The Civil War

In the lead up to the Toluid Civil War, Kublai Khan had the upper hand. He controlled most of the supply lines that would have helped his younger brother, Ariq Böke, and had resources coming from China.

One of Kublai's first successes was against an ally of Ariq in northwestern China, from whom he captured food supplies intended for Ariq's army. He also drove Ariq supporters out of their homes in several towns. Ariq's attempts to attack Kublai's territory in southwestern China was turned away by Kublai's Chinese allies, whom he rewarded handsomely with gifts of silk and silver and with administrative positions.

Ariq's allies abandoned him, except for one: Alghu of the Chagatai Khanate (Chagatai was a son of Genghis Khan; Alghu was a grandson of Chagatai). Ariq named Alghu head of the Chagatai Khanate after the previous khan died, and the Chagatai Khanate became an important source of supplies for Ariq's army.

In 1261, Ariq and Kublai's armies met in battle, during which Ariq called for a retreat. Ten days later he returned and engaged a small contingent of Kublai's army, but could not achieve victory. By this time, Kublai's army had been advancing and occupying much of Mongolia. Ariq asked for help from Alghu, but Alghu saw that the victor of the civil war was likely to be Kublai, and changed allegiance.

Back in southern China, a rebellion took place that required Kublai to take his main force to quell it. With the immediate threat of Kublai gone, Ariq chose to attack his once-ally, Alghu. Ariq's attack on the Chagatai Khanate disillusioned several of his supporters. Ürüng, son of the previous Grand Khan Möngke, had been an ally, but he left Ariq and pledged his loyalty to Kublai instead.

Ariq, running out of allies, and lacking resources to feed and arm an army, turned himself over to Kublai in 1264 at Shangdu (also known as Xanadu), ending four years of hostility. Ariq was imprisoned and ignored by Kublai for an entire year.

Kublai purged the government of officials who were loyal to Ariq, executing some. He called a kurultai to decide what Ariq's fate should be and to officially make himself Grand Khan. Of the four Khanates of Genghis Khan's four sons, none of the others attended this kurultai called by the Toluid Khanate. Two of the khanates were fighting each other, and the Ögedei Khanate was still angry that the Grand Khan position had been maneuvered away from them years earlier.

Kublai would have to deal with other internal threats from those who did not fully accept his role as Grand Khan. Although the four khanates would have ties of trade and culture, they no longer united for military purposes. A united Mongolian Empire was no longer a possible future.

Ariq Böke died of unknown causes while still in prison, in 1266.

Kublai saw soon that his influence on the other khanates was limited, though not non-existent. Tomorrow we'll see him turn to making China his empire.

The Toluid Civil War

When Kublai found out that his younger brother Ariq Böke was making plans to become Grand Khan while Kublai was off subduing the Song Dynasty in China, he was not pleased. Normally, the kurultai that met to decide the next ruler was attended by prominent members of the families of the sons of Genghis Khan (both Kublai and Ariq—pictured here—were grandsons of Genghis through Genghis' youngest son, Tolui).

I suppose the problem was that both boys' uncle Möngke, who had been Grand Khan until his death in 1259, did not nominate a successor. Kublai called a kurultai at Kaiping in China—the first time a kurultai to choose a Grand Khan was called outside of Mongol territory. At it, Kublai was elected Grand Khan. Ariq, who had been making alliances with powerful Mongol chiefs, called a kurultai in the Mongol capital Karakoram that elected him Grand Khan.

Their brother Hulagu wanted to support Kublai, but was detained fighting Mamluks and then dealing with hostility from Berke, current ruler of the Golden Horde (begun by all three brothers' uncle, Batu Khan).

Kublai had Chinese resources behind him. He had been an able administrator, and he promised the Chinese that he could be a benevolent ruler who united Chinese, Mongols, and Koreans. He made grand promises to his potential supporters: lower taxes, rule based on Chinese precedent, and that his era would be one of Zhongtong, "moderate rule."

The Song people in southern China offered no help, but northern China supported him. He had plenty of resources and managed to control three of the four supply lines to Ariq in the capital of Karakoram. Kublai advanced on Karakoram, and Ariq retreated in the only logical direction he had available to him, the way toward the Yenesei River valley in the northwest. Winter set in, forcing Ariq and Kublai to camp and wait for spring.

The Song people of southern China chose this time to rebel, crossing the agreed-upon border of the Yangtze River and recovering some of the territory that Kublai had recently taken. Kublai sent a Chinese diplomat to try to settle the matter, but the diplomat was imprisoned by the Song.

While waiting through the cold season, Kublai continued to gather supplies and recruit soldiers, preparing for civil war. Tomorrow we'll see the results of the fighting.

Kublai, the Early Years

Probably the best-known Khan to modern audiences after Genghis Khan is Kublai Khan, the one we hear about because of Marco Polo.

Kublai was the second son of Sorghaghtani Beki by Tolui, Genghis' youngest son. He was born 23 September 1215. He was raised by a Buddhist nurse at his grandfather's suggestion, a woman whom he treated well all her life.

As a nine-year-old, he was part of a ritual that Genghis performed on his grandsons following a hunt. Kublai and his brother Möngke had killed a rabbit and an antelope, and his grandfather smeared fat from the animals onto the boys' middle fingers. He made a special pronouncement about Kublai: "The words of this boy Kublai are full of wisdom, heed them well – heed them all of you."

