18. The Lesser-Known Mongol Khan Who Made Medieval Europe Tremble
Ogedei Khan (1185 – 1241) was Genghis Khan’s third son and unexpected successor. His two older brothers, Jochi and Chagatai, were ahead of him in the line of succession but developed a bitter enmity that threatened chaos if either succeeded their father. Jochi claimed the right to inherit as the eldest son, but Chagatai countered that Jochi’s parentage was questionable. Their mother had been kidnapped by an enemy of Genghis in the year before Jochi’s birth, so he might have been a bastard, which made Chagatai Genghis Khan’s eldest true-born son. When it became clear that the empire would descend into civil war if either inherited, Ogedei was selected as a compromise heir.
Ogedei realized that he was not his father’s military equal, so he was open to wise counsel, and relied on capable subordinates. From his capital in Mongolia, he directed simultaneous campaigns on multiple fronts separated by thousands of miles. He made use of field generals authorized to act independently within their theaters, but subject to Ogedei’s orders, relayed via a swift horse relay courier network. As a result, he expanded the frontiers of the Mongol Empire to their greatest southward and westward extents. His forces might have expanded even further into the west, but for a seemingly miraculous reprieve that saved medieval Europe from getting overrun by Ogedei’s armies.