Genghis Khan had a number of sons, of whom the four sons by his principal wife Börte — Jochi, Chagatai, Ögedei, and Tolui — were the most important. The four sons founded the four major imperial lines of the Mongol Empire, and their descendants ruled the various khanates for the next two centuries and more. Genghis Khan also had a number of sons by his other wives and concubines, but the four sons by Börte were the most important, and they are the ones who are most often referred to as “Genghis Khan’s sons” in the historical record.
The four sons by Börte were the founders of the four imperial lines, and they are among the most important figures in the history of the Mongol world. The lines founded by the four sons eventually came to rule the Golden Horde, the Chagatai Khanate, the central khanate, and the Yuan Dynasty, respectively, and the four lines together constituted the imperial family of the Mongol world.
Jochi (c. 1182-1227)
Jochi was the eldest son of Genghis Khan and the founder of the line that would rule the Golden Horde. Jochi’s relationship with his father was complicated by the circumstances of his birth: he was born after Börte’s kidnapping by the Merkit, and there was a question of his paternity. Genghis Khan treated Jochi as his own son, but the question of his paternity was used by his enemies to challenge his claims, particularly by Chagatai, who at one point refused to recognize Jochi as a legitimate successor.
Jochi was a capable military commander, and he played an important role in the early Mongol campaigns, particularly in the campaigns against the Merkit and the Keraite. Jochi was also the commander of the western campaigns in the 1220s, and he led several major campaigns into Central Asia and the Caucasus. Jochi died in 1227, shortly before Genghis Khan himself, and his line ruled the Golden Horde until the sixteenth century.
Jochi’s sons — Batu, Orda, Berke, and others — were the founders of the various lines of the Golden Horde. The most important of these was Batu, who led the Mongol invasion of Europe in the 1240s and who founded the line of khans that ruled the Golden Horde proper. The descendants of Jochi are still represented in the political and cultural life of the Central Asian republics, and the Jochid lineage is still recognized as a mark of distinction.
Chagatai (c. 1183-1242)
Chagatai was the second son of Genghis Khan and the founder of the line that would rule the Chagatai Khanate. Chagatai was a traditionalist and a conservative, and he enforced the traditional Mongol way of life in his territories with considerable rigor. Chagatai was reportedly opposed to the adoption of sedentary customs by the Mongol ruling class, and he is reported to have spoken in favor of the traditional steppe life at the kurultai of 1206.
Chagatai was also known for his strict enforcement of the Yassa code of law and for his reputation for personal integrity. Chagatai’s khanate, which he ruled from 1226 until his death in 1242, included most of Central Asia, from the Amu Darya and Syr Darya in the west to the Tarim Basin in the east. The khanate was the most conservative of the four khanates, and it was the one that most closely preserved the traditional Mongol way of life.
Chagatai’s descendants ruled the Chagatai Khanate until the late fourteenth century, when the khanate was absorbed by the Timurid Empire. The most famous of the Chagatai descendants was Timur (Tamerlane), who claimed descent from Chagatai through a complex line of succession. The Timurid Empire was a major patron of Islamic culture, and the Timurid court at Samarkand and Herat was one of the major cultural centers of the medieval world.
Ögedei (c. 1186-1241)
Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and the second great khan of the Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan had originally intended to designate his fourth son, Tolui, as his successor, but Tolui was passed over in favor of Ögedei. The decision was based on a number of factors, including Ögedei’s military ability, his political prudence, and his willingness to follow his father’s wishes.
Ögedei was elected great khan at a kurultai in 1229, two years after the death of Genghis Khan. Under his rule, the Mongol armies conquered Russia, Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Persia, much of the Middle East, Korea, and parts of China. The Mongol postal system, the yam, was expanded into a continental network under his rule, and the foundations of the Mongol administrative system were laid.
Ögedei died in 1241, and his line ruled the central khanate until the Toluid Civil War of 1260-1264, when the line was effectively excluded from the succession. The most important of Ögedei’s sons was Güyük, who was elected great khan in 1246 and who ruled for two years before his death in 1248. The most famous of Ögedei’s grandsons was Kaidu, who ruled a substantial portion of Central Asia from his base in the Ili Valley and who was the most consistent opponent of the Toluid line.
Tolui (c. 1191-1232)
Tolui was the fourth son of Genghis Khan and the father of the great khans Möngke and Kublai. Tolui was reportedly the favorite of Genghis Khan, and he was given several important military commands in the early years of the empire. Tolui led the campaign against the Western Xia in 1226-1227 and the campaign against the Jin Dynasty in 1231-1232.
Tolui was not a khan himself — he predeceased his father and never ruled the empire — but his sons went on to become the most successful of the imperial line. Tolui’s eldest son, Möngke, was elected great khan in 1251 and ruled the empire until his death in 1259. Tolui’s second son, Kublai, was elected great khan in 1260 and ruled the empire until his death in 1294. Kublai founded the Yuan Dynasty in China in 1271, and the Yuan Dynasty lasted until 1368.
Tolui’s line was the most successful of the four imperial lines. The descendants of Tolui ruled the Yuan Dynasty in China from 1271 to 1368, the Northern Yuan in Mongolia from 1368 to the seventeenth century, and they have a continuing presence in the political and cultural life of Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. The Toluid legacy is one of the most important political traditions of the Mongol world.
Sources
- John Man, Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Legacy (London, 2004).
- Igor de Rachewiltz, ed., The Secret History of the Mongols (2 vols., Brill, 2004–2013).
- Paul Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy (Oxford, 1991).