Töregene Khatun ( ?–1246) was a Khatun and regent of the Mongol Empire from the death of her husband Ögedei Khan in 1241 until the election of her eldest son Güyük Khan in 1246. She was effectively the temporary Great Khatun (Great Empress) of the Mongol Empire.
Born in the Naiman tribe, Toregene was given as wife to Qudu, the noble of the Merkit clan at first. But Rashid al-Din named his first husband as Dair Usun of the Merkits. When Genghis co...
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Töregene Khatun ( ?–1246) was a Khatun and regent of the Mongol Empire from the death of her husband Ögedei Khan in 1241 until the election of her eldest son Güyük Khan in 1246. She was effectively the temporary Great Khatun (Great Empress) of the Mongol Empire.
Born in the Naiman tribe, Toregene was given as wife to Qudu, the noble of the Merkit clan at first. But Rashid al-Din named his first husband as Dair Usun of the Merkits. When Genghis conquered the Merkits in 1204, he gave Toregene to Ögedei as his second wife. While Ögedei's first wife had no sons, Toregene gave birth to five sons.
She eclipsed all of Ögedei's wives and gradually increased her influence among the court officials. But Toregene still resented Ögedei's officials and the policy of centralizing the administration and lowering tax burdens. Toregene sponsored the reprinting of the Taoist canon in North China. Through the influence of Toregene, Ögedei appointed Abd-ur-Rahman as tax farmer in China.
Soon after Ogodei...
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