After 1236, Kublai was given an estate with 10,000 households, but left local administrators in charge. Those local administrators filled their own pockets with heavy taxes that caused many to leave the territory, which reduced the available tax base. With tax revenue dwindling, Kublai sent new officials picked by his mother who made changes that restored the financial health of his estate.

Kublai loved to learn, and was fascinated by Chinese culture and Buddhism. In 1242 he invited China's leading Buddhist monk to be his guest in Karakorum (the Mongol capital) and teach him more about Buddhism. That monk introduced Kublai to the Buddhist monk Liu Bingzhong, an artist, poet, and mathematician whom Kublai made his advisor. Kublai was known to employ and entertain people of all nationalities.

When Möngke became Grand Khan, Kublai was made viceroy over northern China. He was an able administrator, boosting both agricultural output and social welfare spending. Local Chinese warlords praised him for this. Kublai heard that Tibetan monks had skills at healing. He made a Tibetan Buddhist the director of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs in his administration.

Trouble arose when those jealous of Kublai's power complained to Möngke that Kublai was building his own empire. Möngke sent tax inspectors who went over the "books" and found 142 violations and executed some of the Chinese officials responsible. One of the inspectors was a close friend of Kublai's younger brother, Ariq Böke. (Ariq would become real trouble later.)

In 1258, Möngke asked Kublai to help with an attack on Sichuan. Although Kublai was not required to assist personally (he suffered from gout), he accompanied the army anyway. This meant he was present when word came that Möngke had died. He kept the news secret and continued with the attack. He negotiated with the enemy's representatives and agreed that the Yangtze River would be the border between Mongols and the Song dynasty, in exchange for 200,000 taels (1 tael = 50 grams) of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk annually.

Of course, even though the army and the Song dynasty did not know that Möngke had died, others knew. The debate over the next Great Khan had begun, and Kublai learned that his youngest brother Ariq was raising an army. Kublai hurried back to the capital to find that Ariq had been named Great Khan.

This did not suit him, and he was determined to do something about it. He did, and we'll find out what tomorrow.

Güyük Khan

Genghis Khan had many, many children. There were four sons (Jochi, Chagatai, Ögedei, and Tolui) from whom the future rulers of the Mongol Empire would be drawn. Those four and their sons have been mentioned a lot in the past several blog posts, along with the wives of some.

After Genghis died, the youngest, Tolui, was regent for a short time until the third, Ögedei, was elected as the Grand Khan or Great Khan of the empire. Other sons and grandsons, etc., would be khans in their own right over smaller territories, owing allegiance to the Grand Khan.

Upon Ögedei's death in 1241, one of his wives, Töregene Khatun, was regent until their son Güyük could be officially proclaimed. What was he like?

Born in 1206, he served in the military under his famous grandfather until Genghis' death in 1227, then under his own father. A historian in the Mongol Empire who was a contemporary of Güyük claimed that Güyük was a Christian. A Franciscan friar who traveled into Mongol territory on a papal mission, Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, described him as of "medium stature, very prudent and extremely shrewd, and serious and sedate in his manners."

In 1232, his uncle Tolui died, leaving a widow, Sorghaghtani Beki. It was not unusual for a Mongol widow to re-marry into the family, and Ögedei suggested that Sorghaghtani marry Güyük. She asserted that she needed to stay and raise her four sons.

His coronation did not take place until August 1246, and included 3,000 to 4,000 visitors bearing tributes from all over the empire. In response to Giovanni's letter from Pope Innocent IV, asking that the Mongols cease invading westward, Güyük had a harsh reply. In a letter to the pope, he claimed that Europe must bow down to the Mongol Empire:

"You must say with a sincere heart: 'We will be your subjects; we will give you our strength'. You must in person come with your kings, all together, without exception, to render us service and pay us homage. Only then will we acknowledge your submission. And if you do not follow the order of God, and go against our orders, we will know you as our enemy."

Although Güyük's mother Töregene had been instrumental in promoting his accession, he quickly shut her out of any more administrative work, reversing many of her decisions while she had been regent. He also eliminated many other officials, executing them for treason and replacing them with his favorites. This made him unpopular with the people, although he was a competent military commander and administrator. He managed the dispute over the kings of Georgia.

We will wrap up this summary of his life and administration—and his plans to conquer Europe—tomorrow.

The End of Batu Khan

After the death of Güyük Khan, Batu Khan saw an opportunity to take the overlordship away from the Ögedei clan and bring it to his own lineage. He had made great success in expanding the borders of the Mongol Empire westward, after all.

First, he allowed Güyük's wife, Oghul Qaimish, to act as regent while a decision was made, then he called a kurultai, the council of important members of families, to take place in 1250 in territory under his control. Those who should be there, Ögedei's clan and the Chagatai clan (the children of Genghis Khan), refused to leave primary Mongol territory to attend.

Batu did not actually want to be the Grand Khan himself, and rejected it when the kurultai offered it. Instead, he proposed his cousin Möngke, son of Genghis' son Tolui. The Tolui-descended families were in favor, but since not all descendants of Genghis were present, the election was not considered legitimate by many. So Batu sent Möngke, with an escort that included Batu's brothers and son, to meet with the other families. The other families still refused to take part in a kurultai for the purpose of ratifying Möngke.

Möngke was presented to the people at large, who accepted him, and Batu then punished the clans of Ögedei and Chagatai. Buri, a grandson of Chagatai, was outright executed as part of this punishment.

Batu was greatly respected as a kingmaker as well as a loyal subject, allowing Möngke's officers to operate in Batu's territory. Batu and Möngke stayed friendly with each other and, together, saw the Mongol Empire stretch from Afghanistan to Turkey (the illustration is a bust of Batu from Turkey).

