Khabul Khan (; ), also rendered as Qabul Khan, Kabul Khan and Khabul Khagan, (b. 1090s/1100 – d. 1148 CE.) was the founder and first known
Khan of the
Khamag Mongol confederation, he was the great-grandfather of
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 founding
Khagan
Khagan or Qaghan (Middle Mongol:; or ''Khagan''; ) or zh, c=大汗, p=Dàhán; ''Khāqān'', alternatively spelled Kağan, Kagan, Khaghan, Kaghan, Khakan, Khakhan, Khaqan, Xagahn, Qaghan, Chagan, Қан, or Kha'an is a title of empire, im ...
of
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 twin-brother of
Khaduli Barlas, who was in turn the ancestor of
Timur the founding ruler of
Timurid empire
The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...
.
Family and background
Khabul Khan was a son of
Tumbinai Khan and great-grandson of the
Khaidu. He was the head of the
Borjigin
A Borjigin is a member of the Mongol sub-clan that started with Bodonchar Munkhag of the Kiyat clan. Yesugei's descendants were thus said to be Kiyat-Borjigin. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia u ...
obog.
Campaigns
Khabul Khan became quite notable for his clashes with the
Jurchens, a people who lived in
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
and who later established the
Jin dynasty in 1115, gradually taking control over the region. In alliance with the Chinese
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...
, they attacked the Khitan-led
Liao dynasty, and by 1122 had captured a significant portion of Liao territory. In 1135, Khabul Khan was invited to the court of the
Emperor Taizong of Jin, where he famously pulled the emperor's beard. The Jin army pursued him into southern Mongolia, but Khabul eluded capture and returned with a larger army to pillage the Jin dynasty.
[Erich Haenisch, ''Die Geheime Geschichte der Mongolen'', Leipzig 1948, p.7 (=section 52)]
When the Jin army entered Mongolia with the intention of conquering the territories ruled by the
Emperor Dezong of Liao, the founder of the
Qara Khitai, or Western Liao dynasty, it was Khabul Khan who organized a Mongol confederation and led the successful effort to repel this invasion.
[
The confederation was called the Khamag Mongol ("Whole Mongol") and consisted of the four core clans: ]Khiyad
A Borjigin is a member of the Mongol sub-clan that started with Bodonchar Munkhag of the Kiyat clan. Yesugei's descendants were thus said to be Kiyat-Borjigin. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia u ...
, Taichuud, Jalairs, and Jurkhin. It is sometime considered a predecessor state of Genghis Khan's empire.[
Khabul Khan has been described as having expanded his Mongol tribe and achieved incredible triumph in suppressing the Tatar tribes, an accomplishment in which he was aided by his son Yasukai. His reign saw the first attempts to politically unify the Mongols.
Though Khabul Khan had 7 sons, he nominated Ambaghai, a son of Sengun Bilge from the Taichuud clan, as his successor.][
]
Descendants and legacy
Khabul Khan had seven sons, the oldest being Okin-barkhakh and the second oldest Bartan the Valiant. Bartan, in turn, fathered Yesugei, the father of Genghis Khan. Khabul Khan's third son was Mongler, who fathered Buri the wrestler.
See also
* Family tree of Genghis Khan
References
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
12th-century Mongol khans
Mongolian nobility
Founding monarchs in Asia
Tengrist monarchs
Twin people
{{noble-stub