Ögedei, third son, was chosen Great Khan in 1229 at the kurultai on the Kerulen River. He was forty-three—drinker, builder, less ruthless than his father but more patient. Genghis had named him successor years earlier, and the brothers honored the choice. Chagatai grumbled but accepted. Tolui—youngest, most beloved—served as regent during the interregnum and died young, leaving his sons