Batu did in 1255, leaving his properties to his son Sartaq.

Since recently we have looked at Mongol women and the influence they have, I want to take a look at Oghul Qaimish, Güyük's widow. Since Batu intended to take control of the Empire away from Güyük's family, it is interesting that he put Güyük's widow in charge. Let's take a closer look at this powerful woman tomorrow.

Batu Khan

History tells stories of Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordes and Kublai Khan meeting Marco Polo, but Batu Khan is a name that is less-known but quite a large part of Mongol history—and European, when it comes to it.

Batu founded the Golden Horde, a large territory on the outskirts of the Mongol Empire. His father, Jochi, was possibly a son of Genghis Khan; based on his relations with known family of Genghis, this could well have been the case. In fact, Genghis' will left 4,000 Mongol soldiers to Jochi's family. Upon Jochi's death, the remaining children agreed that Batu should succeed him.

Genghis' son and successor, Ögedei, got along with Batu, who would have been Ögedei's nephew. Together they made conquests of other peoples, including forays into China. Ögedei gave lands in northern China to Batu after successful campaigns.

By 1235, Batu had conquered the Crimean Peninsula, and Ögedei wanted Batu to continue westward and conquer Europe. Batu and several relatives (including Güyük, Möngke, and others) with an army of perhaps 130,000 crossed the Volga River and invaded Bulgaria in 1236. A year of fighting led to success.

Batu then sent men west to Vladimir-Suzdai (east of Moscow) demanding allegiance, which was refused. Batu invaded and in less than a week destroyed the city of Ryazan (it recovered; now it has a population of over a half million). The Horde burned Moscow, and made short work of any who dared oppose them. Batu divided the army and sent the subdivisions all over Kievan Rus, subduing and destroying cities. Only Smolensk and Novgorod survived, the one because it surrendered and the latter because it was too distant (and separated by marshlands) to bother with.

Trouble arose when Batu was ridiculed by his cousins, annoyed that he had claimed a large and fertile territory. They mocked him and walked out of a banquet. Batu complained to his uncle, who recalled the two chief offenders, Buri and Ögedei's son Güyük. Buri was sent home, but Güyük was reprimanded by his father and sent back to the Russian steppe.

Then they planned the invasion of Europe. We'll pick up that story tomorrow.

Mother of Four Khans

The youngest son of Geghis Khan, Tolui, married a Christian woman named Sorghaghtani Beki. They had similarly noble backgrounds. Sorghaghtani was a Keraite princess. Keraites were one of the five dominant Turco-Mongol confederations, and they were Eastern (Assyrian) Christians.

Sorghaghtani's uncle was the very powerful Keraite leader Toghrul, and around 1203 was more powerful than Genghis (when he was still going by his original name, Temujin). Temujin proposed a marriage between their tribes. Toghrul rejected this, and even tried to kill Temujin. Not long after ,Toghrul was killed. Toghrul's brother, Jakha (Sorghaghtani's father), was on better terms with Temujin, and offered his daughters to Temujin. Temujin gave the teenage Sorghaghtani to his teenaged youngest, Tolui. (Not long after, the Keraites revolted against Temujin, and Jakha was killed.)

Because Mongol men were often away on military campaigns, Mongol wives had to manage the home and had more rights and power than women in some other cultures. Sorghaghtani could not read or write herself, but she raised her children to learn the languages of the regions they were likely to rule. She also respected other religions, and she raised her sons to be the same. The policy of the Mongol Empire was that the state was more important than religion, and could tolerate any religion that did not interfere with political matters. Sorghaghtani made donations to both Christians and Muslims.

Tolui died in 1232 under mysterious circumstances. Tolui's older brother, Ögedei Khan (he had succeeded Genghis in 1229), gave her authority to handle Tolui's estates (eastern Mongolia and parts of Iran and northern China), and put her in charge of his empire's administration. Mongol widows often re-married into the same family (keeping inheritance attached), and Ögedei suggested that she marry his son Güyük. She refused, claiming that her sons needed her.

Her sons were Möngke Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulagu Khan, and Ariq Böke.

The next Khan would not be so hospitable. We'll find out what happened afterward tomorrow.

The Two Kings David

When Queen Rusudan of Georgia died in 1245, Georgia looked for a new ruler. Her son, David, had been sent to Karakoram to be recognized as heir by the Great Khan of the Mongols, Batu Khan, but no one knew how long he would be gone. Her nephew, David, by her predecessor brother King George IV, she had sent to be incarcerated at the court of her son-in-law, Kaykhusraw II, who was married to Rusudan's daughter, Tamar. (She feared her nephew would try to usurp the throne.)

The nephew David was considered illegitimate by the Georgian nobles. His father had seduced a married woman of non-noble status, brought her to court, and had a son by her in 1215. George was forced to return her to her husband (sending David to Rusudan to be raised), but refused any other suggestion of marriage by his councilors. 

So far as the Georgian nobles could tell, the only available heir was the illegitimate David, since they knew where he was. He was also at that time 30 years old and able to understand his duties. He was crowned in 1245 as David VII, and known as David Ulu, "David the Senior."

A year later, Rusudan's son David returned from Karakoram with the blessing of Batu Khan. The 21-year-old became co-King with his cousin, given an earlier regnal number because of his precedence (son of the immediate previous ruler and born within wedlock) as King David VI Narin ("David the Junior").

