The Secret History of the Mongol Queens

baatuud The heroes were known collectively as the baatuud.

“looked like so many white demons” N. Elias and E. Denison Ross, A History of the Moghuls of Central Asia: Being the Tarikhi-I-Rashidi of Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlát (London: Curzon, 1895).

Several Chinese commentators Peter Olbricht and Elisabeth Pinks, Meng-Ta Pei-Lu und Hei-Ta Shih-Lüeh: Chinesische Gesandtenberichte über die frühen Mongolen 1221 und 1237 (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1980).

“their eyes were so narrow” A History of the Moghuls.

Queen Gurbesu Secret History, § 189.

“If one is concluding a marriage” Paul Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan (Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1991).

that his eldest daughter marry Ong Khan’s grandson Secret History, § 165.

“like dry horse dung in a skirt” Secret History, § 174.

“looks like a frog” Franz von Erdmann, Temudschin der Unerschütterliche: Nebst einer geographisch-ethnographischen Einleitung unter erfordelichen besondern Anmerkungen und Beilagen (Leipzig: F. A. Brochkaus, 1862).

Genghis Khan killed him Shir Muhammad Mirab Munis and Muhammad Riza Mirab Agahi, Firdaws al-Iqbal: History of Khorezm, translated by Yuri Bregel (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1999).

Hassan Secret History, § 182.

“strength increased by Heaven and Earth” Ibid., § 113.

Mother Earth Comments of D. Bold-Erdene and B. Baljinnyam, quoted in Chinggis Khaan, edited by Enkhbaatar Naidansod (Ulaanbaatar: Ungut Hevlel, 2006).

CHAPTER 2

“I did not say that you have a bad character” Igor de Rachewiltz, trans., The Secret History of the Mongols (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2004), § 208.

Each wife would rule Hidehiro Okada, “Mongol Chronicles and Chinggisid Genealogies,” Journal of Asian and African Studies 27 (1984): 147.

He married three of his daughters Franz von Erdmann, Tmudschin der Unerschütterliche (Leipzig: F. A. Brochkaus, 1862); Isaac Jacob Schmidt, “Die Volkstämme der Mongolien,” Jahrbücher der Literature, vol. 77 (Vienna: Carl Gerold, 1837).

Tumelun was the daughter; Temulun was the sister. 31 “These feasts seldom end” François Pétis de la Croix, The History of Gengizcan the Great (Calcutta, 1816).

“How shall I watch you two enjoying each other in bed?” Hidehiro Okada, “Outer Mongolia in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries,” Journal of Asian and African Studies 5 (1972): 70.

Genghis Khan singled out only Boroghul Secret History, § 214.

“If a two-shaft cart” Ibid., § 177.

“The management of the man’s fortune” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles, translated by W. M. Thackson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Department of Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1998).

pulling one cart Secret History, §§ 186, 200.

“Whoever can keep a house in order” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

Ogodei summoned the wrestler Ibid.

“The dragon who growls in the blue clouds” Walther Heissig “A Contribution to the Knowledge of Eastmongolian Folkpoetry,” Folklore Studies 9 (1950): 161.

“intercessors” Secret History, § 64.

Urug also has the extended meaning of “seed,” since the Mongols considered seed as the womb of a plant.

“It happened … as wide as a lake” Secret History, § 254.

“My wives, daughters-in-law, and daughters are as colorful” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

“After Genghis Khan had tested his sons”: Ibid.

CHAPTER 3

Genghis Khan accepted the Oirat Igor de Rachewiltz, The Secret History of the Mongols (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2004), § 239.

Checheyigen was also recorded as Tsetseikhen.

“Because you are the daughter” and related quotes to Checheyigen: George Qingzhi Zhao, Marriage as Political Strategy and Cultural Expression: Mongolian Royal Marriages from World Empire to Yuan Dynasty (New York: Peter Lang, 2008).

“queens as our shields” Secret History, § 64.

“You should be determined” Zhao, Marriage as Political Strategy.

