Godan (), also romanized as Koden and Khodan, (1206–1251) was a grandson of

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

. Godan administered much of China proper before

Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of th ...

came to power. He was the second son of

Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khagan (also Ogodei;, Mongolian: ''Ögedei'', ''Ögüdei''; – 11 December 1241) was second khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. ...

and

Töregene Khatun Töregene Khatun (also Turakina, , ) (d. 1246) was the Great Khatun and regent of the Mongol Empire from the death of her husband Ögedei Khan in 1241 until the election of her eldest son Güyük Khan in 1246. Background Töregene was born in ...

and a brother of Güyük Khan. He is broadly known as Godan Khan, even though he did not have the monarchical title of khan. Godan ordered the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing con ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, which was carried about by Doord Darkhan (known as Doorta) in 1240. In 1247 at the request of Godan, Sakya Pandita and his two nephews served as delegates of Tibet's political leadership at the suggestion of the

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of Reting Monastery, when Sakya Pandita arrived at Godan's court he cured Godan of an illness, and Godan then became his disciple and

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and learned the Tantras; thus began their special relationship that made the Pandita's rulers of Tibet. In addition, Sakya Pandita with the aid of his nephew

Drogön Chögyal Phagpa Drogön Chogyal Phagpa (; ; 1235 – 15 December 1280), was the fifth leader of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. He was also the first Imperial Preceptor of the Yuan dynasty, and was concurrently named the director of the Bureau of Buddhist ...

were encouraged by Godan to invent a Mongolian script called 'Phags-pa script named after its inventor.*

References

{{reflist, 2 Godan, Prince Converts to Buddhism House of Ögedei Mongolian Buddhist monarchs Sons of emperors

See also

References