Years in Power
Soldiers (in 1258 CE)
Size (sq mi) in 1279
Estimated Death Toll
The first born son of Yesugei and his second wife, Hoelun, Temujin went on to become Khan of the Mongol Empire
The second born son of Yesugei and Hoelun, he led Mongol armies that conquered territories that would later be known as Manchuria, Korea, and Eastern Russia (north of Korea)
The third born son of Yesugei and Hoelun, and of all the brothers, he had the strongest relationship with Temujin.
The youngest son, he seems to have been the least warlike of the brothers, and was criticized by Temujin for being lazy and shiftless.
The only legitimate sister of Temujin, she was killed either during a battle with the Shah Ala-ud-din or afterwards in a ploy by the shaman, Kokochu.
The younger half-brother of Temujin, who later became one of his generals.
The oldest son of Yesugei and half-brother to Temujin, he was killed as a teenager by his brothers Temujin and Qasar.
Born a member of the Olkhunut tribe, she was given to Temujin as bride at a young age. They married when she was 17. She gave birth to four sons and five daughters.
An early supporter of Temujin, but later turned on him. He is also the father of Tolui's wife, Sorghaghtani. He was the leader of the Khereid tribe, who during his lifetime would acquire the titles of Ong Khan and Wang Khan, bestowed by the Chinese Jin Dynasty.
Jealous of the close relationship between his father and Temujin, he plotted the death of Temujin. The plot was found out and he was defeated in battle. Not long after, Toghrul sided with Temujin's rival tribe.
An early ally to Temujin's family, he later was his chief rival for the loyalty of the Mongols.
He is one of the most successful generals of all time. He lead more than twenty campaigns in which he conquered thirty-two nations and won sixty-five pitched battles. He conquered or overran more territory than any other commander in history.
Jebe one campaigns against Kuchlug of the Kara-Khitan Empire, and along with Subutai defeated the Rus at the battle of the Kalka River and expanded the Mongol Empire into China, and Central Asia.
The son of the guard who had helped a young Temujin escape from imprisonment, Chilaun went on to become one of Genghis' primary generals.
He was defeated in battle three different times by the Mongols. When Temujin absorbed his Naiman tribe (Nestorian Christians) into his own, it was the last obstacle to overcome before being elected Genghis Khan.
He was the second son to Mongol war chief Yesugei Baghatur and first son of Hoelun, Yesugei's second wife, who was abducted from the Olkhunut tribe.
1162At the age of nine, his father was murdered and his father's tribe abandoned Temujin, his mother, two half-brothers, three full-brothers, and a sister on the brutal Mongolian Steppe.
1171After many years of living in the wild, Temujin's older half-brother, Behtor, was killed by Temujin and his brother Qasar, after a fight over a fresh kill after a hunt.
1174Temujin is captured in a raid by another Mongol tribe, but released by a sympathetic guard. The guard's son, Chilaun, will later become one of Temujin's generals. Around this time Temujin and his family are also joined by future generals Jelme and Bo'orchu. As prearranged by Temujin's father, at the age of 16 Temujin marries Borte Ujin, of the Onggirat tribe.
1177Borte is kidnapped by three members of a tribe called the Merkits, and she was quickly taken as a wife by one of the tribesman. Temujin, with the help of his anda (sworn brother) Jamukha, took her back and killed her captors.
1184Temujin's first son is born. But with Borte's abduction having been just nine months before this, it was unclear, even to Temujin, if he was the biological father.
1185After many battles with other tribes and collecting many small, independent tribes within Mongolian Steppes under his banner, and after a famous Shaman named Kokochu declares that the Sky God has set aside the world to be ruled by Temujin, he is elected to be the ruler of the Mongols.
1186Chagatai was considered volatile by his relatives, probably stemming from his attitude of non-acceptance of his older brother Jochi.
1187Since childhood, he was considered to be his father's favorite son.
1189At the age of five he was saved from certain death, by the hand of a Tatar warrior, by his sister and two of his father's warriors.
1190Temujin is betrayed by his jealous sworn-brother, Jamukha, and is defeated by an army of 30,000 warriors.
1197Temujin and what was left of his Mongol tribe joined the Khan of the Khereid tribe, Toghrul, and the Jin Dynasty in a battle versus the Tatars. Finding himself on the victorious side he regained some political power.
1198After Temujin refused to marry Jochi to Toghrul's daughter, and a battle took place between followers of Toghrul's son, Senggum, and Temujin, the Khereid tribe joined with Jamukha's tribe to oppose Temujin's Mongols. This time Temujin won, Toghrul was killed, and Jamukha escaped.
