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Outbreak of the Mongol Succession Civil War

Type Event Region Mongol Empire Time 1259–1264

After Möngke's death in 1259, Kublai and Ariq Böke each held a kurultai in 1260 and claimed the khaganate, splitting the empire and starting a civil …

Timeline

  1. 1259Diaoyu Fortress · SichuanThe fifth great khan Möngke led an army south against the Southern Song and died of illness in 1259, halting the expedition. Lacking a clear heir, the princes returned to their own lands, and the steppe and Han political centers each began preparing their own kurultai, setting the stage for two rival khans the following year.
  2. 1260Kaiping (Shangdu) · ChinaWithout waiting for the steppe princes to gather, Kublai convened a kurultai at Kaiping and was acclaimed great khan by the Han princes and some imperial princes. Controlling the Central Plains' revenues and armies, he built his power base centered on Han lands, standing opposed to the steppe faction that clung to nomadic traditions.
  3. 1260Karakorum · Mongolian PlateauAriq Böke convened a kurultai at the traditional steppe capital Karakorum, proclaiming himself great khan with the support of most princes. Neither side recognized the other's legitimacy; they cut off postal relays and fought over taxes and armies, and the Toluid succession civil war broke out in full, beginning the disintegration of the Mongol Empire's unity.

Sources