The two managed to work together well until 1259. David VI rebelled independently against their Mongol overlords. It did not take many battles before he saw the error of his choices. Fleeing to western Georgia, where the Mongols did not have so much influence, he seceded from the rest of Georgia, being crowned in the western city of Kutaisi. (Kutaisi had been the capital of Georgia from c.1008 - 1122, when Tbilisi became the capital.)

Now, as King David I of Imereti (Western Georgia), he had control over several important ports on the Black Sea, as well as passes through the Caucasus Mountains, giving Western Georgia important trade routes.

Two years after David Narin's rebellion, David Ulu tried as well to become independent, joining his brother in Western Georgia. The two could not manage to agree on various policies, however, and David Ulu returned to Tbilisi in 1262, where he was forced to surrender to Hulagu Khan. Eastern Georgia was now a vassal, rather than an ally, of the Mongols.

Western Georgia was a different story, which will continue tomorrow.

Queen Rusudan

Yesterday's post on the hoped-for Mongol alliance with the West mentioned a Georgian queen who saved her people from the Mongols. That was Rusudan (1194 - 1245), who took the only option available to avoid total destruction.

On 18 January 1223, George IV of the Kingdom of Georgia died from complications from a wound he received fighting Mongols. His only son, David, was only eight years old and being raised by George's sister, Rusudan. David was too young to rule (and also of questionable legitimacy), and the throne passed to Rusudan.

Georgia was surrounded by Muslim and Mongol threats, and Rusudan was considered a beautiful woman whose hand in marriage was much sought after by nearby Muslim nobles. Against invasion by a group known as the Khwarezmians, she made an alliance with the neighboring Seljuk Turkish rulers, but the Khwarezmians defeated the Georgians before help could arrive. Rusudan married Ghias ad-Din, the son of a Seljuk emir, who was ordered by his father to convert to Christianity in order to marry Rusudan. They had two children, Tamar and David.

The Khwarezmian invasion and occupation was followed by the Mongols, who entered Georgia in 1235 and controlled all of Georgia within four years. The Mongol army had a simple policy: submit and pay tribute, or the Mongols would kill every living being in the occupied territory to ensure no chance of insurrection. They did not ask twice.

Queen Rusudan ordered any of her army remaining to stand down and submit to the Mongols. An annual tribute of 50,000 gold pieces was required. Georgia also had to agree to provide 80,000 soldiers to join the Mongol army on its quest to subjugate the world.

Tamar was married to a Seljuk sultan, Kaykhusraw II, and later converted from Eastern Orthodox Christianity to Islam, taking the name Gurju Khatun. Queen Rusudan, since she had her own children who might succeed her, feared that her nephew David might try to take the throne. She sent him to Kaykhusraw to be imprisoned. Meanwhile, she sent her own son to the Mongol court in Karakoram to be recognized as her heir by the Great Khan, but she died in 1245 before he returned.

In her son's absence, and since the Georgians knew where Rusudan's nephew was, George's son David was recalled and named King David VII. Then Rusudan's son returned, and a decision had to be made. Tomorrow we'll see what happened next.

Pharmacist Turned Poet

Although little is known of his personal life, and he was not famous in his own lifetime, the Sufi poet known as Attar of Nishapur (c.1145 – c.1221) is commemorated in a National Day of Attar Nishapuri on 14 April. From rare contemporary comments and later mythologizing, here is what we think we know about him personally.

His full name was Abū Ḥāmid bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm. Born to a chemist, he was highly educated and became a pharmacist ("Attar" means "apothecary"), in which profession he attended to numerous patients. His patients would confide their troubles in him, which affected him deeply. Abandoning his profession, he traveled widely, meeting many people but especially Sufi philosophers, finally returning to his home town of Nishapur where he promoted Sufism, a religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic purification, spirituality, ritualism, and asceticism.

(By the way, Nishapur produced another famous Persian poet I have talked about in this blog, who died not many years prior to Attar's birth: Omar Khayyam.)

Attar wrote lyrical poems representing Islamic mysticism, biographies of famous Muslim mystics, and a few philosophical works. Although mentioned by contemporaries, he was not well-known in his lifetime, but some of his works survived so that they could be promoted in the 15th century. It is possible that he was "discovered" because of a comment by Rumi:

"Attar was the spirit,

Sanai his eyes twain,

And in time thereafter,

Came we in their train."

In another poem, Rumi wrote:

Attar travelled through all the seven cities of love

While I am only at the bend of the first alley.

The ideas infused in Attar's poetry reflect Sufi ideas: the soul is bound to the body and awaits its release to return to the source of spirit. This reunion can be attained in this life through purification and asceticism. He draws on many older works and history to explain his ideas.

In April 1221, Mongols invaded and slaughtered many in Nishapur, including the 78-year-old Attar. A mausoleum in Nishapur was built in the 16th century (pictured above is the mausoleum after a 1940 renovation).

His most famous poem is called (in English) The Conference of the Birds. I'd like to share it with you tomorrow.

John of Plano Carpini

Marco Polo is known for traveling to the Far East from Europe and observing things unknown to Europeans, but there were many travelers from Western Europe who went into unfamiliar lands for various reasons. One of these reasons was to bring Christianity to the inhabitants. The Franciscan John of Plano Carpini was one of those.

Carpini (c.1185 - 1 August 1252) was from central Italy. He was a companion of St. Francis of Assissi. In 1245, he was sent by Pope Innocent IV to the east with a letter for Ögedei Khan, who had defeated European forces four years earlier at the Battle of Legnica and almost took over all of Eastern Europe. The pope's intention was to protest the Mongol intrusion into Christendom, and to bring Christianity to the East. Incidentally, the mission could learn more about the enemy's intentions and strength.

