Ögedei Khan

Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei (also Ogodei, Mongolian: ᠦᠭᠦᠳᠡᠢ, Chinese: 窩闊台 7 November 1186 – 11 December 1241), was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, succeeding his father. He continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun, and was a world figure when the Mongol Empire reached its farthest extent west and south during the Mongol invasions of Europe and East Asia. Like all of Genghis' primary sons, he participated extensively in conquests in China, Iran, and Central Asia.

Background

Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and Börte Ujin. He participated in the turbulent events of his father's rise. When he was 17 years old, Genghis Khan experienced the disastrous defeat of Khalakhaljid Sands against the army of Jamukha. Ögedei was heavily wounded and lost on the battlefield. His father's adopted brother and companion Borokhula rescued him. Although already married, in 1204 his father gave him Töregene, the wife of a defeated Merkit chief. The addition of such a wife was not uncommon in steppe culture.