2021-01-11 Mon

Mongke Khan was the ruler of the Mongol Empire reigning from 1251 to 1259 CE. He was a grandson of Genghis Khan and heir to the great Mongol empire. As the third Great Khan or ‘universal ruler’ of the Mongols, Mongke made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign. Under Mongke, the Mongols conquered China in the east and as far as Syria in the west.

Mongke was born on 11 January 1209, as the eldest son of Genghis Khan's teenaged son Tolui and Sorghaghtani Beki. In 1253, Mongke established the Department of Monetary affairs to control the issuance of paper money in order to eliminate the over-issue of the currency by Mongol and non-Mongol nobles since the reign of Great Khan Ogedei. His authority established united measure based on sukhe or silver ingot, however, the Mongols allowed their foreign subjects to mint coins in the denominations and use weight they traditionally used. During the reigns of Ogedei, Guyuk, and Mongke, Mongol coinage increased with gold and silver coinage in Central Asia and copper and silver coins in the Caucasus, Iran, and Bolghar.

He was succeeded by his brother Kublai, who completed the conquest of China. A strict man, Mongke tried to preserve the old Mongol way of life. His contemporaries judged him to be a benevolent ruler.

Image Source: Wikipedia.org