#aph ilkhanate

[peonycats]

Sons of the Empire

The Bastard, the Disappointment, the Runt

from top to bottom:

Golden Horde

Chagatai

Ilkhanate

OCs belong to @irithnova!!

[irithnova]

More on Chagatai Khanate

I feel as if Chagatai Khanate is not talked about a lot by me. This is despite the fact that I pretty much have his whole characterisation and storyline planned from birth to death in my head and I have written about him before as a part of larger posts however I have not dedicated a single post to him.

I somewhat fashioned his personality off of the actual Chagatai. I also did something similar with Golden Horde and Jochi.

He really fits into the role of the ignored middle child well to be honest. Both character wise and how the actual Chagatai Khanate is perceived. From what I've seen over the years, when people reflect on the different Khanates of the Mongol Empire, they often think of the opulence of the Yuan Dynasty and Ilkhanate, or the infamous reputation of the Golden Horde in Europe, with the Chagatai Khanate often coming last and least in many peoples minds. Hell, a Khan of the Chagatai Khanate itself declared that it was a "miserabe little ulus", so its no wonder its not given as much attention.

I wrote this before in a much longer post about Mongolia's relationship with the different Khanates (Mongolia came to be the figurehead of the Yuan Dynasty) but I think Chagatai Khanate was born only one year after the Golden Horde (kind of wanted it to be poetic in the sense that this reflects the actual age gap between Jochi and Chagatai) so they're quite close in age. I think this only made him more competitive towards his eldest brother (Ilkhanate being the youngest). This is especially because Golden Horde felt outcasted to an extent as he was the representation of the Jochid territory and there was a lot of speculation about the nature of his birth - if Genghis Khan was actually his father or not. This casued a lot of tension between the actual Jochi and Chagatai, this is something Chagatai constantly berated him for. I think this is the same for Golden Horde and Chagatai Khanate. Not in the exact same way of course - no one was questioning whether he was Mongolia's child or not. However as he was the representative of Jochid lands - he was seen as illegitimate by proxy if that makes sense.

Out of the three brothers, I think Chagatai Khanate was the most similar personality wise to Mongolia. Don't get me wrong, all three of them inherited his traits, such as his stubbornness, competitiveness and intelligence. However if I was tasked with knee jerk picking the one son who just is the most like Mongolia personality wise overall, it has to be Chagatai Khanate. 

This is one of the major reasons as to why Chagatai Khanate wanted to be the favoured son. Golden Horde was technically his first born, however he represents the Kingdom of  a bastard. He considered Ilkhanate a weakling who was not strong willed like he was and just bent over to whatever Mongolia said (unfortunately for Chagatai Khanate, thats exactly why Ilkhanate was Mongolia's favourite). He thought Mongolia would prefer a more hard headed son - like him. 

Considering this reasoning, Chagatai Khanate was expecting... More? From his father. More approving pats on his shoulder when he did something right, more proud smiles when he stood his ground. Sure Mongolia gave them all attention but it was never enough. He was always busy with something else or late for something. 

For the longest time, Chagatai defended his father a personal level and was extremely uptight about upholding tradition and rules. Out of his brothers, he was the one who was so anal about upkeeping proud Mongol tradition. Not that he was not a troublemaker in his own right - he most definitely was, however he was very conservative when it came to this. He could pretty much recite the entire Yassa code off by heart. Hence another reason why he thought he should be the favoured son.

Before Chagatai Khanate came to resent his father, he saw his meticulousness of upholding Mongol law and tradition as an extension of his love and respect for his father. But as time went on and there were more developments in the empire (as in, infighting between the divisions), Chagatai Khanate no longer saw it as an extension of his love for his father but as a competition. He was already given the short end of the stick when it came to the wealth of his Ulus ("miserable little ulus") which he was most definitely a sore loser about and not only that, Mongolia went on to establish the Yuan Dynasty under Khublai Khan -  a dynasty that ruled over China, posed itself as being a legitimate dynasty with the mandate of heaven, Khublai himself was very fond of China and there were whole wars fought between Khublai and Qaidu - the de facto ruler of the Chagatai Khanate, as Qaidu was more traditionalist compared to the more liberal Khublai. It's speculated that one of the discussions that took place during the 1269 Talas Quriltai was about Khublai straying away from Mongol tradition and turning to China! I explained this in more depth in a previous post I'll link here, it's a lot more historically dense but it's worth a read if you want more context. 

Even before the different Khanates went their separate ways, I think Chagatai Khanates resentment began to blossom. I think he realised that no matter how hard he tried, Mongolia would never consider him his favoured son. So he got strangely competitive with Mongolia in more subtle ways before everything blew up. Who could inspire more fear in the lesser staff, who was the better wrestler. Mongolia caught onto this and was... Not impressed. He was quite annoyed at this. I don't think he felt threatened but I do think it's funny how the son most similar to him personality wise annoyed him the most. Admitting that you're obnoxious, Mongolia? (At least in the context of this era).

