Tayang Khan (; ; ) was a khan of the

Naimans The Naiman (; ; Kazakh and , ), meaning The Eight, was a medieval tribe originating in the territory of modern Western Mongolia (possibly during the time of the Uyghur Khaganate), and is one of the 92 tribes of Uzbeks, modern Mongols and in the ...

. According to

The Secret History of the Mongols The ''Secret History of the Mongols'' is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolic languages. Written for the Borjigin, Mongol royal family some time after the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, it recounts his life and conquests, and parti ...

, he was physically weak when he was born and his father Inanch Bilge did not believe his son would survive to adulthood, therefore he was also called Torluq Tayang (Weak Tayang).''

'', §188

Reign

He succeeded his father sometime around 1200. He married his own stepmother Gürbesu in a

levirate marriage Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage (i.e. marriage o ...

. His elder brother was Buyruq khan. His horde was living around the shores of the Black Irtysh. In 1200, he helped a brother of

Toghrul Toghrul ( ''Tooril han''; ), also known as Wang Khan or Ong Khan ( ''Wan han''; ; died 1203), was a Khan (title), khan of the Keraites. He was the blood brother (anda (Mongol), anda) of the Mongol chief Yesugei and served as an important early ...

, a Kerait prince Jaqa Gambu (also known as Kereyidei), who fled to Tayang khan. After a defeat in 1203 by

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 ...

, Toghrul escaped to Naiman territories. A Naiman patrol named Qori Sübeči did not recognize him and executed him on the spot. When Tayang was presented with the head of Toghrul, he stepped on it, crushing it. Seeing the once powerful Toghrul's defeat, he decided to act against Genghis first against council of his khatun Gürbesu and general Sabraq. In 1203, he tried to reach Alaqush Tegin of

Ongud The Ongud (also spelled Ongut or Öngüt; Mongolian: Онгуд, Онход; Chinese: 汪古, ''Wanggu''; from Old Turkic ''öng'' "desolate, uninhabited; desert" plus ''güt'' "class marker") were a Turkic tribe that later became Mongolized a ...

, a fellow

Nestorian Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian ...

lord ruling north of

Shanxi Shanxi; Chinese postal romanization, formerly romanised as Shansi is a Provinces of China, province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi a ...

to march on Genghis together. However Alaqush informed Genghis beforehand of Tayang's march. The armies first met on 17 May 1204 in the

Khangai Mountains The Khangai Mountains form a mountain range, range in central Mongolia, some west of Ulaanbaatar. Name Two provinces of Mongolia are named after the Khangai mountains: Arkhangai (North Khangai) and Ovorkhangai (South Khangai). The mild climat ...

. Naiman patrols defeated a vanguard of Genghis' army. Genghis with a much lesser army, ordered all of his men to light five campfires per men around the tent. Naiman patrols investigated the large number of fires and informed Tayang. Tayang consulted his son

Kuchlug Kuchlug (also spelled ''Küchlüg'', ''Küçlüg'', ''Güčülüg'', ''Quqluq'') (; ; d. 1218) was a member of the Naiman tribe who became the last emperor of the Western Liao dynasty (Qara Khitai). The Naimans were defeated by Genghis Khan and h ...

about the next step, advising a retreat and a guerrilla war. Kuchlug however spoke arrogantly, insulted Tayang and accused him of being a coward. An angered Tayang marched and crossed the Orkhon river the next day, where he was joined by the forces of

Jamukha Jamukha (), a military and political leader of the Jadaran tribe who was proclaimed Gurkhan, ''Gur Khan'' ('Universal Ruler') in 1201 by opposing factions, was a principal rival to Genghis Khan, Temüjin (proclaimed Genghis Khan in 1206) during ...

, Toktoqa (chief of Merkids) and Quduqa (chief of

Oirats Oirats (; ) or Oirds ( ; ), formerly known as Eluts and Eleuths ( or ; zh, 厄魯特, ''Èlǔtè'') are the westernmost group of Mongols, whose ancestral home is in the Altai Mountains, Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western Mongolia. ...

). Later they met Temujin's forces at the Battle of the thirteen sides. However, he soon retreated again upon seeing

Jebe Jebe (or Jebei, , pronounced as ''Zev''; birth name: Jirqo'adai (Modern Mongolian: Zurgaadai), , ) (death: approximately 1224) was one of the most prominent Noyans (generals) of Genghis Khan. He belonged to the Besud clan, part of the Taichud ...

Subutai Subutai (c. 1175–1248) was a Mongol general and the primary military strategist of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan. He ultimately directed more than 20 campaigns, during which he conquered more territory than any other commander in history a ...

, khubilai and Jelme. Seeing his hesitation, Jamukha left the Naimans. Later the Naimans with fewer numbers were ambushed at night by Genghis. Tayang himself was killed whilst attempting to escape.

Aftermath

His wife Gürbesu was captured by Genghis and made to be Genghis' wife, while his son

escaped to Buyruq khan, Tayang's brother.

References

{{reflist 13th-century Mongol khans 13th-century monarchs in Asia 1204 deaths Church of the East Christians