RAC: Lesson - The Mongols: The Empire After Genghis Khan
The Empire After Genghis Khan
Ogedei to Sorkaktani
After Genghis Khan’s death, he split his empire between his 4 sons from his favorite wife. (Side note: this man had a ton of children. It is estimated that he has 16 million direct descendants alive today!) His four sons divided the empire but deferred to the 3rd son, Ogedei (pictured to the right), who died young due to alcoholism.
The first son’s son, Batu, stopped his invasion of Europe when he heard his uncle Ogedei died. His territory lost power quickly. According to legend, the 4th son, Tolui, gave up his life to extend Ogedei’s life. And the second son, Chagatai, did not work to improve his relatively inconsequential area. In short, the Mongol men were much better at conquering territory than they were at ruling settled lands.
Mongolian Women in Charge
Amid this uneven period, Chagatai’s wife Ebuskun, Ogedei’s wife Toregene, and Tolui’s wife Sorkaktani (also spelled Sorghaghtani, pictured to the left) all separately ruled as regents after their husbands died. They held the Mongol empire together until Sorkaktani’s sons took power.
Kublai Khan in China and the Pax Mongolica
Sorkaktani’s son eventually became Kublai Khan and declared himself the Great Khan in 1260, and then founded the Yuan Dynasty in China in 1279. This was the first foreign dynasty in China. He walked a thin line as he governed China. Kublai Khan put Mongols in local offices to pacify them, while also promoting Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism to keep the Chinese people happy. He also encouraged diplomatic relations with Japan, Vietnam, and Korea and welcomed the Italian merchant Marco Polo into his court.
Around this time, the Mongols realized they were in control of nearly the entire old Silk Road. For a price, they protected merchants as they traveled. Historians called this period of stability Pax Mongolica (like the Pax Romana and Pax Sinica from earlier lessons). The trade route was revived and even expedited with the Mongolian postal service. Additionally, the Silk Road travelers remained respectful to each other, even though outside of the Silk Road, Christians and Muslims fought with each other in the Crusades (as well as in-fighting between Catholic and Orthodox Christians and Sunni and Shi’a Muslims). Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism spread in Central Asia during Pax Mongolica.
Image: Sections of the European-made Catalan Atlas, that showed trade networks and rulers across Africa, Europe, and Asia from the 1370s. These merchants and kings are from the section showing thriving and safe trade throughout Asia.
Timur the Lame
Another man who claimed to be a very, very distant relative of Genghis Khan was Timur “the Lame” (also called Tamerlane). He was born in central Asia and was Muslim. He earned his nickname after he was injured as a young boy, but this did not stop him from revolting against his own family and taking power (although without the title of Khan).
Timur spared the lives of artists, architects, and scholars from cities he destroyed (like Baghdad) and sent them to work in cities he revived (like Samarkand). However, he also brutally killed upwards of 16 million people in the establishment of the Timurid Empire.
His empire lasted 100 years and represented an artistic and scientific high point for Central Asia. Additionally, his descendants (intermarried with Chagatai and Ebuskun’s descendants) would establish the Mughal Empire of India.
| Map of the Timurid Empire | Artifacts of Timur's Rule |
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A map showing the extent of the Timurid Dynasty. |
Modern day Madrasas in Samarkand. |
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