Batu Khan

Batu Khan was a grandson of Genghis Khan and the son of Jochi. He commanded, with the great general Subutai, the Mongol invasions of the Rus’ principalities and central Europe in the 1230s and 1240s. After the campaign he established his power on the lower Volga, creating the political foundation of the Golden Horde. His relations with other branches of the imperial family strongly influenced the election and authority of later great khans.

Batu appears in Conn Iggulden’s Conqueror series and in other historical epics about the Mongol advance into Russia and Europe. Fiction often presents him alongside Subutai, contrasting princely authority with professional generalship, and explores the disputed legacy of Jochi within the family of Genghis Khan. The scale of the western campaign allows novelists to move between Mongol leadership and the societies confronted by their armies.

In Cecelia Holland’s Until the Sun Falls, his military responsibilities under Batu Khan and Subutai are complicated by conflict within his household, particularly with a son determined to establish an independent reputation. Neal Stephenson’s The Mongoliad: Book 1 is set in 1241, Mongol armies have shattered the defences of eastern and central Europe. Other novels featuring Batu Khan include Conn Iggulden’s Empire of Silver, Neal Stephenson’s The Mongoliad: Book 2, and Neal Stephenson’s The Mongoliad: Book 3.