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39-490: Nawruz Beg succeeded to the throne after the murder of his predecessor Qulpa and the latter's two sons, in February 1360. Nawruz Beg's antecedents are uncertain. Many modern authors simply repeat his claim to have been a son of Jani Beg , but the reputable medieval author Khwandamir explicitly indicates that Nawruz Beg was a pretended son of Jani Beg. A contemporary Venetian notary act claims that Nawruz Beg pretended to be

78-525: A captive of the Merkit tribe , one of whom forcibly married and raped her. Although there was thus considerable doubt over Jochi's parentage, Temüjin considered him his son and treated him accordingly. Many Mongols, most prominently Börte's next son Chagatai , disagreed; these tensions eventually led to both Chagatai and Jochi being excluded from the line of succession to the Mongol throne. After Temüjin founded

117-585: A firstborn, Jochi received the territories furthest away from the homeland for his ulus (domain): they were located in western Mongolia along the River Irtysh . This allocation was made with the expectation that Jochi would expand, and so in 1207–08 he campaigned against and subjugated the Hoi-yin Irgen  [ ja ] , a collection of tribes on the edge of the Siberian taiga between

156-535: A less febrile gathering which took place after the war's conclusion, some historians speculate that the Secret History 's account was "a later interpolation" and that Jochi only lost his place as heir after making mistakes during the Khwarazmian campaign. The Mongol armies, estimated to number 150,000 or 200,000 men in total, descended upon Otrar in late 1219. Leaving Chagatai and Ögedei to besiege

195-547: A son of Öz Beg without any justification: "quam dici fuisse filium Usbech sine aliqua meritone." Similarly, the most accurate collections of Jochid genealogies (like the Muʿizz al-ansāb ) do not include Nawruz Beg among Jani Beg's offspring (or anywhere else). Jani Beg's son Berdi Beg is said to have slaughtered no less than 12 of his closest kinsmen, including an 8-month-old brother, making it unlikely that Nawruz Beg could have been another son of Jani Beg. According to some scholars,

234-460: Is not certain. The publication of a contemporary Venetian notary act by Benedetto Bianco confirms Qulpa's favor towards Christians and that at least his eldest, 12-year-old son was a Christian; it also dates the murders of Qulpa, his two sons, and two emirs, and the accession of the next khan, Nawruz Beg , to 28 February 1360. Qulpa's control over the Golden Horde may have been challenged from

273-543: Is not recorded in most of the Persian and Arabic narratives treating the khans of the Golden Horde, but it is briefly treated in the Russian chronicles, which report that Qulpa reigned for 6 months and 5 days, did a lot of evil, and in the end was killed, together with his sons Mihail and Ivan. The names of Qulpa's sons and the absence of a traditional Muslim name on his coins suggest that he might have been Christian, but that

312-662: Is unknown who Jochi's senior wife was, but it was likely either Öki or Sorghan. Jochi's most important sons were Orda Khan and Batu Khan ; they were the children of Sorghan and Öki respectively. Neither these women nor Begtütmish was the mother of Jochi's other notable son, Berke . The names of eleven other sons are known, but none had significant careers, reflecting the junior status of their mothers. Descendants of younger sons nevertheless used their Jochid lineage to legitimise their right to rule: these included Khiḍr Khan of Shiban 's line, and Tokhtamysh who descended from Jochi's youngest son Tuqa-Timur . In 1206, having united

351-677: The Angara and Irtysh rivers. Jochi secured a marriage alliance with the Oirats , whose leader Qutuqa Beki guided the Mongols to the Yenisei Kyrgyz and other Hoi-yin Irgen. These tribes soon submitted, and Jochi took control of the region's trade in grain and furs, as well as its gold mines. He subsequently reinforced Subutai 's army before it defeated the renegade Merkits at the battle of

390-569: The Ergüne river , in modern-day Inner Mongolia . At the age of ten, she was betrothed to a Mongol boy named Temüjin , son of the Mongol chieftain Yesugei . Seven years later ( c.  1178 ), after he had survived a violent adolescence, they married. They had their first child, a daughter named Qojin, in 1179 or 1180. By forming alliances with notable steppe leaders, such as his friend Jamukha and his father's former ally Toghrul , and with

