Ariq Böke was the seventh and youngest son of Tolui and a grandson of Genghis Khan. After the death of his brother the Great Khan Möngke, Ariq Böke claimed the title of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and briefly took power while his brothers Kublai and Hulagu were absent from the Mongolian Plateau. When Kublai returned for an election in 1260, rival factions could not agree, and elected both claimants, Kublai and Ariq Böke, to the throne, resulting in the Toluid Civil War that fragmented the Mongol Empire. Ariq Böke was supported by the traditionalists of the Mongol Empire, while his brother Kublai was supported by the senior princes of North China and Manchuria.