Description

Batu was the first born son of Genghis Khan’s eldest son Juchi.
At his father Juchi’s death in 1227, the same year Genghis Khan died, Batu became the head of his Mongol clan the Golden Horde.
A battle tested leader who maintained the perception of affability, Batu was well liked and respected by his uncle and overlord Ogedei the Khakahn and the other Mongol princes.
Referred to by the ‘family’ as the “Sain Khan” (splendid khan), Batu, like his father Jochi, embraced the nomad lifestyle of the Mongols and was a fearsome warrior on horseback.
In 1235 Batu was directed by Ogedei to conquer Russia and Europe. By the year 1241 Batu Khan and General Subotai had swept through Russia, Poland and Hungary.
Batu and Subotai were planning the invasion of Austria, Germany and Italy when Ogedei died in December of 1241. Mongol law required that all the princes of the blood return to Karakorum to elect a new Khakhan. The advance of the Golden Horde halted at that time.
Batu remained with his Russian conquests until his death in 1255.
The Golden Horde became the longest surviving Khanate of the Mongol
expansion period.