Key People of the Mongol Empire

Mongolian warrior-ruler Genghis Khan consolidated nomadic tribes into a unified Mongolia. His troops created the basis for one of the greatest continental empires of all time. Originally named Temüjin, he fought various rival clans and formed a Mongol confederacy, which in 1206 acknowledged him as Genghis Khan, or universal ruler. By that time the united Mongols were ready to move out beyond the steppe. He adapted his method of warfare. Initially, his troops were exclusively cavalry. Later they undertook the siege of large cities, using catapults, ladders, and other equipment and techniques suitable for capture and destruction. In fewer than 10 years he took over most of northern China. He subsequently attacked the Khwārezm-Shah Dynasty of Central Asia, which was eventually overthrown by the Mongols in 1231. Genghis Khan is infamous for slaughtering the entire population of cities and destroying fields and irrigation systems but admired for his military brilliance and ability to learn. He died on a military campaign in 1227, and the empire was divided among his sons and grandsons.

One of Genghis Khan’s sons, Ögödei, succeeded him. Genghis Khan chose the site of the empire’s capital city, Karakorum in Mongolia. However, it was Ögödei who actually built the city. Ögödei continued to expand the empire, launching campaigns in different regions under the commands of trusted generals. A messenger system that reached throughout Asia allowed him to communicate with generals and issue orders. Ögödei sent Mongol troops into what are now China, Ukraine, Russia, Iran, and Iraq. Ögödei’s death in 1241, after an excessive drinking bout, was a turning point in history. His generals, who had been expanding into Europe, ceased their advances and returned to the Mongolian capital to witness the election of a new great khan. If Ögödei had lived longer, western Europe might had fallen to the Mongols.

After Ögödei’s death, his widow, Töregene, ruled the empire by common consent of the Mongol nobles for four years (1242–46). During that time Mongol leaders debated over who would succeed Ögödei as great khan. Töregene was ultimately successful in getting her son Güyük elected in 1246, but Güyük died after only two years.

Batu was a grandson of Genghis Khan. In 1235 he was elected commander in chief of the western part of the Mongol Empire, known as the Golden Horde, and given responsibility for the invasion of Europe. His troops burned and sacked Kyiv (Kiev) in 1240, and by the end of 1241 he had conquered Russia, Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, and the Danube valley. Only the death of Ögödei prevented him from invading western Europe. Batu established the state of the Golden Horde in southern Russia, which was ruled by his successors for the next 200 years.

Genghis Khan’s grandson Möngke was elected great khan in 1251. He continued to expand his grandfather’s empire, attacking present-day Iran, Syria, China, and Vietnam. Under his rule the capital city, Karakorum, became even richer and more splendid. Möngke was the last great khan to rule from Karakorum. He died in 1259 before the Mongols could complete the conquest of China, which happened under the reign of Kublai.

After Möngke’s death, his brother Kublai became great khan. He completed the conquest of China that his grandfather had begun. Today Kublai is remembered as the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty. Kublai moved the Mongol capital to what is now Beijing, China. A pair of attempts to expand Mongol rule to Japan were thwarted by massive typhoons in 1274 and 1281. The Venetian traveler Marco Polo described Kublai Khan and his court extensively in his book The Travels of Marco Polo. None of the later Yuan emperors reached the stature of Kublai, who died in 1294.

Togon-temür became emperor of the Yuan Dynasty at the age of 13. He proved to be a weak ruler. Even as an adult he showed little interest in governing. In 1368, as the foremost Chinese rebel leader, Zhu Yuanzhang advanced on the capital, Togon-temür fled into the steppes of Inner Mongolia. He died there two years later.