“Although many people can” Ibid.

white felt rug Hansgerd Göckenjan and James R. Sweeney, Der Mongolensturm: Berichte von Augenzeugen und Zeitgenossen 1235–1250 (Graz, Austria: Verlag Styria, 1985).

The mother’s blood Alena Oberfalzová, Metaphors and Nomad, translated by Derek Paton (Prague: Charles University, 2006).

pail of milk Ibid.

“It seemed to me as though the sky” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles, translated by W. M. Thackson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Department of Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1998).

“fifth son” Secret History, § 238.

a slave into a noble Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

“Whereas, by the Protection of Eternal Heaven” Francis Woodman Cleaves, “The Sino-Mongolian Inscription of 1362 in Memory of Prince Hindu,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 12, no. ½ (June 1949): 31.

Her nation was her first husband Zhao, Marriage as Political Strategy.

“The area has no rain or snow” D. Sinor, Geng Shimin, and Y. I. Kychanov, “The Uighurs, Kyrgyz and the Tangut (Eighth to the Thirteenth Century),” in History of Civilizations of Central Asia, vol. 4, edited by M. S. Asimov and C. E. Bosworth (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1999).

excavations have uncovered Adam T. Kessler, Empires Beyond the Great Wall: The Heritage of Genghis Khan (Los Angeles: Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, 1993).

Karluk are also known as Qarlu-ut, Qarluq, and Karluqs.

“How can he be called Arlsan Khan?” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

Tolai B. Baljinnyam, Mongolchhuudin Buren Tuukhiin Tovchoon, vol. 1 (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: Admon, 2006).

CHAPTER 4

killing of Ala-Qush Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles, translated by W. M. Thackson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Department of Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1998).

Jingue is also referred to as Zhenguo, Jinkhuu, or Jinkhui.

“He recognized no business but merrymaking” Ata-Malik Juvaini, Genghis Khan: The History of the World-Conqueror, translated by J. Boyle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997).

“The demon of temptation” Ibid.

Tokuchar Ebülgâzî Bahadir Han, The Shajrat Ul Atrak: Or, Genealogical Tree of the Turks and Tatars, translated by William Miles (London: Wm. H. Allen, 1838).

“She left no trace” Ghiyas ad-Din Muhammad Khwandamir, Khwandamir Habibu’s Siyar: The Reign of the Mongol and the Turk, translated by W. M. Thackson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1994).

“In the exaction of vengeance … rose gardens became furnaces” Juvaini, Genghis Khan.

“rhetorically ornate rhyming words” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

Genghis Khan then gave the precocious Boyaohe Namio Egami, “Olon-Sume: The Remains of the Royal Capital of the Yuan-Period Ongut Tribe,” Orient: The Reports of the Society for Near Eastern Studies in Japan 30/31 (1995): 2.

“always obtain to wife” Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition, vol. 1, translated by Henry Yule (New York: Dover, 1993).

“My people of the Five Colors and Four Foreign Lands” Charles Bawden, trans., The Mongol Chronicle Altan Tobŭi (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrossowitz, 1955), § 43.

“water in the desert” Altan Tobŭi, § 46.

“I leave you … one soul” François Pétis de la Croix, The History of Gengizcan the Great (Calcutta, 1816).

His four dowager queens controlled the territory Hidehiro Okada, “Mongol Chronicles and Chinggisid Genealogies,” Journal of Asian and African Studies 27 (1984): 147.

PART II

“As the age declined” Hidehiro Okada, “Dayan Khan as Yüan Emperor: The Political Legitimacy in 15th Century Mongolia,” Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient 81 (1994): 51.

CHAPTER 5

Oirat girls Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles, translated by W. M. Thackson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Department of Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1998). Rashid al-Din identifies the girls as Oirat, but Juvaini (Genghis Khan: The History of the World-Conqueror, translated by J. Boyle [Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997]) leaves the name of the tribe blank. The Secret History (Igor de Rachewiltz, trans., The Secret History of the Mongols [Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2004]) identifies them as belonging to Uncle Otchigen, but Ogodei would hardly have been seeking to marry the women of his own patrilineage.

