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Al-Altan ( – 1246), also known as Altalun and Altaluqan, was the youngest child and favourite daughter of
Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr /> Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent) Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin ...
, the founder of 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 ...
, and
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 Genghis ...
, his primary wife. As part of Genghis's policy of marrying his daughters to powerful rulers in exchange for their submission to him, she married
Barchuq Art Tegin Barchuq Art Tegin (; known also as ''Idikut Baurchuk'', ''Idikut Barchuq'') was a ruler, with a title of Idiqut ("Lord of happiness"), of the Qocho in Beshbalik (near present-day Ürümqi, China), Kara-Khoja (near present-day Turpan, China, known a ...
, the ruler of the wealthy
Uighur people The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghurs ...
to the southwest, in around 1211. After Genghis died in 1227 and
Ögedei Khan Ögedei Khagan (also Ogodei;, Mongolian: ''Ögedei'', ''Ögüdei''; – 11 December 1241) was second khagan- emperor of the Mongol Empire. The third son of Genghis Khan, he continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun. ...
, his third son by Börte, ascended to the Mongol throne, it is likely that the Mongol imperial government began to appropriate the territory and taxes of the Uighurs for themselves. When Ögedei died after an extended drinking binge in 1241, Al-Altan was present—she had probably travelled to her brother's court to defend her Uighur subjects against the encroachment. She was rumoured to have poisoned Ögedei, and remained under suspicion until the accession of her nephew
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 ...
five years later. Shortly afterwards, Al-Altan was put on trial and executed by the general
Eljigidei Eljigidei Noyan (, d. 1251) was a Mongol commander in Persia. Career He was a commander of the kheshig during reign of Ögedei. Following the election of Güyük in 1246, he replaced Baiju, Batu's protégé. He departed from Mongolia in Sept ...
. Accounts of Al-Altan's life and death were heavily suppressed, with official chronicles compelled to excise or obscure potentially troublesome details. The injustice of her death became a major contention during the Toluid Revolution in 1251, during which Eljigidei was executed by Al-Altan's sympathisers in revenge.


