Godan

Timeline

1. c. 1206–1229Mongolian Plateau · Mongolian PlateauSecond son of Ögedei and grandson of Genghis Khan, he belonged with his elder brother Güyük to the Ögedei–Töregene line. In his youth he followed the expansion of the Mongol Empire; after Ögedei took the great khanate in 1229 he began to obtain an independent appanage.
2. 1229–1240Liangzhou · GansuBased at Liangzhou as his ordo, he managed the former Western Xia lands and the military-administration of the Hexi Corridor, becoming the Mongol Empire's western outpost facing the Tibetan Empire. During this period he already possessed the power to independently summon scouts and appoint officials in Chinese lands.
3. 1240–1246Karakorum · Mongolian PlateauIn 1240 he sent Dorada and others leading scouts into Tibet, opening up Mongol–Tibetan military contact. In 1246 he went to Karakorum to attend Güyük's accession assembly; Sakya Pandita had already arrived first and was waiting at Liangzhou.
4. 1247–1251Liangzhou · GansuIn 1247 he met Sakya Pandita at Liangzhou, establishing a patron-priest relationship, with Sakya representing Tibetan monks and laity in communicating with the Mongol khanate. Godan died in 1251, and Sakya Pandita also died that same year; subsequent Mongol–Tibetan relations were carried forward by the Phagpa–Kublai line.