429-594: The Mongol Empire in 1206 and took the name Genghis Khan, he entrusted Jochi with nine thousand warriors and a large territory in the west of the Mongol heartland ; Jochi commanded and participated in numerous campaigns to secure and extend Mongol power in the region. He was also a prominent commander during the invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire (1219–1221), during which he subdued cities and tribes to

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468-406: The Muʿizz al-ansāb ) do not include Qulpa/Qulna among Jani Beg's offspring, or anywhere else. Jani Beg's son Berdi Beg is said to have slaughtered no less than 12 of his closest kinsmen, including an 8-month-old brother, making it unlikely that Qulpa/Qulna could have been another son of Jani Beg. To some scholars, the evidence of eastern sources (mostly enumerations of the khans) implies that Qulpa

507-590: The Taihang Mountains into Shanxi , where they pillaged and plundered in autumn 1213. He may have also taken part in the Irghiz River skirmish , an inconclusive engagement fought against the army of Muhammad II of Khwarazm . The Secret History records two conversations between Jochi and his father about his campaigns: once when Genghis declined Jochi's request to spare the life of a renowned Merkit archer, and once when Jochi's triumphant return from

546-526: The Irtysh River in late 1208 or early 1209. Jochi would campaign intermittently against the Merkits and their Qangli allies for the next decade, finally destroying the last remnants of the people in 1217 or 1218 alongside Subutai. The historian Christopher Atwood has argued that this narrative minimised Jochi's role, that in reality he, not Subutai, was the primary commander in all campaigns against

585-630: The Merkit and Qangli, and that his right to rule the former Qangli lands was justified by the success of the campaigns. Alongside his brothers Chagatai and Ögedei, Jochi commanded the right wing in the 1211 invasion of the Chinese Jin dynasty . The Mongols marched southwards from Genghis's campaign headquarters in modern Inner Mongolia in November 1211: first they attacked the cities in the area between Hohhot and Datong , and then they followed

624-455: The Merkits for nearly nine months, Jochi's paternity was uncertain; this was reflected in his name, meaning "guest" in Mongolian . While Temüjin always regarded Jochi as his son by blood and treated him accordingly, many Mongols, such as his younger brother Chagatai , viewed him as a bastard sired by Chilger-Bökö. Jochi does not reappear in historical sources until 1203. By this time, he

663-462: The apparently identical roles attributed in the sources to Nawruz Beg and a certain Bazarchi (Bazarčī), a descendant of Jochi's son Tangqut (both consorts of Taydula Khatun , both eliminated by Khiḍr Khan ), imply that Nawruz Beg and Bazarchi were in fact the same individual. Nawruz Beg had a son named Timur (Tīmūr); similarly, Bazarchi is given a son Timur Malik; neither of these has any relation to

702-413: The city destroyed either by burning naphtha or flooding from collapsed dams. After the city's eventual fall in 1221, its inhabitants were either killed or enslaved. The usual narrative of the siege recounts that Jochi and Chagatai quarrelled on how best to conduct its progress, as Jochi presumed that the rich city would become part of his domain and wished to damage it as little as possible. Chagatai on

741-480: The events, while the two that did include them (the Secret History of the Mongols , a mid-13th-century epic poem, and the 14th-century Persian historian Rashid al-Din 's Jami al-tawarikh ) are contradictory. The following narrative, containing elements from both, is considered most plausible. In 1180 or 1181, a large force of Merkits raided Temüjin's camp; while most of his family managed to escape, Börte

780-518: The famous Tamerlane . Following the death of Ivan II of Moscow in November 1359, several Russian princes made their way to the Khan's court to seek investiture with the grand princely throne of Vladimir . Nawruz Beg awarded the diploma of investiture ( yarliq ) to Prince Andrey Konstantinovich of Nizhny Novgorod , who ceded it to his brother Dmitry of Suzdal . Later in 1360, perhaps in June, Nawruz Beg