Mongolia definitely had his own thoughts on Khublai and absolutely raised an eyebrow at a few things he did (like moving the Mongol Empire capital to China) however he was not expecting his children (except for Ilkhanate who pretty much always sided with him) to turn against him in such a way - and to accuse him of all people of disrespecting Mongol tradition! Yes, he was pissed. Especially at Chagatai Khanate who he saw as the instigator of it all. Despite this conflict ending, Chagatai Khanate was still very sore about it and continued being a pain to his family. What's funny is how much Chagatai Khanate and Golden Horde hated each other, but one of the only things that could unite them was when they wanted to bully and threaten Ilkhanate. lol. And I guess their shared frustration when Mongolia inevitably sided with Ilkhanate in the conflict - Mongolia/the Yuan Dynasty being one of Ilkhanates only allies (daddy's boy I guess)..

This staunch adherence to tradition did not stop though. Whilst the other Khanates became more sedentary, the Chagatai Khanate was still living traditionally (ironic as this was a factor in halting the growth of wealth in the Chagatai Khanate, something he complained about) and when the Chagatai Khanate broke up into two, the West in Transoxiana and the East called Moghulistan (Chagatai Khanate became the Eastern Moghulistan) , Moghulistan was a hell of a lot more traditional than the Western Chagatai Khanate. They upheld Chagataid tradition whereas the Western Chagatai Khanate used Chagataids as puppet rulers usually. They were even discriminatory towards the Western halfs more mixed status, and the Western half similarly looked down on Moghulistan for being "uncultured" from what I recall. Yes I do think he was hatecriming his son-

Anyways it's ironic because Moghulistan itself became increasingly Turkified over time and even adopted Sharia law over the traditional Mongola Yassa. He's my fave jock loser

Some other hcs:

Ruddy face

He and GH are similar in stature but he is slightly bigger

Bushy eyebrows

Small scar on his cheek

[kavkasia]

I Ilkhan-hate you.

The 13th century was an interesting time period for Georgia and Armenia, as the pair were two of the three notable Christian vassals of the Mongols. While the Ilkhanate respected Giorgi for his battle prowess and warrior lifestyle, he still thought of himself as much better. Giorgi himself never would like the Ilkhanate, but at least he was able to reap one (1) benefit in being able to get revenge on the Abbasids while he was a part of the Mongol army.

[novacanonarch]

Mongolia's relationship with the Golden Horde, the Chagatay Khanate, and the Ikhanate.

[eruverse]

Height headcanons

Not reflective of average height in the population for the most part. I guess. I don’t really care tbh

From shortest to tallest:

Golden Horde 165

Indonesia 167

Yuan 170

Ilkhanate 172

Mongolia 174

Timurid Empire 175

Kyrgyzstan 176

Kazakhstan 177

Gokturk Empire 177

(Blue Horde) 178

Uzbekistan 180

Chagatai (Khanate) 180

Turkey 181

Serbia 182

Netherlands 185

Russia bear size

[irithnova]

Do you think Mongolia misses his children? (Assuming they're all dead)

Hi thank you for this ask!

Yes they are all dead haha, all fell at different times and some much sooner than others but they're dead (the main 3, Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate and Ilkhanate).

Hm, this is a good question. I like to think that Mongolia isn't always moping about the past and has his mind on the present as much as most other nations do. Though, that doesn't mean he never thinks about it or reflects on it.

I think it depends on what one we're talking about and his feelings towards them if that makes sense? So like around the time they appeared Mongolia was pretty powerful at that point anyways and was riding that high for a while, and when they came about he took them for granted I guess in the sense that he saw them as simply extensions of himself rather than individuals who will grow to have their own interests and will want to pursue them - even if it meant going against him (except for Ilkhanate really).

Don't get me wrong I mean in the early stages they quite literally were the extensions of the Mongol Empire so yeah technically they were extensions of him but they became independent Kingdoms in their own rights and Mongolia who I guess could be described as young and inexperienced with this sort of stuff never really thought forward enough to think "maybe they wouldn't want to be seen as simply extensions of me at some point." Also, Mongolia did kind of treat them more like little brothers for a while instead of his children (again, young + inexperienced) whereas his children always saw him as their father, when he did try and instill some paternal authority over GH and Chagatai Khanate when they started to act out it obviously didn't work.

It is kind of funny though because you could argue to an extent that they did somewhat see Mongolia as an authority but only really symbolically. They'd ask for the Yuan courts approval of certain things or to take part in certain ceremonies but again - this was all done symbolically, even if Mongolia refused they still would have gone ahead with it. I think this did make Mongolia feel validated in the sense that "haha you guys know that my approval matters still" but it was just cope to be honest.

I think sometimes he regrets how things turned out but at the same time, sees their deaths or the division of the Mongol Empire as... inevitable? All nations are self interested, and this was no different to the Khanates who he initially saw as simply being extensions of himself. Once the breakaway Khanates were officially established, it was only a matter of time until shit hit the fan, and it did.

Though unrealistic for numerous reasons, I think at times he wonders what could have been if they all worked harmoniously (or at least mostly harmoniously), the outcome, how much longer would it have lasted. This is also a thought process he goes through when thinking about what could have been if he got along with the Oirats. He does admit to some faults of his own for why things didn't work out sure, but there are also a bunch of political and petty reasons he'd list as well.