Biography


Early life and marriage

Al-Altan's mother,
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 Genghis ...
, was born into the
Onggirat The Khongirad ( Mongolian: ᠬᠣᠩᠭᠢᠷᠠᠳ; Хонгирад; Khonghirad; ), also known as Qongirat (Qoŋğırat/Қоңғырат), was one of the major divisions of the Mongol tribes. Variations on the name include Onggirat, Ongirat, Q ...
tribe, who lived along the
Greater Khingan The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range (; IPA: ), is a -long volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, which later became the name of the northern branch of th ...
mountain range south of the Ergüne river, in modern-day
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for ...
. She married a
Mongol 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 ...
leader named
Temüjin ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr /> Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...
after a seven-year betrothal. Over the next twenty or so years, Börte gave birth to nine children: four sons named
Jochi Jochi Khan ( Mongolian: mn, Зүчи, ; kk, Жошы, Joşy جوشى; ; crh, Cuçi, Джучи, جوچى; also spelled Juchi; Djochi, and Jöchi c. 1182– February 1227) was a Mongol army commander who was the eldest son of Temüjin (aka G ...
, Chagatai, Ögedei, and
Tolui Tolui (also Toluy, Tului; , meaning: "the mirror"; – 1232) was a Mongol khan, the fourth son of Genghis Khan by his chief khatun, Börte. At his father's death in 1227, his '' ulus'', or territorial inheritance, was the Mongol homelands on ...
, and five daughters named Qojin, Checheyigen,
Alaqa The title Aleqa ("Master", also transliterated Alaqa) is a honorific title used in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. It is used as the title of a chief priest, the head of a monastery, as well as being an honorific for a highly educated mem ...
, Tümelün, and Al-Altan, the youngest. After this last birth in , Temüjin continued to father offspring with other women whom he had married, but these always remained inferior in status to Börte and her children. In the decade after Al-Altan's birth, Temüjin steadily increased his power and subjugated rival tribes, a process which culminated in his coronation as Genghis Khan, ruler of the newly-founded
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 ...
, in 1206. Before and after this acclamation, Genghis employed his daughters with Börte in a crucial role: they were married to important male rulers, who would then submit to Genghis in exchange for rank and power in the new empire. On the other side, Genghis gained the loyalties of large steppe populations without unnecessary bloodshed, and Al-Altan and her sisters took important administrative roles in large tribes. In addition, they served as the link between their father and his new son-in-law
vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. ...
s. Al-Altan's eldest sister Qojin married Butu of the Ikires tribe, Checheyigen and Alaqa married into the ruling families of the
Oirats Oirats ( mn, Ойрад, ''Oirad'', or , Oird; xal-RU, Өөрд; zh, 瓦剌; in the past, also Eleuths) are the westernmost group of the Mongols whose ancestral home is in the Altai Mountains, Altai region of Siberia, Xinjiang and western M ...
and
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 ac ...
respectively, and Tümelün married back into Börte's Onggirat tribe. In 1209,
Barchuq Art Tegin Barchuq Art Tegin (; known also as ''Idikut Baurchuk'', ''Idikut Barchuq'') was a ruler, with a title of Idiqut ("Lord of happiness"), of the Qocho in Beshbalik (near present-day Ürümqi, China), Kara-Khoja (near present-day Turpan, China, known a ...
, the ruler or ''idiqut'' () of the wealthy
Uighur people The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghurs ...
to the southwest of the
Mongol heartland The Mongol heartland or Mongolian heartland refers to the contiguous geographical area in which the Mongol people have primarily lived, especially in history books. It is generally considered to comprise the Mongolian Plateau and some adjacent ...
, rejected the authority of his
suzerain Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is ca ...
, the
Qara Khitai 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 a ...
state in Central Asia. Barchuq thereafter sought the friendship and protection of Genghis Khan by sending gifts of gold and jewellery and helping the Mongols pursue some of their Merkit enemies. In 1211, his efforts were rewarded when Genghis named him a "fifth son" and betrothed Al-Altan, then around fifteen, to him; this was a high honour as Al-Altan was considered Genghis's favourite daughter. In the years thereafter, Barchuq and his 18,000 warriors campaigned as auxiliaries to the main Mongol military in various campaigns, most notably the invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire between 1218 and 1223, where the Uighurs took part in the sieges of Otrar,
Taliqan Taloqan (Persian, also transcribed Taleqan or Taluqan) is the capital of Takhar Province, in northeastern Afghanistan. It is located in the Taluqan District. The population was estimated as 196,400 in 2006. In 2021, the Taliban gained control ...
, and
Nishapur Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is w ...
; it is unknown if Al-Altan joined the expedition. They also participated in the conquest of the Western Xia state in 1226–27, and in the invasion of Europe in 1236–42. Barchuq died before 1241.


Later life and death

Genghis died in August 1227 and was succeeded by his chosen heir, Al-Altan's brother Ögedei, after a two-year
interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one monarch and the next (coming from Latin '' ...
. A generous ruler, Ögedei increasingly grew addicted to alcohol and died in December 1241 after a wine-fuelled binge resulted in
alcohol poisoning Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main p ...
or
organ failure Organ dysfunction is a condition where an organ does not perform its expected function. Organ failure is organ dysfunction to such a degree that normal homeostasis cannot be maintained without external clinical intervention. It is not a diagnosi ...
. Rumours that he had been poisoned began to circulate, directed at two important women who had attended the fatal party. The first,
Ibaqa Beki Ibaqa Beki was a Kerait princess and Mongol khatun active in the early 13th century. She was briefly married to Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, and then subsequently married to the general Jürchedei. Family and first marriage ...
, a former wife of Genghis, had served as a cupbearer and was immediately under suspicion; she was however cleared after being defended by the prominent general
Eljigidei Eljigidei Noyan (, d. 1251) was a Mongol commander in Persia. Career He was a commander of the kheshig during reign of Ögedei. Following the election of Güyük in 1246, he replaced Baiju, Batu's protégé. He departed from Mongolia in Sept ...
. The second woman was Al-Altan. Al-Altan must have attended the party to be accused of the crime, but why she was present there and not in the Uighur lands is not certain. One theory, favoured by historians such as
Thomas T. Allsen Thomas Theodore Allsen (February 16, 1940 – February 18, 2019) was an American historian specializing in Mongolian studies. Following the completion of a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Portland State University in 1962, Allsen attended ...
and Anne F. Broadbridge, hypothesizes that under Ögedei, the Mongols began to interfere with the administration and taxation of the previously semi-autonomous Uighur state. This process would have increased imperial control at the expense of Al-Altan and her family. Broadbridge argues that Al-Altan may have travelled to Ögedei's court to argue against the imperial encroachment; following her brother's death, his wife Töregene accused Al-Altan of poisoning him in retribution. Unlike Ibaqa Beki, Al-Altan was never cleared of suspicion. Having survived Töregene's regency between 1241 and 1246, Al-Altan was probably present when her nephew
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 ...
, son of Ögedei and Töregene, was crowned in the latter year. After his coronation, she was put on trial and executed; all details were heavily suppressed due to the
taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannic ...
against killing a member of the royal family. An oversight in a medieval chronicle reveals that her executioner was Eljigidei, who had decisively exonerated Ibaqa Beki five years earlier. In return for committing this taboo act, Güyük rewarded Eljigidei with a senior military position in West Asia, distant from any enemies he gained through killing Al-Altan.