1200 Watch BattleAfter a large meeting of the Mongols to vote on who should lead them was held, known as a kurultai, Jamukha was elected Gur Khan (Chief of Khans).
1201Temujin assembled an army of dissenters and by 1206 had defeated Jamukha and won the loyalty of the Mongol nation.
1202 Watch BattleThe oldest son of Jochi, Orda, is born.
1204Temujin's Mongols, with the genius help of the newly acquired General Subutai, go on to defeat Kuchlug and the Naiman tribe to complete the consolidation of the Mongolian state. Another kurultai (election) is held and Temujin is named Genghis Khan (Universal Ruler). Guyuk, eldest son of Ogedei, is also born this year.
1206The son of Jochi, Batu, is born.
1208The oldest son of Tolui and future Khagan, Mongke, is born.
1209By this time Genghis' Mongols had subsumed the Uyghur Turks into his growing empire as administrators, who formed the first written Mongol language. They had also conquered the western part of the Xia Dynasty, which controlled parts of Tibet and Western China.
2010 More InfoGenghis Khan began another campaign against a Chinese Dynasty in 1210 leading his army over the Gobi desert to eventually capture the capital of the Jin Dynasty, Zhongdu. Kublai, son of Tolui and future Khagan and Emperor of China, is born.
1215Genghis conquers Kashgar (the Western-most city in modern-day China) and into Transoxiana (modern day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, southern Kyrgyzstan and south-west Kazakhstan). Shah Muhammad, ruler of the Khwarezmian empire (modern-day Central Asia, Iran, and Afghanistan), executes three Mongol envoys, seemingly without cause.
1218Genghis avenges the deaths by completely annihilating Khwarezm cities (including Samarkand, Bukhara, Otrar, and Urgench), destroying countless historical artifacts and records, and massacring people in untold numbers.
1221A Mongol force under the command of generals Jebe and Subutai advanced into Iraq-i Ajam (modern-day Iran) and began their invasion of Eastern Europe with a raid into Georgia, killing its king. They go on to defeat a coalition of Caucasian tribes and then the Cumans (a powerful, nomadic warrior tribe of the Eurasian steppe).
1222The Cuman Khan fled with what was left of his warriors and joined forces with his son-in-law, Prince Mstislav the Bold, and some other Rus princes, including Mstislav III of Kiev. The Mongols crushed them and returned to Mongolia.
1223Jochi, perhaps with the realization that he will probably not inherit the Mongol Empire when his father dies, begins to plot against his father from his territory in modern-day Kazakhstan. Genghis, hearing of this, sends for his eldest son, but upon refusal to come, Genghis sends out an army with Chagatai and Ogedei to physically retrieve him. Before they arrive it becomes known that Jochi has died (possibly poisoned at the request of Genghis). Jochi's son, Orda, is also born this year.
1226There are many stories as to how Genghis died: including falling from a horse while on a hunt, being hit with a poison arrow in his last battle, or being stabbed by a Chinese princess. His body was brought from China to his near his birthplace in Mongolia and buried in secret. Genghis Khan left behind an army of more than 129,000 warriors and a vast empire.
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The first born son of Genghis, his death preceded that of his father. He successfully conquered the forest people of Siberia and participated in the campaign against the Kwarezm Empire.
The second born son of Genghis, he was given Central Asia and Northern Iran to rule for the Mongol Empire, establishing a khanate (sub-empire) that lasted for over a hundred years after his death.
The third born son of Genghis, and his hand-picked successor as Khagan (Khan of Khans) of the Mongol Empire. It was his vision that built a new capital city and sent his brothers and generals out to further expand the empire.
As the youngest son, per Mongol tradition, he and his mother, Borte, technically inherited rule as regents over the Mongols upon the death of his father. Tolui supported Ogedei when the kurultai (election) occurred two years later.
His first acts are to send out his brothers to expand the empire and establish the Mongolian capital of Karakorum.
1229When the Mongols demanded tribute from Gojong, King of Goryeo (Korea), the envoy was killed and as the Kwarezm Empire discovered, the Mongol Khans don't take kindly to envoy-cide. The Mongol army, went around the Korean army and captured their capital. The Mongols advanced further into the country and fought a slave army to the death (of the Korean slaves) and King Gojong finally gave in and came to terms with the Mongols which included 10,000 otter skins, 20,000 horses, 10,000 bolts of silk, clothing for 1,000,000 soldiers and a large number of children and craftsmen who would become slaves and servants of the Mongol empire. The Mongol army left behind 72 administrative officials to organize the collection of tribute.
