#ogodei khan

[tenth-sentence]

"Just as God gave different fingers to the hand," Ögödei's successor told a Christian, "so He has given different ways to men."

"Why the West Rules – For Now: The patterns of history and what they reveal about the future" - Ian Morris

[whencyclopedia]

Ögedei Khan

Ogedei Khan (aka Ogodei) ruled the Mongol Empire from 1229 to 1241. He was the third son of Genghis Khan (r. 1206-1227), the empire's founder. Ogedei's accomplishments included creating a new capital at Karakorum, establishing a system of regional governance and taxation, and defeating the long-time enemy of the Mongols, the Jin state of northern China.

Ogedei Khan enjoyed many other military victories in Western Asia from Afghanistan to Georgia, and the great cities of the Bulgars and Rus were sacked as his armies swept ever further west and attacked Poland and Hungary. Just as the Mongols seemed about to sweep through Europe, the invaders returned home following news of the Great Khan's death of either a stroke or organ failure in December 1241, most likely brought on by one of the heavy drinking bouts for which he was infamous.

Early Life & Succession

Ogedei was born, c. 1186, the third son of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. He had three brothers: Jochi, Chagatai (Chaghadai) and Tolui (Tului). Like them, Ogedei assisted his father on several military campaigns, notably against the Khwarazm Empire from 1219 to 1225. Before he died of natural causes in 1227, Genghis Khan had instructed that his empire be divided into four khanates with each of his sons ruling one of them (although Jochi would predecease his father in 1227). Ogedei was selected to rule above his siblings as the Great Khan or 'universal ruler', a position he was formally awarded in 1228 at the kurultai conference of Mongol tribal chiefs (which Ogedei at first refused but then accepted in 1229). Genghis, meanwhile, was buried in secret in the vicinity of the sacred mountain Burkan Kuldun, and Ogedei sacrificed 40 slave girls and 40 horses to accompany his father into the next life.

Ogedei was a surprising choice for khan because he already had a reputation for often being drunk. He was chastised for his drinking by his brother Chagatai but, not being unaware of the problem, Ogedei did offer to have a supervisor check how much alcohol he drank and to limit the number of cups per day to a specified number. Ogedei then made sure he was always served his favourite tipple in very large cups. Neither had Ogedei shown any great particular promise as a military commander. He was, however, likeable and willing to take the advice of his more senior ministers and commanders, essential qualities in the complex web of Mongol clan politics. Most importantly of all, he was his father's choice and Genghis Khan was now already seen as a deified spirit whose word was law. Thus, Tolui, who had been acting as regent, handed over the reins of government to Ogedei and a new era of Mongol rule began.

Continue reading...

[caesarsaladinn]

I have a hangover worthy of a Mongol Khan right now. please send thoughts and prayers. side note how much airag could Ogodei possibly have consumed to get the distinction of being “the alcoholic one,” didn’t like three of Chinggis’s successors die of alcohol poisoning?

[eruverse]

If Mongol Empire is like a manga and its people are the characters, these are my fave, neutrals and dislikes:

Fave:

Chinggis Khan (but of course omg the best)

Ogodei, the calmest of Chinggis Khan’s son and is like the most reasonable

Jochi (the king of Golden Horde. If not for him Golden Horde wouldn’t exist)

Orda Ichen, the Khan of White (Blue) Horde who decided that Batu, his younger brother ruled the whole Golden Horde and not cause civil war with him lmao. Also the ancestor of Kazakhs

Börte, because what’s not to love from her

Neutrals:

Everyone who’s not my faves and dislikes

Dislikes:

Kublai (the biggest diva of Chinggis Khan’s descendants ever)

Hulagu (I basically don’t like the Toluids like wtf man)

Chagatai (for his enforcement of yassa and because of his prejudice toward Jochi, but Uzbekistan is his legacy so I guess I don’t hate him that much)

Yes, Golden Horde is my bias

[peysk]

Fucked up how chingis khan is the only popularly known mongolian person connected to the mongolian empire at least in the west. ppl talk as if he is synonymous with the ruthlessness of the mongols when in reality what drove him Vs what drove his successors were very different things. Temujin was born in a miserable world, the peoples of the steppe all fighting for scraps while the jin jurchen to the south play political games to make sure no one population becomes too strong. everything Temujin did, really, was either in retaliaton or in anticipation of foreign attacks. The guy had already united basically all of the nomadic tribes of the steppe at one point and still he spent all of his life and indeed died fighting to make sure the world would never have to return to the miserable state it was in when he was born. Of course he did this by waging war and using immense violence himself i don't mean to paint him as a saint but what im trying to get at is that he wasn't a megalomaniac. His successors, Ogodei Khan and so on weren't like Temujin at all. They felt their mission was to unite all the world under the dominion of the mongols. many of the khans truly had never even known a world different from the one temujin built for them. Guyuk literally answered the letter the pope sent to him asking him to stop attacking christian kingdoms lest the lord punish him and all he had to say is "if your lord hates me winning then our current track record is proof that he can't do jack shit to stop me. worry about your own shit".

