In 1223 Chinggis returned to Mongolia, and he died there in 1227. Two years later the Mongol chieftains elected Chinggis’s third son, Ogedei (1186-1241), the new Great Khan. By Mongol tradition, Chinggis’s empire was divided among his four sons, though the other brothers recognized Ogedei as the Great Khan of the empire. He set up his capital at Karakorum, north of today’s Arvayheer, and focused his military attention on the Jin. The ultimate Mongol victory in 1234 meant that half of East Asia’s greatest civilization was under the control of nomads who historically had no use for formal education, structured government, and fine arts-all trademarks of Chinese civilization. A few years later, Korea and Tibet were added to the Mongol Empire, and Ogedei also launched the first Mongol attacks on the territory controlled by the southern Chinese Song Dynasty.
Ogedei also turned his sights to the west. His generals conquered what is today Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, then forced the rulers in what is today Turkey and Iraq to pay tribute to them. Eventually, Mongol forces took control of the western steppes that stretched beyond Russia’s Volga River into Hungary. The Mongols were prepared to stay in Hungary and make it a base for further expansion into Europe, but the death of Ogedei late in 1241 changed their plans. The khan’s relatives and other important leaders had to return to Karakorum to choose the next Great Khan. Just as suddenly as the Mongols had swept into Europe, they left, although a large force remained in Russia. The Russians later called the Mongols’ mini-empire the Golden Horde.
World History
