The Inca Empire was founded in modern-day Peru, with the Kingdom of Cusco, by Pachacuti in the fifteenth century.

Kublai Khan was the grandson of Genghis Khan (the founder of the Mongol Empire). He presided over the Mongol Empire at the height of its territorial reach and established the Yuan Dynasty in China in 1271 CE. He did not, however, lead the Golden Horde and the Mongol conquest of Russia - that honor belongs to Batu Khan.

The Treaty of Verdun was signed in 843 CE. It divided the Carolingian Empire and the conquests of Charlemagne into three kingdoms, each to be ruled by one of Charlemagne’s sons. The Holy Roman Empire emerged from one of the kingdoms established by the Treaty of Verdun.

The Sassanid Empire emerged from the ashes of the Parthian Empire in the third century. It was the last Persian ruling dynasty of Iran before the Muslim conquests of the seventh century. The Sassanid Empire ruled over the vast majority of the territory that would today be recognized as the Middle East for four centuries.

The Umayyad Caliphate came to power in modern-day Syria in the mid-seventh century and dramatically extended the rule of Islam to include all of North Africa, the Iberian peninsula, and parts of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The Umayyads were immediately succeeded by the Abbasid Caliphate, who took control of the Islamic world in the mid-eighth century and ruled until dissolution in the thirteenth century.

Mahmud of Ghazni ruled a sultanate centered around modern-day Afghanistan in the eleventh century. He is the most famous ruler of the Ghaznavid Empire. When he came to power Ghazna was a small city of little global prominence or significance, by the end of his reign he had established a powerful empire that included most of modern-day Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and parts of northern India.

Under Timur, various Turkic tribes expanded through Central Asia, beginning in the 1360s. The Timurid Empire eventually covered most of the Middle East, including the Fertile Crescent, Persia (Iraq), and parts of modern-day India and Russia. 

Genghis Khan is one of the most influential figures in human history. He rose to power in Mongol society and united the Mongol tribes in the twelfth century, before leading them on a widespread conquest of Eurasia. He was indeed the grandfather of Kublai Khan (who presided over the Mongol Empire at the height of its territorial reach). He also, famously, employed a meritocratic approach to appointments and rewarded talented individuals over those with good family connections.

Clovis and Charlemagne were important rulers in the Frankish Empire. Clovis I founded the Frankish Empire in 496 CE and Charlemagne the Great extended the territory of the Frankish Empire and formed what is known as the Carolingian Empire in the ninth century.

The grandson of Genghis Khan, Hulagu Khan, seized and conquered the jewel of Islam in February 1258. The civilian population of Baghdad suffered terribly. The city was looted and raised including the epicenter of Islamic intellect- the grand library of Baghdad. This effectively ended the Islamic Golden Age, causing the recentering of Muslim culture to the Mamluk capitol of Cairo.