819-440: The help of his charisma, Temüjin began to attract followers and gain power. Word of his rise spread and soon drew the attention of the Merkit tribe to the northwest, from whom Yesugei had abducted Temüjin's mother Hö'elün , sparking a blood feud ; they resolved to take revenge on Yesugei's heir. Because of their consequences, the subsequent events were considered controversial: most contemporary authors omitted any mention of

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858-538: The latter claimed he was too ill to do so. When a traveller claimed that he was not ill and merely hunting, Genghis resolved to bring him to heel. Before he could do so, in either 1225 or 1227, news came that Jochi had died of his illness. One account, likely fabricated, states that Jochi had been so offended by the destruction at Gurganj that he had made a secret alliance with the Khwarazmians, and that having found out, Genghis ordered that Jochi be poisoned. Batu

897-537: The most capable and famous of these. Qulpa Qulpa ( Kulpa and Askulpa in Russian chronicles; Colbadinus Cam in a contemporary Venetian document; died 1360) was Khan of the Golden Horde from August 1359 to February 1360. He came to the throne four days after the murder of his predecessor Berdi Beg . It has been supposed that Qulpa might have begun his reign as a rival khan at Azov, but that cannot be verified and seems unlikely. His short reign

936-522: The north. During the 1221 Siege of Gurganj , tensions arose between him, his brothers, and Genghis, which never healed. Jochi was still estranged from his family when he died of ill health c.  1225 . His son Batu was appointed to rule his territories in his stead. Jochi's mother, Börte , was born into the Onggirat tribe, who lived along the Greater Khingan mountain range south of

975-416: The other hand held no such qualms. When Genghis heard about this infighting, he ordered that Ögedei be promoted to command his brothers. Atwood however argues that this narrative was a later invention designed to buttress Ögedei's rule as khan of the empire and that Jochi in reality retained primacy throughout the siege. Regardless of the narrative discrepancies, Jochi lost the favour of his father following

1014-519: The shores of the Aral Sea to Gurganj, while his brothers Chagatai and Ögedei, having captured Otrar , converged on his position. There are contradictory accounts of the siege of Gurganj and Jochi's part in it. What is certain is that the siege was lengthy, lasting between four and seven months, and that it was exceptionally fierce: the defiant Khwarazmian defenders forced the Mongol army to engage in bitter house-by-house urban warfare , with much of

1053-482: The siege. Genghis likely considered it a military failure on account of its length and destruction; Jochi also erred by not sending his father his rightful share of the loot. After its conclusion, Chagatai and Ögedei departed southwards to join their father in his pursuit of the renegade Khwarazmian prince Jalal al-Din , while Jochi moved north, ostensibly to bring the Qangli to heel in his new territories, which included

1092-535: The start, by Berdi Beg's son-in-law Mamai in the west, and by the reassertion of autonomy in the former subordinate Ulus of Orda in the east, under Qara Noqai, a descendant of Jochi 's son Toqai Temür. The antecedents of Qulpa are unclear. He may have been among those claiming descent from Jani Beg (like Nawruz Beg and Kildi Beg ), and some modern authorities treat him as a son of Jani Beg and brother of his predecessor Berdi Beg and successor Nawruz Beg. The most accurate collections of Jochid genealogies (like

1131-456: The steppes west of the river Chu . Some sources allege that he preferred to spend his time hunting, an activity he was very greatly fond of. It is unclear if he ever met his father again. Although Jochi sent huge numbers of wild asses and 20,000 white horses to Genghis as a gift c.  1224 , relations were steadily worsening because of Jochi's preoccupation with his territories. On his return home, Genghis ordered Jochi to join him, but

1170-552: The subjugation of the Oirats garnered high praise from his father. In 1218, Genghis was provoked into launching a campaign against the Central Asian Khwarazmian Empire after a Mongol trade caravan was killed by the governor of the border town of Otrar and subsequent diplomatic overtures failed. According to the Secret History , Yesui , one of Genghis's secondary wives, requested that he decide