He is definitely reminded of them sometimes but I don't think he immediately feels sad when he does. And to be honest I don't think all emotions he feels towards them when remembering them are negative or sad, I think he does actually feels proud towards them and what they were able to achieve (despite turning against him/becoming independent) and because they're not around to talk about those achievements he'll happily claim them on their behalf of course-

He did have contact with his children even after they became independent, there were periods of conflict and friendly relations. The Golden Horde for example opened friendly relations with the Yuan in 1284 and again in 1326 under Ozbeg Khan, and from 1339 onwards he received money annually in the form of Yuan paper money. So it's not like they all went their own ways and never talked to each other at all, they were neighbouring each other so it was inevitable.

I will say though in the final stages of the Yuan, Mongolia get entrenched in his own conflicts with trying to keep a hold of China and the other Khanates also were going through their own shit.

At the time, when Ilkhanate died in the mid 1300s, I do think Mongolia was legitimately distressed/upset by it because Ilkhanate was the one son that didn't turn against him and was the most obedient to him, and of course Mongolia loved that and Ilkhanate was quickly put on a pedestal. Also the youngest son in Mongol culture was expected to stay closer to the family anyways and kinda take care of them and he fulfilled that duty I guess by remaining close to the Yuan . I think even now Mongolia can get a little upset when talking about Ilkhanate in particular if you really prod him on it.

With Chagatai Khanate, he always kind of butted heads with him I guess (which I guess makes sense because they had similar personalities lol) and was furious at how much of a shit stirrer Chagatai Khanate came to eventually be but I guess he does acknowledge that he probably should have given him more attention and supposes that if he wasn't his son or something then they could have potentially been good friends because of their similar personalities and interests or that. He could have indulged Chagatai Khanate more on his interests regardless LOL

And then with Golden Horde, I think he has the most,, melancholy feelings towards him if that makes sense? I mean GH was his first born so he's always going to that special status in his heart, not only that but Golden Horde carved out an impressive legacy for himself and became this kind of,, hard to read, aloof figure. Yes Ilkhanate was the wealthiest and you could argue the most "developed" out of his sons but he's kind of seldom talked about because he didn't last too long, whereas the Golden Horde is still talked about to this day and has captured the interest of historians and ordinary folk alike, for both good and bad reasons. I think he did tell GH he was proud of him in the 1330s when friendly relations were open again but he probably did so somewhat drunkenly LMAO.

So, I don't think he dwells on them often and when he is reminded of them it doesn't like. Cause him to spiral or something, he just has some complex feelings about them when he does actually reflect on them.

Whether he "misses" them or not is kind of debatable because missing them would also be missing an era that is long gone because that's really the only context he can remember them in - it'll be hard to picture them returning in the 21st century or something and as I said, Mongolia is just as occupied in the present as all other nations are (along with everything else I've said about Mongolia accepting the fact that an outcome like that was inevitable or at least a possibility because of the inherent self-interested nature of nations).I think maybe he thinks it would be interesting to say one last thing to them or have one last conversation with them though.

[irithnova]

Why Mongolia and his children should be shot:

Mongolia:

>teen dad

>shit with emotions and making his children get along

>femboy addiction

>emotionally dependant on Ilkhanate

>somewhat oblivious to his children's fight for his attention

>too busy uhh patronising the arts and doing other important stuff like watching stage plays than to send letters to his kids

Golden horde:

>Eldest daughter syndrome

>Emo™️

>Bullied by his own brothers

>Oedipus complex

>Not like other girls™️

>Hates everyone

>unpopular with his brothers when he was alive

>ended with the most talked about legacy out of all of them so it's a win I guess

Ilkhanate:

>kissless handholdless eyecontactless failboy virgin nerd

>he's a fucking nerd did I mention that

>and really artsy

>father was emotionally dependant on him

>lowkey hated him for it

>died first

Chagatai Khanate:

>probably the most normal out of all of them

>was still a huge bully to golden horde

>jock™️

>won't shut the fuck up

>hot headed

>probs snitched a lot on his brothers when they were younger for Mongolia's approval

Oh and they're all alcoholics

Honorable mentions (not Mongolia's kids):

Blue horde

>Not as much as a people hater

>Weird relationship with golden horde (who was originally white horde)

>le sacrificed himself™️ (Jesus moment)

>young as hell when he died wtf

>more extroverted than Golden Horde and probably had a similar personality to what Golden Horde could have had if he wasn't fucking bullied

Timurid Empire:

>Certified LARPer

>Fucking crazy

>Genghis Khan biggest fan

>Probably sent embarrassing borderline harassing fan mail to Mongolia

>"Trust me, I am Chinggisid 🤓"

Manchuria:

>Also a certified LARPer

>Mr Mongolia biggest fan!

