Guyuk elected Great Khan

1246

At a lavish kurultai near Karakorum attended by envoys from Korea to Georgia, Ogedei's son Guyuk was raised on a felt carpet as third Great Khan. His short reign was marked by drink, disease, and a bristling letter to the pope demanding submission. His death barely two years later plunged the empire into a succession crisis that shifted power from Ogedei's line to Tolui's descendants forever.