Güyük Khan, Khagan of the Mongol Empire

Güyük (or Kuyuk; Mongolian Cyrillic: Гүюг хаан) (c.March 19 1206–April 20 1248) was the third Great Khan of the Mongol Empire , the eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan .He reigned from 1246 to 1248.

Güyük received military training and served as an officer under Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan. He married Oghul Qaimish of the Merkit clan. In 1233, Güyük, along with his maternal cousin Alchidai and the Mongol general Tangghud, conquered the short-lived Dongxia Kingdom of Puxian Wannu, who was a rebellious Jin official,[1] in a few months. After the death of Tolui, Ögedei proposed that Sorghaghtani, the widow of Tolui, marry his son Güyük. Sorghaghtani declined, saying that her prime responsibility was to her own sons.

He charges Fatima Khatun [his mother Toregene's nefarious confidant] with witchcraft and have her executed. page 237/238 Daily life in the Mongol Empire by George Lane http://bit.ly/1Oxg2H3

In the Mongol period, indeed, the Christian communities enjoyed at the outset a comparative florescence and toleration; in the time of the Great Khan Güyük (r.1246-49), the influence within the Mongol horde of the Syrian monk Simeon Rabban Ata secured the building of churches in strongly Muslim towns like Tabrīz and Nakhchevan (Naḵjavān), until the conversion to Islam of Ḡāzān (r. 694-703/1295-1304) brought about a reversal of this favor (see Spuler, Mongolen, pp. 203ff.). Thereafter, Christianity in Azerbaijan declined to the point of extinction, with the exception of the vestigial Nestorian or Assyrian Christian Neo-Syriac-speaking communities of the Lake Urmia region which have survived till today. As for the Jews, these are virtually unmentioned in the early centuries, though they may well have formed part of the urban communities.Ogedei Khan was the second Khagan (meaning ‘Great Khan’) of the Mongol Empire. He was the third son of Genghis Khan and succeeded his father in 1229. Ogedei continued to expand the Mongol Empire, a task that he inherited along with the throne. During Ogedei’s reign, the Mongols finally destroyed the Jin Dynasty and began their war against the Southern Song. It was also during his time that the Mongols launched their first campaigns against Korea. To the west, the Mongols established permanent control of Persia. The Russian steppes and Eastern Europe were conquered as well and Western Europe was only spared by the Great Khan’s death in 1241.

Ogedei Khan’s Early Life Ogedei Khan was born around 1186 as the third son of Genghis Khan. His mother was Borte Khatun, Genghis Khan’s first wife. Ogedei is said to have been his father’s favorite son, though his designation as heir to the throne was made partially due to a feud between his two older brothers, Jochi and Chagatai.

Genghis Khan with three of his four sons. (Public Domain)

Genghis Khan with three of his four sons. ( Public Domain )

Before the invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, Genghis Khan summoned his family to a kurultai to select a successor. As the eldest, Jochi was expected to succeed his father. Genghis Khan’s second son, Chagatai, however, refused to acknowledge this and suggested Ogedei be designated as the heir instead, to which Genghis Khan agreed.

Subutai: The Forgotten Force Behind the Fearsome Mongol Military The Famous and Powerful Khanates that Followed the Mongol Empire Karakorum: A Silver Tree and Other Unique Elements of a 13th Century Mongol Capital Ogedei Khan’s First Conquests Ogedei is recorded to have been a capable military commander. He took part in his father’s campaign against the Jin Dynasty, as well as the invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire. At Samarkand, Ogedei is recorded to have been given command of the siege due to a disagreement between his two older brothers regarding military strategy. The city was eventually captured and destroyed.

Ögedei Khan. (Assassin’s Creed Wiki)

Ögedei Khan. ( Assassin’s Creed Wiki )

Genghis Khan died in 1227, and Tolui, his youngest son, was ruler for two years, after which Ogedei was proclaimed the new Khagan of the Mongol Empire. Ogedei’s personal charisma helped maintain the unity of the Mongol Empire after Genghis Khan’s death. Thanks to the internal stability of the empire, Ogedei was able to focus his energies on external enemies, expanding the empire, and consolidating the conquests made by his father.

Coronation of Ogedei Khan, 1229. (Public Domain)

Coronation of Ogedei Khan, 1229. ( Public Domain )

Ogedei as the Great Khan In 1234, for example, the Jin Dynasty finally fell to the Mongols after a campaign that began in 1211. With northern China under Mongol control, Ogedei could turn his attention to the neighboring Southern Song Dynasty. The campaign against the Song began in 1235 and was only concluded with the final defeat of the Song loyalists in 1279, several decades after Ogedei’s death. It was also during Ogedei’s reign that the first campaigns against the Korean kingdom of Goryeo were launched. Like the war against the Song, the Mongol invasion of Korea ended after Ogedei’s death, with Goryeo becoming a vassal state of the Yuan Dynasty.

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