Möngke Khan
Mongke Khan was ruler of the Mongol Empire (1206-1368 CE) from 1251 to 1259 CE. As the third Great Khan or 'universal ruler' of the Mongols, Mongke would oversee administrative reforms that continued to centralise government and ensure he had at his disposal the resources to successfully expand the empire further into China in the east and as far as Syria in the west. His reign was the last of the Mongol khans to oversee a unified empire before its definitive break-up into several khanates ruled by competing descendants of the man who had founded it all, Genghis Khan (r. 1206-1227 CE).
Genghis Khan's Descendants
In December 1241 CE Ogedei Khan died, having laid down the foundations for a governable empire that now spanned the whole of Asia. He was succeeded by his son Guyuk in 1246 CE after a brief stint as regent by Ogedei's wife Toregene. Guyuk's reign as the third khan of the Mongol Empire would last a mere two years. Guyuk had never been a popular choice, and many nobles, whose loyalties were divided amongst Genghis Khan's descendants, disputed the decision, hence the delay in his nomination after Ogedei's death. It is likely Guyuk was poisoned by a rival in 1248 CE and, perhaps not coincidentally, his death staved off a planned assault on the western part of the empire which had not supported his claim to the throne.
Once again, the empire's throne was empty and the descendants of Genghis Khan squabbled to see who would be the 'universal ruler' or Great Khan. A prime candidate was Mongke, born in 1209 CE the son of Tolui (c. 1190 - c. 1232 CE), the youngest son of Genghis Khan. Mongke had campaigned in southern Russia and eastern Europe with success along with other Mongol commanders from 1237 CE to 1241 CE. Specifically, he had been in command of that wing of the Mongol army that successfully attacked the Kipchaks (aka Cumans) north of the Caspian Sea. After his capture, the Kipchak chief Bachman refused to kneel before Mongke and so was cut in two pieces for his lack of obedience.
Mongke's candidacy for Great Khan was supported by Batu Khan, who represented the House of Jochi, This clan group had been headed by Batu Khan's father Jochi, the eldest son of Genghis Khan, but he had died in 1227 CE just before Genghis. Another impediment to this side of the family was that Jochi had been born while his mother had been in captivity and so his legitimacy as a true descendant of Genghis Khan was always disputed by other branches of the family. Perhaps for this very reason, Jochi's family had been given the lands in the far western part of the Mongol Empire but they remained the greatest rivals to the House of Ogedei, and the unruly Batu was the principal reason why Guyuk had been planning a campaign there.
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