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
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in 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 Europe, ...
.
The existence of a somewhat mysterious tribal power known in Mongol tradition as ''Khamag Mongol Uls'' is recorded in sources of the
Khitan-led
Liao dynasty
The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...
. After the fall of Liao dynasty in 1125, the Khamag Mongols began to play an important role on the Mongolian plains.
[Histoire de la Mongolie By László Lőrincz, p. 43.] They occupied one of the most fertile lands of the country, the basins of the river
Onon,
Kherlen and
Tuul Rivers in the
Khentii Mountains. The
Taichiud
The Tayichiud (Mongolian Cyrillic: Тайчууд, Taichuud) was one of the three core tribes of the Khamag Mongol confederation on the Mongolian Plateau during the 12th century, founded by Ambaghai Khan in 1148 CE, and finally ended with Sultan H ...
(Cyrillic: Тайчууд) was one of the three core tribes in the Khamag Mongol Khanate of Mongolia during the 12th century and whose people lived in the southern part of Siberia's modern-day
Zabaykalsky Krai
Zabaykalsky Krai ( rus, Забайкальский край, r=Zabaikal'skii krai, p=zəbɐjˈkalʲskʲɪj kraj, lit. " Transbaikal krai"; bua, Yбэр Байгалай хизаар, Uber Baigalai Xizaar) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai ...
. The present-day Zabaykalsky Krai of Russia and the
Khentii Province of Mongolia were the core regions of the Khamag Mongol Khanate.
[History of Mongolia, Volume II, 2003] The Khamags consisted of the three core clans
Khiyad
A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with ...
, Taichuud,
Jalairs
Jalair ( mn, Жалайр; ; ), also Djalair, Yyalair, Jalayir, is one of the Darliqin Mongol tribes according to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's ''Jami' al-tawarikh''. They lived along the Shilka River in modern Zabaykalsky Krai of Russia.History of ...
.
The first khan of Khamag Mongol recorded in history is
Khabul Khan
Khabul Khan ( mn, Хабул хан; ), also rendered as Qabul Khan, Kabul Khan and Khabul Khagan, (b. 1090s/1100 – d. 1130 CE.) was the founder and first known Khan of the Khamag Mongol confederation and great-grandfather of Genghis Khan. and ...
from the
Borjigin
A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with ...
clan. Khabul Khan successfully repelled the invasions of the
Jurchen Jurchen may refer to:
* Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century
** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty
** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...
-led
Jin armies. Khabul Khan was succeeded by
Ambaghai
Ambaghai or Hambaqai Khan (; ) ( ? – died 1156) was a khan of the Khamag Mongol, one of the great grandsons of Khaidu Khan and the cousin and predecessor of Hotula Khan, he was the Leader of Taichud Clan one of sub-branch of Borjigid, and al ...
Khagann of the Taichiud. Ambagai was captured by the
Tatar confederation while delivering his daughter for marriage to their leadership. He was handed over to the Jin, who cruelly executed him. Ambaghai was succeeded by
Hotula Khan, a son of Khabul Khan. Hotula Khan engaged the Tatars in 13 battles in an effort to obtain vengeance for the death of Ambagai Khan.
Khamag Mongol was unable to elect a khan after Hotula died. However, Khabul's grandson
Yesugei, who was a chief of the Khiyad tribe, was an effective and preeminent leader of Khamag Mongol.
Temujin, the future Genghis Khan, was born into Yesugei's family as the first son in
Delüün Boldog on the upper reaches of the Onon river in 1162.
When young
Tughril Khan asked for help from Yesugei, the ruler of the Khamag Mongol, to dethrone his brothers among the
Keraites
The Keraites (also ''Kerait, Kereit, Khereid''; ; ) were one of the five dominant Mongol or Turkic tribal confederations ( khanates) in the Altai-Sayan region during the 12th century. They had converted to the Church of the East ( Nestorianism) ...
, the Mongols helped him defeat the Keraite leaders and put him on the throne in the early 12th century.
Yesugei was poisoned by the Tatars in 1170 and shortly after Yesugei died. The Khamag Mongol began to disintegrate after Yesugei's death in 1171. Political anarchy and a
power vacuum
In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has r ...
lasted until 1189 when Temujin became the
Khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
of the Khamag Mongol. War broke soon out between other Mongol tribes. Temujin's friend
Jamukha
Jamukha ( mn, Жамуха; ) was a Mongol 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 ...
was recognized by the rival tribes as Gurkhan (the universal ruler) in 1201 but he was defeated by the alliance of Khamag Mongol and Keraites.
When Tughril Khan refused to cement the alliance with the Khamag, Temujin's wars with the clans nearly destroyed him. Temujin united all clans on the Mongolian Plateau at last in 1206, when he was given the title
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
.
See also
*
List of medieval Mongol tribes and clans
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
* Akademiiya nauk SSSR – History of the Mongolian People's Republic, Nauka Pub. House, Central Dept. of Oriental Literature, 1973
* Bat-Ochir Bold – Mongolian Nomadic Society, St. Martin's Press, 1999.
* The New Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1974: Macropaedia Me-Ne
* László Lőrincz – Histoire de la Mongolie, Akadémiai Kiadó,the University of Michigan, 1984.
{{Mongolic ethnic groups , state = expanded
History of Mongolia
Former monarchies of Asia
Former countries in Chinese history
Mongolian tribes and clans
Nomadic groups in Eurasia
900s establishments
1206 disestablishments in Asia
1200s disestablishments in Asia