Tolui
Encyclopedia
Tolui, (1192–1232) was the youngest son of Genghis Khan
by his chief khatun 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 Khagan
of the Mongol Empire
(1206–1368). Before that, he had served with distinction in the campaigns against the Jin Dynasty, the Xi Xia and the Khwarezmid Empire, where he was instrumental in the capture and massacre at Merv
and Nishapur
. He is a direct ancestor of most of the Emperors of Mongolia and the Ilkhanids.
Tolui never used the title of Khagan himself. Although, Genghis Khan and his immediate three successors never used any reigning titles unlike their Chinese neighbours in the south, Tolui was awarded the title of Khagan by his son Möngke and were given temple name
(Chinese: 元睿宗; pinyin: Yuán Ruìzōng; Wade–Giles: Jui-Tsung) by his another son Kublai, when the latter tried to established the Yuan Dynasty
a few decades later.
, Tolui was too small to involve in the battles. Tolui was almost killed by a Tatar when he was about five. He was saved by his sister Altani and two companions of Genghis. In 1203, His father bestowed on Tolui as wife Sorghaghtani
, the niece of Ong Khan. Their first son Mongke
was born in 1209. He was the best warrior among the sons of Genghis. He first entered combat against the Jin Dynasty in 1213, scaling the walls of Dexing
with his brother-in-law Chiqu.
In 1221, Genghis Khan dispatched him to Khorasan
in Iran
. The cities in this area had revolted several times. The defenders of Nishapur
killed Toquchar, the brother-in-law of Tolui in November 1220. Tolui's army evacuated Nishapur onto the plains. He ordered total massacres of Nishapur and Merv
.
After Genghis Khan's death, Tolui generally supervised the Mongol Empire
for 2 years. The Mongol nobles' moves were partly influenced by the tradition that the youngest son inherits his father's properties and partly because Tolui had the largest and most powerful army in central Mongolia
at the time. Tolui supported the election of the Khagan
and Ögodei was chosen as the Emperor
, fulfilling his father's wishes.
Tolui campaigned with Ogedei and Mongke in North China
, serving as both strategist
and field commander
in 1231-32. After most of the Jin's defences breached, they returned north.
.
Perhaps more important than him was the role his family, the Toluids, had in shaping the destinies of the Mongol Empire
. Through his Christian wife Sorghaghtani Beki
, Tolui fathered Möngke
, Kublai
, Ariq Boke
, and Hulagu
, and thus was the progenitor the Great Khans, Emperors of the Yuan Dynasty
, and of the Il Khans
. During the civil war of the Mongol Empire, the Toluids supported the court of the Great Khan.However, it was a rivalry from among Tolui's own sons, Kublai and Ariq Boke, that fragmented the power of the empire and set the western khanates against each other in the early 1260s.
Rivalry between the Toluids and the sons of Ögedei and Jochi
caused stagnation and infighting during the regency periods after the deaths of Ögedei and his son Güyük
. Mongke retroactively awarded his father the title of Khagan in 1252. When Kublai Khan
established the Yuan Dynasty
in 1271, he had his father Tolui placed on the official record as Ruizong.
Tolui's sons included:
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
by his chief khatun Börte
Börte
Börte was the first wife of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. Börte became the head of the first Court of Genghis Khan, and Grand Empress of his Empire. Little is known about the details of her early life, but she was betrothed to him at a young age, married at 17, and then...
. His ulus, or territorial inheritance, at his father's death in 1227 was the homelands in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
, and it was he who served as civil administrator in the time it took to confirm Ögedei
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...
as second Khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
of the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
(1206–1368). Before that, he had served with distinction in the campaigns against the Jin Dynasty, the Xi Xia and the Khwarezmid Empire, where he was instrumental in the capture and massacre at Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
and Nishapur
Nishapur
Nishapur or Nishabur , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad...
. He is a direct ancestor of most of the Emperors of Mongolia and the Ilkhanids.
Tolui never used the title of Khagan himself. Although, Genghis Khan and his immediate three successors never used any reigning titles unlike their Chinese neighbours in the south, Tolui was awarded the title of Khagan by his son Möngke and were given temple name
Temple name
Temple names are commonly used when naming most Chinese, Korean , and Vietnamese royalty. They should not be confused with era names. Compared to posthumous names, the use of temple names is more exclusive...
(Chinese: 元睿宗; pinyin: Yuán Ruìzōng; Wade–Giles: Jui-Tsung) by his another son Kublai, when the latter tried to established the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
a few decades later.
Early years
During the rise of Genghis KhanGenghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
, Tolui was too small to involve in the battles. Tolui was almost killed by a Tatar when he was about five. He was saved by his sister Altani and two companions of Genghis. In 1203, His father bestowed on Tolui as wife Sorghaghtani
Sorghaghtani Beki
Sorghaghtani Beki or Bekhi , also written Sorkaktani, Sorkhokhtani, Sorkhogtani, Siyurkuktiti; , a Kereyid princess of the Nestorian Christian faith and daughter-in-law of Temüjin , was one of the most powerful and competent women in the Mongol Empire...
, the niece of Ong Khan. Their first son Mongke
Möngke Khan
Möngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...
was born in 1209. He was the best warrior among the sons of Genghis. He first entered combat against the Jin Dynasty in 1213, scaling the walls of Dexing
Dexing, Jiangxi
Dexing is a city in the province of Jiangxi, China. It is a county-level city under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Shangrao.- Notes and references :...
with his brother-in-law Chiqu.
