Khagan Kublai, 1260^* – 1294
04/15/1260 AD elected

^*In opposition to his younger brother Ariq Böke, whom he ultimately subdued in 1264

Kublai Khan was campaigning against the southern Song in 1260 when he received a message from his wife that Ariq Böke had been raising troops, so he returned north to the Mongolian plains. Before he reached Mongolia, he learned that Ariq Böke had held a kurultai (Mongol great council) at the capital Karakorum, which had named him Great Khan with the support of most of Genghis Khan's descendants.

Ariq Böke formed alliances with powerful members of the Mongol nobility to endorse him as a candidate for Great Khan. Most of Möngke's immediate family supported Ariq Böke including the member of Ögedei, Chagatai and Jochi.

Kublai withdrew from the Song and mobilized his troops to fight Ariq Böke.

In China, Kublai summoned a kurultai at Kaiping, where he was elected Great Khan. This was the first kurultai to proclaim a Great Khan outside the Mongol homeland or Central Asia.

Shangdu / Xanadu / Kaiping

Lattitude: 42.3597° N
Longitude: 116.1791° E
Region: Far East

Modern Day China

Events in 1260 MORE