THE EXPANSION OF THE MONGOL EMPIRE UNDER BATU 1241  (H3)

xxxxxAs we have seen, Genghis Khan became ruler of the Mongols in 1206 (JO). By the year of his death, 1227, his empire stretched from the Black Sea in the west to the Yellow Sea in the east, and from Siberia in the north to the edge of South East Asia in the south - the largest area any one man has controlled. This vast land was then divided into four Khanates (or kingdoms). In the west, Genghis Khan's grandson, Batu, moved into central Europe and by 1241 all of European Russia was under his control. Western Europe was the next target, but in December of that year the Emperor, Ogodei, died, and Batu hurried home to take part in the battle for succession. He never returned to the west. Elsewhere, as we shall see, in 1258 another of Genghis Khan's grandsons, Hulegu, was planning an attack on the world of Islam, and in 1260 Kublai Khan was preparing to invade China.

xxxxxAs we have seen, Genghis Khan became ruler of the Mongol peoples in 1206 (JO) and seven years later embarked upon a military campaign which was to create an empire stretching over vast tracts of Asia. He began his conquest of northern China in 1213, had captured Peking by 1215, occupied the Korean peninsula by 1218, and, before invading India and Russia, had conquered Khwarezm, a vast empire stretching across modern Iraq and Iran and parts of Turkestan. When he died in 1227 after falling from his horse, his territory extended from the Black Sea in the west to the Yellow Sea in the east, and Siberia in the north to the northern borders of South East Asia in the south. It was, in fact, the largest area that any one man has ever controlled.


xxxxxOn his death the empire was divided among the sons of his primary wife, as was the custom, and four Khanates or kingdoms came into existence: the Great Khanate (later led by Kublai Khan), the Hulagu Khanate in Persia, the Chagstai Khanate in Turkestan, and the Khanate of the Golden Horde, later established by Batu Khan in southern Russia.


xxxxxUnder Genghis Khan's successor, Ogodei, expansion continued at a rapid pace. The Emperor himself launched an attack on the Chin dynasty of northern China, a task continued by Kublai Khan in 1251, whilst in the west, Batu-Khan, the commander-in-chief (illustrated), began the invasion of central Europe. By early 1241 his armies had conquered European Russia, including the cities of Kiev and Moscow, and advanced into Poland, Hungary and the Danube valley, burning, pillaging and killing as they went. The states of Western Europe were now marked out as the next target but, fortunately for them, the invasion never took place. In December 1241 Ogodei died, and Batu withdrew his forces, hurrying back home to take part in the struggle for the succession. This over, he never returned to the west, but established the Golden Horde in Russia, a mixture of Turkish and Mongol people who were destined under him and his successors to govern vast areas of today's Russian Federation.


xxxxxElsewhere, as we shall see, in 1258 another grandson of Ghengis Khan, Hulegu, was busy extending Mongol rule into the world of Islam, and in 1260 Kublai Khan was about to embark on the conquest of China.

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Acknowledgement

Batu: date and artist unknown.