In 1221, Genghis Khan dispatched him to Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. The cities in this area had revolted several times. The defenders of Nishapur
Nishapur
Nishapur or Nishabur , is a city in the Razavi Khorasan province in northeastern Iran, situated in a fertile plain at the foot of the Binalud Mountains, near the regional capital of Mashhad...
killed Toquchar, the brother-in-law of Tolui in November 1220. Tolui's army evacuated Nishapur onto the plains. He ordered total massacres of Nishapur and Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
.
Genghis Khan's succession
When Genghis Khan was deciding who should succeed him he had trouble choosing between his 4 sons. Tolui had amazing military skills and was very successful as a general, but Genghis Khan chose Ögodei because Ögodei was more capable politically. Genghis Khan felt that Tolui would be too cautious to be an effective leader. Tolui was with Genghis on his campaign against the Xi Xia in 1227.After Genghis Khan's death, Tolui generally supervised the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
for 2 years. The Mongol nobles' moves were partly influenced by the tradition that the youngest son inherits his father's properties and partly because Tolui had the largest and most powerful army in central Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
at the time. Tolui supported the election of the Khagan
Khagan
Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...
and Ögodei was chosen as the Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
, fulfilling his father's wishes.
Tolui campaigned with Ogedei and Mongke in North China
North China
thumb|250px|Northern [[People's Republic of China]] region.Northern China or North China is a geographical region of China. The heartland of North China is the North China Plain....
, serving as both strategist
Strategist
A design strategist has the ability to combine the innovative, perceptive and holistic insights of a designer with the pragmatic and systemic skills of a planner to guide strategic direction in context of business needs, brand intent, design quality and customer values...
and field commander
Field Commander
Field Commander is a military turn-based tactics game for the PlayStation Portable. The player takes on the persona of a new Advanced Tactical Legion for Allied Security recruit, an international military alliance...
in 1231-32. After most of the Jin's defences breached, they returned north.
Death and legacy
According to the Secret History of the Mongols, Tolui sacrificed himself in order to cure Ögödei from a very severe illness during a campaign in China. The shamans had determined that the root of Ögödei's illness were China's spirits of the earth and the water, who were upset that their subjects had been driven away and their land devastated. Offering land, animals and people had only led to an aggravation of Ögödei's illness, but when they offered to sacrifice a family member, Ögödei got better immediately. Tolui volunteered and died directly after consuming a cursed drink. However, Ata Malik Juvaini says he died from alcoholismAlcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
Perhaps more important than him was the role his family, the Toluids, had in shaping the destinies of the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
. Through his Christian wife Sorghaghtani Beki
Sorghaghtani Beki
Sorghaghtani Beki or Bekhi , also written Sorkaktani, Sorkhokhtani, Sorkhogtani, Siyurkuktiti; , a Kereyid princess of the Nestorian Christian faith and daughter-in-law of Temüjin , was one of the most powerful and competent women in the Mongol Empire...
, Tolui fathered Möngke
Mongke
Mongke means "eternal" in Mongolian language and may refer to:-Medieval:* Möngke Khan , Great khan of the Mongol Empire* Yesü Möngke, khan of Chagatai khanate, 1247-1252* Mengu-Timur Mongke (also Mönkh, Monkh, Munkh) means "eternal" in Mongolian language and may refer to:-Medieval:* Möngke Khan...
, Kublai
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
, Ariq Boke
Ariq Boke
Ariq Böke , the components of his name also spelled Arigh, Arik, Bukha, Buka , was the youngest son of Tolui , a son of Genghis Khan. After the death of his brother the Great Khan Mongke, Ariq Boke briefly took power while his brothers Kublai and Hulagu were absent...
, and Hulagu
Hulagu Khan
Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü, Hulegu , was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia...
, and thus was the progenitor the Great Khans, Emperors of the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
, and of the Il Khans
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
. During the civil war of the Mongol Empire, the Toluids supported the court of the Great Khan.However, it was a rivalry from among Tolui's own sons, Kublai and Ariq Boke, that fragmented the power of the empire and set the western khanates against each other in the early 1260s.
Rivalry between the Toluids and the sons of Ögedei and Jochi
Jochi
Jochi was the eldest of the Mongol chieftain Genghis Khan's four sons by his principal wife Börte. An accomplished military leader, he participated in his father's conquest of Central Asia, along with his brothers and uncles.-Early life:...
caused stagnation and infighting during the regency periods after the deaths of Ögedei and his son Güyük
Güyük Khan
Güyük was the third Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. As the eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan, he reigned from 1246 to 1248...
. Mongke retroactively awarded his father the title of Khagan in 1252. When Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
established the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
in 1271, he had his father Tolui placed on the official record as Ruizong.
Family
Tolui had many concubines and wives. But the chief one was Sorghaghtani who was the mother of Tolui's 4 sons.Tolui's sons included:
- Mongke KhanMöngke KhanMöngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...
, the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. - Jurikha
- Qutughtu
- Kublai, the Great Khan of the Mongols and the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.
- Hulegu, the first Ilkhan of Mongol Persia.
- Arik Boke, Khagan claimant who was supported by the traditionalist Mongols against Kublai.
- Bujek. He died earlier. Nothing is known much about him except his role in Mongol invasion of EuropeMongol invasion of EuropeThe resumption of the Mongol invasion of Europe, during which the Mongols attacked medieval Rus' principalities and the powers of Poland and Hungary, was marked by the Mongol invasion of Rus starting in 21 December 1237...
in 1236-41 and Mongke's election in 1250. - Mukha
- Satukhtai
- Sabukhtai
Ancestry
See also
- Mongke KhanMöngke KhanMöngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...
- Kublai KhanKublai KhanKublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
- Hulegu
- Yuan DynastyYuan DynastyThe Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
- IlkhanateIlkhanateThe Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
- Northern Yuan Dynasty