1231General Subutai led the siege of the capital city of the Jin Dynasty. Despite the Chinese use of gunpowder (including bombs launched by trebuchets and fire-lances, which were spears with gunpowder tubes attached that shot out flames up to three meters), by 1233 the Jin Emperor had fled the city and the general left in charge surrendered to the Mongols, who went on to sack the city.
1232The Mongols besieged the city of Caizhou and the Jin emperor, with nowhere left to run, committed suicide. His successor died two days later, and the Jin Dynasty, after a twenty year battle, was incorporated into the Mongol Empire.
1234Karakorum was constructed by Chinese and Muslim artisans in central Mongolia (near the modern-day city of Kharkhorin). A large silver tree, sculpted by a Parisian artist, was at the center of the city. Ogedei also erected several houses of worship for his Buddhist, Muslim, Taoist, and Christian followers.
1235The Mongols begin their renewed campaign into Europe and also turn towards a war with the Song Dynasty.
1236Tolui's son, Mongke, sued for a peaceful submission of Kiev, but his envoy's were killed. So, he and Jochi's son, Batu, besieged the city with catapults, breached the walls, sacked the wealthy city, and massacred 96% of the population.
1240After a drinking bout, Ogedei succumbs to alcohol poisoning.
1241A combined force of Poles, Czechs, and Germans under the command of the Polish Duke Henry II the Pious of Silesia, supported by feudal nobility and a few knights from military orders sent by the Pope, attempted to check the Mongol advancement into Europe, and failed miserably. Before they hear of the death of their Khan, Batu and Subutai go on to attack the kingdom of Hungary, sending King Bela into exile in Austria, and leading to the massacre of 15-25 percent of the Hungarian population. The Mongols then push their campaign into Bulgaria.
1242The Seljuks of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) become a part of the Mongol Empire.
1243
The first born son of Jochi, he participated in the subjugation of Russia and became the first Khan of the Blue Horde (Golden Horde territory East of the Volga River), which was subordinate to his younger brother Batu.
Son of Jochi, he was the founder of the Golden Horde (or Kipchak Khanate), which ruled Rus, Volga Bulgaria, Cumania, and the Caucasus for around 250 years.
He is the oldest son of Ogedei Khan. He was elected Khagan five years after the death of his father, taking over regency of the empire from his mother, Toregene.
The eldest son of Tolui, he was the next to be elected Khan after the death of Guyuk. He made many administrative reforms in his short time as Khan, and also sent out his brothers to expand the Empire.
Kublai's campaign against the Song Dynasty was interrupted by the death of Mongke and his objection to his brother, Ariq Boke, being elected as Great Khan. He won the subsequent civil war and eventually went on to defeat the Song Dynasty and establish the Yuan Dynasty.
The second youngest of Tolui's sons, he is best known for expanding the Empire's Western borders including the sack and occupation of Baghdad, which at the time was the cultural capital of the Muslim world. He sided with Kublai during the Toluid Civil War and became Khan of the Il-khanate.
The youngest of Tolui's sons, Ariq Boke was in charge of the capital at the time of his brother, Mongke's, death. He was elected to be the next Khan, but was ultimately overthrown by his brother Kublai, and pardoned for having accepting the election results.
The son of Ogedei finally takes over from his mother in an impressive ceremony that is attended by important foreign dignitaries from Eastern Europe and all over Asia. An ambassador from Pope Innocent IV, John of Plano Carpini, presented Guyuk Khan a letter from the Pope.
1246 Read the LettersGenghis' youngest brother, Temuge, who had attempted to take the throne before Guyuk was elected, is executed.
1246Guyuk was uncertain if Batu Khan truly accepted him as his Khagan of the Empire and sent for him to come to the capital and pledge his allegiance. Batu brought a large army with him, after being warned that Guyuk was planning on arresting him. So, Guyuk set out with his own large army which probably would have led to a massive battle, except that Guyuk mysteriously died on the way to meet Batu.
1248In a heavily contested election, Mongke Khan, the eldest son of Tolui, becomes Khagan with the support of his brothers and his cousin Batu. Many of those who opposed him with either exiled or killed.
1251The Mongols provoked another war with the Goryeo Dynasty (Korea) which ravaged the country and ended with the future King of Korea as hostage in 1258.
