2020-11-07 Sat

The third son of the Genghis Khan and the second great khan of Mongol Empire, Ogedei was born today on 7th October, 1186. 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.

He was the first ruler of the Mongols to call himself khagan (“great khan”); his father used only the title khan. He made his headquarters on the Orhon River in central Mongolia, where he built the capital city of Karakorum on the site laid out by his father.

Ogedei appointed Dayir commander of Ghazni and Menggetu commander in Qonduz. In winter 1241 the Mongol force invaded the Indus valley and besieged Lahore, which was controlled by the Delhi Sultanate. However, Dayir died storming the town, on 30 December 1241, and the Mongols butchered the town before withdrawing from the Delhi Sultanate.

Sometime after 1235 another Mongol force invaded Kashmir, stationing a darughachi there for several years. Soon Kashmir became a Mongolian dependency. Around the same time, a Kashmiri Buddhist master, Otochi, and his brother Namo arrived at the court of Ogedei.

Depicted here a silver Dirham issued under his reign citing the caliph al-Mustansir.

Image Source: https://bactrianumis.com/