Carpini had been at that time the Franciscan provincial in Germany. He set out with the pope's letter on Easter Day 1245 (16 April), with a fellow Franciscan, Stephen of Bohemia. They passed through Kyiv, where Stephen became ill and was left behind. They passed the rivers Dnieper, Don, and Volga; those names were first recorded by Carpini.

At the Volga they came to the camp of Batu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, where they were made to walk between two fires (similar—but not as dangerous—as the Ordeal of Fire endured by Peter Bartholomew) to remove any impure thoughts or poisons before they were bought before Batu. Batu sent them on to the court in Mongolia. This second part of the journey set off on Easter Day 1246 (8 April).

This was arduous, and they had suffered through Lent, melting snow for water and eating millet with salt for their sustenance. Their journey of 3000 miles took 106 days. Before they arrived at their destination, Ögedei died, and the envoys were in time to witness the instatement of the new Supreme Khan, Güyük Khan. You can see his response to the pope's letter here.

Güyük kept Carpini and his party until November, and then sent them on their way during winter. Carpini records that they often slept on ground after scraping away the snow. It took them until 10 June 1247 to reach Kyiv. From that point their journey became easier: Slavonic Christians welcomed them and treated them hospitably.

Carpini was given the archbishopric of Serbia and became papal legate to Louis IX of France, a much more comfortable task after his grueling journey eastward. He wrote a record of his trip, the Ystoria Mongalorum ("History of Mongol People"), the first European history of the Mongols. Not long after, a much more accurate account of Mongols was written by William Rubruck.

Rubruck, like Carpini, was a Franciscan. Tomorrow I will start an account of the life of their founder.

Henry the Pious

Henry II the Pious was born in Poland to Henry the Bearded and Hedwig of Andechs. Henry the Bearded had worked hard to unite several different areas, becoming Duke of Poland as well as Duke of Silesia. Through marriage to Hedwig, he was connected to Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, and France. One curiosity about Henry: he was born with six toes on his left foot.

Henry II was one of three brothers and potential heirs. His older brother, Bolesław, died in 1206, and their father decided to leave all his inheritance to young Henry. There was another son, however, the younger Konrad the Curly. Konrad and young Henry quarreled over the choice, which was ultimately resolved when Konrad fell from his horse and died while hunting (no proof of foul play, although contemporary chroniclers would have considered themselves remiss if they hadn't hinted at it). Konrad was buried at an abbey in Trebnitz where a sister, Gertrude, was abbess.

Henry II became Duke of Poland and Duke of Silesia, but holding together the various territories and their local rulers that his father had united was difficult. For instance, an Upper Silesian Duty of Opole-Racibórz was ruled in succession by two minors for whom Henry acted as regent, Mieszko II the Fat and Bolesław V the Chaste, but once they achieved their majority and he had to resign the regency, he had less influence there.

There was an ongoing dispute with the Church that he had inherited from his father. The Archbishop of Gniezno opposed the Bearded's possession of the Duchy of Opole that had been attacked and conquered by the Bearded's uncle. Henry was traditionally allied with the House of Hohenstaufen, but they were in conflict with Pope Gregory IX. Henry decided it was more advantageous to align himself with the pope and abandon the Hohenstaufen connection. This meant the archbishop's hostility to Henry was called off by the pope.

All his efforts to rule were brought to nought by the invasion of the Mongols, ordered by Batu Khan. A Mongol army of 10,000 met Henry's forces at Legnica on 9 April 1241. Henry felt he could not afford to wait for reinforcements, so marched with an army that was no match for the fierce Mongol cavalry. His body was so hacked up that certain identification was required by taking off the boots and noting the number of toes. An illustration of his decapitated head on a pole can be seen in this post.

Members of the Hohenstaufen dynasty have been mentioned in this blog before, but its origin and importance in European history deserves a little more attention, which it will get tomorrow.

Invading Central Europe

In the same decades that Batu Khan (c. 1207–1255) and another grandson of Genghis Khan, Kadan, were establishing the Golden Horde and consolidating much of Eastern Europe, the desire of the Mongolian Empire to extend its influence over the known world found itself a beachhead from which to launch its efforts.

Spies were sent into Poland, Hungary, and Austria for reconnaissance. Having planned their approach, three separate armies invaded Central Europe, into Hungary, Transylvania, and Poland. The column into Poland defeated Henry II the Pious (the illustration shows the Mongol army with Henry's head on a spear).

The second and third columns crossed the Carpathians and followed the Danube, combining with the Poland column and defeating the Hungarian army on 11 April 1241. They killed half the Hungarian population, then proceeded to German territory. Most of the city of Meissen was burned to the ground. Further advances in Germany were paused when the Great Khan died in 1241 and the chief descendants of Genghis returned to Mongolia to elect his replacement.

The Encyclopædia Britannica describes the conflict thusly:

Employed against the Mongol invaders of Europe, knightly warfare failed even more disastrously for the Poles at the Battle of Legnica and the Hungarians at the Battle of Mohi in 1241. Feudal Europe was saved from sharing the fate of China and the Grand Duchy of Moscow not by its tactical prowess but by the unexpected death of the Mongols' supreme ruler, Ögedei, and the subsequent eastward retreat of his armies. [EB, (2003) p.663]

Central Europe was not completely helpless. Observations of Mongol tactics meant that Hungary, for instance, improved its heavy cavalry and increased fortifications of settlements against siege weapons. Many smaller hostilities between Central and Western Europe entities were put on hold in the face of the common threat.

