Genghis Khan: 1st Great Khan
Genghis (Chinggis) Khan was the founder of the Mongol Empire. Born as Temüjin Khan in 1162, he was in the midst of violent fighting between rivaling nomadic tribes. Around the age of 16, Genghis married Borte, formed alliances with other tribes, gained a reputation as a fearless warrior, and got many followers. Genghis Khan, in creating positions for his office, put good allies in those positions rather than his kin, which prevented any assassination attempts out of jealousy. By 1205, he destroyed all of his rivals and created an empire stretching from the Middle East to near China, the Mongol Empire. Genghis initiated multiple reforms to help his 1 million subjects, such as abolishing inherited aristocratic skills, forbidding selling of women, banning Mongol enslavement, adopting a writing system, granting diplomatic immunity to foreign ambassadors, and allowing for freedom of religion. Khan's first campaign outside of his empire began with the Xi Xia Kingdom in China. Even though he lost, he still managed to pull the kingdom into a tribute system. Next, he focused on the Jin Dynasty, whose capital turned into dust. To add on to his conquests, Genghis Khan moved his attention to the Khwarezm empire in Afghanistan and Iran. Here, he gained people to add (skilled workers) or benefit his empire (unskilled workers used as human shields), and murdered "useless" people (aristocrats). In 1227, a horse threw Genghis
Khan to the ground, causing many internal injuries. Even though he went on with the campaign, his health didn't recovered. He died on August 18, 1227. The Xi Xia empire was crushed right after. By conquering twice as much land as any other person ever, Genghis Khan brought Eastern and Western civilizations into contact.
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Ögedei Khan: 2nd Great Khan
The son of Genghis Khan born in 1186, was Genghis Khan's favorite son due to his charismatic, humble, intelligent, and steady personality. Due to his personality, Ögedei Khan was able to continue his father's expansion plans and reach the furthest west during the European invasion compared to the other khans. Raised as a warrior and taught to listen to his generals gave Ögedei an ability to adapt to situations, which helped as he was elected as supreme khan in 1229. In 1235, he established Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire. The end of the Jin Dynasty was also during this time, as the Mongols reached the Southern Song. Starting in 1235 for 45 years, Ögedei was able to control all of China. Furthermore, the Mongols vassalized Korea, controlled Persia, and posed a threat against Vienna. Although they failed due to the disrupting death of Ögedei, they reminded the Europeans of the amount of potential the Mongols have to conquering everyone. Away from conquests, this "Pax Mongolica" was also the time when the Silk Road reunited, allowing for the exchange of goods, culture, and ideas between the East and West. Marco Polo soon also traveled along this route. Furthermore, because the Mongols absorbed cultures as they conquered, not destroy them, they were able to facilitate the spread of these cultures. The search of quick overseas trade routes from Europe to Asia was also prevalent during this time.
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Güyük Khan: 3rd Great Khan
Born in 1206 and the grandson of Genghis Khan and eldest son of Ögedei, Güyük was elected to the throne in 1246 mostly due to his mother. Güyük was a strong follower of Nestorianism, a form of Christianity considered a heresy by Western Christians. Güyük also favored Christian advisers in his court. Güyük participated in the invasion of Russia and Central Europe in 1236–1241 with other Mongol princes. His execution of several high-ranking officials made his once successful regime (due to him repealing some unfair acts made by his mother) extremely unpopular. Güyük was also known as a heavy alcoholic and this affected his rule. His election to the throne provoked resentment from the conqueror of Russia, Batu, another grandson of Genghis Khan. Güyük died early in 1248, however, and this prevented the small conflict between him and Batu from escalating and affecting the Mongol Empire harmfully.
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Möngke Khan: 4th Great Khan
Born in 1208, Möngke Khan was the grandson of Genghis Khan. He was elected as great khan in 1251 and was the last khan to center his capital at Karakorum. Karakorum reached its ultimate height during this time as the Mongol Empire continued to expand at a quick rate. Möngke was the last ruler to be able to exert real authority across all of his Mongol conquests. He was known as a benevolent, yet strict ruler who strived to maintain traditional aspects of the empire. Hülegü controlled Möngke's armies and led them to the West where they crushed Iran in 1256, captured Baghdad in Iraq in 1258, and moved into Syria in 1259, finally reaching the Mediterranean Sea. In the East, Kublai Khan took Möngke's armies to capture a Thai kingdom and control most of present-day Vietnam. In 1257, when Möngke decided to take personal control of his own armies, disease struck his ranks, killing Möngke in the process.
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Kublai Khan
Unlike his grandfather, Genghis Khan, Kublai was better known for his handling of the civilian administration in which he converted his nomadic tribe into a sedentary settlement. His goal was to govern his conquests, rather than destroy them. He became the emperor of the Mongols in 1260 and immediately began to diffuse Mongol rule into China. To gain the trust of the Chinese he instituted central and local governments familiar to the Chinese, allowed for Confucian rituals in court, and shifted the capital to Tai-tu (in China) to demonstrate the importance of China to the empire. Because of all this, Chinese people often served in his government. However, he also engaged in military conquests, namely his conquest of the Sung Dynasty. Because defeating the Sung warriors on land was hard with the vegetation and his cavalry, a powerful navy was required. So, Kublai Khan's forces built ships and recruited Chinese sailors to the navy, which eventually resulted in the conquest of the Sung capital, Lin-an in 1276. Other conquests, such as of Japan and Java were failures. A disastrous typhoon impeded the Mongol forces from pacifying the agitated Japanese due to its tributary status. Many vessels sunk and many people died as well. In 1292, during the conquest of Java, the soldiers were unable to handle the tropical heat and died of parasitic diseases. Following this, Kublai's rule ended with his death in 1294.
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