1209-476: The succession before setting out. Though Genghis appears not to have cared about Jochi's possible illegitimacy, Chagatai vehemently objected to his brother becoming the next khan, shouting "How can we let ourselves be ruled by this Merkit bastard?" After a short brawl between the brothers was broken up, the Secret History continues, the suggestion of Ögedei as a compromise candidate was endorsed by both brothers and their father. Because of other sources which present

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1248-680: The town, Genghis took their younger brother Tolui and traversed the Kyzyl Kum desert to attack the city of Bukhara . Meanwhile, Jochi was dispatched to march down the Syr Darya river in the direction of the Khwarazmian capital Gurganj and subdue all the cities en route , which Genghis intended to become part of Jochi's territories. The towns of Sighnaq and Asanas offered particularly stiff resistance and their inhabitants were thus slaughtered, while Jand and Yanikant were occupied without much trouble. In late 1220, he travelled southwest along

1287-460: The tribes of Mongolia , Temüjin held a large assembly called a kurultai where he was acclaimed as "Genghis Khan". He began to reorder his new nation, dividing it between members of his ruling dynasty. As the eldest son, Jochi received the largest share—nine thousand subject warriors, all with their own families and herds; Chagatai received eight thousand, and their younger brothers Ögedei and Tolui received five thousand each. As expected for

1326-437: Was a prince of the early Mongol Empire . His life was marked by controversy over the circumstances of his birth and culminated in his estrangement from his family. He was nevertheless a prominent military commander and the progenitor of the family who ruled over the khanate of the Golden Horde . Jochi was the son of Börte , the first wife of the Mongol leader Temüjin . For many months before Jochi's birth, Börte had been

1365-602: Was captured. She was forcibly married to Chilger-Bökö, the younger brother of Hö'elün's original husband. Meanwhile, Temüjin had convinced his allies to assemble substantial forces to help him rescue Börte. Under Jamukha's command, the combined army campaigned against the Merkits and defeated them, recovering Börte and taking large amounts of plunder. However, there was a problem—Börte was heavily pregnant and c.  1182 gave birth to Jochi in Jamukha's camp. As Chilger-Bökö had undoubtedly raped her, and as she had been among

1404-585: Was confirmed as ruler of his father's territories by Genghis—his elder brother Orda assumed a junior position, while their younger brothers each took a strip of land to rule. Jochi's descendants would grow more independent, eventually ruling over the state known as the Golden Horde . Although a large mausoleum in Ulytau Region in Kazakhstan has traditionally been identified as the resting place of Jochi's remains, radiocarbon dating indicates that it

1443-462: Was deposed and executed, along with his son Timur and Taydula Khatun, by a descendant of Jochi 's son Shiban , Khiḍr . Nawruz Beg's reign was part of the beginning of the anarchy in which over 25 khans followed each other in rapid succession on the throne of the Golden Horde in 20 years, many of them concurrent, and wielding little effective authority. Some of khans reigned only de jure , while supreme military rulers ruled de facto ; Mamai being

1482-487: Was identical to Kildi Beg , who pretended to be a son of Jani Beg (but was actually his nephew, according to the Muʿizz al-ansāb ); the chronological implications of such an identification are problematic, but the more detailed treatment in Ötemiš-Ḥājjī's Čingīz-Nāmah makes it likely that Qulpa was at least confounded with Kildi Beg in an influential tradition. Jochi Jochi ( Mongolian : ᠵᠦᠴᠢ ; c.  1182 – c.  1225 ), also known as Jüchi ,

1521-592: Was old enough for marriage. Temüjin intended to betroth him to a daughter of his ally Toghrul, but because of Jochi's uncertain birth and Temüjin's comparatively low status, this proposal was taken as insulting by Toghrul's people and eventually led to war between the two leaders. After Toghrul's defeat in 1204, Jochi was given one of his nieces, Begtütmish, as a wife. He also married other women : Börte's niece Öki; her relative Sorghan; and several less powerful women, namely Qutlugh Khatun, Sultan Khatun, Nubqus, Shīr, Qarajin, and Kul. In addition, Jochi took concubines . It

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