Bela IV of Hungary sent messages to the Pope asking for a Crusade against the Mongols. Pope Gregory IX would rather have attention on the Holy Land, although he did eventually agree that the Mongol threat was important. A small Crusade was gathered in mid-1241, but Gregory died in August, and the forces were instead aimed at the Hohenstaufen dynasty.

Mongol attempts to conquer Central Europe continued right up until 1340 with an attack on Brandenburg and Prussia. Fortunately, internal strife in the Golden Horde made Mongol attacks less effective. Lithuania fought back, achieving victory in places including the Principality of Kiev. The Duchy of Moscow also reclaimed many Rus lands. In 1345, Hungary initiated a counter-invasion that captured what would become Moldavia.

I want to go back and talk about the one named casualty in this post: poor Henry II, called "The Pious." We'll look into his reign tomorrow.

The Golden Horde

The name "Golden Horde" for the northwestern section of the Mongolian Empire is the English translation of a borrowed phrase from Russian, Zolotáya Ordá (literally "Golden Horde). Ordá also means "camp" or "headquarters." The Modern English "horde" referring to a large and threatening group comes from the reputation of the Mongolian armies advancing against their enemies. Legend says that the tents of the Mongols were golden-hued, hence the adjective.

Batu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, was the founder. A Franciscan named William Rubruck, who traveled all over the Middle and Far East, said he was: 

kind enough to his own people, but he is greatly feared by them. He is, however, most cruel in fight; he is very shrewd and extremely crafty in warfare, for he has been waging war for a long time.

Batu was given the charge to conquer lands to the west by Genghis' son Ögedei 1186 - 1241); Batu's efforts gained what became his headquarters, the Horde.

The Horde was the outskirts of the Empire, and as such very little exists of any written Mongol history or literature from it. The conquered locals were largely Cubans, and important decrees were probably translated from Mongol to Cuban to be distributed to the inhabitants. In the mid-13002 Arabic-Mongol and Persian-Mongol dictionaries began appearing, suggesting their necessity in translating Mongol documents.

Because "Horde" meant "headquarters" or "palace" or "camp," there were other Hordes. Russian chronicles referred to the eastern part of Batu's area as the "White Horde," and the western part became known as the "Blue Horde." Over the years, rule of the Horde changed hands many times up until 1419, when it became split up between different forces.

Still, it was the closest part of the Mongol Empire to Europe, and since the goal of the Khans was to control the entire world, Europe was a target. The Mongolian Invasion of Central Europe will be the next topic.

Mongolian Civil War

The death of Möngke Khan in 1259 led to the Toluid Civil War, a fight between two of the remaining sons of Toluid over who would succeed Möngke. The youngest, Ariq Böke, eventually lost out to Kublai, who then became the Great Khan. The remaining son, Hulagu, returned to his campaign in 1262 to extend the empire westward.

A few years earlier he had led the Sack of Baghdad; the Islamic Empire was no longer strong enough to retaliate against the size of Hulagu's army. The almost total destruction of Baghdad, however, was to have an unforeseen consequence.

The consequence came from the Golden Horde, a group of settled Mongols who ruled over Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and the Caucasus, established by Batu Khan. Batu Khan was another of Genghis Khan's 43 grandchildren. Batu had died in 1255, and his brother Berke was now in charge of a large territory with a large population. Berke was no lesser figure: not only had he succeeded Batu (there was one ruler between them briefly), but he had been sent by Batu to ensure Möngke's succession as Great Khan, managing the ruling council and ensuring that everything to enthrone Möngke happened properly.

In and of itself this would not seem to be a problem, but Berke had converted to Islam in 1252. The destruction of Baghdad and the knowledge and treasures of the House of Wisdom enraged him, and he vowed revenge, saying "He (Hulagu) has sacked all the cities of the Muslims, and has brought about the death of the Caliph. With the help of God I will call him to account for so much innocent blood." He allied himself with the Mamluks, who were to be Hulagu's next target.

Berke began a series of raids on Hulagu's territories. Hulagu retaliated into the Golden Horde's territory. This was the first serious war between major Mongol areas. Berke showed some reluctance and lamented "Mongols are killed by Mongol swords. If we were united, then we would have conquered all of the world." He could not give in, however: he felt the threat to the Golden Horde was sufficient that he had to declare Islamic jihad against a Mongol leader who was his cousin.

On another front, Hulagu's forces lost an important battle against the Mamluks after the alliance with Frankish forces fell out. He lost control of Palestine and Syria.

Hulagu died 8 February 1264. He was succeeded by his son, Abaqa Khan, who spent the next almost 20 years dealing with civil war with relations because of his father's treatment of Baghdad. Kublai managed to hold the Empire together, mostly, but in the 1290s the competing khanates meant there was no longer total unity, with every part of the empire accepting the authority of the Great Khan.

So what exactly was the Golden Horde, and did it ever change color? It did, and I'll explain more tomorrow.

The Siege of Baghdad

The House of Wisdom was a marvelous repository of knowledge from all over the world. It also functioned as an informal university long before those institutions sprang up in Western Europe. It was founded and flourish in what is called the Islamic Golden Age. All that ended in 1258, however, with the sack of Baghdad by Mongols. The sack was preceded by a 13-day siege, and that's where we should start.