[lightdancer1]

Toregene Khatun may have been the most powerful woman in world history:

The most powerful of the Mongolian Khatuns was Toregene, the wife of Ogodei Khagan, Genghis Khan's son and successor under whom the Mongol Empire conquered more than they did with him. It was her successes and her skills that kept the Empire united and paved the way for Guyuk Khagan, the last of the rulers of the united empire.

And this is that gap between the women at the highest echelons of the first world empire and those at the lowest. Toregene also had a power granted to almost no women in world history, stood against a pattern deeply interwoven into nomadic societies, and like Ogodei, her husband, successfully and deliberately defied it. By all accounts she is another in the string of extraordinary women that made the Mongol Empire unique.

[fierce-little-miana]

[The] account gives us an accurate depiction of the division of the territorial spoils made, apparently, in the last years of Chinggis Qan's lifetime. The Jochids in fact received and subsequently occupied what is now the Kazakh steppe, southern Siberia, the lower Volga, the Qipchaq steppe, Noth Caucasia, and the Rus principalities. Chaghadai, his second son, obtained West Turkestan; Ögödei, his third son and political heir, had his personal territory in Jungharia and later moved to central Mongolia, the site of the imperial capital, Qara Qorum; and, finally, Tolui, the youngest, received eastern Mongolia, the urheimat of the Mongolian tribes. [...] This meant, it must be reemphasized, that there was no direct princely control over China and Iran, as there was in central Asia and the steppe.

Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia - Thomas T. Allsen

[maglor-still-lives]

Favorite fantasy tropes?

In no particular order and with no particular rigor...

1) immortal wanderer: it gives you so many options for settings and character traits and I will never stop laughing at shit like “austria won the world cup” “you mean the austro-hungarian empire?” or at people having very strong opinions about things that are barely a distant memory (ogodei khan can catch these hands). Would I like it as much if I hadn’t originally staked my whole blog around it? Unclear! But they’re great.

2) Big Fucking Mountains: this is a simple one. I like big fucking mountains.

3) Based On Real Life: this one’s dicey. I firmly believe that fantasy should not be expected to conform to history or science, as long as it sets some internal rules and sticks by them. So it is not necessary and I’m tired of seeing people rag on perfectly good stories just because none of the characters got cholera.

THAT SAID! I’m a nerd and I go apeshit for proto-Mongols and pseudo-Byzantines and real technology and whatnot. Truth is stranger than fiction, and provided it’s handled well, it can add a lot of depth to a setting, and maybe even teach your audience some cool new facts.

4) the wise old sarcastic wizard mentor: delightful. Gandalf, Ben Kenobi, Morgan of Shadows, also includes Hundred Eyes from Marco Polo.

5) wacky animals: Star Wars stands out as the example par excellence, but I just love big blobbery guys or little puffballs or Things With Too Many Teeth.

[247reader]

Day 29… has been a pretty rough day, so I bring you a simpler drawing of: Altani!

Altani was among the children fostered by Hoelun, the mother of Temujin, Genghis Khan, who took in relatives and war orphans to raise. Hoelun was also one of her son’s must trusted advisors, one of the women who governed his empire while he was away on campaign. 

Altani shared a tent with Hoelun and her young grandson, Tolui.  As the youngest son of Temujin and his Grand Empress, Börte, Tolui was an important child - and soon the target of an attack.  A Tartar warrior took advantage of the tradition of sacred hospitality among the Mongols to seize the boy.  He’d slipped past the guards… but he hadn’t reckoned on Altani. She dashed after him, grabbing his braids in one hand and his knife in the other, and kept her grip until help could arrive.  For her deed, Genghis Khan himself gave her the title of Bataar, or hero. In 1260, he announced her wedding to another young Bataar, Boroghul, a soldier who had saved the life of the Khan’s son Ogodei. He also gave a speech at the wedding, in which he emphasized that the husband and wife must rely on each other equally: they were two wheels pulling one cart. 

[atlaculture]

What’s in a Name: Rough Rhinos

The mercenaries of the Fire Nation.

Mongke - Eternal, ᠮᠥᠩᠬᠡ (Mongolian). He’s named after the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire.

