The deaths of two Khaghans: a comparison of events in 1242 and 1260

Abstract

The sudden Mongol withdrawal from Hungary in 1242 has been explained by historians in several ways and no consensus about the reason has ever been reached. Contrary to some previously expressed opinions, it was not an unparalleled event: a similar withdrawal from a successful invasion of the Song empire in southern China occurred in 1260. The parallels between the events of 1242 and 1260 are instructive, and strongly suggest that the deaths of the Khaghans Ögödei, in 1241, and Möngke, in 1259, were the basic reasons for breaking off the campaigns. The full explanation is more complex, however. The Mongol invasions of Dali and Annam in the 1250s are also briefly examined, and it is pointed out that a Mongol army led by Uriyangkhadai successfully invaded Song from Annam in 1259, a fact that has often been overlooked.

Climatic and environmental aspects of the Mongol withdrawal from Hungary in 1242 CE

“… Spatial field reconstruction of June-August (JJA) drought anomalies (°C with respect to the 1961–1990 climatology) from 1230–1249 CE 14 . Maps representing the self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Indices (scPDSI) at a spatial resolution of one-half-degree longitude by latitude are based on the OWDA, which reflects regional soil moisture conditions between dryness (−6; brown) and wetness (6; green).…”

“…This steppe region was insufficient to support the huge number of horses in Mongol army, which required ample pasture 9 . None of these concepts – political, military and environmental – is fully satisfactory, and each has undergone extensive scrutiny and critique 12 13 14 . At the same time, a combined multi-proxy assessment of documentary and paleoclimatic evidence is missing.…”