Aftermath

In 1251,
Möngke Khan Möngke ( mn, ' / Мөнх '; ; 11 January 1209 – 11 August 1259) was the fourth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms ...
acceded to the throne as part of the Toluid Revolution, in which the family of Genghis's youngest son Tolui seized power from the descendants of Ögedei. Möngke's faction put forward numerous arguments that the house of Ögedei had contravened Mongol law and custom and were thus unfit to rule: the most provocative of these allegations was that they had unlawfully executed Al-Altan, Genghis's favourite daughter, without consulting the wider family. In the purges that began after Möngke foiled an Ögedeyid coup attempt, Eljigidei was singled out as a target, accused of murder by prominent figures such as
Batu Khan Batu Khan ( – 1255),, ''Bat haan'', tt-Cyrl, Бату хан; ; russian: хан Баты́й was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. ...
and Möngke's brother
Kublai Khan Kublai ; Mongolian script: ; (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder of the Yuan dynasty of China and the fifth khagan-emperor of the ...
. He attempted to escape capture, but was caught near the city of
Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Saf ...
and soon executed, allegedly being boiled alive on Batu's orders. During Töregene's regency, Barchuq's successor , who was either a son or stepson of Al-Altan, had died of unknown causes. He was replaced with a brother named , who was personally selected by Töregene and who remained extremely loyal to her and Güyük. Salindi remained loyal to the Ögedeyids after the Toluid Revolution, but was eventually captured, tortured for a confession, and executed by his brother , who replaced him as ''idiqut''. Because of the taboo nature of her death and the possibility that the Ögedeyids unlawfully interfered in the Uighur administration, numerous aspects of Al-Altan's life were censored in official chronicles, such as 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 fa ...
''. One passage which described the inheritances of Genghis Khan's daughters was excised from the ''Secret History''. This was likely intended to obscure the injustice of the Ögedeyid actions in encroaching on Uighur territory. Persian sources such as the ''
Jami al-tawarikh The ''Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh'' (Persian/Arabic: , ) is a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate. Written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318 AD) at the start of the 14th century, the breadth of coverage of the work ha ...
'', by the 14th-century historian Rashid al-Din, go further by denying that she married Barchuq at all; they instead provide contradictory statements. Suggestions that she married a member of another tribe and then an Uighur are unlikely, as if a widow remarried, it was normally within her dead husband's tribe. In other places, the Persian sources state that Barchuq and Al-Altan were betrothed, but they did not marry before Genghis's death because Barchuq had a cherished wife at home—Broadbridge notes that the Mongols would have been deeply insulted. Rashid al-Din then says that Al-Altan died when travelling to marry Barchuq during Ögedei's reign, but later contradicts himself by unintentionally revealing that Eljigidei killed her. These various contradictions and improbabilities make the Persian narratives very untrustworthy, in Broadbridge's opinion.


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{cite book , last=Zhao , first=George Q. , date=2008 , title=Marriage as Political Strategy and Cultural Expression: Mongolian Royal Marriages from World Empire to Yuan Dynasty , publisher= Peter Lang , location=New York , isbn=978-1-4331-0275-2 Women from the Mongol Empire Children of Genghis Khan 13th-century Mongol women 13th-century Mongols 12th-century Mongol women 12th-century Mongols 13th-century deaths Year of birth unknown