characters, while Hanmun was sometimes used to write court documents in classical Chinese ).

Before 1873, the Chinese style lunisolar calendar had been in use since 7th century.

Before the use of paper, the Chinese used coins that were circular, with a rectangular hole in the middle.

( Before 1955, Chinese soldiers were assigned " functions " instead of ranks, such as " company commander ", or " division commander ").

Before 1949, there were five main department stores in Hong Kong and Shanghai: In Hong Kong: Lane Crawford-In 1850 founded by Thomas Ash Lane and Ninian Crawford, opened in Des Voeux Road Hong Kong ; Wing On-In 1907 Kwok's family returned to Hong Kong from Australia with accumulated savings and founded the Wing On Company ; Sincere-Founded by Ma Ying Piu in 1900 after returning from Australia and partnership with others to form the first Chinese department store in then British Hong Kong.

Before the reform era, aspects of Chinese society also contributed to shaping the contemporary structure for maintaining public order.