>Catboy

>Writes the absolute worst fucking poetry

>Recites it to people

>Says he is a nomad

>Is a sedentarycel

>Sanrio 🤒

>"Guys I am so scholarly and civilised" 🤓

>Literally wears fake glasses just so he can look more similar to Mongolia

[irithnova]

I thought of something:

Has anger issues, can fight: Mongolia

Has anger issues, can't fight: Chagatai Khanate

Doesn't have anger issues, can fight: Golden Horde

Doesn't have anger issues, can't fight: Ilkhanate

[irithnova]

Modern monfam Facebook would be like

Mongolia's status about Ilkhanate: Guys he got into a SPACE PROGRAMME !! 😍 #proudfather

Mongolia's status about Chagatai Khanate: Guys he DIDN'T GET ARRESTED for a WEEK !! 😍 #proudfather

[irithnova]

Modern au monfam be like

Ilkhanate on his tumblr: Here is my vent art... Tw//Gore... Symbolic of my relationship with my father :((

Chagatay Khanate on anon: Your art is gay and you should kill yourself

[irithnova]

Golden horde in his emo diary or something: I'm so DISGUSTED that dad is siding with ILKHANATE over ME... his ELDEST *angry doodle of him stabbing Ilkhanate* He's already rich enough while I have to deal with Europoors and some albino kid who keeps crying and his stupid princes >:(( FUCK MY LIFE !

[irithnova]

Historical article: The Ilkhanate kept close contact with the Yuan despite the division of the Mongol Empire

Me: Ilkhanate was still in contact with his emotionally dependant father who still needed him to vent to omg...

Historical article: The Ilkhanate was unsuccessful in forming diplomatic alliances with the West against the Mamluks

Me: This mf was so friendless

Historical article: The Ilkhanate was involved in several battles against the Golden horde and Chagatai Khanate

Me: AND he hated his siblings?

Historical article: Hulagu Khan built an observatory and the study of stars was given a lot of official patronage

Me: AND HE WAS A NERD?

[irithnova]

can i have a feet size (and smell and shape and cleanliness) comparison between mongolias kids

Golden Horde: On the bigger end of average sized feet but weirdly long and skinny toes. Good in terms of cleanliness but he doesn't perfume his feet or anything

Chagatai Khanate: Big sized feet with kind of boxy shaped/compressed looking toes. He doesn't give a fuck about the smell

Ilkhanate: On the smaller end of average sized feet but his toes are cute and squishy/round shaped. He bathes them in rose water

🦶

[irithnova]

This line goes so crazy for me

[irithnova]

Mongolia and his sons (The Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, Ilkhanate)

What was Mongolia's relationship with his children (golden horde, Chagatai Khanate, Ilkhanate) like? I say those three Khanates because I see Mongolia himself being the personification for the yuan, however he existed far before the yuan was established. I don't think he was born as a result of the Yuan, just that he was both the rep for himself and the yuan. I have a post explaining my reasoning.

This post is going to be quite historically dense.

The Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, and Ilkhanate were all part of the Mongol Empire that started in the 13th century. The Golden Horde was in the west and led by Batu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan. The Chagatai Khanate was in Central Asia and led by Chagatai Khan, Genghis Khan's second son. The Ilkhanate was in Iran, Iraq, and Central Asia, and led by Hulagu Khan, another grandson of Genghis Khan. These khanates were all made by conquest and were run by different members of the Mongol family. The Mongols allowed local rulers to keep some power but still had to answer to the Great Khan, who was the top leader of the Mongol Empire.

The first of the three to be born was Chagatai Khanate was founded in 1226 by Chagatai Khan, the second son of Genghis Khan. Golden horde was next, which was founded in 1242 by Batu Khan, son of Jochi Khan who was Genghis Khan's first son. The Ilkhanate was last, established in 1256 by Hulagu Khan, another grandson of Genghis Khan.

Historically speaking, the relationship between the other Khanates (Golden Horde, Chagatai Khanate, and Ilkhanate) and the Yuan Mongols (the yuan dynasty wasn't established until later in 1271, so technically I'm talking about the east Asian Mongols here however I'll simply be referring to them as the yuan Mongols throughout this post) started off well due to their shared ancestry and the Mongol Empire's practice of allowing local rulers some autonomy.

This is true for when Mongolia's sons were first born too. I believe they appeared a few years before the official establishment of their respective kingdoms.

As I've already established, golden horde was the first to be born. When it comes to the names that Mongolia have them, it looks like this

Golden horde - Ogtbish: Not at all

Ilkhanate - Khunbish : Not human

Chagatai Khanate - Khenbish : Nobody

All these names sound similar and have similar meanings right? But why would Mongolia give them names that mean "nothing?"

In short, these names were given to children to ward off bad spirits, almost like giving a kid a name like "not this one".

Mongolia gave his children these names to protect them in a way. Mongolia's childhood itself wasn't ideal (no nations really is) and he didn't really have any set person or people to take care of him, so it did feel lonely (not that he didn't have friends but they were never permanent obviously). He practically jumped at the idea of being able to have sons/children that he could take care of and who could rule alongside him. All nations know that different factions of their kingdoms rising usually is never a good sign, and at first, it was at the back of Mongolia's mind. That only made it bite him harder in the ass later.

During their early lives, Mongolia was more present for them than when they were older. Obviously because they were babies/very small children so he felt more obligated to take care of them. However, despite Mongolia wanting to be there for them because he knew what it was like to have no one, when they got older, he became less involved.

