The Succession of Ögedei Khan and Mongol Expansion
After two years of interregnum following Genghis Khan’s death, his son Ögedei ascended as the Great Khan in 1229. His reign (1229–1241) marked a period of relentless expansion, with Mongol forces striking simultaneously across Eurasia—stretching nearly 5,000 miles from China to Europe. In the East, the Mongols annihilated the remnants of the Jin Dynasty in 1234 and turned their sights on the Southern Song, whose fierce resistance prolonged the conflict for 45 years before their eventual fall. Meanwhile, Genghis Khan’s grandson Batu led a 150,000-strong army westward into Europe. By 1237, they had crossed the Volga River, ravaging Russian principalities and seizing Moscow, then a minor town. By March 1238, Batu’s forces neared Novgorod but retreated southward, wary of spring mud impeding their cavalry.
In 1240, the Mongols struck southern Russia, sacking Kyiv with such brutality that a contemporary monk lamented survivors “envied the dead.” The following year, they pushed into Poland and Hungary, crushing a 30,000-strong German army at Liegnitz and advancing to the Adriatic coast. The death of Ögedei in 1242 halted their momentum; Batu withdrew to the Volga, founding the Golden Horde, named for his gilded tent.
The Mongol Empire at Its Zenith
Under Ögedei’s successors, the Mongols pursued unfinished conquests. In China, Kublai Khan relocated the capital from Karakorum to Beijing, adopting Chinese customs and Confucian rituals while waging protracted wars against the Southern Song. By 1277, Guangzhou fell, cementing Mongol rule. Simultaneously, Hulagu Khan sacked Baghdad in 1258, slaughtering much of its population. Yet the Mongols’ momentum faltered after their 1260 defeat by the Mamluks in Palestine—a turning point that mirrored setbacks in Japan and Java.
The Paradox of Mongol Decline
The empire’s collapse stemmed from demographic and cultural vulnerabilities. As Pushkin noted, the Mongols were “Arabs without Aristotle or algebra”—lacking unifying institutions. Unlike the Arabs, who spread their language and religion, the Mongols assimilated into conquered cultures. Kublai Khan’s sinicization—building Confucian temples and holding imperial ceremonies—symbolized this erosion of identity. Dynastic strife exacerbated the decay: Kublai fought his brother Ariq Böke for the throne, while his cousin Kaidu waged a 40-year civil war in Central Asia.
By 1295, the Ilkhanate in Persia embraced Islam, while the Golden Horde absorbed Orthodox Christian and Islamic influences. Only Mongolia’s heartland retained nomadic traditions, fading into obscurity under Buddhist sway. Venetian traveler Marco Polo observed this cultural dissolution firsthand, noting how Mongols in China and the Levant abandoned their customs for local practices.
The Turkic Resurgence and New Powers
As Mongol unity fractured, Turkic groups filled the vacuum. Timur (Tamerlane), a Muslim Turkic conqueror, rose in 1370, carving an empire from the Mediterranean to China. His death in 1405 triggered rapid disintegration, but his legacy paved the way for Ottoman Turks and India’s Mughals. In Anatolia, Osman I’s principality expanded into the Ottoman Empire, capitalizing on Byzantine divisions. By 1453, they seized Constantinople, reshaping Southeast Europe.
Meanwhile, in India, Turkic sultans extended Delhi’s reach until Timur’s invasion fragmented the region. The resulting Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar clashed with emerging Muslim powers, setting the stage for the Mughal Empire’s later unification.
Legacy of the Mongol World Order
The Mongols’ brief but transformative dominion reshaped trade, culture, and borders. Their decline underscored the limits of conquest without cultural cohesion—a lesson echoed in the empires that succeeded them. From the Ottomans to the Mughals, Eurasia’s post-Mongol order was forged by those who blended martial prowess with institutional endurance, leaving indelible marks on global history.