“Because they had jeered at the Mongols” Rashid al-Din, The Successors of Genghis Khan, translated by John Andrew Boyle (New York: Columbia University Press, 1971). 90 “star-like maidens” Juvaini, Genghis Khan.

yeke khatun Igor de Rachewiltz, “Töregene’s Edict of 1240,” Papers on Far Eastern History 23 (March 1981): 38–63.

“used to weep a great deal… Beki” Rashid al-Din, Successors of Genghis Khan.

“became the sharer” Juvaini, Genghis Khan.

“And the wind has pitched” Ibid.

“They put to death the youngest” Rashid al-Din, Successors of Genghis Khan.

“had killed his father… were judged and killed” Giovanni DiPlano Carpini, The Story of the Mongols Whom We Call the Tartars, translated by Erik Hildinger (Boston: Branden, 1996), p.111.

why they killed her Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

khuriltai of 1229 Igor de Rachewiltz, trans., The Secret History of the Mongols (Leiden, Netherlands, 2004), § 269.

“sent us to his mother” Carpini, Story of the Mongols.

“wives had other tents” Ibid.

“He took no part in affairs of state” Juvaini, Genghis Khan,.

“Khatun to join Ogodei… excess sensuality” Abu-Umar-I-Usman, Tabakat-I-Nasirir: A General History of the Muhammadan Dynasties of Asia, vol. 2, translated by H. G. Raverty (London: Gilbert & Rivington, 1881).

“And then they sent also for their ladies… they were put to death” William Woodville Rockhill, trans., The Journey of William of Rubruck to the Eastern Parts of the World, 1253–55 as Narrated by Himself (London: Hakylut Society, 1900).

“The affairs of the world… they might flee” Juvaini, Genghis Khan.

“You are a woman” Rashid al-Din, Successors of Genghis Khan.

“You cannot have peace…. We shall destroy you!” Christopher Dawson, The Mongol Mission: Narratives and Letters of the Franciscan Missionaries in Mongolia and China in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries (New York: Sheed and Ward, 1955).

“As to affairs of war and peace … destroyed her whole family by her witchcraft” Rockhill, Journey of William of Rubruck.

praised effusively: Morris Rossabi, Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1988).

“amounted to little … pathway of righteousness” Juvaini, Genghis Khan.

increase the taxes Thomas T. Allsen, “The Rise of the Mongolian Empire and Mongolian Rule in North China,” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 6, edited by Herbert Franke and Denis Twitchett (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994).

“He sent messengers” Rashid al-Din, Successors of Genghis Khan.

one of the ministers Ibid.

Tanggis George Qingzhi Zhao, Marriage as Political Strategy and Cultural Expression (New York: Peter Lang, 2008).

three hundred families George Lane, Early Mongol Rule in Thirteenth Century Iran: A Persian Renaissance (New York: Routledge Curzon, 2003).

“ordered her limbs to be kicked” Rashid al-Din, Successors of Genghis Khan; also recorded in Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

“he forthwith sent to his… the children he had of her” Rockhill, Journey of William of Rubruck.

Menggeser Noyan Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh; see also Christopher P. Atwood, Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire (New York: Facts on File, 2004).

She claimed these lands Hidehiro Okada, “The Chakhar Shrine of Eshi Khatun,” in Aspects of Altaic Civilization III, edited by Denis Sinor (Bloomington: Indiana University Research Institute for Asian Studies, 1990).

“After sipping the unpalatable… Egypt and Syria” Juvaini, Genghis Khan.

“They shall see what they shall see” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

“The women of your city” Abu-Umar-I-Usman, Tabakat-I-Nasirir.

“to guard the northern frontiers” Gombojab Hangin, “The Mongolian Titles Jinong and Sigejin,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 100, no. 3 (1980); 259.

the black sulde Charles Bawden, trans., The Mongol Chron icle Altan Tobŭi (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1955), § 85.

CHAPTER 6

Mongol capital at Beijing Khubilai Khan built his new imperial capital at the place now occupied by Beihai Park in central Beijing. The Mongols and most foreigners called it Khan Baliq, but the Chinese, who were forbidden to speak Mongolian, called it Tatu.

