Bolad (

Mongolian Mongolian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Mongolia, a country in Asia * Mongolian people, or Mongols * Bogd Khanate of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia, 1911–1919 and 1921–1924 * Mongolian language * Mongolian alphabet * ...

: , , , d.1313), was an ethnic

Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...

minister of the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

of China, and later served in the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

as the representative of the

Great Khan 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 imperial ...

of the

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 cultural adviser to the Ilkhans. He also provided valuable information to

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, ) was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran.Emperor Renzong of Yuan as Duke of Ze (澤國公) in 1311 and Prince of Yongfeng (永豐郡王) in 1313, posthumously.

Background

Bolad was born in the Dörben (or Dörbet) tribe and his father, Jurghi (Yurki), who was a ''ba'urchi'', attached to the palace 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 ...

's wife

Börte Börte Üjin (; Mongolian: ), better known as Börte (), 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 Khan, and Grand Empress of his Empire. S ...

. Since his father's title was prestige of honor, and he was explicitly trusted by Genghis Khan, Jurghi commanded a personal thousand of the

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

s of the

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 ...

. In 1248, the prince

Kublai Kublai Khan (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 and first List of emperors of the Yuan dynasty, emperor of the Mongols, Mongol-l ...

ordered the Han scholar Zhang Dehui () to tutor Dorji (), his eldest son, and Bolad, who was probably a child of seven or eight years. So Bolad became fluent in Chinese in addition to his native Mongolian language.

In China

After Kublai ascended to the throne in 1260, Bolad served as ''ba’urchi'', inheriting his father's title. In addition, he did oral and written translations for the state affairs as one of the intellectuals of the Mongols. He led a military contingent in 1264 to suppress Chinese rebels in

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

. Bolad also served as judge in the sensitive case of

Ariq Böke Ariq Böke (after 1219–1266), the components of his name also spelled Arigh, Arik and Bukha, Buka (, ; ), was the seventh and youngest son of Tolui and a grandson of Genghis Khan. After the death of his brother the Great Khan Möngke, Ariq Bök ...

(1264). He served as one of the directors of the new Office of State Ceremonial founded in October 1271, where he worked together with

Liu Bingzhong Liu Bingzhong (; 1216–1274), or Liu Kan () was a Yuan dynasty court adviser and architect. He was born in Ruizhou (Rui prefecture), during the Jin dynasty. In 1233, he entered the Jin's bureaucracy. He still was an officer after the Mongol Emp ...

, Xu Heng, and Xu Shilong () - head of the Minister of Imperial Rites. He later worked in the

Censorate The Censorate was a high-level supervisory agency in History of China#Imperial China, Imperial China, first established during the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). It was a highly effective agency during the Mongols, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty ( ...

as censor in chief from 1275 but was forced to resign in 1277 in favor of more older Öz Temür (). While a member of Censorate, he also helped to establish the Office of Supervisors of Agriculture () in March 1270 with Zhang Wenqian () as its director. Bolad later succeeded him in 1271 under the orders of Kublai, to which appointment

Antong Antong (), alternatively rendered as Hantum (1245 or 1248–1293), of the Mongol Jalair clan, was a prominent official of the Yuan dynasty of China, serving during the reign of Kublai Khan (Emperor Shizu). As a great-grandson of Muqali, one of th ...

protested, claiming censorate and directorate are incompatible posts, to which Kublai didn't listen. By 1277, he held multiple offices including Censor-in-Chief, Grand Supervisor of Agriculture, Director of Imperial Household Provisions, a member of Ministry of Imperial Rites, Vice Military Affairs Commissioner (the post was held by heir-apparent of khagan, thus he was also de facto ''

Shumishi Shumishi (), or shumi, was an official title in imperial China important in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Liao dynasty, the Song dynasty and the Jin dynasty (1115–1234). ''Shumishi'' managed the Bureau of Military Affairs () ...

''). In the latter capacity, he was instrumental in consolidation Mongol rule in

Jiangnan Jiangnan is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, including the southern part of its delta. The region encompasses the city of Shanghai, the southern part of Jiangsu ...

during the Mongol conquest of Song. He accompanied Nomughan (son of Kublai), Toghon () and Urughtai () - grandson of Külgen, 6th son of Genghis Khan) in the campaign against Kaidu, however the operation failed and Bolad returned to capital in 1279. Same year he interrogated Song loyalist

Wen Tianxiang Wen Tianxiang (; June 6, 1236 – January 9, 1283), noble title Duke of Xin (), was a Chinese statesman, poet and politician in the last years of the Song dynasty#Southern Song, 1127–1279, Southern Song dynasty. For his resistance to Kublai K ...

, who didn't agree to submit Mongols. Later Bolad was appointed to investigate

Ahmad Fanakati Ahmad Fanākatī, alternatively rendered as Ahmad Banākatī (; ; before 1242 — 10 April 1282) was a Persian Muslim from the Qara Khitai (Western Liao dynasty) who served as chancellor and finance minister of the Yuan dynasty during Kublai's ...

same year. However, Fanakati was killed in 1282, which turned the fraud investigation into murder investigation. Bolad informed Kublai of Ahmad's misdeeds, which paved the way for execution of Ahmad's associates.

