Kadan (also Qadan) was the son of the second Great Khan of the Mongols Ögedei and a concubine. He was the grandson of

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

and the brother of Güyük Khan. During the

Mongol invasion of Europe From the 1220s to the 1240s, the Mongol Empire, Mongols conquered the Turkic peoples, Turkic states of Volga Bulgaria, Cumania and Iranian peoples, Iranian state of Alania, and various principalities in Eastern Europe. Following this, they began ...

, Kadan, along with his cousin Baidar (son of

Chagatai Khan Chagatai Khan (; – 1242) was a son of Genghis Khan and a prominent figure in the early Mongol Empire. The second son of Genghis's wife Börte, Chagatai was renowned for his masterful knowledge of Mongol custom and law, which he scrupulously ...

) and Orda Khan (the eldest brother of Batu Khan and khan of the White Horde), led the Mongol diversionary force that attacked Poland, while the main Mongol force struck the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

Biography

He was born from Ergene, Ögedei Khan's concubine. His only sibling from both his father and mother's side is Melig. In early 1241, Kadan's forces sacked the Polish towns of

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, Zawichost and

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...

. Kadan then attacked Masovia, while Baidar burned the evacuated Polish capital,

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and then Bytom, and Orda Khan assaulted the southwestern border of

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. The three leaders were then to attack the Silesian capital

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

. Baidar began to besiege the town, but marched north with Kadan and Orda to Legnica to defeat the forces of Henry II the Pious, Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland, before he could join King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia. After defeating some forces of Konrad I of Masovia, Kadan's forces joined with Baidar's and Orda's at Legnica. The Christian army was crushed in the ensuing

Battle of Legnica The Battle of Legnica (), also known as the Battle of Liegnitz () or Battle of Wahlstatt (), was fought between the Mongol Empire and combined European forces at the village of Legnickie Pole (''Wahlstatt''), approximately southeast of the ci ...

of 9 April 1241. Mongol casualties were heavier than expected in the battle, however, and Kadan was reluctant to directly attack Wenceslaus' Bohemian forces. Kadan and Baidar skirmished against the Bohemians and were able to prevent the Bohemian king from helping King

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of Andrew II of Hungary, King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group ...

. After raiding

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, the Mongol diversionary force went to Hungary. Zelnahora

During the winter of 1241–42, Kadan sacked

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

on the way to

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

. While besieging Italian mercenaries defending

Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...

, Kadan was forced to withdraw his troops after an early thaw flooded the land around the town. The Mongol prince was then sent south with one tumen to search for Béla in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. Kadan first sought the Hungarian king at

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, which he sacked, and then pursued him into

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

. While Béla hid at Trogir, Mongols under the leadership of Kadan, in March 1242 at Klis Fortress in Croatia, experienced their first European military failure, while in pursuit for the head of Béla IV of Hungary. Kadan had his Hungarian prisoners executed as supplies began to run out. To the king's surprise, Kadan headed south past Trogir toward Dubrovnik (Ragusa). While he was nearing Scutari, Kadan heard of the death of his father, Ögedei Khan. Kadan's raids through

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

on his retreat from Central Europe induced the young Kaliman I of Bulgaria to pay tribute and accept Batu Khan as his liege. In 1251 Kadan accepted the election of Möngke Khan as Khagan. According to René Grousset, he probably helped the latter to capture Eljigidei, the chief general of Güyük. Kadan was loyal to Kublai Khan and supported his army against Ariq Böke in the Toluid Civil War. He commanded a Mongol army at the first engagement with Ariq Böke and killed his general Alandar. In many medieval sources, Kadan was mistranslated by chroniclers as Kaidu, leading to confusion about who participated in the European campaign. Chambers, James. ''The Devil's Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe''. Atheneum. New York. 1979. He is also confused with another brother, Köden, who was influential in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

Family

(

Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khan (also Ögedei Khagan or Ogodei; 11 December 1241) was the second Khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. Born in 1186 AD, Öged ...

＞窩闊台,اوگتاى قاآن/Ūgtāī Qā'ān) * Kadan ＞合丹/hédān,قدان اغور/Qadān āghūr) ** (Dorǰi ＞覩爾赤/dǔěrchì,دورجی/Dūrjī) *** (Söse ＞小薛/xiǎoxuē,سوسه/Sūse) **** (Singgibal ＞星吉班/xīngjíbān) **** (Askiba ＞اسکبه/Askiba) ** (Yesür ＞也速児/yěsùér,ییسور/Yīsūr) ** (Qibčaq ＞قبچاق/Qibchāq) *** (Quril ＞قوریل/Qūrīl) ** (Qada'an ubuk ＞قدان اوبوک/Qadān ūbūk) ** ( ＞قورمشی/Qūrmshī) ** (Yeye ＞ییه/Yeye) *** (Örük temür ＞اورک تیمور/Ūrk tīmūr) *** (Yiš temür ＞ایش تیمور/Yīsh tīmūr) ** (Ebügen ＞也不干/yěbúgān,ابوکانAbūkān) *** (Qorangsa ＞火郎撒/huǒlángsā) ** (Yesün tu'a,也孫脱/yěsūntuō) ** (Qoniči ＞火你/huǒnǐ) *** (Yoǰu ＞咬住/yǎozhù) *** (Nogai ＞那海/nàhǎi)

References

{{Reflist 13th-century Mongols Generals of the Mongol Empire House of Ögedei Sons of emperors