grandson of Genghis Khan and eldest son and successor of Ögödei, the first khagan, or great khan, of the Mongols.

Güyük was elected to the throne in 1246, partly through the maneuvering of his mother. He was strongly influenced by Nestorianism, a form of Christianity considered a heresy by Western Christians, and he favoured Christian advisers. His election to the throne embittered the conqueror of Russia, Batu (d. c. 1255), also a grandson of Genghis. Güyük's early death, however, prevented the dispute from tearing the Mongol Empire completely asunder.