page_title: Möngke Khan
section_title: Mongol imperialism
hierarchical_section_title: Möngke Khan / Mongol imperialism
caption_attribution_description: English: Extent of the Mongol Empire, 1259
context_page_description: Möngke was the fourth khagan of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign. Under Möngke, the Mongols conquered Iraq and Syria as well as the kingdom of Dali.
context_section_description: Möngke drafted his own decrees and kept close watch on their revision. Möngke forbade practices of extravagant costs of the Borjigin and non-Borjigid nobles. He also limited gifts to the princes, converting them into regular salaries, and made the merchants subject to taxes. Möngke limited notorious abuses and sent imperial investigators to supervise the business of the merchants who were sponsored by the Mongols. He prohibited them from using the imperial relay stations, yam (route), and paizas, tablets that gave the bearer authority to demand goods and services from civilian populations. With Güyük dead, many local officials no longer wanted to pay off the paper drafts used by Güyük. Möngke recognized that if he did not meet the financial obligations of Güyük, it would make merchants reluctant to continue business with the Mongols. Möngke paid out all drafts drawn by high ranking Mongol elites to these merchants. Ata-Malik Juvayni stated, "And from what book of history has it been read or heard...that a king paid the debt of another king?" The generals and princes (including his son) who allowed their troops to plunder civilians without authorization were repeatedly punished by Möngke Khan. He used North Chinese, Muslim, and Uyghur officials. The Khagan's chief judge (darughachi) was the Jait-Jalayir official Menggeser, while the chief scribe was the Bulghai of the Keraites, who was a Christian. Nine of the 16 chief provincial officials of Möngke Khan were certainly Muslims. He reappointed Güyük's three officials: Mahmud Yalavach in China, Masud Beg in Turkestan, and Arghun Aqa of the Oirat in Iran. Möngke separated the position of the great judge at court from that of chief scribe.
  In 1253, Möngke established the Department of Monetary affairs to control the issuance of paper money in order to eliminate the over-issue of the currency by Mongol and non-Mongol nobles since the reign of Great Khan Ögedei. His authority established united measure based on sukhe or silver ingot, however, the Mongols allowed their foreign subjects to mint coins in the denominations and use weight they traditionally used. During the reigns of Ögedei, Güyük, and Möngke, Mongol coinage increased with gold and silver coinage in Central Asia and copper and silver coins in the Caucasus, Iran, and Bolghar.
  In 1252–59, Möngke conducted a census of the Mongol Empire, including Iran, Afghanistan, Georgia, Armenia, Russia, Central Asia, and North China. While the census of China was completed in 1252, Novgorod in the far north-west was not counted until winter 1258–59. There was an uprising in Novgorod against Mongol rule in 1257, but Alexander Nevsky forced the city to submit to the Mongol census and taxation. The new census counted not only households but also the number of men aged 15–60 and the number of fields, livestock, vineyards, and orchards. Within the civilian register craftsmen were listed separately, while in the military registers auxiliary and regular households were distinguished. Clergy of the approved religions were separated and not counted. When the new register was completed, one copy was sent to Karakorum and one copy kept for the local administration. Möngke tried to create a fixed poll tax collected by imperial agents that could be forwarded to the needy units. Initially, the maximum rate was fixed at 10–11 gold dinars in the Middle East and 6–7 taels of silver in China. Protests from the landlord classes reduced this relatively low rate to 6–7 dinars and taels. Some officials raised the top rate on the wealthy of 500 dinars. While the reform did not lighten the tax burden, it made the payments more predictable. Even so, the census and the regressive taxation it facilitated sparked popular riots and resistance in the western districts.
  In 1259, the Georgian king, David VI, revolted, unsuccessfully, against the Mongols and then fled to Kutaisi, whence he reigned over Imereti in western Georgia as de facto separate ruler. In 1261, he gave shelter to David VII, who had later attempted to end the Mongol dominance. David Ulu made pe
caption: The Mongol Empire during the reign of Möngke Khan (r.1251–59)
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