The Imperial Seal of the Mongols is a

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

(

tamgha A tamga or tamgha (from otk, 𐱃𐰢𐰍𐰀, tamga, lit=stamp, seal; tr, damga; mn, tamga; ; ); an abstract seal or stamp used by Eurasian nomads and by cultures influenced by them. The tamga was normally the emblem of a particular tribe, c ...

) that was used by the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

. The imperial seals, bearing inscriptions in

Mongolian script The classical or traditional Mongolian script, also known as the , was the first Mongolian alphabet, writing system created specifically for the Mongolian language, and was the most widespread until the introduction of Cyrillic script, Cyrillic ...

or other scripts, were used in 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

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

and the

Northern Yuan dynasty The Northern Yuan () was a dynastic regime ruled by the Mongol Borjigin clan based in the Mongolian Plateau. It existed as a rump state after the collapse of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 and lasted until its conquest by the Jurchen-led Later Ji ...

, among others. According to

Plano Carpini Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, variously rendered in English as ''John of Pian de Carpine'', ''John of Plano Carpini'' or ''Joannes de Plano'' (c. 11851 August 1252), was a medieval Italian diplomat, archbishop and explorer and one of the firs ...

, the Russian handicraftsman, Kozma, made a seal for

Güyük Khan Güyük (also Güyug;; ''c''. March 19, 1206 – April 20, 1248) was the third Khagan-Emperor of the Mongol Empire, the eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan. He reigned from 1246 to 1248. Appearance According to Giovann ...

. This seal might have been a seal used to stamp the letter to

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universitie ...

. The Polish scholar, Cyrill Koralevsky, shot a photo of the seal in 1920. The prominent French Mongolist, P. Pelliot, translated the Mongolian scripts on the seal later. However, the Mongolists believe that Kozma made only one of the imperial seals and a seal on the letter was

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 ...

's, which was inherited by his successors. During the Yuan dynasty, which ruled the whole of

China proper China proper, Inner China, or the Eighteen Provinces is a term used by some Western writers in reference to the "core" regions of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China. This term is used to express a distinction between the "core" regions pop ...

, there were several seals. Biligtü Khan (Emperor Zhaozong) of the Northern Yuan dynasty had an imperial seal with the script "Great Yuan". In the 16th century, the Mongols used a square-shaped seal. When the Northern Yuan dynasty collapsed in 1635,

Ejei Khan Erke Khongghor ( mn, Эрх Хонгор; ), alternatively known as Ejei ( mn, Эжэй; ; "Ejei" means "lord" in the Mongolian language), (?–1641) was the last khagan of the Northern Yuan dynasty, ruling briefly from 1634 to 1635. He was the so ...

gave one of those seals to the Later Jin dynasty, which later became the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

in 1636. Bogd Jivzundamba, ruler of the

Bogd Khaganate The Bogd Khanate of Mongolia ( mn, , Богд хаант Монгол Улс; ) was the government of Outer Mongolia between 1911 and 1919 and again from 1921 to 1924. By the spring of 1911, some prominent Mongol nobles including Prince Tögs- ...

had a tamgha (seal) with the inscription "Holiness – Bogd Khan who holds religion and authority" in the 20th century.

References

Mongol Empire Yuan dynasty Northern Yuan dynasty History of China History of Mongolia Chinese heraldry

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...

National symbols of Mongolia {{Mongolia-stub

See also

References