Kahchi - From “kachi-kachi”, the Japanese onomatopoeia for a crackling fire, かち (Japanese).

Ogodei - The third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, ᠥᠭᠡᠳᠡᠢ  (Mongolian).

Vachir - Thunderbolt, ᠣᠴᠢᠷ (Sanskrit / Mongolian). Vajra (वज्र) is a Sanskrit word meaning “thunderbolt”. The name “Vachir” is likely the Mongolian pronunciation of the word.

Yeh-Lu - Blazing Furnace, 烨炉 (Mandarin). It’s a fitting name for his design. Also, the family name of Yelü Chucai, an adviser of Ogodei Khan. His name is also a common surname for people of Khitan descent, a Mongolic people.

[magnaioronir]

The life of a Khan is a busy one, but that does not mean I don't make time to swap hunting stories with my best men. Baatu, a loyal Xaela who has always stood by The Sun's side. And Ogodei, the tribes Triple Triad Champion. The bitter nights made less so by Nhaama's beautiful stars and the warmth of fire given to us.

[towritecomicsonherarms]

Ögedei (also Ogodei; Mongolian: Өгэдэй, romanized: Ögedei, Mongolian: ᠥᠭᠡᠳᠡᠢ Ögedei,[2][3] ᠥᠭᠦᠳᠡᠢ Ögüdei;[4] Chinese: 窩闊台; c. 1186 – 11 December 1241) was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, succeeding his father. He continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun, and was a world figure when the Mongol Empire reached its farthest extent west and south during the Mongol invasions of Europe and East Asia.[5] Like all of Genghis' primary sons, he participated extensively in conquests in China, Iran, and Central Asia.

[thejackmeister-mongolhistory]

Here is an answer I put on Reddit in response to the question on what Kublai Khan thought of Chinggis Khan. If you've ever read anything I put up on Kublai, you'll probably find some of it familiar.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/df01nd/what_does_kublai_khan_think_of_his_grandfather/

"Chinggis Khan (the Mongolian pronunciation of Genghis), despite his rather negative portrayal in most western literature from the 13th century to present, has quite a different reputation among the Mongols and many inner Asian peoples, dating right back to his final years. By the time of his death in August 1227, Chinggis Khan had brought the Mongol tribes from near total disunity, to near total domination of much of Asia. To quote Timothy May:

"Chinggis Khan may have died a man, but he entered the spirit world as a powerful demi-god... he not only unified Mongolia, but also rendered all potential enemies impotent. He avenged the massacre at Otrar, the death of Yesugei, the insult to Ambaghai - he was an avatar of vengeance, a god of war, and a creator hero who brought writing and stability to the Mongols. His sulde, a part of his soul or genius, took residence in the tuq or standard of the Mongols and offered protection to the ruler and to the Mongols in general. As a result, his words were sacred and became bileg, or 'wisdom', and proper behaviour for Mongols (yosun); the words, deeds and wisdom of Chinggis Khan became analogous to the sunna of the Prophet Muhammad in Islam. Since Chinggis Khan had decreed his son Ogodei his heir, this could not be disputed." (May, the Mongol Empire, 2018, pg. 70-71).

It is hard to overstate Chinggis Khan's image among the Mongols following his death. He was not just an ideal ruler, he was the ideal ruler, the bar by which nearly every would-be Khan, warlord and conqueror between the Caspian Sea and China would be compared to for the next six centuries. So strong was his legacy that it kept cousins living across the span of the Eurasian landmass working towards a common goal for decades. A unique combination of personal charisma, political, organizational and military skill, an utterly indomitable character and excellent timing lead him to unify and forge the tribes under his command into Asia's fiercest weapon.

Chinggis' shadow hung over all of his successors, who had to try to live up to him Chinggis was being mythologized before he was even dead: how could any man compare to that? Kublai had met Chinggis when he was a boy -there exists an anecdote of Chinggis rubbing animal fat on to the fingers of Kublai and his older brother Mongke after their first hunt- but was quite young when Chinggis died (Kublai was born in 1215, Chinggis died in 1227). Chinggis had many, many grandchildren, and Kublai would have been but one among them. Kublai never knew Chinggis as anything other than a immense, heroic figure, an impossible standard to live up to. That wasn't so much as issue for Kublai for the first half of his life, as there was little chance of him ever becoming Great Khan, and under the guidance of his mother Sorqaqtani Beki, took an interest in Chinese culture and took little for military roles. But when the position of Qa'an was taken by his brother Mongke in 1251 (the Toluid Revolution), Kublai was thrust into leading campaigns against the Kingdom of Dali in modern Yunnan, and then against the Song Dynasty of southern China, before ultimately becoming Qa'an after Mongke's death in 1259.