This is a bias from his own life seeping in, subconsciously he saw them began to mature and thought "oh well when I was that age I had a much harder life so maybe it's not bad if I just focus on campaigning a lot now lol" and yeah, when it came to personal relationships, this put a strain on them, especially with Ogtbish (golden horde). He felt like Mongolia didn't do enough to defend him against Khenbish (Chagatai), who would antagonise him and his legitimacy as a Khanate. This is due to Jochi, Genghis' eldest son, being speculated to be of a different father (it was Jochi's son Batu Khan who established the golden horde). Ogtbish and Khenbish's strained relationship reflects the strained relationship between Jochi and Chagatai (Genghis' second son who was the ruler of the Chagatai Khanate). On the otherhand, Khenbish (Chagatai Khanate) was frustrated at Mongolia for recognising Ogtbish (golden horde) as a legitimate kingdom and son in the first place.

Ilkhanate (Khunbish) joined in on the teasing against the golden horde however it was never as vitriolic as Chagatai's bullying. He was the more chill one of the brothers however he did feel a bit left out of the dynamic (even if it wasn't ideal) as he felt as if Mongolia was spending too much time trying to make Golden Horde and Chagatai get along. Kinda like a neglected youngest sibling.

Though Mongolia cared about them, he was similar to Genghis himself in a way that he was very much occupied with campaigning rather than parenthood. Let's not forget that Mongolia himself was quite mentally young at the time too, being physically and mentally in his late teens/early twenties. Though, when he did spend time with them, it would often be about Mongolia teaching them what it meant to be clever rulers and warriors.

Mongolia cared about them nonetheless, and he was uncharacteristically shortsighted as to the future of his empire in regards to it being split into different khanates (as I said before, usually never a good sign) and pretty much let them reign in their own lands, as long as they answered back to him. That didn't last particularly long.

Historical context:

After the death of Möngke Khan in 1259, the Mongol Empire split into four parts due to fighting among his relatives for the title of leader. The four parts were the Golden Horde in Eastern Europe, the Chagatai Khanate in Central Asia, the Ilkhanate in Southwest Asia, and the Yuan dynasty in East Asia.

Möngke Khan's brothers Hulagu and Kublai fought for the title of Great Khan, leading to a civil war. Kublai emerged as the victor and became the Great Khan, but faced challenges from his cousin, the ruler of the Chagatai Khanate (one example of inter-khanate conflict and I will touch more upon this later), and from his brother Ariq Böke. Kublai's army defeated his opponents and he became the ruler of the Mongol Empire.

These four parts pursued their own interests and fell apart at different times. Although some of them asked Kublai to confirm the enthronement of their new leaders, the four parts functioned as independent sovereign states. The Ilkhanate and the Yuan dynasty had closer diplomatic relations, but military cooperation between all four parts of the Mongol Empire never happened again.

The Yuan dynasty had nominal power over the other three khanates, but conflicts and border clashes persisted. The four khanates remained separate states and eventually fell at different times.

Historically speaking , there are a myriad of factors that lead to the other Khanates splitting from the yuan. One factor was that the Yuan dynasty was based in China and had a different culture and way of life compared to the other khanates. This made it difficult for them to understand and relate to each other.

When I say this, this isn't me implying that the Mongols of the Yuan were sinicized, they weren't. The Mongols of the Yuan adopted and improved upon Chinese systems and even adopted some parts of Chinese culture, however they still retained their own identity. They created a caste system which put them on top and Southern Chinese on the bottom, imperial letters were written in Mongolian etc.

So basically, Mongols had conquered different regions with their own unique cultures and traditions.

The Mongols did try to impose their own cultural and religious beliefs within their own khanates to an extent, but they were met with resistance, especially in regions where Islam was the dominant religion.

For example, many of the Yassa laws that applied to Mongols of Mongol religion like Tengrism (established by Genghis Khan himself) were incompatible with the Muslim way of life for example (thought they did allow for some degree of legal pluralism, allowing people to follow their own religious laws in some cases).

It was difficult to manage such diversity. However we should remember that the Mongols were more religiously tolerant than other empires, and so allowed people to practise their beliefs for the most part. This was more for pragmatism rather than being open minded, but it was better than other empires nonetheless. This was also another factor in why the other Khanates became so different from their father; leniency towards the locals continued practice/culture and eventual assimilation to the culture.

The different Khanates got into conflict with one another, and competed for resources and power, which sometimes resulted in conflicts and wars (e.g, Berke-Hulagu war, the Golden horde vs the Ilkhanate).

The Mongols were essentially a minority trying to rule over many different groups. There are other reasons why it eventually fell, and to blame it all on this is an oversimplification, but I just wanted to elaborate on this reason in particular.

This is brief and is a bit of an oversimplification, but here are other reasons why the Mongol Empire divided and fell:

1) The empire was vast and the Yuan Mongols were stretching their resources too thin

2) Again, with the vastness of the empire, it made it difficult for yuan Mongols to keep control over such a vast land, this made it easy for the other khanates to question and challenge the yuan's authority

3) The Yuan dynasty suffered quite a few military losses which weakened the power and prestige it once had

4) The Yuan couldn't even control itself as they did not win over the loyalty of the Chinese people

5) As the Yuan dynasty weakened (because of the reasons above and also, inflation, natural disasters, bad economy, incompetent leaders), local elites took this as an opportunity to seize power.

