The Mongol Civil War That Began at a Funeral

When Ögedei Khan died in 1241, the Mongol Empire paused its European conquests for a kurultai that would never come. Instead, his widow Töregene seized power, beginning a succession crisis that pitted the bloodlines of Genghis Khan's sons against each other. This episode follows the power struggle between the houses of Ögedei and Tolui, focusing on the deadly rivalry between Genghis's grandson Shiremun and Tolui's son Möngke. We explore how Mongol customs of inheritance—where any descendant of Genghis could claim the throne—created a civil war fought not just with armies but with family alliances, betrayals, and a controversial kurultai in 1251 that left the empire permanently fractured. Along the way, we meet Sorghaghtani Beki, the Nestorian Christian princess who outmaneuvered her rivals, and Güyük, the short-lived khan whose death in 1248 set the stage for open conflict. This is the story of how the Mongol Empire's own family tree became its undoing. #MongolEmpire #GedeiKhan #TRegene #Shiremun #MNgkeKhan #SorghaghtaniBeki #GYKKhan #Kurultai #Yassa #Jochids #Tolui #GenghisKhan #SuccessionCrisis #CivilWar #CentralAsia #13thCentury #SteppeHistory #FexingoHistory #KublaiKhan #YuanDynasty Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo