Atlas of Battles

battle, major, medieval

Battle of Yamen

Battle of Yamen was a battle fought on 19 March 1279 at Xinhui District, in what is now People's Republic of China. It was part of the Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty, which ran from 1235 to 1279. The recorded result: Yuan victory; Death of Song emperor Zhao Bing; Fall of the Song dynasty.

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Songyuan Yamen Sea Battle Cultural Tourism Zone, Xinhui District, Jiangmen City
Songyuan Yamen Sea Battle Cultural Tourism Zone, Xinhui District, Jiangmen City. (Long night without wind) 长夜无风, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought19 March 1279
WhereXinhui District, People's Republic of China22.270N, 113.080E
OutcomeYuan victory; Death of Song emperor Zhao Bing; Fall of the Song dynasty
BelligerentsSong dynastyagainstYuan dynasty
Casualties and lossesAt least 100,000 died either from fighting or drowning; the rest fledandUnknown
Part ofMongol conquest of the Song dynasty1235 to 1279

Where it sits in the Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty

Siege of Diaoyucheng, 1259Battle of Xiangyang, 1267Battle of Dingjiazhou, 1275Battle of Tanzhou, 1275Battle of Yamen, 127912591279Battle of Yamen, 1279
5 placed engagements of the Mongol conquest of the Song dynasty in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date19 March 1279
PlaceXinhui District, People's Republic of China
22.270N, 113.080E
KindBattle, medieval
Territorial changeYuan annexes all of China proper
Strength200,000 people (mostly non-combatant court officials and servants); 1,000+ ships (mostly transport ships with warship escorts); True fighting capacity likely in the 10,000s of soldiers20,000 Chinese soldiers; 50+ warships
Casualties and lossesAt least 100,000 died either from fighting or drowning; the rest fledUnknown
Commanders
  • Zhang Shijie
  • Lu Xiufu
  • Zhang Hongfan
Battle of YamenBattle of YamenPassaleão incidentBattle of the BarrierMacau IncidentBattle of Ty-ho BayBattle of the BogueMacau IncidentBattle of the BogueGuangzhouShenzhenFoshanYangjiangJiangmenZhaoqingHuizhou100 km22.270N, 113.080E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Battle of Yamen
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Battle of Yamen today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-04-03. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 4 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -47 to 419 m, 465 m of relief, steep country and today it is 36% tree cover, 25% water, 12% bare ground.

tree cover: 36%water: 25%bare ground: 12%built-up: 11%grassland: 8%cropland: 8%tree cover 36%water 25%bare ground 12%built-up 11%grassland 8%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 319 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 36 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1279

Battle of Yamen is one of 590 engagements of the 13th century in the atlas and one of 339 in present-day People's Republic of China.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1078359, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Yamen, revision 1370277114, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.