The next part is going to be quite historically dense. It's following the timeline of each Khanate and how each eventually disintegrated. This is to give more context as to what I'm saying.

Golden horde (Ogtbish):

1242: Batu Khan founds and governs the Golden Horde in Russia.

1236-1242: Mongol armies launch offensives across western Asia and Europe.

1238: The Mongols invade Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia.

April 9, 1241: Henry the Pious, Duke of Silesia, leads an army that is defeated by the Mongols near Legnica.

April 10-11, 1241: King Bela IV of Hungary's army is defeated by the Mongols at the Battle of Mohi.

1251-1259: Mongke Khan rules over the Mongol Empire.

1257-1266: Berke rules the Golden Horde.

1260-1264: Kublai Khan engages in a civil war with his brother Ariq Boke for control of the Mongol Empire.

1262: Nogai leads the Golden Horde to victory over the Ilkhanate at the Battle of Terek.

1266-1280: Mengu-Temur rules the Golden Horde.

1271: Nogai's Golden Horde forces invade the Byzantine Empire.

1299: Nogai, the de facto leader of the Golden Horde, dies.

1313-1341: Uzbeg rules the Golden Horde and makes Islam the state religion.

1327: Uzbeg switches the Golden Horde's allegiance from Tver to Moscow.

1342-1357: Janibeg governs the Golden Horde.

1362: The Golden Horde is defeated by the Lithuanians at the Battle of Blue Waters.

1380: The Russians defeat the Golden Horde at the Battle of Kulikovo, turning the tide against Mongol rule.

1380-1395: Tokhtamysh briefly revives the Golden Horde as its ruler.

1382: Tokhtamysh and the Golden Horde pillage Moscow.

1465-1481: Ahmed becomes the last major ruler of the Golden Horde.

1480: The Russians decisively defeat the Golden Horde at the Battle of the Ugra River.

Chagatai Khanate (Khenbish):

Around 1227 to 1242: Chagatai Khan, the namesake of the khanate, holds the throne.

1242: Chagatai Khan dies, leading to a series of successions.

1251 to 1260: Mongke Khan is the leader of the Mongol Empire. During this time, Queen Orghina serves as regent of the Chagatai Khanate.

1260 to 1266: Alghu Khan becomes the ruler of the Chagatai Khanate.

1260 to 1264: Kublai Khan and his brother Ariq Boke fight for control of the Mongol Empire in a civil war.

1264: Alghu Khan marries Queen Orghina, who was once the regent of the Chagatai Khanate.

1266 to 1271: Baraq Khan is the khan of the Chagatai Khanate.

1270: Abaqa of the Ilkhanate defeats Baraq at the Battle of Herat.

1271 to 1275: Marco Polo embarks on his famous journey across Asia to China.

1272 to 1301: Qaidu II dominates Central Asia and installs khans to rule the Chagatai Khanate.

1273: Abaqa sacks Bukhara, a city within the Chagatai Khanate.

1318 to 1327: Kebek Khan rules over the Chagatai Khanate.

1331 to 1334: Tarmashirin Khan becomes the khan of the Chagatai Khanate.

1347 to 1363: Tughlugh Timur is the final khan of the Chagatai Khanate before it disintegrates following his death.

Ilkhanate (Khunbish):

1251-1259: Mongke Khan reigns as the ruler of the Mongol Empire. In 1253, a Mongol army led by Hulegu invades Persia and the Middle East, leading to the defeat of the Ismailis in Persia in 1256.

1258: The Mongols conquer the Abbasid Caliphate, sacking Baghdad and murdering the caliph during the campaign.

December 1259: The Mongols capture Aleppo in Syria after besieging it.

1260-1265: Hulegu rules the Ilkhanate, which dominates Iran and neighboring territories. During this time, Kublai Khan fights a civil war with his brother Ariq Boke for control of the Mongol Empire.

1262: Golden Horde forces under Nogai defeat the Ilkhanate at the Battle of Terek.

1265-1291: Abaqa rules the Ilkhanate from, followed by Ahmad Teguder from 1282 to 1284, and then Arghun from 1284 to 1291.

December 1288: The Ilkhanate agrees to a trade deal with Genoa.

1291-1304: Gaikhatu rules the Ilkhanate from

1291 to 1295, followed by Baidu in the same year. Ghazan then rules the Ilkhanate from 1295 to 1304, during which time he converts to Islam.

November 1299: The Ilkhanate briefly captures Mamluk-controlled Aleppo and Damascus, but the Mamluks ultimately defeat the Ilkhanate army in Syria at Marj al-Suffar in 1303.

1304-1316: Oljeitu rules the Ilkhanate from

1304 to 1316, followed by Abu Said from 1316 to 1335.

1322: The Ilkhanate and Mamluk Sultanate sign a peace treaty.

1335: The Ilkhanate disintegrates into smaller states following dynastic disputes.