The Mongol forces were expanding and marching westward, destroying any resistance. The Siege of Baghdad was brought by Hulagu Khan, another grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Möngke. Baghdad might have been spared: Möngke told his brother to forego overthrowing the Abbasid Caliphate if they were willing to pay tribute. 

The current caliph, al-Musta'sim, was not so inclined. The Abbasid Caliphate was not as strong as it had been previously: despite the jewel that was Baghdad; the Abbasids no longer possessed what was once a far-reaching empire. al-Musta'sim had not prepared militarily but believed Baghdad was strong enough to survive an attack. (He is still criticized for not acquiescing to Hulagu's demands and saving his city and people.)

Hulagu had just marched through what is now Iran, facing and overcoming such widespread opposition that Iran's agrarian potential was devastated for a generation. The mountain stronghold Alamut had recently fallen to him, and he had vanquished the breakaway Nizari-Ismaili sect called the Order of Assassins. His successes were credited with planning as well as numbers. This military push had been a couple years in the making, conscripting 10% of the Mongol population. It also included Christian warriors from Armenia, Frankish Crusaders from Antioch, and (perhaps most important for the current campaign) 1000 Chinese artillery specialists.

The siege began 29 January 1258. Hulagu had sent two columns of soldiers, one on each side of the Tigris, surrounding Baghdad. They brought up their siege engines (pictured above in a 14th century painting). al-Musta'sim sent a hastily gathered and poorly prepared force of 20,000 to leave the city and attack, but they were no match for the Mongol forces, who quickly breached dikes on the Tigris, flooding the area behind the Abbasid forces, trapping them.

And then things got worse. Join me tomorrow for what was probably the single bloodiest loss of life in the entire history of human warfare.

Edward I - Crusader

In 1271, Edward, Duke of Gascony, went on a continuation of the Eighth Crusade that is sometimes called the Ninth Crusade and sometimes Lord Edward's Crusade. The Eighth had been started in 1270 by King Louis IX of France, but Louis died of dysentery when he reached Tunisia in Northern Africa. The Treaty of Tunis that followed resulted in freedom of Christians to preach and build churches in Tunisia, and the Crusaders went home.

To the east, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, Baibars, defeated the Mongols and began attacking Christian crusaders, who appealed to Europe for aid. Edward and his brother Edmund were going to join Louis at Tunis, but were delayed because of their father's uncertainty whether he wanted to join (he was 63 at the time; I can personally understand his reluctance). The brothers reached Tunis mere days after the signing of the treaty, and opted to stay in Sicily at the invitations of Charles of Anjou, Louis' younger brother, while deciding what to do next.

Other crusaders went home, but Edward chose to continue, arriving at Acre on 9 May 1271 with a mere 1000 men, 225 of whom were knights. It was currently under siege by Baibars, who abandoned the siege rather than have the European military surround him. Baibars chose other goals, such as capturing Montfort Castle. Edward wrote to Abaqa Khan, current ruler of the Mongols, to promote a Franco-Mongol Alliance. Abaqa replied in the affirmative, asking for a date when they could jointly attack Baibars and the Mamluks.

Edward launched some raids with little effect, but the arrival of his brother Edmund with reinforcements emboldened him to larger attacks, especially when joined by local Templar, Hospitaller, and Teutonic Knights as well as 10,000 horsemen sent by Abaqa. The Mongol forces, however, after some victories and successful looting, retreated back across the Euphrates and left the Europeans to their own devices.

(Side note: during this time, Teobaldi Visconti, papal legate who had been to England to aid Henry in the Second Barons' War and had chosen to accompany Edward on Crusade, received word that he had been elected Pope; he returned to Rome as Gregory X. He also reached out to Abaqa Khan.)

In December 1271, lacking the Mongols, Edward and his forces took Acre after repelling another Mamluk siege. Edward realized the forces needed to maintain Christian occupation in the Holy Land were too meager. Understanding that peaceful negotiation was the only way forward, he managed a truce with Baibars of 10 years, 10 months, and 10 days. One month later, there was an assassination attempt on Edward, wounding him and delaying his return to England.

Edward went to Sicily in September 1272 to further recuperate.

There was never another Crusade to the Holy Land, despite discussions and requests in that direction. The Mamluks continued to re-take the areas that the Europeans had occupied. In 1275, Abaqa wrote to Edward, asking him for help against the Mamluks. Edward said he would consider it if the pope called for a Crusade, and thanked Abaqa for his earlier help. Abaqa wrote with the same request, apologizing for not providing more aid in 1271.

In 1291, pilgrims from Acre killed 19 Muslim merchants after being attacked by brigands. This was used as a pretext to attack Acre, the last Crusader state. With Acre out of Christian hands, the era of Crusades and a political presence in the Holy Land was over. The illustration is an 1835 oil painting titled "The Return of the Crusader" but often called "The Last Crusader," by Karl Friedrich Lessing.

But that was all in Edward's future. While resting in Sicily, he received news that his father had died. He began his journey back to England, where he was crowned King Edward I on 19 August 1274. We will see what kind of king he was next time.

Möngke Khan Ascends

Möngke Khan (11 January 1209 - 11 August 1259) was the son of Tolui (c.1190 - c.1232), the youngest son of Genghis Khan. Möngke had been successful between 1237 and 1241 while commanding the part of the Mongol army that campaigned in southern Russia and Eastern Europe. He was very effective at getting his point across: when he conquered the tribes north of the Caspian, and the tribal leader Bacman refused to kneel before him, Möngke simply had him cut in half.