1252Guyuk's brother, Hulagu Khan, is sent out to found a khanate in the Middle East. He begins by destroying the Nizari Ismailis (AKA Assassins or Hashashins), an order of trained killers who inhabited fortresses carved out of mountain sides.
1256Under the leadership of Uriyangkhadai and Aju, the son and grandson of Subutai respectively, the Mongol Army invaded Đại Việt (Vietnam). Facing an army of Vietnamese war elephants, the Mongol archers sent fire arrows causing the animals to panic and stampede. Vietnam became a vassal state and Thăng Long (Hanoi) was sacked.
1257The Mongols attempted to assert authority over the Abbasid Calliphate, which were former allies of Genghis Khan in his war against Khwarezm, by threatening the city of Baghdad. When Caliph Al-Musta'sim resisted, Hulagu's Mongols besieged their capital (Baghdad) and within 12 days the city had surrendered. The Grand Library of Baghdad was destroyed, the caliph was captured (and executed by rolling him up in a rug and trampling him with horses), and hundreds of thousands of citizens were slaughtered.
1258While conducting a war against the Song Dynasty, Mongke dies of dysentery (although other causes of death are listed in various sources). The Mongol Khans throughout the Mongol empire are recalled back to Karakorum to elect the next Khagan.
1259In the absence of Hulagu Khan, General Kitbuqa (a Nestorian Christian) led an army that consisted of Mongols, Georgians, Armenians, and Franks (knights stationed in Antioch) that captured Aleppo and Damascus. But the Mamluks of Egypt, now the most important Muslim power in the world, join up with some crusader knights from Acre and in the Battle of Ain Jalut push the Mongols back across the Tigris River, killing General Kitbuqa in the process. Ironically, the Mamluks, were a caste of warrior slaves from the Cuman, Alan, and Circassian tribes, who were originally sold to Egypt by the Mongols in 1238. Hulagu's later attempts to regain the territory, including the First Battle of Homs, fail.
1260The two youngest sons of Tolui Khan both declare themselves to be Khagan. Ariq-Boke, who had control of the Mongol homeland while Mongke was campaigning against the Song Dynasty, holds an election before Kublai could return from his own campaign against the Song, and is elected as Khagan. In the meantime, Kublai proclaims himself to be Khagan and returns to Karakorum so that the other Khans could pledge their allegiance. Finding that his brother Ariq-Boke had already been elected Khan, he gained the support of Ariq-Boke's former ally, Kadan, and cut off the supply lines around Karakorum. In the meantime,
1260Another effect of the Toluid Civil War was that Berke, successor of his brother Batu as Khan of the Golden Horde and supporter of Ariq-Boke, sided with the Egyptian Mamluks against Hulagu and the Il-Khanate, who supported Kublai. The attacking armies in both major conflicts of this side civil war lost.
1262Kublai defeated Ariq-Boke in a number of battles, eventually capturing him. Kublai holds an election to confirm his Khaganate, despite the continued Berke-Hulagu War. Later in the year Hulagu and Berke die within months of each other, as does Alghu Khan of the Chagatai Khanate.
1264The former Khagan dies in prison, possibly poisoned at the request of Kublai Khan.
1266Kaidu of the Chagatai Khanate, leader of the descendants of Ogedei, allies with the Golden Horde to oppose Kublai Khan. This slow-burning civil war lasted 30 years until the death of Kaidu in 1301. The Mongol Empire is mostly fractured, with varying tribute and support going to Kublai and his Yuan Dynasty
1269Kublai Khan, who now has control over most of China, declares his territory to be a Chinese dynasty and within a few years paper money (the Yuan) is issued by his decree.
1271The first Mongol invasion of Japan is successful until one-third of their ships were destroyed in a typhoon and they retreated to Korea. Also this year, the last independent Russian city-state, Smolensk, falls to the Golden Horde.
1274 Watch BattleIn 1275 a force of 300,000 Song Dynasty soldiers was defeated by the Yuan Dynasty and in 1276 captured the Song capital of Hangzhou, which at the time was the wealthiest city in China. Song loyalists escaped from the capital and enthroned a five-year-old child as Emperor Bing. The Mongols defeated the last remaining Song army at the battle of Yamen in 1279. Emporer Bing was picked up by a government official who jumped into the ocean, drowning them both in protest, bringing an end to the Song dynasty and the reunification of China for the first time in three hundred years.
1279 Watch Battle
