Ibaqa Beki was a Kerait princess and

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

khatun Khatun ( ) is a title of the female counterpart to a Khan (title), khan or a khagan of the Göktürks, Turkic Khaganates and in the subsequent Mongol Empire. Etymology and history Before the advent of Islam in Central Asia, Khatun was the title of ...

active in the early 13th century. She was briefly married to

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

, the founder of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

, and subsequently married to the general Jürchedei.

Family and first marriage

She was the eldest daughter of the Kerait leader Jakha Gambhu, who allied with Genghis Khan to defeat the Naimans in 1204. As part of the alliance, Ibaqa was given to Genghis Khan as a wife. She was the sister of Begtütmish, who married Genghis Khan's son

Jochi Jochi (; ), also spelled Jüchi, 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 of the ...

, and

Sorghaghtani Beki Sorghaghtani Beki (; ) or Bekhi ('' Bek(h)i'' is a title), also written Sorkaktani, Sorkhokhtani, Sorkhogtani, Siyurkuktiti ( – 1 March 1252), posthumous name Empress Xianyi Zhuangsheng ( and Persian: سرقویتی بیگی, ''Sorghoiti'' '' ...

, who married Genghis Khan's son

Tolui Tolui (born ; died 1232) was the youngest son of Genghis Khan and Börte. A prominent general during the early Mongol conquests, Tolui was a leading candidate to succeed his father after his death in 1227 and ultimately served as regent of th ...

. The latter sister became one of the most powerful and influential figures in the Mongol Empire.

Second marriage

After about two years of childless marriage, Genghis Khan abruptly divorced Ibaqa and gave her to the general Jürchedei, a member of the Uru'ut clan who killed Ibaqa's father Jakha Gambhu when he rebelled against Genghis Khan. The exact reason for this remarriage is unknown: According to ''The Secret History of the Mongols'', Genghis Khan gave Ibaqa to Jürchedei as a reward for his service in wounding Nilga Senggum in 1203 and, later, in killing Jakha Gambhu. Conversely, Rashid al-Din in ''

Jami' al-tawarikh ''Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh'' () is a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate. Written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318 AD) at the start of the 14th century, the breadth of coverage of the work has caused it to be call ...

'' claims that Genghis Khan divorced Ibaqa due to a nightmare in which God commanded him to give her away immediately, and Jürchedei happened to be guarding the tent. Regardless of the rationale, Genghis Khan allowed Ibaqa to keep her title as Khatun even in her remarriage, and asked that she leave him a token of her dowry by which he could remember her. The sources also agree that Ibaqa was quite wealthy. In her new marriage, she relocated to northern China and gave birth to children. Jürchedei, as a son-in-law of the Khan via his new marriage, was granted 4,000 men to command, all of whom were fellow Uru'uts. When

Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khan (also Ögedei Khagan or Ogodei; 11 December 1241) was the second Khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. Born in 1186 AD, Öged ...

, Ibaqa's former step-son, died on 11 December, 1241, likely from

alcohol poisoning Alcohol intoxication, commonly described in higher doses as drunkenness or inebriation, and known in overdose as alcohol poisoning, is the behavior and physical effects caused by recent consumption of alcohol. The technical term ''intoxication ...

organ failure Organ dysfunction is a condition where an organ does not perform its expected function. Organ failure is organ dysfunction to such a degree that normal homeostasis cannot be maintained without external clinical intervention or life support. It i ...

after a drunken party the night before, Ibaqa, along with Al Altan, the youngest daughter of Genghis Khan's chief wife, Börte, were each suspected of poisoning Ögedei.Broadbridge, 2018, pp. 168-169, 187 n. 125, 223 Ibaqa was cleared after a well-respected Jalayir general, who was loyal to the Ögedeyids, Eljigidei, protested that the women were innocent because Ögedei's alcoholism was too well known for poison to be believable as his killer.Broadbridge, 2018, pp. 168-169, 187 n. 125 While Ibaqa escaped the charges, Al Altan was later executed. Anne F. Broadbridge notes that the remarriage of Ibaqa weakened, either inadvertently or deliberately, the kin network of Kerait wives within the Genghisid family, although the network remained in place. Every year she would return to Mongolia to renew court connections, host parties, and confer with her sister Sorghaghtani.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibaqa Beki 12th-century births 13th-century deaths Wives of Genghis Khan Mongol Empire Nestorians Kerait people 13th-century Mongol women 13th-century Mongols 12th-century Mongol women 12th-century Mongols