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Escape from Hengyang by Qiong Yao |
Mongol historiy is a topic widely touched upon, and a good source will be "Mongolia - A Country Study" linked at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/mntoc.html authored by Robert L. Worden and Andrea Matles Savada, eds. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress, 1989. An excerpt could be seen at http://www.shsu.edu/~his_ncp/Mongolia.html. Most of the studies concentrated on Mongolians at the time of Chinggis Khan (Jenghiz Khan or Genghis Khan) and his trans-continental empire. What I am interested in is historical authentication, and this kind of research is probably best achieved by Paul Ratchnevsky whose German version of the book, "Genghis Khan: His Life And Legacy" (first published in 1983 by Franz Steiner Verlag GMBH), was transalated into English in 1991 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd. The author thoroughly compared all available records, from "The Secret History of the Mongols" (military sagas authored around 1228 by Shigi-Khutukhu the adopted son of the Khan), Chinese version "Shenwu Qinzheng Lu (The Campaigns of Genghis Khan)" (derived from Altan Debter-Golden Book, the same source as used by Rashid), "Yuanshi (The History of the Yuan Dynasty)" (edited by Khubilai), Juvaini's "History of the World Conqueror", and two books by Rashid ad-Din the Jewish doctor of the Mongol Il-khans of Persia: "Jami'al-tawrikh (Collected Chronicles)" and "History of the Tribes". Some western scholars, in their descriptions of Mongol military brutalities, would point out that it was Genghis Khan’s Mongols who had helped to lay the foundation of today’s Russia and China. They would further express their admirations for Genghis Khan’s ambitions for uniting Mongols into a strong nation and his exceptional military talents in defeating any rival in front of him. While it might be true that Mongols had played a role in forming today’s Russia, it’s definitely not the case with China, a country experiencing integration and disunity in a predictable fashion for past thousand years. 
As to Genghis Khan’s personal traits, they are not very different from other heroes or tyrants in human history. For Genghis Khan, I will list three as most important of all: revenge, lust, and predacity. Genghis Khan lost his father at an early age, as a result of his father being poisoned by the Tatar tribe. This is in addition to Tatars' betraying his ancestors to the Jurchens. He would be deprived of tribal privileges by his own people after the death of his father. Hence, Genghis Khan’s life-time objective became undisputably clear: to avenge himself on his enemies. Genghis Khan would first retake leadership of his own tribe, and then defeat the Tatars, the top enemy. The final revenge would be that on the Jurchens who were driven out of their first capital of Peking, and second capital of Kaifeng, and finally Jurchens were denied a request to surrender. (In contrast, the later Manchurians would treat the Mongols much better.) As to the second trait, Genghis Khan launched several campaigns against the Tanguts’ Xixia (Western Xia) and Jurchens’ Jin (Gold), but on the initial wars against both parties, respectively, he withdrew his forces after the emperor or king of Xixia and Jin negotiated peace by surrendering their young daughters to Genghis Khan as brides. It was rumored that Genghis Khan died of poisoning in the hands of his Tangut wife when he campaigned against Xixia the 2nd time. Genghis Khan's life philosophy is best quoted in all books available, namely, he once asked his sons, "What will be the happiest thing ever for a man in his lifetime?" He told his sons that it would be to kill the male population of his enemies, grab the daughters and wives of his enemies and take them as his wives & concubines.
Indeed, Mongols mercilessly slaughtered the male population of clans and tribes they conquered. The myth that Mongols spared those who surrendered was simply not true. Mongols either killed all males or those males who had a height above the wheel of a cart. E.g., after taking over Samarkand where the defenders surrendered, Genghis Khan would kill all 40,000 prisoners at night, with about 30,000 skilled workers and artizans spared and another 30,000 labor taken as slaves. The simple trick is like this: Mongols tricked the conquered city by separating the males from females, ordered the males dwell outside of the city wall, and slaughtered them at night. Similar genocide could be found among Spanish Conquistadors and British colonialists in North America and Australia. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/genes/population/proof.shtml carried an article proving that Spanish Conquistadors slaughtered indigenous Amerindian men and enslaved the women as exhibited by Iberian Y chromosomes and Amerindian mtDNA in today's Colombia.) For nomads like Genghis Khan, the traits (genetic or not) remain quite simple: Since nomads do not have grain reserves for natural disasters as agricultural settlers do, the first thing nomads would undertake would be to raid into the sedentary communities. Coupled with his two former traits, Genghis Khan’s accomplishments are certainly understandable. Then who are those Mongols? They are not necessarily the same as today's Mongolians. Today, both the Mongolians and the Kazaks claim that they were the true descedants of Genghis Khan, and some people in southern China also claimed the same heritage. When Mr Liang Suming (Last Confucian Of China) published an article "An Exploration Into Yuan Dynasty" in 1918 and hence was appointed lecturer of philosophy at Peking University, people would not know that Liang, a youth of 25 from Guiling, today’s Guangxi Province in Southern China, would be a Mongol in heritage. The Mongols held on to their stronghold in today's Guangxi-Yunnan areas much longer after they lost China proper. Recent DNA tests conducted against the remains of the Khitan tombs, however, pointed to the possibility that those Mongols in today's Yunan-Guangxi areas were more Khitan than Mongol. Those people in southern China did historically claim that they were the descendants of Khitans who were dispatched to southern China by the Mongols in the 14th century. (The DNA tests, interestingly, also linked the Dawo'er or Dagur people in today's Manchuria as the closest kin of the ancient Khitans.) Then, who are those people called Mongols came from at the time of Genghis Khan? What is their lineage and who would be their direct descendants today? And, what did Paul Ratchnevsky say in his book "Genghis Khan: His Life And Legacy" about the origins of various steppe tribes, the ambiguous birth year of Ghengis Khan, and most importantly, missing 10 year history of the Khan? Mengwu Shiwei 
It will be a tough call to tell the difference between Turkic, Mongol and Tungusic tribes. We had spent considerable time exploring into the Huns and the Turks. It will help in clarifying the origin of the Mongols. Before the Mongols, there existed the Hsiongnu (Huns), Hsien-pi (Xianbei), Tavghach (Tuoba), Juan-juan (Ruruans), Tu-chueh (Turks), Uygurs [Huihe, i.e., ancestors of the Uighurs (see Turk section)], Kirghiz, and Khitans. Tribal empires rose and fell, the conquered and the conquerors mixed up, and ethnic and linguistic dividing lines blurred. Notable would be the fact that the so-called Indo-European nomads, Scythians ('Sai Ren' People) and Yuezhi (Yüeh-chih), had migrated to Oxus and the Iranian world a long time ago. The Huns, who drove away the Yuezhi, had raided as far west as the ancient Jiankun [Kirghis] territory. The Turks, and the later Mongols, followed the path of the former.
For further discussions on Barbarians & Chinese, please refer to
Relationship Between Shang Dynasty, Succeeding Zhou Dynasty & Barbarians Difference Between Rong and Chinese In 'Culture', Not 'Blood-line' Merging and Subjugating Barbarians By Zhou Dynasty & Principalities Assertions By Luo Xianglin & Wang Zhonghan Continuing Zigzags With Barbarians Where Were Yuezhi, Wusun & Sai-ren [Scythians]? The Huns set up their Hunnic Han or Zhao Dynasties by the end of Western Jinn Dynasty. Also Hunnic will be a Xia Dynasty, established by Helian Bobo, who was said to be of a mingle nature, called 'Tie Fu'. The Tie Fu Huns were born of Xianbei mother and Hunnic father. Among these states, the Toba or Tuoba (T'o-pa in Wade-Giles), a subgroup of the Xianbei, took over northern China and established Toba Wei Dynasty. In the Altai, leftover Huns were absorbed by Ruruans whose founder, who once served under Toba, fled to the Altai and built up a strong power by absorbing the Huns and Gao-che people. Then, the Ruruans were defeated and exterminated by Turks. Tobas would deal with the onslaughts by the Ruruans first and then the Turks. Tobas themselves got sinicized in northern China. (In today's northern Chinese province was a county named Shiwei, and in Russian Far East was a prefecture named Tuoba.) In AD 443, the barbarians who took over Toba's old territories, upper Heilongjiang River and northern Xing'an Ridge (Greater Khingan Mountains), came to see Toba Wei Emperor (Toba Tao) and told him that they found Toba ancestor's stone house, called 'Ga Xian Dong'. Toba Tao sent a minister called Li Chang to the stone house which was carved out of a natural cavern. In 1980s, this cavern was discovered as well as the inscriptions left by Li Chang. Ultimately, Toba Wei Dynasty would be usurped by two generals of Xianbei heritage. The peoples who dwelled in old Xianbei-Wuhuan-Toba territories would be the later Shiwei Tribes (ancestors of Mengwu Shiwei or Genghis Mongols), the Khitans, the Xi nomads, and the Malgal people etc. They would be the ancestors of later Jurchens or Mongols. The Khitans first appeared on the stage. The Khitans, occupying the old territories of the Xianbei, were said to be related to the Tungus, according to "New History of Five Dynasties". Specifically, "New History Of Tang Dynasty" mentioned that the Khitans were the descendants of the Kebi'neng Xianbei. (Alternatively, "Old History Of Five Dynasties" said that the Khitans were alternative race of the Huns which was a generic name for all nomads.) New History Of Tang Dynasty said that by the time of Toba's Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534), the ancestors of Khitans adopted the name 'Khitan' or "Qidan' for themselves. Khitans lived around the Liao River in today's Manchuria. To the east of the Khitans will be Koguryo, to the west the Xi nomads (said to be alternative race of the Huns), to the north Huji (Malgal) and Shiwei Tribes, and to the south Yingzhou Prefecture of Toba Wei Dynasty. "New History Of Tang Dynasty" said Khitans possessed eight tribes and they were subject to the Turks. Prior to Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), Turks had replaced their Ruruan masters as the strongest power in the northern steppe. Around 620s, Khitan chieftan came to see Tang's first Emperor, Tang Gaozu (Li Yuan), together with Malgal chieftan. At the times of Tang Empress Wuhou, Khitans began to rebell against Tang. In AD 712, Khitans submitted to Tang and was conferred the title of King of Songmuo Prefecture. Heads of eight Khitan tribes were conferred posts as general, too. A Tang royal family princess, Princess Yongle, was sent to Khitan khan as wife. More Tang princesses were marrived over to Khitans. By mid-750s, the Khitans defeated the Tang army led by An Lushan. Khitans later submitted to Uygurs. It would be in AD 842 that Khitans came to submit to Tang again after the Uygur kingdom was destroyed by the Kirghiz. Governor-general of Youzhou, Zhang Zhongwu, would replace Khitan's Uygur seal with Tang seal. In AD 860s, Khitans came to pay pilgrimages to Tang. After the fall of Tang Dynasty (AD 619-907), three dynasties among the Five Dynasties (AD 907-960), Posterior Tang 923-936, Posterior Jin 936-946, Posterior Han 947-950, were ruled by the Sha'to Turks. The remaining Orkhon Turks were not heard from after China's Five Dynasties time period. With the demise of Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), Khitans began to conquer Xi nomads, Tanguts, Dada [Dadan], and Shiwei statelets. Uygurs (Uighurs) fled to the Tibetans and Karlaks to take refuge in Ganzhou and Xinjiang after being replaced by the Kirghiz. Mengwu Shiwei Against this setting, we would encounter the ancestors of the Mongols. Shiwei tribes would be where we are to trace the Mongols for their origin. According to Chinese history, there were over twenty Shi-wei (Shiwei) Tribes, including East Shiwei, West Shiwei, Mengwu Shiwei and Luozu Shiwei, among others. Mengwu Shiwei would be where the ancestors of future Mongols under Genghis Khan's grandfather came from. Mengwu Shiwei, according to the history account, dwelled in the upper segment of today's Heilongjiang River and belonged to the 'forest people' against the 'pastoral people'. The Shiwei people were said to be alternative race of the Khitans, according to Xin Tang Shi (New History Of Tang Dynasty). They could be related to the ancient 'Dingling' people. (Dingling, a gegeric name, was said to be derived from the ancient Chidi people, and early Gaoche people were said to have relation to Dingling as well.) The Shiwei people shared the same language as Malgal people (ancestors of Jurchens and Manchus). They dwelled in upper Heilongjiang River. The location was to the east of the Turks, to the west of Malgal, and to the north of the Khitans. There were over 20 Shiwei tribes on record, including Mengwu Shiwei, ancestors of Genghis Khan Mongols. Among Shiwei tribes would be an interesting name called 'Huangdou Shiwei', i.e., yellow head Shiwei. "Xin Wu Dai Shi" (New History of Five Dynasties), citing the account of a Chinese (Hu Qiao) taken prisoner of war by Khitans, mentioned that there was a statelet called Yujuelu with 'Maodou' (hairy head) people to the northwest of Shiwei and to the north of the Kirghiz people. Also to the northeast of Shiwei would be another group of 'Maoshou' or hairy head people. Hu Qiao also mentioned a statelet called 'Gou-guo' or 'doggy statelet' where the babies born would be human beings if a girl, but dogs if a boy. (I guess that arrogant ancient Chinese treated hairy Euroasian men as doggy equivalent. Whereas, I interpreted prehistoric Sino-Tibetan-speaking 'Rong' barbarians as wearing wooly clothes against 'mao' character for hairy skin.) Shiwei first came to Tang Dynasty during the 5th year of Tang Emperor Taizong's reign, AD 631. Shiwei came to Tang court over a dozen times. By the 4th year of Zhenyuan Era, AD 788(?), Xi nomads joined Shiwei in attacking Zhengwu governor office. Shiwei were later taken over by the Khitan Empire. When Jurchens rose up against the Khitans and moved into northern China, the Shiwei and Mongolia territories were nominally controlled by the Jurchens via three major Jurchen vassals: the Naimans, the Keraits and the Tatars. Later historical records quoted the Jurchen Jin Dynasty's history (compiled by Mongol Yuan Dynasty's prime minister) as saying that the 'Mengwu' people had a rebellion led by Kabul-khan. It was said that after the migration of the Jurchens to north China, the Borjigin people (who derived from Mengwu Shiwei) had emerged in central Mongolia as the leading clan of a loose federation. Kabul Khan raided into Jurchen Jin in AD 1135 by taking advantage of Jurchen's southern campaign against Song Chinese. Jurchen emperor, hearing of Mongol disturbance, called on Kabul Khan to the Jurchen capital. Kabul Khan, being drunken, did not show respect for the Jurchen emperor. When Jurchens dispatched emissaries to Kabul Khan twice for recalling him to the Jurchen capital, Kabul Khan killed the Jurchen emissaries. Then, Jurchens dispatched General Hu Shahu on a campaign against Kabul Khan. Jurchens were defeated by Kabul Khan. When Jin Emperor Xizong died, his grandson colluded with Jurchen Jin General Wuzu in killing an uncle called Dalai, and Dalai's descendants fled to Kabul-khan's Mengwu people for assitance in avenging on the new Jurchen emperor. This caused the Jurchens to abort their southern campaigns against the Chinese of Southern Song Dynasty. Unable to fight the Mengku, the Jurchens negotiated a peace treaty with the Mengwu and moreover conferred Kabul-khan the title of king of the Mengwu people. After the death of Kabul-khan, the 'Mengwu' people were commented to have disintegrated. Kabul-khan decreed that his brother, Ambaki, be the leader. The Mongols then had wars with the Tatar tribe. The Tatar tribe tricked Ambaki into an arrest via a proposition for an inter-marriage, and then sent both Ambaki and Kabul-khan's elder son to the Jurchens for execution. Kabul-khan's 4th son, Kaidu, would avenge on the Jurchens. Kaidu passed on the reign to the 3rd son of his brother, i.e., Yesugei. (Yisugei, Genghis Khan's father and Emperor Shenyuan posthumously, would be fifth generation of Kabul Khan, according to History of Yuan Dynasty.) Yesugei would avenge on the Tatar tribe and kill a chieftan by the name of Timuchin, a same name assigned to his son. Yesugei, who was chief of the Kiyat subclan of the Borjigin, was later poisoned by Tatars in AD 1175, when Genghis Khan (Timuchin or Temujin) was only twelve years old. Genghis Khan is like either 3 or 4 generations apart from Kabul-khan. The Kiyat people rejected Timuchin as their leader and chose one of Timuchin's kin, instead. Temujin and his immediate family were deserted even by Yisugei's brothers who went to Tayichi'ut clan. By the early 13th century, Genghis Khan would unite all Turko-Mongol tribes, including Kiyats, Tatars, Merkits, Keraits and Naimans. Mongol Legends Legends claimed that Mengwu Shiwei clan was defeated by the neighboring clans and that only a few people survived by fleeing into the Erkene-kun Mountains. An able man by the name of Qi-yan took charge of the remnants, and his name 'Qi-yan' would mutate into the later tribal name of 'Kiyat'. (History of Yuan Dynasty stated that Genghis Khan's clan name was 'Qiwowen-shi'.) Qi-yan was said to have found an iron mine inside the Erkene-kun Mountains, and after melting the irons of a cavern, they found a road leading them out of the mountains. Over a dozen generations later would appear a person by the name of Duo-ben-ba-yan or Tuo-ben-muo-er-gen who married Alan-ko. After having two children, Duo-ben-ba-yan passed away; however, Alan-ko was said to have immaculate conceptions, bearing three more children, including Bodunchar who possessed grey eyes against the chestnut eye color of the brothers. Bodunchar, together with his four elder brothers, raided the Zha-e-chi-wu tribe and took over a woman called Bo-rui-ha-dun. One of Bodunchar's granson married Monolun and bore nine sons. Monolun, according to History of Yuan Dynasty, had bad temper and at one time killed some children of neighboring Jalair clan by running a cart over the kids. The Jalair clan raided them in retaliation, and only one son of Monolun, i.e., Kaidu, survived. Later, Kaidu defeated the Jalair clan to be a leader of the early Mongol people. Also of the Bodunchar descendancy would be fifth generation grandson, Kabul Khan. Genghis Mongols Called Themselves 'Tatars' However, contemporaries pointed out that Genghis Mongols called themselves 'Tatars'. It would be Khubilai Khan who would officially endorse the name 'Mengwu' or English 'Mongol'. The Genghis Khan Mongols identified themselves with the branch of the forest people called the Tayichi'uts, the Jukins, the Oirats and the Onggirats. The ancestors of Genghis Khan Mongols belonged to the Borjigid clan which was a branch of the Kiyats. The Onggirats connection lies in the fact that Yisugei had abducted a woman called Ho'elun as his wife, and future Yuan Dynasty internal ruling decreed that emperors must marry Onggirat women as empresses. (Mongol possibly possessed the same kinsmenship as the Jurchens. Some historian said the Khitans had once used the word 'Onggirat' for themselves and the Jurchens [Jurchids] had used 'Qonggirat' for the tribal name as well.) In the sections on Tayichi'uts and Mengwu, we will explain a bit more about their inter-relationships. Historian Luu Simian speculated that Genghis Khan Mongols were a mixture of Dada [Dadan] [with mixture from Shatuo Turks] and Shiwei on basis of the fact that both Turks and Mongols had treated the wolf as their ancestor. Also note that Mongol legend about seeking asylum in iron mountain was similar to the Turk legend about 800-900 years ahead. Turko-Mongol Tribes & Clans Most European history books pointed out that the Ruruans [Rouran or Ru-ru] were 'Mongolian', and they even claimed that the Genghis Khan Mongols were descendants of the Ruruans. The Hunnic relationship with the Ruruans (said to be the successors of the Huns) has been explored in the Hun section. Toba Xianbei treated the founder of the Ruruan people as belonging to Donghu, i.e., Tungusic people in the east which included Xianbei, Wuhan and Tuoba. The Ruruan founder later fled to the Altai Mountains and conquered the remaining Hunnic successors there, hence mixing up with the Huns and Gao-che people in the west. My research into various records, however, shows that the Ruruans were more Hunnic than Turkic or Mongol. The Hunnic successors would include the Ruruans, the Turks, and the Tiele Tribes (ancestors of the Uygurs) etc. As described at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+mn0018), "during those centuries, the vast region of deserts, mountains, and grazing land was inhabited by people resembling each other in racial, cultural, and linguistic characteristics; ethnologically they were essentially Mongol." ... Generally, the Mongols and the closely related Tatars inhabited the northern and the eastern areas; the Türk (who already had begun to spread over western Asia and southeastern Europe) were in the west and the southwest; the Tangut, who were more closely related to the Tibetans than were the other nomads and who were not a Turkic people, were in eastern Xinjiang, Gansu, and western Inner Mongolia ... The Liao state was homogeneous, and the Kitan had begun to lose their nomadic characteristics. ... To the west and the northwest of Liao were many other Mongol tribes, linked together in various tenuous alliances and groupings, but with little national cohesiveness. In Gansu and eastern Xinjiang, the Tangut--who had taken advantage of the Tang decline--had formed a state, Western Xia or Xixia (1038-1227), nominally under Chinese suzerainty. Xinjiang was dominated by the Uygurs, who were loosely allied with the Chinese." The demarcation line between Turkic and Mongol tribes is so much blurred that any definitive assertion could be a fallacy at best. http://berclo.net/page97/97en-steppe-empires.html mentioned that among the tribes, "some are Turkic (Kyrgyz, Kerait, Uygur), some Mongol (Oirat, Tatar) and some Turko-Mongol (Naiman, Merkit)." This differentiation may not be scientific, in my opinion. In the following, I will discuss the relationships between 'Mengwu' (Mongol) and clans like Tayichi'uts, how the Naimans & Keraits triggered the founding of the Khitan Liao, and how Genghis Mongols took over of the northern land by defeating Tatars and other clans. We will briefly touch on the three waves of Mongol invasions. Mongol activities in China and later retreat to their homeland will be explored as well. I am not going to repeat the Mongolian myth that the Mongolians came from 'Blue-Grey Wolf' and 'Radiant Doe', 10 generations before the mythical Alan-ko'a born Bodunchar, nor spending too much time on the lineage of Kaidu-khan, Kabul Khan, Ambaki, Yisugei and Timuchin [i.e., Genghis Khan]. Naimans When the Kirghiz defeated the Huihe (Uygurs) in AD 840 and took over northern Mongolia, there was a group of people called the Naimans who remained in their homalands in the Altai Mountains and attached themselves to the Kirghiz. The Naimans is said to be a Mongol name for a group of the Turkic tribe called 'Sakiz Oghuz' or the Eight Oghuz, a name which existed in 8th century. (The authentic Oghuz Turks would find their way to Anatolia, separately.) Gradually, the Naimans grew in strength and drove the Kirghiz to the River Yenesei and rooted the Keraits from their homeland on the Irtysch in the Altai and drove them towards Manchuria, hence indirectly causing the Khitans to move to northern China where they established the Liao Dynasty in AD 907-1125. The Naiman federation adopted the script and the religion (buddhism) of their southern neighbor, the Uygurs, and maintained relations with the Kara-Khitai or Western Liao empire founded by Yeliu-taishi who fled to Turfan after Liao was defeated in Manchuria by the Jurchens. Though the Naimans are said to be of Turkic origin, their customs and habits had become Mongolized in a matter of hundreds of years. The Naimans later adopted Nestorian Christinanity, and were observed to be so by William of Rubruck in AD 1253 (see Paul Ratchnevsky). It will be through the Naimans that Genghis Khan adopted the Uigur script and became civilized. When Genghis Khan defeated the Naimans, Kuchlug, son of the Naiman Tayang-khan, sought refuge in Kara-Khitai and converted to Buddhism from Nestorian. The reason Timuchin (Genghis Khan) had defeated the Naimans is mainly that the Naimans split into two groups, i.e., Tayang-khan (conferred Taiwang or great king by the Jurchens) and Buiruk-khan, and they could not unite into a common front. The alliance of Timuchin and Toghrul (Keraits) first defeated Buiruk in AD 1199 (and killed him in AD 1207), and then defeated the Tayang-khan. Tayang-khan's Naimans took over a small territory of Timuchin. Timuchin dispatched Hubilai and Chepe on a forerunner campaign against Tayang-khan. Tayang-khan, though allied with Merkits (under Tuotuo), Jadirats (under Jumuka), Kerait remnants (under A'lingtaishi), Wei-la, Ji-la, Tatar remnants, Katagin and Seljiuts, lost the war to Timuchin. Tayang-khan died with all his soldiers. Jumuka, who first deserted the Toghrul's Keraits, would desert Tayang-khan's Naimans before this fight started. Jumuka himself would be turned over by his own men and died in the hands of Timuchin's clan. Timuchin took over Taya-khan's wife and subjugated his allies. Katagin, Seljiuts, Duo-lu-ban and remnant Tatars surrendered. When Timuchin continued on to attack Merkits, Tutuo the Merkits' khan fled to Buiruk-khan's Naimans. The Merkits fled west but were defeated again in AD 1204 and the whole tribe was taken over by Timuchin. In AD 1206, Timuchin (Genghis Khan) held a grand assembly and received the title as Genghis Khan. Keraits East of the Naimans, from the Orkhon River in the west to the Onon and Kerulen rivers, was the new home of the Keraits. This is a group of people that had been disputed by Tao Zongyi (T'ao Tsung-i 1316- ?) to be Mongols, but Rashid ad-Din placed them in a subgroup with the Naimans, Uygurs, Kirghiz, Kipchaks and other Turkic peoples while acknowledging the resemblances between the Keraits and the Mongols. Still one more Chinese, Tu Ji, in his "History of the Mongols" (Mengwuer Shiji), assumed that the Keraits were Turkic and originated from Turkic Kangli and Ghuzz and their language was Turkic. It was also said that an important Kirghiz tribe bears the name of Kirai, which is equivalent to Kerait. As to their Mongol characteristics, Paul Ratchnevscky assumed that some Khitans were left behind and got assimiliated into the Keraits. Paul Ratchnevsky emphasized the amicableness between the Keraits and West Khitans as exemplified by the fact that Kerait's khan, Toghrul, had once sought refuge in Western Liao. Paul Ratchnevsky mentioned that the Keraits accepted Nestorian faith and that the grandfather and father of Toghrul had Latin names like Marghus (Markus) and Qurjaquz (Kyriakus). Yisugei had helped Kerait chieftan, Toghrul, twice. Toghrul was resented by his tribesmen for killing his brothers. When Toghrul was defeated by his uncle and fled with few hundreds of horsemen, Yisugei would come to his aid and drive Toghrul's uncle to Tanguts' Western Xia territory. Later, Toghrul's brother rebelled as well, and Toghrul had to flee southwestward to the three statelets of 'Hexi', 'Huihu' and 'Huihui' (Uygur, Qiangic and Tibetan territories) for asylum. Thereafter, Toghrul sought asylum with the Kara Khitans. When Toghrul escaped back to Mongolia, Timuchin would give him a good reception and treat Toghrul as 'father'. Timuchin later defeated the Merkits and gave the captured people to Toghrul. Toghrul hence gained strength. Toghrul and Timuchin cooperated few times in fighting the Naimans thereafter. The importance of Keraits would lie in the fact that Timuchin sought the protection under Toghrul and their alliance laid the foundation for the uprise of the Mengwu Mongols. Toghrul enjoyed a title called Wang Khan conferred by the Jurchens and hence an alliance with Toghrul served the purpose of elelvating Timuchin's position among the nomads. After exterminating the Tatars in AD 1202, Timuchin broke with Toghrul's Keraits, and Genghis Kan killed Toghrul in AD 1203 and took over Kerait throne. Merkits & Women Abduction The savage and warlike Merkits are not to be discounted here. It would be Timuchin's father, Yisugei, a Kiyat-Borjirid, who robbed Ho'elun from the Merkits in the first place. Years later, the Merkits would avenge themselves by attacking Ghengis Khan and abducting his wife, Borte (a girl from subtribe of the Onggirat). This abduction rendered ambiguous the legitimacy of Timuchin's first son (Jochi-Kasar) since Borte born the child while being rescued many months later. It would be the alliance of the Keraits and the Genghis clan, together with another rival clan of Jumaka (Timuchin's boyhood friend), that would be responsible for defeating the Merkits and rescuing Borte. The Merkits lived south of Lake Baikal on the lower Selenga. They lived by fishing and hunting. While Tao Zongyi and Rashid ad-Din regarded them as Mongols, others thought they were Turkic. In AD 1096, the Merkits rebelled against the Khitan Liao and were defeated. In the end, they were defeated by Genghis and assimilated into his clan. Tatars (Tartars) An immortal name as it sounds, this is a much abused name ever seen, considered to be a collective name for all tribes and nomads of Asia by the Europeans (see Latinized Tartarus, Greek Tartaros, and Germanic Tatar). When Dr Sun Tat-sen called on the Chinese to overthrow the Manchus, he proposed a slogan called "Expel the Tartars (Da Lu) and Restore Our China". Paul Ratchnevsky indiscriminately applied the later generic term 'Tartar' to the specific group of nomads called Tatar or Ta-ta-er. (I had used Tatar for the name of the enemy tribe of Genghis Khan's Mengwu people while reserving Tartar for designations by Ratchnevsky and modern Western scholars.) Then, how long a history did this name have? While Paul Ratchnevsky mentioned that the Tartar name was recorded as early as the Kul-tegin inscription of 731-732, there was a difference in the Chinese pictographic form for the denotations. Father of Li Chunxu (founder of Posterior Tang AD 923-936), before Tang Dynasty ended in AD 907, had once sought refuge with a group of nomads called the Dada [Dadan], a word that was used by Dr Sun in his slogan. This early group of the Tartars apparently lived north of China's Shanxi Province, the ancient Dai prefecture. It would be extremely difficult to associate the Tatars (Tartars) with those who existed 200 years before Genghis Khan. According to Wu Dai Shi (History Of Five Dynasties), Da'dan were remnants of the Mohe Tribes (see Manchurian section), namely, ancestors of the Jurchens. They were originally located to the northeast of the Xi Nomads (alternative race of the Huns and later absorbed by the Khitans) and the Khitans. Being attacked by the Khitans, the Dada [Dadan] people were scattered around, with some subject to the Khitans and some subject to Po'hai (a stateles to be absorbed by the Khitans later). One Dada [Dadan] tribe relocated to the Yinshan Mountains and became known as Dada [Dadan] by the end of Tang Dynasty. During Tang Emperor Yizhong's reign, AD 859-875, they joined hands with the Sha'to Turks in helping Tang to crack down on Pang Xun rebellion. When the Sha'to Turks, under Li Guochang and his son Li Keyong, were defeated by the Tuhun nomads of Helian Duo (see Tibetan section), the Li Sha'to Turks sought asylum with the Dada [Dadan] people. Once Tang Dynasty called upon Li Keyong, the Dada [Dadan]s followed the Sha'to Turks in the campaigns against the Huang Chao Rebellion. After that, the Dada [Dadan]s dwelled between Yun and Dai prefectures of today's Shanxi Province. At the times of Posterior Tang (AD 923-936), the Dada [Dadan]s often answered calls in the campaigns against the Khitans. History records that the Dada [Dadan]s were still in contact with China at the times of Posterior Zhou (AD 951-960). According to Rashid, the Tatar nation consisted of 70 thousand households or 350 thousand people in 12-13th centuries and they occupied the Kunlun and Buir lakes between the Kerulen River and the central Khingan Mountains. They are the richest people in Mongolia for silver mining, but internal quarrels kept them weak and they acted as the vassals of the Jurchen Jin Dynasty (founded in AD 1115) and constantly played the role of a hatchetman in subjugating various Mongol tribes. The Tatars had assisted the early Jurchens in defeating the Mongol (Meng-ku) rebellions, handed over Mongol leader Ambakai (disputed to have adopted tribal name of Tayichi'ut) and Kabul Khan's elder son to the Jurchens for execution in AD 1150s, and dealt the remaining Meng-ku tribes a decisive defeat near Lake Buir in AD 1160s. The conflicting info in regards to Ambakai is that he was said to be a brother of Kabul-khan and had adopted a different tribal name of Tayichi'ut. Secret History said when Kabul-khan died, his wish was to have Ambakai to be the khan. But Rashid al-Din said that Kabul-khan's son assumed the leadership of the Mengwu people while Ambakai only led the Tayichi'ut clan. I would buy Secret History's version since I agree with Paul Ratchnevsky that Rashid had tried to paint a better picture for his Mongol host. The death of Ambakai is because Ambakai had antagonized the Tatars by killing their shaman who was called over to cure for his brother-in-law. Tatars cheated him into a trap by requesting for a marriage with Ambakai's daughter. Kabul-khan's elder son was caught by the Tatars when he went to them to request for the release of Ambakai. Both of them died as a result of Jurchens nailing them to wooden donkeys. However, the Tatars would pay back their debt later. In AD 1195, the Tatars had a quarrel with the Jurchens over the booty from the war against the Onggirats. Jurchen Prime Minister, Wayan Xiang, campaigned in Mongolia. In AD 1196, Timuchin, taking advantage of Jurchen campaign against the Tatars, attacked and defeated the Tatars. Finally in AD 1202, Timuchin defeated them again, slaughtered all their men and enslaved all their women. Oirats The Oirats belonged to the forest tribes. It was said that Genghis Khan's forebearers belonged to the forest groups. The Oirats once joined Jumuka (AD 1201) in fighting Timuchin and Toghrul. Thereafter, the Oirats went to the Naimans together with Jamuka and the Keraits after Timuchin split with the Keraits and killed Toghrul. However, due to their close relationship, the Oirats and the Onggirats turned out to be Timuchin's best allies in later years. Both Russian historian Vladimirtsov and Rashid ad-Din commented that the dividing line between the forest people and the pastoral people is not clear, and they would switch positions should one party lose possession of the herd in an raid and become forest clans while the other party took possession of the herd and become pastoral. The relationship between the Oirats and the Onggirat is not clear; however, they belonged to the same group, the forest people, were branches of the Kiyats, and had close relationship with Timuchin's clan. Onggirat & Genghis Khan's Wife According to Rashid ad-Din, the Onggirat clan was a branch of the Kiyats while the Kiyat is a subclan of the Borjigin Mongols. Some historian said the Khitans had once used the word 'Onggirat' for themselves and the Jurchens (Jurchids) had used 'Qonggirat' for the tribal name. The Onggirats connection lie in the fact that Yisugei had robbed Ho'elun from the Merkits as said earlier. However, Ho'elun, was not a Merkit and she was a bribe whom Merkit's Chiledu had brought home from the Olkunu'ut, a minor tribe of the Onggirat. Nomadic ways of abduction posed extraordinary uncertainties in the fate of the women, and it was said that Ho'elun, seeing that Yisugei had invited two of his brothers along to attack her bridegroom, undressed her coat as a gift for Chiledu and asked Chiledu to run for his life, saying that he could find another woman to marry should he be able to live on. Years later, when Timuchin was 8-9 years old, Yisugei went to the Boskur subtribe of the Onggirat to find Borte as a fiance. Yisugei left his son (Timuchin) with Borte's father. It was on his way back that Yisugei was poisoned by the Tatars. Later, Timuchin, at about age 15, or AD 1182, went back to his stepfather for Borte. Borte's wedding gift, a sable cloak, would be presented to Toghrul (whom Timuchin took as his stepfather) as a gift. The alliance of the Onggirat tribe had played an important role in his uprise. Borjigid & the color of the eyes The Borjigid clan was a branch of the Kiyats, to which the Jurchens (Jurchids), Changsi'ut and the Kiyat-Sayar also belonged. The Borjigids had an legend that after the death of Dobun-mergen, the alleged ancestress Alan-ko bore Bodunchar after being visited by a strange 'golden glittering man'. Rashid ad-Din provided this rumor by alluding to a foreign origin of the visitor and described him as having red hair and blue-green eyes. Paul Ratchnevsky speculated that the mysterious visitor could be a Kirghiz since the Kirghiz people were said to be tall and possess red hair and green eyes, and he further speculated that in contrast with the red-haired Kirghiz, Chinese Tangshu (Tang History) had said those nomads with black hair were descendants of a Chinese general called Li Ling (Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian's friend) who surrendered to the Huns. (Note that Tang records stated that Kirghiz disliked BLACK hair and took it as BAD OMEN.) It is not strange that the nomads used the 'Light Conception Motif' to mystify their origins. The Kirghiz people, hundreds of years after they expelled the Uigurs from Mongolia, had become a people very much mystified. Chinese records showed that the Mongolians had possessed 'chestnut colored' eyes. Today's song, "Dragon's Descendants", however, still sang about 'black-colored eyes'. Paul Ratchnevsky quoted the contemporary Chinese Zhao Hong as saying that Genghis Khan differed from other Tartars in that he was tall and had long beard, and quoted Marco Polo as saying that Khubilai did have black eyes but fair complexion 'ringed with red'. Rashid ad-Din, in 'Collected Chronicles', said that Genghis Khan was amazed to see that Khubilai had black hair while the rest of their family had red hair and said his grandson must have taken 'his old uncles' features. (I will deem Rashid's account with some suspicion. Cai Dongfan stated that Bodunchar had grey eyes against the chestnut-colored eyes of his brothers and half-brothers. Nothing is mentioned of hair or skin. My personal opinion is that it would be impossible that only Genghis Khan himself looked different from the other 'Tartars' in the eyes of Zhao Hong while the lineage of the Borjigid should be running down along all tribal lines, including Tayichi'uts and Jurkins.) Paul Ratchnevsky quoted some Islamic record saying Kirghiz people had light color in skin and eyes. Paul Ratchnevsky speculated about the connection of the Kirghiz to the Borjigid clan as the cause of Genghis Khan's non-Mongoloid features. The Borjigid was a branch of the Kiyats, to which the Jurchens (Jurchids) also belonged. According to "New History Of Five Dynasties", Kirghiz belonged to the ancient 'Jiankun' Statelet which was located to the western-most of the Huns. They should be to the west of Yiwu Statelet and to the north of Yanqi Statelet. Hunnic Chanyu Zhizhi destroyed Jiankun and ex-Han General Li Ling, who surrendered to the Huns, was assigned to the land of Jiankun as King of Youxianwang, namely, rightside virtuous king, with an army of 80,000. "New History Of Five Dynasties" said that Kirghiz possessed lighter skin, red hair, green eyes and taller height, and that those Kirghiz with black hair must be the descendants of Li Ling. At one time, during Tang Emperor Suzong's reign of AD 758-760, the Huihu (Uygur) conquered the Jiankun Statelet of the Kirghiz. The Kirghis allied themselves with Tibetans, Arabs and Karlaks. Kirghiz, with the help of a defecting Huihu (Uygur) general and combining a cavalry forces of 100000, defeated Huihu (Uygur) and killed the Huihu khan around AD 840s. Fifteen Huihu (Uygur) tribes fled westward to the Karlaks, while some remnants fled southward to Tibetans for protection. Another thirteen families, under the new khan Wujie Tele, moved towards Tang China. Huihu (Uygur), under Khan Wujie, attacked Tiande and Zhenwu cities (near today's Datong, Shanxi areas), and Tang border governor-general Liu Mian countered back. Tang Court, at the request of Princess Taihe, agreed to let Huihu (Uygur) reside to the west of Zhenwu city. Further, Tang gave them 20,000 units of grain supply. This group of Huihu (Uygur) would be engaged with fights against Tang China, Tibetans, Xi Nomads of Manchuria, Sha'to Turks, and Kirghis for years, till they were totally destroyed. Today's Huihu (Uygur) should look towards those who fled to the Karlaks and Tibetans for their ancestors. Kirghiz Khan, Ah Ri, earlier, had retrieved Tang Princess Taihe from the Huihu (Uygur) and sent her on the way to Tang China. But the new khan of Huihu (Uygur), Wujie, killed Kirghiz emissary and brought Princess Taihe back to their court. Kirghiz claimed that they shared the same last name as Tang emperors. They sent another emissary to Tang, and it took the emissary three years to reach Tang to see Emperor Wuzong. Later Kirghiz sent another emissary and made a proposal to attack Huihu (Uygur) together. It would be in AD 859 that Tang Emperor Xuandi decided to confer the Kirghiz the title of Khan Bravery-Intelligence. New History Of Five Dynasties said Kirghiz paid three more pilgrimages during AD 860-875, but they failed to exterminate Huihu (Uygur). Jalair Possibly of Turkic ancestry, this group of people were captured by the Timuchin's clan and became vassals. In early days, this group of people had raided the pasture of rich Mongol woman, Monolun (wife of the grandson of Bodunchar), and killed her and her eight sons. Only Kaidu was saved by his uncle Nachin and later Kaidu defeated the Jalair to be a leader of the early Mongol people. The Jalairs became very much attached to the Mongol people in the ensuing years. Later, they were became vassals and got assimilated. Mukali was said to be one of them. Jukin Okin-barkak's son, Sorkatu-jurki, is designated by Paul Ratchnevsky as the founder of the Jurkin. Okin-barak was the eldest son of Kabul-khan and he was Yisugei's uncle. The Jurkin wrestler, Buri-boko, was the grandson of Kabul-khan. Secret History talked about a banquet held by Timuchin and the Jurkin princes in celebration of several tribes defecting to him from Jamuka's camp. Two stewards of respective tribes, Buri-boko (Yisugei's cousin who went to the Jurkins for his hobby of wrestling long time ago) and Belgutei (Timuchin's elder brother) had a quarrel with each other over some clan members' actions. Fights broke out among the guests of the two sides. The Jurkins are Timuchin's kinsmen, and they were called Kiyat-Jukins. When the Tatars rebelled against the Jurchens, the Jurchens came to Mongolia to fight the Tatars. In middle of AD 1196, the Tatars retreated in face of the Jurchen attack, and Timuchin called on the Jukins to join him in attacking the Tatars. Not getting a response from the Jukins for six days, he attacked the Tatars together with Toghrul's army and killed one Tatar prince. Hence, Timuchin was rewarded by Jurchens. When Naimans robbed Timuchin clansmen, Timuchin sent 60 men to the Jukin clan for borrowing soldiers. Jukins killed ten and stripped the clothes of the rest of Timuchin men. Because of this, Timuchin campaigned against them and killed the Jukin princes including Buri his own kinsman in AD 1196-1197. Wang'gu When Naimans tried to attack Timuchin, Tayang-khan had sent an emissary to a place near the Great Wall and Jurchen Jin for forging an alliance with a group of people called Wang'gu. This group of people were said to be different from the Mongols. There is speculation that they might be related to the earlier Shatuo Turks. Wang'gu chieftan, however, arrested the emissary and sent the prisoner to Timuchin. When Timuchin attacked the Naimans, the Wang'gu chieftan came along as an ally. Jadarats and Genghis Khan's blood-brother Jamuka When Timuchin was 11 years old, he played with Jamuka of the Jadarat clan on the Onon river. The two should be considered kinsmen, and that's why the word clan, not tribe, is used here. They were anda, i.e., blood brothers. When the Merkits abducted Borte, Timuchin sought help with Toghrul of the Keraits whom Jamuka had also allied with. Jamuka raised 20,000 people, plus another 20,000 people from Toghrul's Keraits. According to Secret History, Jamuka raised 10,000 men from Timuchin's clans and another 10,000 from among his own people. Jamuka entered the battlefield 3 days ahead of Toghrul and played a decisive role in defeating the Merkits in AD 1184. After that, Jamuka and Timuchin camped together for about one and a half years and they slept under one blanket. However, they split after Jamuka found out that Timuchin had a bigger ambition and would not follow his lead. At the time they split, Jamuka had already lost some of the people whom he had raised from Timuchin clans for the battle against the Merkits. When Timuchin rallied his people to have him selected as a khan, Jamuka officially declared a war on Timuchin. Timuchin had 13 clans under him, totaling close to 30,000 men. Timuchin split his forces into 13 groups for countering Jamuka. Jamuka's coalition consisted of the Tayichi'ut, the Ikires (a branch of Onggirats), the Uru'ud, the Noyakins, the Barulas and the Ba'arin (those clans or subclans are beyond my ken). Jumuka had defeated Timuchin and possibly forced him into seeking asylum inside of the Jurchen territory, till Timuchin rose again in AD 1196. In between, for about ten years, Timuchin's whereabouts were ambiguous and historians (see Paul Ratchnevsky) thought it was a taboo. After AD 1196, Timuchin would gain more and more people, while Jumuka would incur loss till he was betrayed over to Timuchin by his own people in the final. Hearing that Timuchin and Toghrul had defeated Buirak Naiman and Tayichi'uts consecutively, Tatars, Katagin, Seljiuts, Duo-lu-ban, and Onggirat formed an alliance. But Onggirat chieftan secretly sent a messenger to Timuchin about the forthcoming allied attack. Timuchin and Toghrul then attacked the alliance. Timuchin attacked and defeated the Tatars. When Onggirat was wrongly attacked, Onggirat fled to Jumuka's Jadirat clan. In AD 1201, Jumuka was elected as Gur-khan, i.e., khan of all tribes, by his coalition of Katagin, Seljiuts, Duo-lu-ban, Onggirat, Yi-qi-la-si, and Huo-lu-la-si. Timuchin defeated the alliance, and Onggirat sought vassalage with Timuchin. Jumuka escaped. Then, Timuchin campaigned against two Tatar tribes: An'chi-Tatar and Chahan-Tatar. Merkit chieftan, Tuotuo, had staged a comeback, and Timuchin defeated Tuotuo. Naiman Khan Buirak allied with Katagin, Seljiuts, Duo-lu-ban and Tatar. Jumuka's Jadirats clan came to the aid of Nuirak; but, seeing the Naiman defeat, Jumuka fled. Jumuka had sowed a disseion between Timuchin and Toghrul. Some of Timuchin kinsmen (An'dan and Huocha'er) defected to the prince of Toghrul. History of Yuan Dynasty mentioned that Toghrul and his son intended to assasinate Timuchin via an invitation for an inter-marriage banquet. Timuchin stopped half way. When Toghrul attacked Timuchin, Timuchin got advance information and defeated Toghrul. History of Yuan Dynasty stated that Toghrul had relatively more strength than Timuchin. After Timuchin defeated Toghrul, An'dan and Huocha'er fled to the Naimans. After another defeat, Toghrul fled towards the Naimans and was killed by the Naiman. Toghrul's son fled to Tanguts and pillaged Xixia people. When attacked by the Tanguts, Toghrul's son fled to Chouci in Chinese Turkistan and was killed by Chouci chief. Genghis Kan took over Kerait people and territory in AD 1203. Tayang-khan's Naimans took over a small territory of Timuchin. Timuchin dispatched Hubilai and Chepe on a forerunner campaign against Tayang-khan. Tayang-khan, though allied with Merkits (Tuotuo), Jadirats (Jumuka), Kerait remnants (A'lingtaishi), Wei-la, Ji-la, Tatar remnants, Katagin and Seljiuts, lost the war to Timuchin. Tayang-khan died with all his soldiers. Jumuka, who first deserted the Toghrul's Keraits, would desert Tayang-khan's Naimans before this fight. Jumuka himself would be turned over by his own man and died in the hands of Timuchin's clan. Katagin, Seljiuts, Duo-lu-ban and remnant Tatars surrendered. When Timuchin continued on to attack Merkits, Tutuo fled to Buirak Khan Naimans. The Merkits fled but were defeated again in AD 1204 and the whole tribe was taken over by Timuchin. In AD 1206, Timuchin (Genghis Khan) held a grand assembly and received the title as Genghis Khan. Tayichi'ut Chinese description of the Mongolians applied the knowledge from the "Secret History". According to Secret History, Kabul-khan (Genghis Khan's great grandfather) was invited to Jurchen court in AD 1125 and offended Jurchen emperor Jin Xizong. He had 7 sons altogether, but in accordance with his wish at death, Ambakai was to rule all of Mongols. But according to Rashid, ad-Din (Collected Chronicles), Kabul-khan's son, Kutula, was made khan, while Ambaki was ruler of Tayichi'ut and hence not successor to Kabul-khan. Tayichi'ut could be traced either to the son (Caracqa-lingqum, i.e., Ambaki's father or according to Rashid, grandfather) or uncle (Nanchin) of Kaidu-khan. According to Secret History, Ambaki adopted the tribal name of Tayichi'ut. The Tayichi'ut had a very good relationship with the Kiyats and they belonged to the same category as the forest peoples. The enmity between Tayichi'uts and Kiyats arose after the death of Yisugei (Timuchin's father), when the Tayichi'uts deserted the camp of Yisugei's widow. Yisugei's brothers left Ho'elun and the Genghis brothers for the Tayichi'ut clan. Speculation here is that Ho'elun might have rejected Yisugei brothers' demand to take her as their wife or concubine, which was the prevalent nomadic way of inheritance. Later, Genghis Khan (Timuchin), at about age 14-15, would murder his elder half-brother Bekhter and possibly got punished by the Tayichi'ut prince who had reportedly captured him and imprisioned him in a cage kept by individual households of the Tayichi'ut clan, till Timuchin found an opportunity to flee home. Aside from the Tayichi'uts, Timuchin had suffered tribulations in the hands of the Merkits, and the Tatars alike. When Timuchin rallied his people to have him selected as a khan, Jamuka's coalition, consisting of the Tayichi'ut, the Ikires (a branch of Onggirats), the Uru'ud, the Noyakins, the Barulas and the Ba'arin, had defeated Timuchin and possibly forced him into seeking asylum inside of the Jurchen territory, till Timuchin rose again in AD 1196. A time period of about 10 years, up to AD 1196, had been missing for Timuchin, and some people (Chinese Zhao Hong) had speculated that he sought asylum inside of the Jurchen empire (see Zhong Hong per Paul Ratchnevsky). It would be in year AD 1200-1201 that Timuchin would exact his revenge on the Tayichi'uts on which occasion he defeated the Jumaka coalition including the Tayichi'uts and killed all Tayichi'ut men. The battle was waged near the Khalkha River and Jamuka lost it to Timuchin and Toghrul. While Toghrul went on to pursue Jamuka, Timuchin exacted revenge on the Tayich'uts who imprisoned him when he was a teenager: Timuchin slaughtered all the males of the Yayichi'ut clan and took in their women. Mengwu This name was derived from the earlier Mengwu Shiwei Tribe. Chinese Zhao Hong, according to Paul Ratchnevsky, said that the Mongols he met did not know their age nor their name other than calling themselves 'Tartars'. Nor did the Jurchens know of their age before they entered China. Later historical records quoted the Jurchen Jin as saying that the 'Mengwu' people had a rebellion led by Kabul-khan. When Jin emperor Xizong died, his grandson colluded with General Wuzu in killing his uncle Dalai, and Dalai's descendants fled to Kabul-khan for assitance in avenging on the Jurchens. This caused the Jurchens to abort their southern campaigns against the Chinese of Southern Song (AD 1127-1279). Jurchen's general Wuzu, the emperor's uncle, had to lead his army northward to fight the 'Mengwu' of Kabul-khan. Unable to fight the Mengku, the Jurchens negotiated a peace treaty and agreed to supply cattle and grains to the Mengwu and moreover conferred him the title of king of the Mengwu people. According to Rashid al-Din, Okin-barak was the eldest son of Kabul-khan and Bartan-bagatur's elder brother and Yisugei's uncle. Hence Timuchin is like 4 generations apart from Kabul-khan, which is in contradiction with the version in Secret History. It was said that after the migration of the Jurchens to north China, the Borjigin Mongols had emerged in central Mongolia as the leading clan of a loose federation. Kabul Khan raided into Jurchen Jin in AD 1135. After the death of Kabul-khan, the 'Mengwu' people disintegrated. Yesugei, who was chief of the Kiyat subclan of the Borjigin Mongols, was killed by neighboring Tartars in 1175, when Temujin was only twelve years old. The Kiyat rejected Timuchin as their leader and chose one of his kin instead. Temujin and his immediate family were deserted even by Yisugei's brothers who went to Tayichi'ut clan, mainly. The reason we brought out Tayichi'ut and Mengwu is that they are fundamental to understanding the origins of the Mongols. Later historians, after Khubilai, would apply such wording as "qamug Mangqol Tayici'ut" to imply a coalition or league of the Mongols-Tayichi'uts. The truth, however, is that the word 'Mongols' was adopted and sanctified by Khubilai, much later than the Mongols knew about this name. Before this name change, the Mongols called themselves 'Tartars', in fact. At most, the Mongols would identify with the branch of the forest peoples called the 'Tayichi'uts', the Jukins, the Oirats and the Onggirats. In my opinion, the faction surrounding Yisugei and his sons (Timuchin) is nothing more than a sub-family among the branch of the forest peoples called Tayici'ut or Kiyats. The Kiyat subclan is only part of the family of the Borjigin Mongols. After they left the forest and became pastoral by means of plundering to acquire the herds, they also identified themselves with the pastoral nomads called the Tartars, and they didin't think they were different from the Tartars. Chinese sources tried to trace the origin of the word 'Mongol', and it had located a tribe called 'Mengwu', said to be a Shiwei tribe of the Tang Period prior to AD 907. This name would later become Moghul in Turkic and Mughal in Persian. Literally, it meant monster or cannibal in Chinese language. It also meant silver in Mongolian language and hence was likened to the way the nomads gave their dynasties their metal names, as in the cases of the Jurchens' Jin, Khitans, and Korean Sillas. One interesting thing about the word Mongqol irgen is that the word 'irgen' is exactly an ancient Chinese pronunciation which could be corrobated by the Cantonese