After the leader of the Mongol Empire, Ogedei Khan, died in December 1241, there was disagreement over which of Genghis' descendants was fit to rule. After a five-year regency by Ogedei's widow, Toregene, Ogedei's oldest son Guyuk was chosen.

But Guyuk was not a popular choice for everyone; he reversed several edicts from his mother's time as ruler, and executed for treason several of her high-ranking officials. In 1246, he ordered an empire-wide census, after which he imposed a tax on everything, and a poll tax on males in Georgia and Armenia. His reign lasted only 2 years, and there is suspicion that he was poisoned on the eve of his plan to attack the western part of his own empire who had not supported his ascension to the throne.

Möngke came to the throne after some similar familial rivalry, but the clan of Genghis' eldest son, Batu, supported Möngke. They were the clan in the west whom Guyuk had planned to attack. Möngke's mother had done them a favor by warning them of Guyuk's scheme.

The new Khan purged his empire of those who might have been more loyal to previous administrations. The most prominent execution was that of Guyuk's wife, Oghul Qaimish, who had been regent between Guyuk's death and Möngke's accession: she was wrapped in felt and thrown into the river. Others across the empire deemed not suitably loyal or trustworthy due to their connection to different descendants of Genghis who might feel their claim to the throne was stronger, were punished by having hands and feet cut off, or having their mouths filled with stones, or simply being trampled by horses.

Relations with Batu and his tribe remained good, however. And he placed his loyal brothers in charge of parts of the empire: Hulegu in Iran and Kublai (yes, that Kublai in northern China.

We know more about Möngke's reign thanks to the Itinerarium of a Franciscan monk, William Rubruck, about whom I've written here. And you can learn more about Möngke's reign in previous posts here and here, and of course about Kublai, and even more about Guyuk. I have not written in the past about Toregene, whose years ruling the empire were not just a place-holder until a male came along. I'll talk about her next.

A Mountain Paradise

After Hassan i-Sabbah took over Alamut Castle from the Justanids, he went about making it a place that his followers would be willing to die for.  He also refurbished it as a place that would keep people alive for a long time, in case of a siege. Part of the refurbishment—besides fortifying the walls—was to line rooms with limestone to make them more suitable to food storage.

Hassan had the slopes below the castle terraced, and enhanced the irrigation, so that more food could be grown. Barley, wheat, and rice were important crops, suitable for safekeeping for long periods of time in case an attack was made.

He also built a library so extensive that scholars from far and wide came to stay awhile and read. Scientists could do research and experiment. The library had astronomical  instruments and countless books. Because i-Sabbah was interested in many different philosophies, pulling what he liked best from different schools of thought, intellectual freedom was prized, and lively debate encouraged.

To create an idea of paradise on earth, gardens were built and maintained. Marco Polo referred to the Isma'ili "secret garden of paradise." He described a ritual in which young men were drugged, taken to the garden where they would wake up surrounded by beauty and attractive women, then told by an old man that this was their ultimate reward if they served the Nizari Isma'ili cause. Polo's report is the origin of the "Old Man of the Mountain" title for Hassan i-Sabbah as the leader of the assassins.

Modern scholars, however, believe that stories of the gardens are just that, and there was no contemporaneous mention of gardens and drugging young men, not even by Mongol authority who visited Alamut to critique it.

Yes, Mongols enter the picture. The Mongol Empire expanded westward and clashed with the Islamic Empire. The Nizari Isma'ili state stood in their way. In the 1200s, this had grown to scores of fortresses. To be brief: Alamut was besieged more than once. It finally was taken by the Mongols in 1256, recaptured by Nizari Isma'ili's in 1275, then re-recaptured by the Mongols in 1282, which was the end of the Isma'ilis.

It was under Möngke Khan that this happened, a grandson of Genghis. I'll tell you more about him next.

The Seventh Crusade

King Louis IX of France could not convince any of the rulers of Europe to accompany him on a Crusade to free Jerusalem, which had been recaptured in 1240. He organized and funded (by taxing the church) the Seventh Crusade himself. It could have gone better.

Battle of Mansura

After wintering in Cyprus, he took the town of Damietta in Egypt to use as a base, then had to sit there for six months while the Nile flooded, which gave his enemies time to assemble their forces. Marching toward Cairo, he was stopped by a canal near Mansura, on the other side of which was an Egyptian army larger than his.

Louis tried building a causeway across the canal, but the Egyptians simply dug away at their side of the canal, widening it and putting their bank every farther out of his reach. After two fruitless months, he sent his cavalry to cross at a shallow ford 4 miles upstream. Louis' brother Robert was to hold the cavalry until a signal, but he charged into Mansura, probably seeking his own glory, and succeeded in wiping out most of the cavalry. The Crusaders were too weak to take and hold Mansura, and so Louis retreated to Damietta.

On 6 April, 1250, at the Battle of Fariskur, the Egyptian Mamluks defeated the Crusaders and captured Louis. His ransom was 800,000 gold livre and the return of Damietta to the Egyptians. Louis sailed to Acre in Syria, where he tried to get help to continue the Crusade. He negotiated with the Mongol Möngke Khan through his emissary, William of Rubruck, which infuriated the Mamluks, whose territory to the east had been invaded by the ever-spreading Mongols.

By 1254, Louis had run out of money and, word coming that his mother, Blanche of Castile, who had been running France in his absence, had died, he had to return to France. Louis would try another Crusade, the Eighth, in 1270, where he would die on 25 August in Africa from "a flux in the stomach." He should have simply stayed home.