Güyük (Гүюг хаан;
c.
1206–1248) (also transliterated Guyuk, Kuyuk, Güyük, etc.) was the third
Mongol great khan, son of
Ögedei Khan, grandson of
Genghis Khan, who reigned from
1246 to
1248. His brother was
Kadan.
He served as a military officer, as did the other senior princes of the
Mongol Empire, under Genghis and, mainly, Ögedei. In 1233, he conquered
Puxian Wannu's Dongxia Kingdom.
He participated in the invasion of
Russia and Europe in
1236-1241 with many of the other Mongol princes, including
Batu. During the course of the invasion, however, Güyük quarreled violently with Batu, and was for a time recalled to Mongolia. This breach between the families of
Jöchi and Ogedei would widen over time, and ultimately prove the downfall of the Mongol Empire.
In the meanwhile, however, Ögedei had died, his widow
Töregene had taken over as regent, was in a position of great influence and authority, and used both to advocate for her son Güyük. In spite of Batu's withdrawal from Europe so that he might have some influence over the succession, and in spite of his delaying tactics, Töregene succeeded in getting Güyük proclaimed grand
khan in
1246. Guyuk's enthronement near Qaraqorum, the Mongol capital, was attended by
John of Plano Carpini.
Güyük reversed several of the unpopular edicts of his mother the regent and made a surprisingly capable khan, appointing
Eljigidei in Persia (with designs for an attack on Baghdad) and pursuing the war against the
Song Dynasty. Nevertheless, he was somewhat unpopular and insecure, executing several formerly high-ranking officials on grounds of treason. In
1248, he demanded Batu come towards Mongolia to meet him, a move that at least some at the time regarded as a pretext for Batu's arrest. After this order, Batu indeed was on his way, with a large army. Guyuk also prepared for battle, and a civil war was almost inevitable.
However, this showdown never came to be— Güyük died on the way at about forty-two of the combined effects of alcoholism and gout in what is now
Xinjiang. His widow
Oghul Ghaimish took over as regent, but she would be unable to keep the succession within her branch of the family, as
Möngke succeeded as khan in
1251.
Genghis Khan's sons and grandsons, like many Mongols, were haunted by alcoholism, a vice that Genghis himself had detested. Despite this, Genghis himself once remarked that it was not realistic to expect a man not to get drunk on occasion. The death of Guyuk had a profound effect on history. Guyuk wanted to turn the Mongol conquests against Europe. Due to Guyuk's early death, Mongol family politics caused the Mongol efforts to be directed against South China, which was eventually conquered in the time of Kublai Khan.
The reign of Güyük, then, showed that the family split between Batu's line, the descendants of Jöchi, and the rest of the family might well be the fatal flaw for the unity of all the khanates, and civil war might well have occurred then, had he not died early. Batu eventually got together with Mongke and helped to set up Mongke as Great Khan, replacing the house of Ogodei with that of Tolui.
As for Oghul Ghaimish, who Mongke had remarked was "more contemptible than a bitch" (to a European visitor) she was executed after Batu and Mongke engineered this family coup.
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