- Güyük Khan
[
Pope Innocent IV .] Güyük (cyrillic:Гүюг хаан; "c". 1206–1248) was the third Great Khan of theMongol Empire . He was the son ofÖgedei Khan , grandson ofGenghis Khan , and reigned from 1246 to 1248. His brother wasKadan .Early life
Güyük received military training and served as an officer under Genghis and Ögedei. In 1233, he conquered the short-lived Dongxia Kingdom of
Puxian Wannu .He participated in the invasion of
Russia and eastern Europe in 1236-1241 with other Mongol princes, including his cousin Batu. During the course of the invasion, Güyük quarreled violently with Batu and was recalled for a time to Mongolia. This breach between the families of Jöchi and Ögedei, the first and third sons of Genghis Kahn, would widen over time and prove the ultimate downfall of the Mongol Empire.In the meantime Ögedei had died in 1241, and his widow
Töregene had taken over asregent , a position of great influence and authority which she used to advocate for her son Güyük. Batu withdrew fromEurope so that he might have some influence over thesuccession , but despite his delaying tactics, Töregene succeeded in getting Güyük elected Khan in 1246.Enthronement (1246)
Guyuk's enthronement on 24 August 1246, near the Mongol capital at
Karakorum , was attended by a large number of foreign ambassadors: theFranciscan friar and envoy ofPope Innocent IV , John of Plano Carpini; the Grand Duke of MoscowYaroslav II of Vladimir ; the incumbents for the throne of Georgia; the brother of the king of Armenia and historian,Sempad the Constable ; the future Seljuk Sultan of Rum,Kilij Arslan IV ; and ambassadors of theAbbasid Caliphate and of the emperor ofIndia . [Jean-Paul Roux, "L'Asie Centrale", p.312] According to John of Plano Carpini, Güyük's formal election in a great "kurultai ", or diet of the tribes, took place while his company was at a camp called "Sira Orda", or "Yellow Pavilian," along with 3,000 to 4,000 visitors from all parts ofAsia andeastern Europe , bearinghomage , tribute, and presents. They afterwards witnessed the formal enthronement at another camp in the vicinity called the "Golden Ordu," after which they were presented to the emperor.Reign (1246-1248)
Güyük reversed several unpopular edicts of his mother the regent and made a surprisingly capable khan, appointing
Eljigidei in Persia in preparation for an attack onBaghdad and pursuing the war against theSong Dynasty . He was, nevertheless, insecure and won the disapproval of his subjects by executing several high-ranking officials of the previous regime for treason. Although Batu did not support Guyuk's election seriously, he respected the Great Khan as tradionalist and sentAndrey andAlexander Nevsky toKarakorum inMongolia in 1247 after their father's death. Guyuk appointed Andrey Grand Duke ofVladimir and Alexander prince ofKiev . In 1248, he demanded Batu come towards Mongolia to meet him, a move that some contemporaries regarded as a pretext for Batu's arrest. In compliance with the order, Batu approached bringing a large army. Güyük prepared for battle, and civil war seemed imminent.The showdown never happened— Güyük died in route, in what is now
Xinjiang ; he had succumbed at about the age of forty-two to the combined effects of alcoholism and gout. His widowOghul Qaimish took over as regent, but she would be unable to keep the succession within her branch of the family.Möngke succeeded as Khan in 1251.Genghis Khan's sons and grandsons, were haunted by alcoholism, a vice that Genghis himself had detested. Despite this, Genghis himself once remarked that it was not realistic to expect a man not to get drunk on occasion. The death of Güyük had a profound effect on history. Güyük wanted to turn the Mongol power against Europe. Because of Güyük's premature death, Mongol family politics caused the Mongol efforts to be directed against southern China, which was eventually conquered in the time of
Kublai Khan .Güyük's reign showed that the split between Batu's line, the descendants of Jöchi, and the rest of the family was the fatal flaw in the unity of all the Mongol Empire. The civil war which split the empire into rival khanates might well have occurred in Güyük's time had he not died early. Batu eventually backed Möngke and helped to establish him as Great Khan, thereby replacing the house of Ögodei with that of
Tolui .Oghul Qaimish, whom Möngke had called "more contemptible than a bitch" to a European visitor, was executed after Batu and Möngke affected the family coup.
Notes
References
*
Jean-Paul Roux , "L'Asie Centrale", Paris, 1997, ISBN 978-2-213-59894-9External links
* [http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/h/hakluyt/voyages/carpini/ Plano Carpini's account of the Mongols.]
* [http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/CE_CRUSA.HTM Catholic Encyclopedia, "The Crusades"]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.