The
House of Ögedei, sometimes called the
Ögedeids, were an influential family of Mongol
Borjigin (Imperial, or Golden Family) from the 12th to 14th centuries. They were descended from
Ögedei Khan (1186-1241), a son of
Genghis Khan who had become his father's successor, second
Khagan of the Mongol Empire. Ögedei continued the expansion of the Mongol Empire. When, after the Toluid
Möngke Khan's death, the Mongol Empire disintegrated into
civil war, the members of the House of Ogedei were influential players in the politics of the region. Of Genghis Khan's sons — Ogedei,
Jochi,
Chagatai, and
Tolui — the House of Ögedei tended to ally with the
Chagataids (descendants of Chagatai) against the House of Jochi, while seeking control for themselves within the Chagatai Khanate at first. The Ogedeids also allied with the
Golden Horde against the Yuan emperor
Kublai Khan (son of Tolui), who was allied with his brother Hulagu, leader of the
Ilkhanate in Persia. The Ogedeids attempted to unite the Mongol Empire under their own rule, and Ogedeid princes continued to march against the
Yuan dynasty well into the 14th century such as during the
Kaidu–Kublai war.