Key Facts
- Active period
- 12th–14th centuries
- Founding ancestor
- Ögedei Khan (1186–1241), 3rd son of Genghis Khan
- Key conflict
- Kaidu–Kublai war, extending into the 14th century
- Collapse date
- 1310, when Chapar Khan surrendered to Yuan emperor Khayishan
- Clan origin
- Borjigin clan, cadet branch
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
The House of Ögedei derived its authority from Ögedei Khan, Genghis Khan's third son and chosen successor, who expanded the Mongol Empire westward into Europe and eastward into China during the 1230s–1240s. After Ögedei's death in 1241, his descendants retained strong claims to supreme Mongol leadership and formed alliances with the Chagataids to contest power against the rising Toluid line.
Phase II: Zenith
At their height, Ögedeid princes exercised significant influence across Central Asia, competing for control of the Chagatai Khanate and fielding armies against the Yuan dynasty. Under Kaidu Khan, the house controlled vast steppe territories and maintained enough military strength to wage a prolonged war against Kublai Khan, briefly uniting disparate anti-Yuan factions under Ögedeid leadership.
Phase III: Decline
Following Kaidu's death, his successor Chapar Khan proved unable to maintain the coalition, surrendering to Yuan emperor Khayishan in 1310. The territories held by the Ögedeids were subsequently absorbed by the Chagataids and the Yuan dynasty. Surviving family members persisted as contenders or puppet rulers in the Northern Yuan and Transoxiana through the 14th and 15th centuries before fading from political relevance.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory