In the year of the Mongols' victory over the Tatar tribes, the future great khan of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, was born into the family of the noble leader of a large tribe, Yesugai-baatur.
The father considered the birth of his son an omen and gave him the name Temujin (Temujin), which meant “blacksmith.” When the child was 9 years old, in 1164, his father married him to a girl from a noble family originally from the Ungirat tribe, which was famous for the special beauty of girls. The girl was beautiful, smart, well-educated, three years older than the groom, and was faithful to him until the end of her life. They lived in peace and harmony for more than 40 years. In 1206, Temujin took the name of Genghis Khan and became the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire.
Genghis Khan loved his wife Borte and did not want to bring other women into the house, although according to Mongolian traditions he had the right to have several wives. Over the years, Borte aged and was unable to have children. The wise Borte did not resist her beloved husband when, at the request of his entourage, he brought a second wife into the house. Later, Genghis Khan had about two thousand concubines, whom he brought from military campaigns. Some concubines he did not even see. Once a famous Mongol, exterminating and driving the Tatars from his native steppes, saw a beautiful young Tatar woman, whom he liked, and he decided to marry her. The girl, hearing his intentions, lowered her head and began to cry. Khan was surprised, annoyed and wanted to know the reason for her tears. Yesugan - that was the name of the girl, told about her older sister Yesui, whom she loved very much and was afraid that she would not die at the hands of the fierce and furious Mongols. Genghis Khan wanted to look at the girl and ordered his soldiers to find and bring her to him.
Seeing the girl, Genghis Khan was blinded by her beauty and ordered immediate preparations for the wedding. A few days later, the beautiful Yesui became the wife of Genghis Khan. He expected from her passionate love, new sensations, but in vain. Yesui was closed, sad, sat for hours near the yurt and looked into the distance. Many times the khan tried to unravel the secret sadness of his wife and could not. One day, from his wife’s sister, he learned that Yesui was in love with a young Tatar, to whom she promised to be a faithful wife, for whom she cried at night and waited for him to come for her someday. The enraged Genghis Khan ordered to guard his young wife and not take his eyes off her even at night.
One day, a tired khan, resting near the yurt with his wives, noticed how Yesui suddenly shuddered. Genghis Khan immediately ordered his soldiers to stand with their families. And when the order of the ruler was carried out, everyone saw a strange young man. He behaved bravely, without fear of the khan’s anger, and declared that he was Yesui’s fiancé. Surprised by the courage of the young man, the angry khan ordered his soldiers to cut off his head. Yesui lost consciousness and did not leave the yurt for several days, mourning her beloved, and only her younger sister Yesugan was next to her, comforting her, fearing for her life. Khan Borte's eldest wife did not like the khan's young wives and remained indifferent to her grief.
When preparing for a new military campaign, Genghis Khan took Borte and Yesui with him. He felt guilty before Yesui and tried to smooth out his guilt with his attention, frequent visits to her yurt. Yesui fulfilled all her husband's whims, but was cold and silent. Out of grief and frustration, desperate to conquer the girl, Genghis Khan increased his harem, in which he began to spend all his free time from campaigns. And his twenty-six legal wives, ignored by the khan, complained that they were not producing heirs (Genghis Khan had two sons - from Borte and Khulan). And only Yesui did not complain about anything.
A few years before the death of Genghis Khan, the always sad and silent Yesui asked who would rule the people after his death. Khan became alarmed and for the first time, realizing that he was mortal, he spent several sleepless nights. Dreaming of gaining immortality, he remembered the Chinese monks who know how to prolong their lives, and ordered them to be found and brought to him. The Taoist wise monk Qiu Chuji, who arrived in May 1222, told the khan about the teachings of Taoism. “There is no means of immortality, you can only prolong your life.” Genghis Khan knew that he was living last years. His health and strength were undermined by excessive sensual hobbies and frequent military campaigns. Genghis Khan appointed the brave and courageous Ogedei, the son of Borte's eldest wife, as his heir.
In 1227, at the age of seventy-two, the great founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, died near the Yellow River. They say that the khan's devoted warriors killed everyone, even birds and animals, who witnessed the funeral procession. All the khan's associates, his jewelry, gold, and military trophies were buried with him. No one knows the location of the tomb of the Great Khan. Many times historians tried to organize expeditions to excavate the tomb of Genghis Khan, but to no avail. Residents of those places protest and believe that no one should know the secret of the great Mongol and if the khan’s grave is found, then a terrible curse will fall on them.
ESUY - GENGISH KHAN
Genghis Khan was born in 1155, at the hour of the Mongols' victory over the Tatar tribes. His father, a noble leader of a large tribe, Yesugai-baatur, considered the birth of his son an omen and named the child Temujin (Temujin), which meant “blacksmith.” In 1164 Yesugai-baatur married his son when he was barely nine years old. The girl came from a less noble family, but was from the Ungirat tribe, which has long been famous for the special beauty of girls. Borte was three years older than her young groom, well-mannered and beautiful. She became the first wife of little Temujin and remained devoted to him until the end of her life. They lived for over forty years. In 1206, Temujin became the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, taking the name of Genghis Khan. 
According to long-standing traditions, the Mongols could have several wives, but the khan did not want to bring other women into the house. He loved Borte, but she was already old and could no longer produce heirs. Therefore, the khan’s inner circle began to beg him to bring his second wife into the house, and the wise Borte did not resist and obeyed her beloved husband in everything. He brought young girls from military campaigns, made them concubines, and a few years later the ruler already had about two thousand women, some of whom he, however, never even saw. 
Once the famous Mongol decided to expel the Tatars from his lands. Exterminating and driving them away from their native steppes, Genghis Khan saw the young Tatar Yesugan. She was so beautiful that the great ruler ordered his warriors to bring her into the harem, making her a concubine, and decided to marry the girl. When Genghis Khan came to her and announced his intention, Yesugan, hanging her head, began to cry. The surprised khan immediately demanded an answer from the concubine, and she told the story of her older sister, Yesui, whom she loved very much and did not want her to die at the hands of the enraged and bitter Mongols. Genghis Khan ordered to find Yesui, wanting to look at the girl.
When the warriors found her and brought her to the chambers of the Great Khan, he, blinded by the beauty of the young woman, immediately ordered preparations for the wedding. Yesugan, hugging her sister, gave her her place, and a few days later the beautiful Yesui became the wife of the Mongol Khan. However, the kind of love that the great ruler expected from the new khansha did not follow. Yesui was silent, sad and sat for hours near the yurt, peering into the distance. 
Khan tried more than once to unravel the secret sadness of the girl, but she never opened her heart. And only once did her younger sister tell her secret: Yesui had long been in love with a young Tatar, to whom she wanted to become a beloved and faithful wife. The girl suffered, cried at night and waited for her lover, believing that he would someday come for her.
The angry Genghis Khan, having learned about everything, ordered his two warriors to keep an eye on his young wife and guard her even at night. 
One day, after another military campaign, a tired khan was resting with his wives near the yurt. Yesui was sitting next to her and suddenly shuddered. The cunning Mongol ruler suspected something was wrong and ordered his entourage and warriors to divide into groups and stand together with their families. And when several hundred people stood up as their master ordered, he noticed a young man to the side, who turned out to be a stranger. He turned to the great lord and called himself the bridegroom of the beautiful Esui. 
The angry khan, surprised by the courage of the brave Tatar, ordered the servants to cut off the young man's head. The young khan turned pale and fell unconscious. She spent several days without leaving the khan's yurt, bitterly mourning her lover. Borte, who did not like young wives, remained indifferent, and only Yesugan consoled her older sister and did not leave her side, fearing that Yesui would commit suicide out of grief.
Meanwhile, Genghis Khan was preparing for a new campaign. As always, he took his beloved wives with him, and this time Khanshi Borte and Yesui followed him. Trying to smooth over the guilt before his young wife, the khan came to her yurt every night, but left with a feeling of annoyance and bitterness. Yesui was cold and silent, although she submitted to her husband’s every whim. Finally, despairing of breaking the girl, the Mongol ruler began to bring new wives to him, and within a few years there were already twenty-six of them. 
The khan's harem also expanded, in which Genghis Khan spent all his time free from military campaigns. Legitimate wives often complained that their ruler spent too little time with them and that the wives no longer produced heirs (Genghis Khan had only two sons - from Borte and Khulan). Only Yesui remained, as always, silent, and never complained about her life.
Several years passed, and one day the sad Yesui asked the aged and gray-haired khan who would rule his people after his death. Genghis Khan thought for the first time and realized that he, the great ruler of the Mongols, was mortal. Without closing his eyes, he spent several sleepless nights, thinking about the end and dreaming of gaining immortality. So, having long known about Chinese monks who prolong their lives for a long time, the khan ordered the Taoist monk Qiu Chuji to be found and brought to him. He, having arrived to Genghis Khan in mid-May 1222, told him about the teachings of Taoism. “There is no means for immortality, you can only prolong your life,” answered the wise monk.
However, having wasted his strength in military campaigns, and his health in excessive love for sensual hobbies, the khan realized that he was living out his last years. He appointed the son of his eldest wife Borte, the brave and courageous Ogedei, as heir. 
The great founder of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, died in 1227 at the age of seventy-two near the Yellow River. The place of his burial is still unknown. It is believed that loyal warriors killed anyone who witnessed the funeral procession. They exterminated even animals and birds so that no one, even animals, could see where the tomb of the Mongol ruler was located. All his slaves and servants, gold, jewelry and trophies were buried in the grave along with the body of Genghis Khan. Historians have repeatedly tried to start expeditions to excavate the conqueror's grave, but local residents are still protesting, believing that no one should know the terrible secret of the great Mongol. According to legend, if the grave is found, a terrible curse will fall on the people who live in those lands.
In the 13th century, the Mongols emerged from their homelands and created one of the greatest empires to ever exist on Earth. Once upon a time they had a reputation as simple shepherds and simple-minded warriors, but soon the ruling family of the Mongol Empire became the richest and most powerful dynasty on the planet. Having moved from the tents to the palace city of Karakorum, the Mongol court hid many dark secrets, which you will learn about right now.
10. Murder
Genghis Khan committed his first murder when he was only 14 years old. According to evidence from the chronicle of close contemporaries entitled “The Secret History of the Mongols,” the young Temujin (the name of the great ruler) was often beaten by his older half-brother Begter. After Bekter once stole food from the family, Temujin and his younger brother Qasar crept up to a wayward relative in the thickets of tall grass and riddled him with arrows.
It is not surprising that Genghis Khan from then on considered murder the right way solutions to all problems, and many of his enemies died sudden and suspicious deaths. One example of such a death was that of a famous Mongol wrestler named Buri, who had the imprudence to insult Belgutei, the younger brother of Genghis, during a fight, which happened before the Great Khan gained his power.
"The Secret History" refers to the fact that after Temujin's accession to the rank of khan, he invited Buri for revenge. Frightened by the power of the new khan, Buri decided to get off with little blood, almost did not resist and allowed Begutei to knock down and stab himself. But at a signal from Genghis Khan, Begutey pressed his knee into the enemy’s back and broke his spine. The paralyzed fighter was dragged outside the ring into the street and left to die in the dust. Presumably, this happened because Temujin understood Buri's plan and punished him in this way out of hatred for cowardice.
9. Executions
Photo: indiandefence.com
Although Genghis Khan forbade the torture of prisoners, Mongol executions were often particularly cruel. When Guyuk Khan suspected that the powerful court lady Fatima had poisoned his brother, he tortured her until she confessed to what she had done. According to the recollections of contemporaries, “her upper and lower holes were sewn up, she was wrapped in canvas from a tent and thrown into the river.”
There was a taboo among the Mongols against shedding royal blood, so another popular method of execution was stampede. Abbasid Caliph al-Musta, a relative of Sultan Abbasid, was wrapped in a carpet and trampled to death by a herd of rearing horses. After the Battle of the Kalka River, captured Russian princes were killed under wooden floorboards. They were simply crushed under the weight of the Mongols celebrating their victory, who had a feast right on top of the floorboards.
Genghis ordered the captured ruler of the Tangut peoples to be renamed Shidurqu (royal) just before he was crushed, so that the spirit of the conquered ruler would be forced to serve the Mongols in the afterlife. He was lucky compared to the death of a Persian from a noble family who was smeared lamb fat, wrapped in felt cloth and left tied up to die under the scorching rays of the sun.
8. Intrigue
Photo: Wikia
Despite the reputation of the Mongols as rude and simple-minded warriors, there was enough intrigue in their camp, as in the court of any other people, where competition and conspiracies always took place. One of the earliest, and almost the most serious, cases occurred during the reign of Genghis Khan, when the shaman Teb Tengri first targeted the khan's brother, Kasar, with a prophetic vision in which Temujin's younger brother tried to remove him from power. Khan immediately ordered Kasar's arrest and almost sentenced him to death.
But the relative was saved thanks to Genghis Khan's mother, Hoelun. When the woman heard about Kasara, she set off in the middle of the night and broke into the khan's tent. Genghis was so amazed that he did not even stop his mother when she began to untie her youngest son. She tore her clothes and demanded that her brothers answer whether they recognized the breasts they had sucked in infancy. Then the mother scolded Chingiz for a long time until he agreed to release his brother.
The shaman waited until Oeluni died and took a new step, stealing the inheritance that was supposed to go to her youngest son Temuge. When he complained about his loss, the shaman’s brothers beat him and forced him to beg Teb Tengri for mercy on his knees.
This time, another woman intervened, Genghis Khan's elder wife Borte, who warned her husband that the shaman intended to oppose him. This time Temujin resorted to his favorite trick and organized a competition in which the shaman Teb Tengri had his back broken and his paralyzed opponent was left to die on the side of the road.
7. Sexual slavery
Photo: historyonthenet.com
Despite the fact that many Mongolian women received high status and considerable power in their time, Mongolian society was not distinguished by feminism. Foreign women captured during raids on foreign lands were forcibly married to Mongol men or forced to serve as concubines. The Mongols also often demanded that conquered peoples supply them with young virgins as tribute.
One of the most famous examples was when the Siberian queen Botohui-tarhun (big and fierce) became one of the few who managed to defeat the Mongol army. Victory was brought to her by a cunning move, during which she lured one of Genghis’s generals into an ambush. In response, the Khan sent a new military expedition, during which the Siberian people fell, their queen was forcibly married to a Mongol soldier, and she sank into oblivion.
Some noble women managed to get out of the deplorable situation of a captive in the best possible way. For example, when Genghis Khan conquered the Merkid people, he married their princess Toregene to his son Ogedei. Soon the captive eclipsed all the other wives of the prince and ruled the empire for another 5 years after the death of her husband.
6. Alcoholism
Photo: Wikimedia
During the time when the Mongols were poor shepherd tribes, they had almost no access to alcohol, and they drank mostly fermented horse milk. This drink was not very alcoholic and the yield was not year-round. But after the successes of Genghis Khan, wealth flowed like a river into the hands of the Mongols, and many of them began to lead a prosperous lifestyle. Wine and other alcoholic drinks were now unlimited. As a result, by the time of Genghis Khan's death, alcoholism had already become a rather serious problem.
Even the Great Khan's family was no exception, for at least two of his sons, Tolui and Ogedei, had drunk themselves into the grave. Their brother Chagatai was forced to sternly order his servants to put on the table no more than a few cups of pleasure drinks a day.
The problem was most acute in the case of Ocideus, who fell into complete dependence on wine. He became an alcoholic to such an extent that the Persian historian Ata-Malek Juvayni claimed that he often made key government decisions while intoxicated.
His minister Yelu Chucai made the khan promise to stop drinking several times. But he never kept his word, especially since his wife Torgin began to encourage the khan’s drunkenness so that it would be easier for her to gain power over her unloved husband and the enemy empire.
The problem did not stop with the children of Genghis. The European monk William of Rubruck once visited the court of Mongke, the great-grandson of the Great Khan, and then spoke about an extremely widespread drinking culture, mentioning a silver tree with four taps, from which, like a fountain, streams of grapes and rice flowed wine, mead and fermented horse milk.
5. The Kidnapping That Helped Create and Destroy a Great Empire
Photo: timetoast.com
Around 1178, the newly-made wife of Khan Borte was kidnapped by the Merkidian tribe. Her angry husband Temujin quickly gathered a small army, attacked a daring enemy, saved his first wife, and earned a reputation as a consummate warrior. Perhaps this was the case that marked the beginning of all the legendary conquests of Genghis Khan.
However, the kidnapping not only marked the beginning of the empire, but also destroyed it. When Borte was captured, she had already been pregnant for several months, and no one could say for sure whether her lawful husband or a rapist from among the kidnappers was the father. Genghis Khan accepted the child as his own, but the rumors about the child were not the best.
Many years later, the aged Temujin called on his entire family to announce the heir to the throne. Obviously, the choice should have fallen on his eldest son, Jochi, born of Borte. But the second oldest son of the elderly Khan, Shagatai, insisted that it was he who should receive the right to the throne, bypassing the bastard son born of a Merkidian. The dying meeting turned into an undignified brawl.
Contrary to their father's requests, the brothers did not agree to make peace. As a result, Genghis decided to find a compromise, and transferred control of the empire to his third son, the alcoholic Odjidey. This marked the beginning of 4 years of strife and strife, which eventually destroyed the empire.
4. Stripping
Photo: epicworldhistory.blogspot.com
Genghis Khan took great care to ensure that after his death, his son Ojidei ascended the throne without opposition from any opposition. The real trouble started when Ojidei drank himself to death in 1241. Political strife increased to such an extent that they almost completely exterminated all the descendants of 2 of the 4 sons of Genghis.
At first, power was concentrated in the hands of Ojidei's wife, Torgin, who ruled the empire for 5 years. She carefully planned everything so that her son Guyuk in marriage would be chosen as the new khan. This was achieved largely thanks to cunning intrigues, including the execution of Genghis Khan's last surviving brother, Temug. But Guyuk rebelled against his mother when she tried to keep real power for herself. Thorjin's advisors were executed, and the queen herself died under extremely mysterious circumstances.
Just 2 years later, Guyuk himself suddenly died, and the empire once again plunged into chaos as Temujin's heirs, Yochi and Tolui, united to place Tolui's son, Munke, on the throne. Two other sons of the Great Khan, Shagatai and Odzhidai, concentrated in the opposition and tried to kill the young Munke. In response, he began a large-scale purge of his enemies.
Ministers Ojidaya and Guyuk were killed. A whole army was assembled and combed all of Mongolia, looking for Ojidai's supporters. Special military trials were held throughout the empire, and executions were carried out in a particularly ostentatious manner to intimidate forces loyal to Ojiday. It took many years for the supporters of Shagatai and Ojidai to recover after such a purge.
3. Civil War
Photo: doliva1.wixsite.com
During the short reign of Guyuk Khan, the first civil war almost occurred in Mongolia. During a dinner party in Russia, the khan became involved in a stupid quarrel with Yochi's son, Batu. As a result, Guyuk shouted out in front of everyone that Batu was just a decrepit old man.
From then on they became bitter enemies, and Batu refused to pay tribute to the Mongol Empire when Guyuk ascended the throne. In response, the newly-minted khan gathered an army and set off on a campaign to the lands of Batu in Russia. Fortunately, Guyuk died on the way, and the war never took place.
The Mongols were much less fortunate after the death of Khan Munke, when his brothers Kublai Khan and Ariq Boke rushed to split the empire into pieces during a large-scale civil war, wanting to determine who would take Munch's place. Thanks to this chaos, the Ojideya and Shagatai clans regained their former power.
Soon the dynasties of Yochi and Hulagu, another brother of Mongke, invaded the Mongol lands in the West, and their kingdoms were subsequently nicknamed the Golden and Ilkhanate. The Mongol Empire has never been a unified force since then.
2. Religious fanaticism
Photo: taringa.net
The Mongol Empire was historically considered one of the most tolerant in religious matters, but in fact the ruling dynasty believed that its sacred mission justified all the horrific killings during their campaigns of conquest. In 1218, Genghis Khan stood up at the pulpit in the mosque of the conquered city of Bukhara and declared to the conquered citizens something like the following: “You have committed great sins... If you had not committed these sins, God would not have sent his punishment to you in my person.”
Many years later, Chingiz's grandson Guyuk said something similar in his letter to Pope IV: "Thanks to the power of the eternal Heavens, we have been given all the lands from sunrise to sunset... If you disobey the orders of Heaven and resist our will, we will know that you our enemies."
Another grandson, Khan Munke, wrote to the French King Louis: “There is only one God in the endless Heavens, and on Earth there is only one master, Genghis Khan... By the power of the limitless God, from the rising of the Sun to its sunset, the whole world will be plunged into a state of joy and peace, and there will be it is declared that we shall endure forever.”
Khan Hulagu expressed similar thoughts in another letter: “God... spoke to our grandfather, Genghis Khan, through the shaman Teb Tengri, and told him that he had placed him over all peoples... to overthrow, build up and nurture... Those who do not believe will later know karoo."
1. Plan to exterminate the Chinese people
Photo: Rrmarcellus
The Mongols were always comfortable in the open plains, where there was plenty of food for their horses. Months or years before the start of their famous military expeditions, they sent out small detachments to burn the farms, gardens and villages of their enemies. This forced the local inhabitants to scatter across the fields by the time the main military power of the Mongols arrived at the battlefield, and the lands were given to them almost without any resistance from scattered tribes.
Angered by the difficulty of conquering such an advanced people as the Chinese, Ojiday decided to attempt their expansion along the same lines. The original plan was to exterminate the peasantry in northern China and turn the Jin Dynasty territory into a vast pasture.
The genocidal plan largely failed due to the earnest efforts of Ojiday's advisor, the Chinese Yelu Chucai. He convinced the khan that introducing a tax system would be more profitable in the long term, and would provide a stable profit for the Mongol treasury and for sponsoring further military campaigns. Fortunately, Ojiday listened to his minister and never signed the decree on the ethnic cleansing of northern China.
Genghis Khan was born in 1155, at the hour of the Mongols' victory over the Tatar tribes. His father, a noble leader of a large tribe, Yesugai-baatur, considered the birth of his son an omen and named the child Temujin (Temujin), which meant “blacksmith.”
1:948In 1164 Yesugai-baatur married his son when he was barely nine years old. The girl came from a less noble family, but was from the Ungirat tribe, which has long been famous for the special beauty of girls.
1:1342Borte was three years older than her young groom, well-mannered and beautiful. She became the first wife of little Temujin and remained devoted to him until the end of her life. They lived for over forty years.
1:17301:4
In 1206, Temujin became the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, taking the name of Genghis Khan.
1:166 1:171.
According to long-standing traditions, the Mongols could have several wives, but the khan did not want to bring other women into the house. He loved Borte, but she was already old and could no longer produce heirs. Therefore, the khan’s inner circle began to beg him to bring his second wife into the house, and the wise Borte did not resist and obeyed her beloved husband in everything. He brought young girls from military campaigns, made them concubines, and a few years later the lord there were already about two thousand women, some of which he, however, never even saw.
2:16822:4
Once the famous Mongol decided to expel the Tatars from his lands. Exterminating and driving them away from their native steppes, Genghis Khan saw young Tatar Yesugan. She was so beautiful that the great ruler ordered his warriors to bring her into the harem, making her a concubine, and decided to marry the girl. When Genghis Khan came to her and announced his intention, Yesugan, hanging her head, began to cry. The surprised khan immediately demanded an answer from the concubine, and she told the story of elder sister, Yesui, whom she loved very much and did not want her to die at the hands of the enraged and bitter Mongols. Genghis Khan ordered to find Yesui, wanting to look at the girl.
2:1178 2:1183When the warriors found her and brought her to the chambers of the Great Khan, he, blinded by the beauty of the young woman, immediately ordered preparations for the wedding. Yesugan, hugging her sister, gave her her place, and a few days later the beautiful Yesui became the wife of the Mongol Khan.
2:16552:4
However, the kind of love that the great ruler expected from the new khansha did not follow. Yesui was silent, sad and sat for hours near the yurt, peering into the distance.
3:810 3:815Khan tried more than once to unravel the secret sadness of the girl, but she never opened her heart. And only once did her younger sister tell her secret: Yesui had long been in love with a young Tatar, to whom she wanted to become a beloved and faithful wife. The girl suffered, cried at night and waited for her lover, believing that he would someday come for her.
3:1443The angry Genghis Khan, having learned about everything, ordered his two warriors to keep an eye on his young wife and guard her even at night.
3:1677 3:4
One day, after another military campaign, a tired khan was resting with his wives near the yurt. Yesui was sitting next to her and suddenly shuddered. The cunning Mongol ruler suspected something was wrong and ordered his entourage and warriors to divide into groups and stand together with their families. And when several hundred people stood up as their master ordered, he noticed a young man to the side, who turned out to be a stranger.
4:1277 4:1282He turned to the great lord and called himself the bridegroom of the beautiful Esui. The angry khan, surprised by the courage of the brave Tatar, ordered the servants to cut off the young man's head. The young khan turned pale and fell unconscious. She spent several days without leaving the khan's yurt, bitterly mourning her lover. Borte, who did not like young wives, remained indifferent, and only Yesugan consoled her older sister and did not leave her side, fearing that Yesui would commit suicide out of grief.
4:21204:4
Meanwhile, Genghis Khan was preparing for a new campaign. As always, he took his beloved wives with him, and this time he was followed by the hanshi Borte and Yesui. Trying to smooth over the guilt before his young wife, the khan came to her yurt every night, but left with a feeling of annoyance and bitterness. Yesui was cold and silent, although she submitted to her husband’s every whim. Finally, despairing of breaking the girl, the Mongol ruler began to bring new wives to him, and within a few years there were already twenty-six of them. The khan's harem also expanded, in which Genghis Khan spent all his time free from military campaigns.
5:15625:4
Beloved wives always followed the khan...
6:585 6:590Legitimate wives often complained that their ruler spent too little time with them and that the wives no longer produced heirs (Genghis Khan had only two sons - from Borte and Khulan). Only Yesui remained, as always, silent, and never complained about her life.
6:1083 6:1088
7:4
Several years passed, and one day the sad Yesui asked the aged and gray-haired khan who would rule his people after his death. Genghis Khan thought for the first time and realized that he, the great ruler of the Mongols, was mortal. Without closing his eyes, he spent several sleepless nights, thinking about the end and dreaming of gaining immortality. So, having long known about Chinese monks who prolong their lives for a long time, the khan ordered the Taoist monk Qiu Chuji to be found and brought to him. He, having arrived to Genghis Khan in mid-May 1222, told him about the teachings of Taoism. “There is no means for immortality, you can only prolong your life,” answered the wise monk.
7:1149 7:1154
Genghis Khan's wives: Khulan, Yesui, Yesugan.
8:70 8:75However, having wasted his strength in military campaigns, and his health in excessive love for sensual hobbies, the khan realized that he was living out his last years. He appointed the son of his eldest wife Borte, the brave and courageous Ogedei, as heir.
8:513 8:518Great founder of the Mongol Empire Genghis Khan died in 1227 at the age of seventy-two near the Yellow River. The place of his burial is still unknown. It is believed that loyal warriors killed anyone who witnessed the funeral procession. They exterminated even animals and birds so that no one, even animals, could see where the tomb of the Mongol ruler was located.
8:1211 8:1216
9:4
All his slaves and servants, gold, jewelry and trophies were buried in the grave along with the body of Genghis Khan. Historians have repeatedly tried to start expeditions to excavate the conqueror's grave, but local residents are still protesting, believing that no one should know the terrible secret of the great Mongol. According to legend, if the grave is found, a terrible curse will fall on the people who live in those lands.
9:730 9:735Genghis Khan's grave has not yet been found...
9:815 9:820Genghis Khan conquered many countries and peoples in his lifetime. More than once he showed cruelty and deceit. But not a single enemy aroused in him such fierce hatred as the steppe tribe of the Merkits. The great conqueror did not calm down until he had destroyed all this people to a single person. Nowadays only dry lines of ancient chronicles remind us of the Merkits. The reason for this unprecedented hatred was... love! Genghis Khan's love for his wife Borte...
forced marriage
This whole bloody story began when Genghis Khan was not in the world. The young Merkit Chiledu married the beautiful Hoelun. The newlyweds were returning from a wedding when, to their misfortune, they met Yesugei-Bagatur from the Taijiut tribe on the way. The beauty of the bride amazed the dashing rider. He realized that this woman should belong to him. Having changed his face, the rider whipped his horse and rushed away. The young people became alarmed and moved on, trying to quickly pass the dangerous section of the steppe. But it turned out differently. Yesugei galloped to the camp to his brothers and called them with him.
Soon the newlyweds heard the sound of hooves.
It is he! - said Hoelun. - We can't hide.
Save yourself or they will kill you. He needs me, not you. And there are a lot of girls in the steppe. You will find new wife and call her by my name. And you will think that I am always with you.
The young man had to agree. When the raiders overtook the cart, Chiledu had already disappeared behind the hill. They didn't pursue him. So Hoelun became the wife of Yesugei-bagatur.
The Merkits had to come to terms with the insult - there were too many fighters under Yesugei’s command. But in their hearts they harbored a fierce anger: after all, the one who insulted one member of the tribe insulted the entire tribe. From now on, Yesugei had terrible and irreconcilable enemies in the steppe.
Soon Hoelun gave birth to her first child, a boy. A newborn baby was clutching a blood clot in his fist. The elders shook their heads - the baby will become a cruel and bloodthirsty warrior! This is how Genghis Khan was born. But then no one knew about it - the great conqueror would “take on” this name only at the age of 50. In the meantime, the baby was nicknamed Temujin. That year, Yesugei returned from a campaign against the Tatars, capturing the famous Tatar hero Temujin. That’s why the boy who was born was named after him.
The wife became a concubine
When Temujin turned 13, his father decided to find him a bride. The choice fell on 10-year-old Borte from the Honkerite tribe. Yesugei liked the girl so much that he left his son in the Honkerite camp so that he could get to know his future wife better.