Yuan dynasty (Mongolia/Baatar):

1268: Kublai Khan renews the Mongol attacks on China's Song Dynasty.

1270: The Mongol Empire conquers a portion of northern Korea.

1271: Yuan dynasty is established.

1274: The first invasion of Japan by Kublai Khan's forces ends in failure.

Late 13th century: Marco Polo serves in the Mongol Yuan Dynasty's administration.

1276: A Mongol army captures Lin'an, the capital of China's Song Dynasty.

1277: The Mongols/Yuan Dynasty launches an invasion of Burma.

1279: The Mongols secure their conquest of Song Dynasty China by defeating them in the naval battle of Yaishan.

1281: Kublai Khan's second invasion of Japan fails.

-1281: The Mongols/Yuan Dynasty invades Vietnam for the second time.

1286: The Mongols/Yuan Dynasty re-invades Vietnam.

1292: A Mongol/Yuan Dynasty naval force attacks Java.

1355: Zhu Yuanzhang takes charge of the Red Turbans Movement, a rebellion against the Yuan Dynasty.

1356: Zhu Yuanzhang takes control of Nanjing, a crucial city in China.

1360: Zhu Yuanzhang defeats Chen Youliang at the Battle of Poyang Lake, solidifying his position as a rival rebel leader.

1367: Zhu Yuanzhang defeats Zhang Shicheng, another rival rebel leader.

1368-1644: The Ming Dynasty reigns over China.

1368: Zhu Yuanzhang establishes himself as Emperor of China, using the reign name Hongwu.

1370: The last Yuan Dynasty emperor, Toghon Temur, dies in Karakorum.

So, what did Mongolia think of all this? While he enjoyed seeing how they took after him in terms of their military achievements, he was not pleased when his sons stopped regarding him as an authority figure in their lives. In 1304, there was a peace treaty among the four khanates that gave power to the yuan, however this did not have the strong backing as previous Khagans. They essentially began to function as separate states and, as I've pointed out before, they even came into conflict with each other, and never co-operated in military campaigns after a certain point.

As we can see, the Mongolia did keep in closer contact with the Ilkhanate initially, and this is (usually) when it came to scientific and cultural developments, so when he looks back on things now, he usually looks back on Ilkhanate the most favourably out of his sons (not by a huge margin though).

On Ilkhanate's personality, as I've said before, he felt left out of the (not exactly ideal) dynamic of Mongolia, golden horde and Chagatai Khanate because he felt as if Mongolia spent a lot of time trying to make them get along, however this doesn't mean that Mongolia neglected him. In general, Ilkhanate was quite relaxed personality wise and was arguably the most studious out of his brothers (though they were all intelligent). Being a bit closer to his father than his brothers later in life made him feel a bit better about the earlier relationship he had with Mongolia however like his brothers, he stopped answering back to his father eventually.

Mongolia saw/sees Ilkhanate as the easy son, the child that didn't really give him a headache for the most part. However Mongolia wrongfully would vent his frustrations about his brothers onto him because of this, almost parentifying him in a way. But it's important to note that Mongolia himself was young during this time too so he didn't exactly know better.

Ilkhanate was the first of his sons to die, however during this time, the Yuan dynasty was already in decline, so Mongolia could not mourn him (or Chagatai) properly during that era. I will talk about how exactly Mongolia mourned them later on.

On Chagatai Khanate, Chagatai was a bit more fiery compared to Ilkhanate, and quite stubborn about his beliefs; this was similar to Mongolia's personality at the time. Chagatai initially tried to prove himself more loyal/respectful to his father, and perhaps outcasting the golden horde was part of his attempt to do so. His loyalty to his father was shown through the culture of the Chagatai Khanate, which was the Khanate which retained its Mongolian cultural roots the most (remained largely nomadic until late 15th century). Like the others though, he too, broke away from his father's authority.

Mongolia saw a lot of himself in Chagatai Khanate personality wise, and was fond of him and still fond of his memory. However Chagatai Khanate did give him the most headaches when it came to his fighting with his brother. Chagatai Khanate's stubborn personality probably now gives Mongolia insight as to what it was like for others to deal with him at the time.

Okay let's get onto the most famous of the brothers, Golden Horde. Mongolia has quite a few feelings about him. Out of all of his brothers, he was the most aloof/introverted, however this isn't me saying that he was shy. Mongolia cared deeply about the golden horde, however the golden horde felt like Mongolia didn't love him enough, because although he chastised Chagatai Khanate for bullying him, he could not or did not fully stop it. Due to claims of Jochi, the father of Batu Khan, being not of Genghis' lineage, the golden horde already was insecure about his legitimacy as part of the greater Mongol Empire. He felt different from his brothers in that way and also personality wise, he was more introverted and so could not relate much to his brothers. While initially he sought approval from his family, he eventually learned to detach himself from them. Mongolia took notice of this, and while he tried to reign him in again, Mongolia felt as if he didn't do enough to make the golden horde feel supported (probably didn't, he busied himself with campaigns and then the yuan). Golden horde was the first to stop answering to his father, and was the longest lasting out of all of his brothers.

