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Jamukha ( mn, Жамуха; ) was a
Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group indigenous peoples, native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia, Buryatia Republic of the Russia, Russ ...
military and political leader and the chief rival to Temüjin (later Genghis Khan) in the unification of the Mongol tribes.


Biography

Jamukha was born in the Jadaran, a sub-tribe of the
Khamag Mongol Khamag Mongol ( mn, Хамаг монгол, Khamag mongol, lit=the whole Mongol; ) was a major Mongolic tribal confederation (khanlig) on the Mongolian Plateau in the 12th century. It is sometimes considered to be a predecessor state to the ...
confederation, and was an ''anda'' (i.e.
blood brother Blood brother can refer to two or more men not related by birth who have sworn loyalty to each other. This is in modern times usually done in a ceremony, known as a blood oath, where each person makes a small cut, usually on a finger, hand or ...
) to Temüjin. According to ''
The Secret History of the Mongols ''The Secret History of the Mongols'' (Middle Mongol: ''Mongɣol‑un niɣuca tobciyan''; Traditional Mongolian: , Khalkha Mongolian: , ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language. It was written for the Mongol royal fam ...
'', when
Börte Börte (simply Borte, also Börte Üjin; Mongolian: ; Cyrillic: Бөртэ үжин; c. 1161–1230) was the first wife of Temüjin, who became Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. Börte became the head of the first Court of Genghi ...
, wife of Temüjin, was abducted by the Three Merkits;
Wang Khan Toghrul ( mn, Тоорил хан ''Tooril han''; ), also known as Wang Khan or Ong Khan ( ''Wan han''; ; died 1203) was a khan of the Keraites. He was the blood brother (anda) of the Mongol chief Yesugei and served as an important early patro ...
, Jamukha and Temüjin combined forces against the Merkits to recover her. In 1201, the leaders of the thirteen remaining tribes hostile to Temüjin (among them the
Merkits The Merkit (literally ''"skillful/wise ones"''; mn, ᠮᠡᠷᠬᠢᠳ ; Мэргид, translit=, Mergid; ) was one of the five major tribal confederations (''khanlig'') of probably Mongol
,
Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary
is an umbrella term for different
, and
Naimans The Naiman ( Mongolian: Найман, Naiman, "eight"; ; Kazakh: Найман, Naiman; Uzbek: Nayman) were a medieval tribe originating in the territory of modern Western Mongolia (possibly during the time of the Uyghur Khaganate), and are one o ...
) and the Mongol tribes not allied with him (Jadaran, Taichuud, and others) assembled a
kurultai Kurultai ( Mongolian: , Хуралдай, ''Khuraldai'') or ; Kazakh: Құрылтай, ''Qūryltai''; tt-Cyrl, Корылтай, ; ba, Ҡоролтай, ; az, Qurultay; tk, Gurultaý was a political and military council of ancient Mongol a ...
and elected Jamukha as Gur-khan, ''universal ruler'', a title used by the rulers of the
Kara-Khitan Khanate The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai (), also known as the Western Liao (), officially the Great Liao (), was a Sinicized dynastic regime based in Central Asia ruled by the Khitan Yelü clan. The Qara Khitai is considered by historians to be an ...
. Jamukha's assumption of this title was the final breach between Temüjin and Jamukha, leading Temüjin to form a coalition of tribes to oppose him. In the fall of that year, a great battle broke out between Jamukha's alliance and the Keraite-Khamag Mongol alliance at the Ergune valley. This decisive battle, known as the Battle of the Thirteen Sides, ended with Temüjin's victory and eventual ascension as Khan of all united Mongol tribes. Jamukha was less successful in building a coalition. For example, he did not recruit shepherds who lacked tribal status in the Mongol tradition, which allowed Temüjin to recover from a series of military defeats inflicted by Jamukha and to emerge victorious. Following the Battle of the Thirteen Sides, Jamukha was betrayed and captured by his own men, who submitted him to the now-victorious Temüjin. Due to one of the laws which Temüjin came up with ("Never betray your Khan"), he had the men immediately executed and later Jamukha interrogated. Jamukha was given a choice to live and join Temüjin, but he instead requested to die in his blood-brother's hands, and thus was soon after executed "without spilling any blood".


In popular culture

Jamukha is a major character in the 1965 film ''Genghis Khan'', portrayed by
Stephen Boyd Stephen Boyd (born William Millar; 4 July 1931 – 2 June 1977) was a Northern Irish actor. He appeared in some 60 films, most notably as the villainous Messala in '' Ben-Hur'' (1959), a role that earned him the Golden Globe Award for Bes ...
, and the 2007 film ''
Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group indigenous peoples, native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia, Buryatia Republic of the Russia, Russ ...
'', portrayed by Honglei Sun. In '' The Conqueror'', the screenplay depicts him as unfailingly loyal and subordinate to Temujin, but ends with him insisting on the bloodless execution (when Temujin swears to grant him any favor he requests), as opposed to the 1965 film, which depicts them as lifelong rivals and enemies who both perish in a climactic duel. He appears (as "Jamuga") in the game '' Genghis Khan II'' by
KOEI Koei Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game publisher, developer, and distributor founded in 1978. The company is known for its ''Dynasty Warriors'' games based on the novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms'', as well as simulation games based on ...
as a playable ruler.


References


Sources


Heirs to Discord: The Supratribal Aspirations of Jamuqa, Toghrul, and Temüjin
* Weatherford, Jack. ''
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World ''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World'' (2004) is a history book written by Jack Weatherford, Dewitt Wallace Professor of Anthropology at Macalester College. It is a narrative of the rise and influence of Genghis Khan and his succes ...
''. New York: Three Rivers, 2005. Print. *Genghis Khan Mongol khans 1206 deaths Year of birth unknown {{noble-stub