Orghina Khatun Rene Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes, translated by Naomi Walford (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1997).

he seized the courts Rashid al-Din, The Successors of Genghis Khan, translated by John Andrew Boyle (New York: Columbia University Press).

“It was a large tent” Ata-Malik Juvaini, Genghis Khan: The History of the World-Conqueror, translated by J. Boyle (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1997).

“The master craftsmen” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles, translated by W. M. Thackson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Department of Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1998).

“she went around like a boy” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

“make a dash” Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo: The Complete Yule-Cordier Edition, vol. 1, translated by Henry Yule (New York: Dover, 1993).

“People choose bays” Rashid al-Din, Successors of Genghis Khan.

“Many a man fell” Travels of Marco Polo.

acted like a man Hansgerd Göckenjan and James R. weeney, Der Mongolensturm: Berichte von Augenzeugen und Zeitgenossen 1235–1250 (Graz: Verlag Styria, 1985).

Mongol princess Gian Andri Bezzola, Die Mongolen in Abendländischer Sicht: 1220–1270 (Bern, Switzerland: Francke Verlag, 1974).

Spalato Der Mongolensturm.

many women fought Ibid.

“young and handsome” Travels of Marco Polo. 122 “When both had taken” Ibid.

Numerous reports maintain Michal Biran, Qaidu Khan and the Rise of the Independent Mongol State in Central Asia (Richmond, UK: Curzon, 1997).

incestuous relationship Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh.

“She chose him herself” Ibid.

Qaidu Khan decided to try a deception… “illness into dysentery” Ibid.

He was buried… “stirring up sedition and strife” Ibid.

Novel Walther Heissig, “Tracing Some Oral Mongol Motifs in a Chinese Prosimetric Ming Novel of 1478,” Asian Folklore Studies 53 (1996): 238. The novel was titled Hua Guan Suo zhuan (The Story of Hua Guan Suo).

“When our great ancestor” Hidehiro Okada, “Dayan Khan as Yüan Emperor: The Political Legitimacy in 15th Century Mongolia,” Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient 81 (1994): 51.

Divine Demon Dancing Girls … “place full of obscenity” George Qingzhi Zhao, Marriage as Political Strategy and Cultural Expression (New York: Peter Lang, 2008).

Erdeni-yin Tobci Geschichte der Ost-Mongolen und ihres Fürstenhauses, verfasst von Ssanang Ssetsen Chungtaidschi der Ordus, translated by Isaac Jacob Schmidt (Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1820).

CHAPTER 7

Altan Tobci The version most often used in this book is the bilingual Mongolian-English edition, Charles Bawden, trans., The Mongol Chronicle Altan Tobŭi (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1955).

Erdeni-yin Tobci The version most often used in this book is the bilingual Mongolian-German edition prepared by command of the Russian tsar Alexander II in 1827 and published two years later as the first Mongolian book translated into a European language. Geschichte der Ost-Mongolen und ihres Fürstenhauses, verfasst von Ssanang Ssetsen Chungtaidschi der Ordus, translated by Isaac Jacob Schmidt (Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1829).

killed the last ruling descendant of Khubilai Khan Hidehiro Okada, “Mongol Chronicles and Chinggisid Genealogies,” Journal of Asian and African Studies 27 (1984): 151.

the ceremony Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t- Tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles, translated by W. M. Thackson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Department of Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1998).

“She is the wife of your son” The Altan Tobŭi identifies her as the son’s wife, but the Erdene-yin Tobŭi identifies her as the wife of Elbeg’s brother. The two accounts are not necessarily in disagreement since “son” and “younger brother” are often used interchangeably for junior males in the same clan. The account here combines the two texts.

friendly access to senior women Lawrence Krader, Social Organization of the Mongol-Turkic Pastoral Nomads (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1963).

Even to bring milk Hidehiro Okada, “Outer Mongolia in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries,” Journal of Asian and African Studies 5 (1972): 70.

dead rabbit In a Tibetan chronicle, the source of the khan’s problem is a monkey spirit that then led him astray. The story was presented seemingly as an excuse to denounce women and the men who love them. Georg Huth, trans., Geschichte des Buddhismus in der Mongolei: Aus dem Tibetischen des Jigs-med nam-mk’a (Strassburg: Karl J. Trübner, 1892).

“when a khan behaves like a commoner” Hidehiro Okada, “The Bilig Literature in Chinggis Qaran-u Cadig,” Mongolica 6 (1995): 459.

Elbeg Khan was about to commit a crime … The turmoil resulting from the Great Khan’s terrible deeds The quotes combine the accounts given in the Altan Tobŭi § 3–65, and the Erdeni-yin Tobŭi.

“It is told” W. M. Thackson, trans., Mirza Haydar Dughlat’s Tarikh-I-Rashide: A History of the Khans of Moghulistan (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1996).

important titles Frederick W. Mote, “The T’u-mu Incident of 1449,” Chinese Ways in Warfare, edited by Frank A. Kierman Jr. and John K. Fairbank (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1974).

“If it is a girl… It is a girl.” Altan Tobŭi § 95.

“Do you already begin to fear” Henry H. Howorth, History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century (London: Longmans, Green, 1876).

“dragged his body up into a tree” Ibid. The killing of Esen was placed in the year 1452 in Erdeni-yin Tobŭi, but in 1454 in the Ming records.

CHAPTER 8

Beg-Arslan was also known as Begerisün, Birirsen, Begersen, Begersün, Bigirsen, and Pai-chia-ssu-lan.

He “stayed absent from” her Charles Bawden, trans., The Mongol Chronicle Altan Tobŭi (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1955), § 93.

“elder brother” Altan Tobŭi, § 85.

deel embroidered with gold Ibid., § 100.

“If I receive” Igor de Rachewiltz, trans., The Secret History of the Mongols (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2004), § 238.

“In the blue sky” Quote adapted from the translation of Gombojab Hangin, “The Mongolian Titles Jinong and Sigejin,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 100 (1980): 256.

“in peace and harmony” Erdeni-yin Tobci as compiled by Isaac Jacob Schmidt in Geschichte der Ost-Mongolen und ihres Fürstenhauses, verfasst von Ssanang Ssetsen Chungtaidschi der Ordus (Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1829).

“They declared themselves sworn friends and loved each other” Secret History, § 117.

disguised as Mongol bandits Frederick W. Mote, “The Ch’eng-hua and Hung-chih Reigns, 1465–1505,” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 7, The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part I, edited by Frederick W. Mote and Denis Twitchett (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988).

CHAPTER 9

“They marry by succession their stepmothers” Henry Serruys, The Mongols and Ming China: Customs and History (London: Variourum Reprints, 1987).

“The houses of the Tartars” Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1910).

female in-law had a senior position Lawrence Krader, Social Organization of the Mongol-Turkic Pastoral Nomads (Blooming-ton: Indiana University Press, 1963).

Ismayil confronted the Great Khan Erdeni-yin Tobci.

“I myself am not in good health … the khan became enraged” Charles Bawden, trans., The Mongol Chronicle Altan Tobŭi (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1955), § 98.

Jamuka Igor de Rachewiltz, trans., The Secret History of the Mongols (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2004), § 201.

“Have I enmity towards your kin?” Altan Tobŭi, § 98.

the prince began to style himself as the Great Khan Chinese reports assert that Bayan Mongke claimed the title of Bayan Mongke Khan this time rather than Bolkhu Jinong, but few people recognized the young man’s change of title. According to the Erdeni-yin Tobci, he held the title for two years, but Mongolian lists of Great Khans rarely include his name.

that he might escape Altan Tobŭi, §§ 99–100.

“I will not go to you” … “the right to speak to me this way” Altan Tobŭi, § 102.

PART III

CHAPTER 10

sickness Charles Bawden, trans., The Mongol Chronicle Altan Tobŭi (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1955), § 101; hunchback-like growth: Erdeni-yin Tobci.

“there was suffering” Johan Elverskog, The Jewel Translucent Sutra: Altan Khan and the Mongols in the Sixteenth Century (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2003), lines 45–48.

“O God! O Sky! O Earth!” Rashid al-Din, Rashiduddin Fazullah’s Jami’u’t-Tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles, translated by W. M. Thackson (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Department of Eastern Languages and Civilizations, 1998).

CHAPTER 11

“Queen Manduhai the Good” Charles Bawden, trans., The Mongol Chronicle Altan Tobŭi (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1955), § 101.

“The Queen has no helmet” Ibid., § 102.

“When it was wet” Igor de Rachewiltz, trans., The Secret History of the Mongols (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2004), § 214.

“protected her jewel-like son” Johan Elverskog, The Jewel Translucent Sutra: Altan Khan and the Mongols in the Sixteenth Century (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2003), lines 45–64.

They sometimes imported horses Denis Twitchett and Tilemann Grimm, “The Cheng-t’ung, Ching t’ai, and T’ien-shun Reigns, 1436–1464,” in The Cambridge History of China, vol. 7, The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part I, edited by Frederick W. Mote and Denis Twitchett (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988).

The instability of the horse trade Morris Rossabi, “The Ming and Inner Asia,” in ibid., Part II–55.

True civilization for the Chinese Hidehiro Okada, “China as a Successor State to the Mongol Empire,” in The Mongol Empire and Its Legacy, edited by Reuven Amitai-Preiss and David O. Morgan (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1999).

five types of bait Ying-shih Yü, Trade and Expansion in Han China (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1967).

CHAPTER 12

Wang Yue proposed Alastair Iain Johnston, Cultural Realism: Strategic Culture and Grand Strategy in Chinese History (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1995).

“to dare to penetrate” Ibid.

“I braved the snow” Yuan-Chu Lam, “Memoir on the Campaign Against Turfan: An Annotated Translation of Hsü Chin’s P’ing-fan shih-mo written in 1503,” Journal of Asian History 42 (1990): 159.

“When the unfortunate Mongols” Dimitrii Pokotilov, History of the Eastern Mongols During the Ming Dynasty from 1368–1634, translated by Rudolf Leowenthal (Chengtu: Chinese Cultural Studies Research Institute, West China Union University, 1947).

he sighed in regret Denis Twitchett and Frederick W. Mote, eds., The Cambridge History of China, vol. 7, The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part I (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988).

pornography Ibid.

“thirsty for its tastiness” The butter soup story is from Charles Bawden, trans., The Mongol Chronicle Altan Tobŭi (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1955), §§ 109–10.

“If a piece of food is given” Giovanni DiPlano Carpini, The Story of the Mongols Whom We Call the Tartars, translated by Erik Hildinger (Boston: Branden, 1996).

CHAPTER 13

“Why is the ground shaking?” Most of the material in this chapter is taken from Charles Bawden, trans., The Mongol Chronicle Altan Tobŭi (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1955), §§ 107–88.

incense holders Erdeni-yin Tobci, as compiled by Isaac Jacob Schmidt in Geschichte der Ost-Mongolen und ihres Fürstenhauses, verfasst von Ssanang Ssetsen Chungtaidschi der Ordus, (Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1829).

“It is necessary to accept hard and inconvenient advice” Walther Heissig, “A Contribution to the Knowledge of Eastmongolian Folkpoetry,” Folklore Studies 9 (1950): 158.

she died soon thereafter Siker died at Seremeger on the Sira Mören. Altan Tobŭi, § 109.

“the government was rectified and humanity was united” Altan Tobŭi, §123.

“peace, unity and prosperity spread throughout all the people.” Erdeni-yin Tobci.

“give us gold, silver, and silk” Talat Tekin, A Grammar of Orkhon Turkic, Uralic and Altaic Series, vol. 69 (Bloomington: Indiana University Publications, 1968).

Tonyukuk Talat Tekin, Ibid.

“He has come saying he will rule our country” Altan Tobŭi, §113.

“May you heaven” Altan Tobŭi, §114.

EPILOGUE

The Squire’s Tale Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, edited by Alfred W. Pollard (London: Macmillan, 1899).

“She united with her ravishing beauty” François Pétis de la Croix, The Thousand and One Days: Persian Tales, translated by Justin Huntly McCarthy (London: Chatto & Windus, 1892).

“tigerish woman” Carlo Gozzi, Turandotte, Act I, scene i.

“in that cruel night” Puccini, Turandot, Act II, scene ii.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THE GLORY OF MONGOLIA IS BEST APPRECIATED THROUGH the three treasures that bring the Mongols the greatest joy and pride: the splendor of their landscape, the magnificence of their history, and the grandeur of their music. While writing this book, I spent as much time as possible in the Mongolian countryside with my wife, Walker Pearce. When we could not be there, I relied upon the music to re-create the landscape and to summon the images of the past.Throughout the writing of this book, I repeatedly found inspiration in the songs written about Manduhai and, most important, in the symphony written in her honor by N. Jantsannorov, one of the greatest composers of our time. In researching this project, I realized how much the Mongolian people have preserved their history through song, despite the historical censorship of documents. Sometimes, they were not allowed to publicly perform the songs, as in the case of a beautiful song written in tribute to Manduhai Khatun by composer and musician D. Jargalsaikhan in the 1970s. Like many musicians working under censorship, he had to leave out her name and change the words slightly to disguise the song’s subject matter.I received great inspiration from the voices of Shurankhai: B. Nomin-Erden, D. Uriintuya, and G. Erdenchimeg, and I benefited greatly from the performances of D. Odsuren and T. Batbayasgalan.The portrait of Queen Manduhai on the cover of the book was made by Kikutake Yuji. Throughout the writing of this book I used it as the screensaver on my computer because it represents the dynamic nature of Manduhai while also reminding me that, like the artist, I too am a foreigner trying to interpret Mongolian culture.It is not surprising that with so much censorship of the written history of the Mongol queens, no portraits of them are known to exist from their lifetimes. For Mongols, however, the essence of a person persists not so much in the physical features of the body as in the sound of the spoken name and the appearance of the written name. They summon this fundamental nature through calligraphic drawings that simultaneously record the name and the general form of the person. The artist N. Bat-Erdene made the name drawings that illustrate this book. Borte appears at the opening of Part One, Sorkhokhtani Beki of Part Two, and Queen Manduhai of Part Three.The symbol on the epigraph page is a tamgha designed and given to me as a gift by Z. Purev, who also sculpted it in metal for use as a brand. It, too, is a special form of Mongolian calligraphy, and represents the three basic letters of my first name. All of the images and symbols used in the book were combined through the creative design of Leonard Henderson.I appreciate the support of my daughter, Walker Buxton, and son, Roy Maybank, as well as their spouses, J. Edward Buxton and Amanda R. Maybank, and my granddaughter Walker Buxton during sometimes difficult circumstances in Mongolia. I look forward to one day traveling in Mongolia with our other granddaughters, Pearce Buxton, Lavinia Maybank, and Rhett Maybank, as well as our grandsons, Edward Buxton and Roy Maybank.At Macalester College, Professor Sonia Patten was one of the consistently most helpful and encouraging supporters of this project from its inception. I benefited tremendously from the tireless service of the DeWitt Wallace Library staff, as well as from my colleagues Naran Bilik, Dianna Shandy, Arjun Guneratne, Martin Gunderson, David McCurdy, Mahnaz Kousha, Karen Nakamura, Olga Gonzalez, David Lanegran, Ahmed Samatar, Mary Lou Byrne, Juanita Garciagodoy, Wang Ping, and Lee Olson.In Mongolia, the faculty and staff of the Chinggis Khaan University, under the direction of Kh. Lkhagvasuren, diligently assisted in my work. I was aided by the enlightened work of Professors T. Bold, D. Bold-Erdene, Davaadulam, O. Sukhbaatar, B. Baljinnyam, Oi. Daghadorj, T. Namjil, Kh. Shagdar, A. Shagdarsuren, and J. Saruulbuyan, as well as Mr. Barudas of the South Gobi. Also in Mongolia, I very much value the support and encouragement that I received from O. Batnairamdal, Lauren Bonilla, Roger Chilton, Martha Crunkleton, E. Enerelt, D. Enkhchuluun, S. Erdenebold, B. Erdenesanaa, B. Ganhuyag, U. Gereltod, Tjalling Halbertsma, D. Javkhlan, William Kennedy, Bijani Mizell, A. Mungunzul, Susan Murphy, B. Narankhuu, Axel Odelberg, Catherine Sepulveda, S. Soyoljin, E. Soyombo, Robert Stroozas, and Rochelle and Rebecca Tschida. Merely listing their names can in no way express the appreciation I have for what they have done for me or the emotional bonds that I share with each of them in a different way.Producing a book depends on far more than writing. It is a group endeavor in which dozens of people contribute crucial pieces, but, in the end, the author, somewhat unfairly, gets the credit. In thirty years of work together, my agent, Lois Wallace, has always guided and encouraged my work. I have been with Crown Publishers almost as long as I have been with Lois Wallace. I have benefited from working with some of the finest talents I have known in my career. In our generation together, many have married, given birth, or adopted children, and some have retired or moved on to new challenges. Yet they all remain a part of my work. Rachel Klayman took a chance in accepting this book for publication, and Lucinda Bartley put in tremendous work to edit it repeatedly. Their diligence and enthusiasm made it possible for me to complete this project.The nation of Alan Goa, Genghis Khan, Manduhai Khatun, and Dayan Khan still lives today. As in any democracy, the people have different views and ideologies, yet they are all united in honoring the history and culture of their Mongol ancestors. They have helped me in seemingly every way that they could. From the guards at the doors to the ministers of parliament, from teachers in the rural classrooms to the ministers of state in Ulaanbaatar, and from library clerks to the president, first lady, and prime minister—all encouraged and assisted me throughout the six years of work on this project. They made my work possible, and, more important, they are the ones who give it meaning.From herders to parliament members, Mongolians never tired of teaching me about their culture and place of birth, torson nutag, within Mongolia. Because of the subject of my investigations, individuals frequently wanted me to tell the story of a particular queen, hero, or divinity for whom their mother or daughter was named. Sometimes they encouraged me to meet their grandmother as the best living example of the true ideal of Mongol womanhood. They wanted to highlight the importance of their home area or to stress the neglected virtues of a special type of camel or way of singing. They had a preferred spelling or pronunciation of a name, or hoped I could explain that the milk of their district had just the right amount of fat and the best flavor, and was used in the past by doctors to cure certain diseases. I treasure each of these accounts in my memory even if, in the end, I was not able to incorporate them into this book.Throughout my research, I relied upon scholars whom I never met and who often work in anonymity without receiving the attention and honor that they deserve. They glean the historic and linguistic fields searching for grains of information about Mongolian life, history, and culture. They study, translate, catalog, and preserve the texts and manuscript fragments of the past. They analyze archaic scripts, compare spellings, and chase down the etymologies of unusual suffix combinations. I greatly admire and appreciate their scholarship.I hope that the readers of this book will go on to explore the many works about Mongolia, listen to the music of its great artists, and perhaps one day find the white road that leads them to visit the beautiful land and taste the pure water of Mongolia.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jack Weatherford holds the DeWitt Wallace Chair of Anthropology at Macalester College in Minnesota and an honorary position at Chinggis Khaan University in Mongolia. In 2007 he received the Order of the Polar Star, the highest award for service to the Mongol nation.

Copyright © 2010 by Jack Weatherford

Illustrations © 2010 by N. Bat-Erdene

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Crown Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

www.crownpublishing.com

CROWN and the Crown colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Weatherford, J. McIver.

The secret history of the Mongol queens/Jack Weatherford.

p. cm.

1. Genghis Khan, 1162–1227—Family. 2. Queens—Mongolia—History.

3. Daughters—Mongolia—History. 4. Women—Mongolia—History.

5. Inheritance and succession—Mongolia—History. 6. Mongols—History.

7. Mongols—Biography. 8. Mongolia—Kings and rulers—Biography.

9. Mongolia—History. 10. Mongolia—Biography. I. Title.

DS22.W39 2010

950′.20922—dc22

2009020822

eISBN: 978-0-307-58936-1

v3.0