Looking back on him now, Mongolia feels a mixture of admiration, regret and, a few centuries ago, anger. This is true for all of his sons, as he is proud of what they were able to achieve and their legacy. However it's especially true for the golden horde, the Golden horde being the most famous out of all the Khanates other than the yuan.

Earlier, I talked about how Mongolia grieved the death of his sons at the time of their deaths. When it came to Ilkhanate and Chagatai khanate, they died during a time in which the yuan was beginning to decline. Because of this, Mongolia could not fully mourn their deaths. Also, let's not forget that Mongolia felt anger towards them for disregarding not only the authority of the Yuan, but his authority as a father, and blamed their disobedience for the decline of his empire. Yes, the division of the Mongol Empire was the beginning of the end, and inter-khanate warfare didn't hell, but there were a myriad of reasons as to why it fell. Mongolia knows this now and at the time he knew it too but was in denial.

I'll use the Esen Buqa–Ayurbarwada war as an example of inter-khanate warfare that took place in between them. This was a conflict between the Chagatai Khanate led by Esen Buqa I and the Yuan dynasty led by Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan (Emperor Renzong) and its ally the Ilkhanate under Öljaitü. The Yuan and Ilkhanate emerged victorious (adds to the reasons why Mongolia remembers Ilkhanate most favourably), but peace was not achieved until Esen Buqa's death in 1318.

There were a number of inter-khanate wars that took place which soured Mongolia's relationship with them at the time (and relationship with each other). This only further the degradation of their relationship with each other. Mongolia was unable to fully control them again despite attempts.

Let's get to the 15th century, when the golden horde finally died. Mongolia was still in conflict during this era, but the golden horde died quite a bit later than his brothers. Though Mongolia thought of Ilkhanate and Chagatai khanate from time to time, it was when his last son died that he finally tried to reflect on it. His feelings by now were a lot more forgiving as time had passed, almost like he was looking back with rose tinted glasses, especially when they were younger children. Memories of when they were children is what brought him the most sadness. This doesn't mean that he was blindly positive about them though.

I think this quote says everything and the mentality behind this quote is how Mongolia deals with his complex feelings towards his children for the most part:

"No nation has friends, only interests." - Charles de Gaulle.

This quote rings true when you see the conflicts the khanates got into with each other, and Mongolia acknowledges that he was short sighted in thinking that his sons would be extensions of himself, ruling alongside him, when in fact they were their own personifications who, like him, had their own goals and interests. This mentality is what made him let go of his bitterness towards them upon remembering them; it's just the nature of being a nation.

Nowadays he doesn't dwell on them too often and he accepts what's happened, he doesn't live in the past. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't have some moments, like, if he goes into a store and the cashier looks eerily similar to one of his sons or he hears someone speaking with a voice that's similar to one of his sons he'd probably be a bit taken aback.

If someone asks him about them he'd talk more about their achievements and personalities to be optimistic, but if someone asks him how he feels about him outlasting his own sons he would probably feel a bit uncomfortable answering it. It's not something he dwells on and it's not because he's trying to hide it, but asking anyone about their feelings about their dead children is a bit uhh well personal to say the least so he's reacting like anyone else would to that question.

When it comes to his son's personalities, it's almost as if they were mirrors of him.

Depending on the era/circumstances/situation, he can be aloof like, golden horde, stubborn like Chagatai Khanate and chill like Ilkhanate. Though all of his children broke away from him in the end (not saying they somehow managed to get rid of their Mongol roots lol), the influence of their father still shone through in their personalities.

Talking about the parallels Mongolia shares with his predecessors, this was both similar and vastly different to what happened to Xiongnu and his sons.

I'm basically incorporating @absolvtely-barbaric 's canon into mine right now lol. Chanyu, the ruler of the Xiongnu, his lands were divided after his death amongst his sons. This is similar to what happened to Genghis Khan and his sons. Xiongnu purposefully created his sons to carry on his lineage. Mongolia also hoped that his sons would carry on his rule or rule beside him. Both Xiongnu and Mongolia taught their sons about what it meant to be good rulers and warriors. And both Xiongnu and Mongolia both lost control of their sons.

However, unlike Xiongnu, Mongolia did not purposefully create his sons, they were born out of circumstance. Xiongnu saw his sons more as more of a power/political tool, whereas Mongolia, at least wanted to, be more fatherly towards them. Sorry, I love drawing parallels between Mongolia and his predecessors lol.

This is the post that the Xiongnu headcanons come from https://www.tumblr.com/absolvtely-barbaric/187052482856/for-more-background-information-on-the-xiongnu?source=share

So, in short, nowadays, Mongolia looks fondly back on them, and while he does have moments of remorse, he doesn't dwell on what happened and there is no anger left, just acceptance.

[irithnova]

What daddy issues did to Mongolia's children ❤️

Golden Horde: Typical eldest daughter mental illness and was glad he moved far away from home. Goth prince of darkness

Chagatai Khanate: Super racist would probably be a 4chan user if he was still around. Typical ignored middle child <3

Ilkhanate: Babied and parentified at the same time, this young man died a kissless handholdless eyecontactless virgin !