9. The Division of the Mongol Empire Among the Great Conqueror’s Sons
The designation of Ogedei as Genghis Khan’s successor averted the risk of a ruinous civil war between his sons Jochi and Chagatai if either of them had been named instead. Genghis’ four sons by Borte were given conquered realms over which they were to rule as khans and expand via more conquest, but they were to remain subject to the overall suzerainty of their brother Ogedei. Jochi was given the lands north of Mongolia and everything “as far west as Mongol horse hooves may tread”. That was potentially the greatest realm, as it presumably granted him rights of conquest over everything as far west as Europe’s Atlantic coast.
Jochi did not get that far, but he and his successors eventually established the Golden Horde, which ruled much of the Eurasian Steppe, Russia, and extended into Eastern Europe. Chagatai got today’s Central Asian states, while Tului got the Mongol heartland. Ogedei got China and everything south, plus overlordship of his other brothers. Genghis intended for the Mongol Empire to remain united under a Great Khan, but it eventually fractured into separate khanates, or hordes, along the lines of the division among his sons.