Satisfied with the engagement, Yesugei went home. It was summer, it was hot, Yesugei was thirsty. Seeing the Tatar camp, he dismounted and asked for a drink. Although the Tatars were enemies who suffered a lot from Yesugei’s campaigns, the law of steppe hospitality required that the traveler be treated. The Tatars did so, but their hatred of Yesugei was so great that they poisoned the drink.
Approaching the house, Yesugei felt bad. By evening he realized that he was poisoned. They fed him milk and herbal infusion, but the next day it became clear that he did not have long to live. Yesugei ordered his faithful warrior to gallop to the Honkerites and bring Temujin. But when Temujin arrived at the camp, his father had already died. So 13-year-old Temujin became the “head of the family.”
Years have passed. Temujin experienced poverty, captivity, and wanderings across the steppe. He had one consolation - his beloved wife Borte (her father, although not immediately, fulfilled his promise - he married his daughter to Temujin).
Young Temujin gets his first henchmen - equally young and always hungry tramps. They recognize Temujin as their leader, admiring his intelligence, audacity and cruelty towards the enemy.
True, Temujin has few warriors, and it is unlikely that they live with him. Therefore, when the Merkits finally decided to take revenge for the insult once inflicted on them by Yesugei, there was no one beside Temujin except his brothers.
One day at dawn, an old slave who went out to draw water heard the distant clatter of many hooves. So quickly, and even at this time the guests don’t gallop. These are Merkits! And then Temujin panicked. He shouted to his brothers to gallop after him, leaving everything behind - women, children, property. The chronicles do not spare Temujin: they say that he abandoned his wife, although he could have taken her with him. But the fear was too strong. The future ruler of the universe completely lost his composure that morning. The brothers galloped away.
The old slave, deciding to save Borte, put her in a cart drawn by a cow, covered her with wool and drove the cow away from the camp. Towards the Merkits. It was a smart move: the Merkits, having met the cart at the camp, let it pass. And maybe everything would have worked out fine, but when the Merkits, having captured all of Temujin’s goods, were driving back, they noticed a cart that the old woman hid to the side of the road. And they decided to search him just in case. So Borte was also captured.
Terrible revenge
When Temujin found out what happened to Borte, “his heart was filled with malice.” His wife adorns the bed of the filthy Merkit! Exhausted, blackened with anger and hatred, the young man rushed to his childhood friend Jamukha, who by that time was already the leader of a large detachment of nomads. Jamukha did not forget his childhood friendship. And he agreed to help Temujin. Preparation for the campaign took several months. All this time, Borte lived in the yurt of a simple Merkit warrior as a slave and concubine.
Finally, the detachments of Jamukha and Torgul fell on the Merkit nomads. In the night battle the Merkits were completely defeated. Temujin was the first to break into the Merkit camp.
Borte! - Temujin shouted. - I'm here! Borte!
A black shadow rushed towards Temujin’s saddle - it was Borte pressed against the horse’s croup. Temujin picked up his wife and sat her in front of him... The battle was over. All prisoners were driven into the field and hacked to death without mercy. And only when it was all over did Borte admit to her husband that she was carrying a child within her. This was her firstborn - but not from her husband, but from the Merkit who captured her.
Soon a boy was born who would be named Jochi. Genghis Khan recognizes this child as his own. He will never reproach his wife for anything, but he will never love Jochi, separating him from truly “his” sons - Tolui, Chagatai and Ogedei.
So, what is the final ending to this love story? Genghis Khan will conquer half the world, he will have 26 wives and 2 thousand concubines, but he will have all of them after his 50th birthday. And before that, Borte’s wife was his only woman. And other wives and concubines appeared, apparently, for reasons of prestige - in the East, the power of a ruler was determined, among other things, by the size of his “harem”. But the great conqueror will love only his “first” wife.
The Merkit tribe, which struck Genghis Khan in the very heart, will be completely exterminated by him: from old men to infants. The only surviving Merkit will be his son Jochi. Years later, Jochi will have a son, Batu (in ancient Russian chronicles - Batu), whose campaign against Rus' will forever divide our history into two parts: pre-Mongol and post-Mongol. But now few people know that in the veins of this “grandson of Genghis Khan”, who conquered Rus', flowed not the blood of the great Mongol, but the blood of an unknown Merkit rapist...
