Mangu

(also Möngke). Born in 1208; died in 1259. Fourth khan of the Mongol empire; grandson of Genghis Khan.

After defeating his rivals, Mangu ascended to the throne in 1251 with the support of Batu. His domestic policy was directed at consolidating the central apparatus of government and regulating trade and handicrafts, and his foreign policy was aimed at continuing the wars of conquest. By 1258 he had conquered Iran and had begun the subjugation of southern China. Mangu died during the campaign in China.