pronunciation of 'irgen' and Japanese pronuncitation of 'nin' or 'dgen'. Still more interesting is the fact that Genghis Khan's name, Timuchin, shared the same prefix as some of his brothers and sister, with Timur meaning nothing more than a Chinese word 'Tie' for iron or smith. That's why historians also disputed Secret History's claim that Yisugei took home Tatar clan leader as a prisoner and applied to his son the same name as the Tatar chief (in AD 1167?, year uncertain being reasonable in that the nomads did not have calendar). Genghis Khan's Pals & Family Members When Genghis Khan's father died, his tribesmen deserted for the Tayichi'ut clan, a sub-clan descending from Kabul Khan. Timuchin (Genghis Khan) was taken custody by the Tayichi'uts. When he fled away from Tayichi'ut clan, he was rescued by a Tayichi'ut man who had two sons and one daughter. The junior son of this Tayichi'ut man would be called Chi-lao-wen, one of the four pals of Genghis Khan in his later campaigns. The daughter of the Tayichi'ut man later was married with Genghis Khan. When Timuchin's horses were stolen, he would chase the thieves, and on the way, Timuchin encountered a teenager called Bo-er-jie (of Bodunchar descendancy) who later became one of the 'Four Pals'. Two more pals would be Muhuali (of Jalair clan) and Bo-luo-hun. Chepe was also from the Tayichi'uts clan. The four sons of Genghis Khan and Boerte: Jochi (Died 1227) Chagatai (Died 1242) Ogodai/ Toregene of the Merkit (Ogodai died 1241) Tolui/Sorkhaqtani of the Kereyit (Tolui died 1233) Mongol Brutal Conquests
In AD 1205, Genghis Khan (Timuchin) had invaded Tangut territories and took over the city of Luo-si. In AD 1207, Genghis Khan attacked Tanguts again and took over the city of Ke-wo-luo-hai. Two emissaries were sent to the Kirgiz, and the two tribes of Kirgizs submitted to Genghis Khan in AD 1207. Oirats followed in AD 1208, on which occasion they directed Genghis Khan to the location where Merkits's prince and the son of Tayan-khan (Naiman) stayed. During the battle, most of the Merkit and Naiman troops were drowned in the Irtysch River. Kuchlug, the Naiman prince, fled to Kara-Khitai (Western Liao) where he was taken as son-in-law of the Kara-Khitai ruler. (Later, Kuchlug usurped the Kara-Khitai kingdom by colluding with the Khwarazm.) Remaining Merkits fled to the west and joined the Kipchaks. Uygur ruler, Barchuk, sent an emissary to Genghis Khan and submitted to the Mongol rule, and he personally appeared before Genghis Khan in AD 1211 after waiting several years to see that the Tanguts had just been defeated in AD 1209. In same year, Arslan of the Karluks appeared before Genghis Khan and submitted to his rule. Attack on the Tanguts After the grand assembly, Genghis Khan conferred kingship onto his brothers. He conferred 'wan hu' (10,000 households) on Muhuali and Borjie as well as 95 'qian hu' (1,000 households). Both 'wan hu' and 'qian hu' are military titular names. Khuibilai would have his counsellor, Liu Bingzhong, work on governmenatl structure later. Muhuali (Muqali or Mukali) proposed to Genghis Khan that they should first defeat the Tanguts, then the Jurchens and finally the Song Chinese. Since the Chinese chronicle counts the full first year as the No. 1 year, AD 1206 would be the so-called first year of Mongol Dynasty. The official dynastic epoch of 'Yuan' would not come till Khubilai declared it in AD 1271. (Southern Song ended eight years later, in AD 1279.) The Tanguts were attacked in AD 1205, 1207 and 1208 before they were defeated in AD 1209. This group of people were called the Dangqiang (Qiang) people or Tanguts. They were the descendants of the Tobas and Xianbei people, the Di nomads, plus Chinese and possibly the Uygurs in the area of today's Ningxia & Inner Mongolia. Their ancestor, Toba Sigong, a Dangxiang nomad with a Toba family name, had come to the aid of Tang Dynasty in AD 907 when rebel Huang Cao sacked Xi'an the Tang capital. Tang conferred him the title of Duke Xia and the Tang family name of Li. Later Xia Duke, Li Yuanhao, declared himself an emperor and founded Xixia (Western Xia) Dynasty. At one time, Emperor Li Renxiao sought aid with Jurchen Emperor Jin Sizong for quelling rebellion and hence allied with Jurchen Jin in AD 1165 as a vassal. After the death of Li Renxiao, a brother by the name of Li An'quan usurped the throne. From AD 1205 onward, Mongols attacked Tanguts six times. Genghis Khan first accused Xixia of giving asylum to Toghrul's people, i.e., King Toghrul Wang-han's son Yi-la-he-sang-kun. In 1209, 1217, and 1226-1227, Mongols reached Mt Helanshan three times and laid siege of Xingqing-fu city. In AD 1205, Mongols sacked two border garrisons, Li-ji-li-zai and Luo-si-cheng, pillaged people and camels, and retreated within one month. Xia Emperor Huanzong repaired castles thereafter, declared amnesty, and renamed capital of Xingqing-fu into Zhongxing-fu. Tanguts intruded into Mongol plains in late 1205, only to withdraw after hearing of Jurchen defeat. In the autumn of 1207, campaigns against the Tanguts began on the pretext that Tanguts did not surrender tributes. Genghis Khan attacked the citadel Wo-luo-hai-cheng, to the north of Hetao and near the northern pass of Lang-shan Mountain. Mongols slaughtered the city after 40 days of fightings. Five months later, Mongols retreated after Tangut Emperor Xiangzong dispatched relief armies. In the autumn of 1207, campaigns against the Tanguts began on the pretext that Tanguts did not surrender tributes. Genghis Khan attacked the citadel Wo-luo-hai-cheng, to the north of Hetao and near the northern pass of Lang-shan Mountain. Mongols slaughtered the city after 40 days of fightings. Five months later, Mongols retreated after Tangut Emperor Xiangzong dispatched relief armies. In the spring of AD 1209, Wei-wu-er (Uygur) came to show respect. In the spring of 1209, Genghis Khan personally led the 650 mile march on the Tanguts in the south. This was after the Huihe people in Gaochang killed the governor ["shao jian"] of Western Liao and surrendered to Mongols as a vassal. Mongols, utilizing the northwestern exposure, attacked Tangut's Wo-luo-hai Pass again. Tangut Emperor Xiangzong [Li An'quan] dispatched son Cheng-zhen to the front, and Tangut Deputy Marshal Gao Yi was killed after being caught by the Mongols. Alternatively speaking, Mongols captured Tangut deputy marshal Gao Linggong and the city of Ke-wu-la [Wo-luo-hai?]. In April, Mongols sacked Wo-luo-hai after a Chinese [Xie Muhuan] pursuaded a Song Chinese defender into surrendering the city. Tangut's "tai fu" [imperial tutor] Xi-bi-e-da was caught by Mongols. Mongols then intruded southward towards Ke-yi-men Pass. Tangut General Weimingling-gomng, with 50000 relief army, ambushed Mongols in a valley and drove Mongols out of the mountain pass. Two months later, Mongols seduced Tanguts into a trap, defeated them, sacked Ke-yi-men, and intruded to Zhongxing-fu capital. By Sept, Mongols flooded the city with water from the Yellow River. Water as deep as several feet destroyed houses in the city and drowned numerous people. Tangut's request with Jurchens was declined. By Dec, however, flood destroyed the Mongol dike and flooded the Mongol camps instead. In the winter, Genghis Khan turned to Kuchlug and Tuotuo in the northwest, causing Kuchlug to flee to Kara Khitai while Tuotuo was killed by a stray arrow. In Jan of AD 1210, the siege of Tangut capital was released when the waters, breached by the Mongols for flooding the Xia capital, flowed to the Mongol camp instead. Mongols released the Tangut 'tai fu' for a peace talk. Peace was secured only when Tangut emperor (Li An'quan) delivered his youngest daughter (rumored to be later responsible for poisoning Genghis when he re-attacked Xixia) to Genghis Khan as a bribe, but the Tanguts refused to supply troops to the Mongols as auxiliary. Tanguts would pay for this later. After Mongols left, Tanguts, angry that the Jurchens did not come to their aid, broke the peace treaty with the Jurchens which had been effective as of |
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