The Toluid Civil War (1260-1264) is an oft-remarked, but little studied, corner in the history of the Mongol Empire. Most discussions devote but a few lines to the period between the death of Möngke Khaan (r.1251-1259) and ascension of...
moreThe Toluid Civil War (1260-1264) is an oft-remarked, but little studied, corner in the history of the Mongol Empire. Most discussions devote but a few lines to the period between the death of Möngke Khaan (r.1251-1259) and ascension of his brother Khubilai (r.1260-1294). The inevitably of Khubilai's victory over his younger brother, Ariq Böke, and strongly pro-Khubilai nature of the sources on the war and the ensuing period (Rashīd al-Dīn's Jāmi' al-Tawārīkh, the Yuanshi, Marco Polo's Description of the World), 2 have resulted in a conflict usually summarized simply in the fact of Khubilai's success. Yet despite this, and the efforts of Khubilai's medieval biographers, we can shed light not just on the course of the conflict, but the very nature of Khubilai's seizure of power over Ariq. I seek to portray a somewhat alternative view of the conflict, suggesting that the surviving materials indicate that Ariq Böke had been considered not just a legitimate candidate, but the intended heir and successor to Möngke. Khubilai's ascension was a usurpation, and was seen as such by his contemporaries. Thus, never could he claim the loyalty of the other, now independent, khanates of the Mongol Empire.
