Tolui

Tolui (also rendered Toluy, c. 1190–1232) was the youngest son of Genghis Khan by Börte. His ulus, or territorial inheritance, at his father's death in 1227 was the homelands in Mongolia, and it was he who served as civil administrator in the time it took to confirm Ögedei as second khan. Before that, he had served with distinction in the campaigns against the Jin Dynasty and the Khwarezmid Empire.

Related Topics:
1190 - 1232 - Genghis Khan - Börte - Ulus - 1227 - Mongolia - Ögedei - Jin Dynasty - Khwarezmid Empire

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When Genghis Khan was deciding who should succeed him he had trouble choosing between Tolui and Ögodei. This was because Tolui had amazing military skills and was very successful as a general but Genghis Khan chose Ögodei for a reason. Ögodei, in comparison with Tolui, was more capable politically. Genghis Khan also felt that Tolui is too cautious to be an effective leader. After Genghis Khan's death, Mongol nobles gathered together and elected Tolui as the new Khan, but Tolui rejected and gave the Khanate to his brother Ögodei, fulfilling his father's wishes. The Mongol nobles' moves were partly influenced by the tradition that the youngest son inherits his father's properties, and because Tolui had the most powerful and numerous army at that time.

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Perhaps more important is the role his family, the Toluids, had in shaping the destinies of the Mongol Empire. Through his wife Sorghaghtani Beki, Tolui fathered Möngke, Kubilai, Ariq Boke, and Hulagu, and thus was the progenitor of the last of the great Khans, the Yuan Dynasty of China, and of the Il Khans.

Related Topics:
Mongol Empire - Sorghaghtani Beki - Möngke - Kubilai - Ariq Boke - Hulagu - Yuan Dynasty - Il Khans

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Rivalry between the Toluids and the sons of Ögedei and Jochi caused the stagnation and infighting during the regency periods after the deaths of Ögedei and his son Güyük.

Related Topics:
Jochi - Güyük

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However, it was a rivalry from among Tolui's own sons—that of Kubilai and Ariq Boke—that fragmented the power of the empire and set the western khanates against each other in the early 1260s.

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