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Dates

b. 1186
d. 1241, in early December, in a "hunting accident"

Capsule Bio

The third son of Genghis Khan, Ögedei helped with his father’s campaign of conquest as soon as he was old enough to shoot a bow. He distinguished himself by commanding campaigns against the Jin Dynasty in 1211 and the Khwarezmid Empire in 1219.

After his father died in 1227, Ögedei was proclaimed the new Great Khan, or Khagan. Under his rule the Mongol invasion spread even further, conquering much of China, Korea, India, and eastern Europe. By 1241, Mongol forces had reached as far as Poland, and were threatening to claim all of western civilization as their dominion.

Ögedei was regarded as an intelligent, charismatic ruler. After his brother Tolui’s death in 1232, however, he frequently fell victim to bouts of depression, and turned to alcohol to forget his sorrows. The once-great Khan slowly became a corrupt, hedonistic alcoholic.

Related Content

• Map of Ögedei's palace in Karakorum from chapter 2

Additional Reading

• Ögedei Khan at Wikipedia

Mentions

• The Kinyen - Chapter 1, The Mongoliad
• The Khan of Khans - Chapter 2, The Mongoliad
• This Is How My Father Hunted - Chapter 6, The Mongoliad
• The Parting of the Veil - Chapter 8, The Mongoliad
• The Needs of the Empire - Chapter 10, The Mongoliad
• To Save the Empire - Chapter 15, The Mongoliad
• The Needs of Men - Chapter 18, The Mongoliad
• Naked, Upon the Steppes - Chapter 18b, The Mongoliad
• To The Place of The Cliff - Chapter 23, The Mongoliad
• Pillow Fight - Chapter 29, The Mongoliad
• Lian's Dagger - Chapter 30, The Mongoliad
• Munokhoi's Folly - Chapter 34, The Mongoliad
• Seeking Spirits - Chapter 40, The Mongoliad
• In The Aftermath - Chapter 41, The Mongoliad
• In The Shadow of Burqan-qaldun - Chapter 43, The Mongoliad
• The Gift of the Spirits - Chapter 45, The Mongoliad
• The Night of the Fish Gutter - Chapter 45b, The Mongoliad
• A Day of Rest - Chapter 46, The Mongoliad
• The Nerge - Chapter 46c, The Mongoliad
• Mongol-a-Mongol - Chapter 47, The Mongoliad
• The Cave of the Great Bear - Chapter 49b, The Mongoliad
• Forest Spirits - Chapter 55, The Mongoliad
• Plans, Gone Awry - Chapter 56, The Mongoliad
• Ögedei's Legacy - Chapter 57, The Mongoliad
• A Tree Has Many Branches - Epilogue, The Mongoliad