Mongol Household Registration System

Timeline

1. 1235–1241Mongol Empire territories · Mongol EmpireÖgedei Khan ordered a census across the empire's territory, registering households and population to establish the basis for taxation and military service, laying the groundwork for institutionalizing imperial finances.
2. 1260–1270Dadu · BeijingAfter proclaiming himself emperor, Kublai introduced classified registration in the Central Plains—household registers, military households, artisan households—repeatedly censusing unregistered and concealed households, tightly linking the registration system to levies, corvée, and military mobilization.
3. c. 1250–1300Ilkhanate and Golden Horde territories · Central AsiaThe Mongol khanates in Persia, Central Asia, and elsewhere adopted or adapted household registration, coordinating it with postal relay stations (jam) and trade-route taxes to sustain intercontinental administration and material distribution.