Ariq Böke Proclaims Himself Great Khan

Timeline

1. 1259Diaoyu Fortress front · ChinaIn 1259 Great Khan Möngke died while campaigning against the Song, creating a vacuum at the top of the empire. Princes and noyans each held their own armies and the succession order was not yet established, laying the groundwork for the brothers' subsequent contest for the khanship.
2. 1260Karakorum · Mongolian PlateauAriq Böke convened a kurultai at Karakorum, the traditional political center of the Mongolian Plateau, winning the support of Ögedei-line and Chagatai-line princes as well as conservative noyans, proclaiming himself Great Khan and claiming to uphold ancestral tradition in opposition to Kublai's sinicizing policies.
3. 1260Mongolian Plateau · Mongolian PlateauKublai had already proclaimed himself Great Khan at Kaiping earlier that year, and Ariq Böke's proclamation left the empire with two Great Khans side by side. Each controlled northern and southern territories, the Mongol Empire formally moved toward division, and a civil war between the brothers soon broke out.