Güyük Khan, born on 19 March 1206 in Mongolia, was the grandson of Genghis
Khan and eldest son and successor of Ögedei,
the first khagan, or
great khan, of the Mongols.
Güyük was elected to the throne in 1246, partly through the manoeuvring
of his mother. He was strongly influenced by Nestorianism, a form of
Christianity considered a heresy by Western Christians, and he favoured
Christian advisers. His election to the throne embittered the conqueror of
Russia, Batu (d. c. 1255),
also a grandson of Genghis. Güyük’s early death, however, prevented the dispute
from tearing the Mongol Empire completely asunder.
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