For control of this position, Kublai fought his brother Ariq Boke in a four year civil war, the first in the Empire's history. Even by then Kublai was associated with Chinese culture by more conservative Mongols, with Ariq the standard bearer of 'traditional values.' This would be an issue which haunted Kublai over the rest of his long life, and that of his successors in the Yuan Dynasty. While Kublai ultimately defeated Ariq Boke and was proclaimed Great Khan in 1264, his election was never fully recognized by the other newly emerging Khanates. Kublai is the most famous Qa'an after Chinggis, but his reign oversaw the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire into independent Khanates and difficulties portraying himself as an Emperor of China to his Chinese subjects, and as a Great Khan to his Mongol followers and the military, never fully succeeding as either. He completed the conquest of China begun by Chinggis in 1211, (1209 if we want to count the Tangut campaigns!) but his continued foreign ventures -Japan, Vietnam, Burma, Indonesia- were all failures, and he saw rebellion in Mongolia and Central Asia, his cousins Qaidu and Nayan (and others) forming barriers to Kublai's influence outside of China, even threatening the original Mongol capital of Karakorum at times.

As Kublai's life drew to a close, he was predeceased by his closest confident, his beloved wife Chabi, his chosen heir Jingim, most of his friends and skilled advisers from earlier in his life. His final years were marked by isolation and removing himself from political affairs, depressed, suffering from gout, obesity and alcoholism. Military defeats, political corruption, economic trouble and the irreversible fragmentation of the empire haunted him. The specter of Chinggis Khan's success, I feel, must have weighed him down above all. Compared to the accolades the Mongols laid upon Chinggis, I believe Kublai must have come to see himself as a failure in comparison to his illustrious grandfather. Of course, Kublai made no such public statement: it would be today like an American politician saying they though George Washington wasn't all that great. In general, little of Kublai's personal thoughts come down to us. Chinggis Khan's final years saw the utter defeat of Khwarezm and the Tangut, laying the groundwork for further expansion: while Kublai saw the Mongols pushed back and the empire fall apart.

For this reason, Kublai almost certainly held Chinggis Khan in the highest regard. Certainly, he put many a posthumous title and ceremony upon his honoured grandfather and his loyal compatriots. He ordered portraits and historical works to celebrate him, and publicly showed nothing but devotion and respect. Yet, he could very well have come to hate the comparisons to him. Chinggis was an ideal Kublai could never live up to, and try as he might, the same glory only eluded him. Had he died in 1280, we might have spoken on his successes and his what his potential could have been had he lived longer: dying in 1294 as he did, we can only imagine how Kublai suffered a sense of the empire slipping from out of his grasp, and how it was his own fault.

Sources:

Timothy May, the Mongol Empire (2018)

Morris Rossabi, Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times (1988). Still the most concise, readable and detailed single biography on Kublai, though it is obviously missing newer historiography."

[eruverse]

Horde is a Total Hater and I’m living for it. Also Ogodei is the best, and wtf it is with Kublai and Hulagu srsly (they’re not my personal faves)

Speaking about it, I hc that Horde himself isn’t an actual Muslim, but many Jochids converted to Islam under Berke Khan in order to accumulate powers with the Islamic world/forging alliances etc, and I guess in doing so they could further separate themselves from the influences of core Mongol Empire… so Horde would say, yes why not, anything that could make my father got off my back (tho it was only under Uzbek Khan, like many years after that, that Islam became official state religion)

[medievalcat]

reading Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford and he in text refers to Guyuk as Ogodei’s “least favorite and most annoying son”

[ricmlm]

Genghis Khan’s Death and the Continuation of the Empire When Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia in 1225, he controlled a huge swath of territory from the Sea of Japan to the Caspian Sea. Nevertheless, he didn’t rest for long before turning his attention back to the Xi Xia kingdom, which had refused to contribute troops to the Khwarezm invasion. In early 1227 a horse threw Genghis Khan to the ground, causing internal injuries. He pressed on with the campaign, but his health never recovered. He died on August 18, 1227, just before the Xi Xia were crushed. Genghis Khan conquered more than twice as much land as any other person in history, bringing Eastern and Western civilizations into contact in the process. His descendants, including Ogodei and Khubilai, were also prolific conquerors, taking control of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the rest of China, among other places. The Mongols even invaded Japan and Java before their empire broke apart in the 14th century. Genghis Khan’s last ruling descendant was finally deposed in 1920. https://www.instagram.com/p/CanYOmGjC16/?utm_medium=tumblr