In Ilkhanate

He was sent to the

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

soon after

Arghun Arghun Khan ( Mongolian Cyrillic: Аргун; Traditional Mongolian: ; c. 1258 – 10 March 1291) was the fourth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate division, from 1284 to 1291. He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a de ...

enthroned in 1285. He gave imperial seal,

jarlig A jarlig, also written ''yarlyk'' (from ), is an edict, permission, license, or written commandant of Mongol and Chinggisid rulers' "formal diplomas." It was one of three non-fundamental law pronouncements that had the effect of regulation or or ...

(imperial order) and crown to the new

Ilkhan Il Khan (also ''il-khan'', ''ilkhan'', ''elkhan'', etc.), in Turkic languages and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title ''khan'' with the prefix ''el/il'', from the word ''ulus'' – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', ' ...

. Bolad could not return to

due to the conflicts between the Yuan and the

Chagatai Khanate The Chagatai Khanate, also known as the Chagatai Ulus, was a Mongol and later Turkification, Turkicized khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan, and his descendants and successors. At its height in the l ...

headed by

Kaidu Kaidu (; Middle Mongol: , Modern Mongol: , ''Khaidu'' ; c. 1235 – 1301) was a grandson of the Mongol khagan Ögedei (1185–1241) and thus leader of the House of Ögedei and the '' de facto'' khan of the Chagatai Khanate, a division of t ...

, while his companion Isa () made it to Dadu 2 years later. Arghun appointed him a commander of his

kheshig Kheshig ( Mongolian: ; also Khishig, Keshik, Khishigten; "mugay", "blessed") were the imperial guard and shock troops for Mongol royalty in the Mongol Empire, particularly for rulers like Genghis Khan and his wife Börte. Their primary purpose ...

and assigned him of certain tasks in

Khurasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West Asia, West and Central Asia that encompasses wes ...

. Although he had a family (his wife and two sons) left in

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, Bolad was given a former concubine of

Abaqa Khan Abaqa Khan (27 February 1234 – 4 April 1282, , "paternal uncle", also transliterated Abaġa), was the second Mongol ruler ('' Ilkhan'') of the Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Lady Yesünčin and the grandson of Tolui, he reigned from 1265 ...

named Shirin, thus starting a new life in the Middle East. His sons served the Yuan government while he had a big influence in Ilkhanate court. He was instrumental in appointing his favorite Afrasiab I as

Hazaraspid The Hazaraspids also known as Fadluyids or Fadlawi, Fazlavi dynasty(1115–1424) were a Kurdish Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled the Zagros Mountains region of southwestern Iran, essentially in Lorestan and which flourished in the later Saljuq, ...

atabeg Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic language, Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the ti ...

Luristan Lorestan province () is one of the Provinces of Iran, 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Khorramabad. Lorestan is in the Western Iran, western part of the country in the Zagros Mountains and covers an area of 28,392 km2. In ...

instead of his elder brother

Ahmad Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...

in 1288, as well as execution of Malik Jalal al-Din, an associate of

Buqa Buqa (or Bugha) (died January 16, 1289) was a Mongol lord and chancellor who was instrumental in sweeping Arghun to power as the fourth Il-Khan of Iran in 1284 and became his chief minister (vizier) and advisor, succeeding Shams ad-Din Juvayni ...

in 1289. Facing difficulties to finance the coffers of the empty imperial treasury,

Gaykhatu Gaykhatu (Mongolian script:; ) was the fifth Ilkhanate ruler in Iran. He reigned from 1291 to 1295. His Buddhist baghshi gave him the Tibetan name Rinchindorj () which appeared on his paper money. Early life He was born to Abaqa and Nukdan K ...

, summoned Bolad to advise him about the use of paper money then circulating in the Yuan. After taking consultation, the Ilkhan's court issued

jiaochao Jiaochao () is a Chinese word for banknote first used for the currency of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty and later by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. Jin dynasty The Jurchens swept control over northern China, conquering the Liao dynasty ...

in Iran in 1294. Although it proved to be a failure owing to the resistance of local population, this was the first time, the paper money was issued in the

history of Iran The history of Iran (also known as Name of Iran, Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and ...

. Bolad also intermediated between

Baydu Baydu (Mongolian script:; ) (died 1295) was the sixth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate division in Iran. He was the son of Taraqai, who was in turn the fifth son of Hulagu Khan.Stevens, John. ''The history of Persia. Containing, the lives and ...

and

Ghazan Mahmud Ghazan (5 November 1271 – 11 May 1304) (, Ghazan Khan, sometimes westernized as Casanus was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun, grandson of Abaqa K ...

, when the latter became the new Ilkhan in 1295. Although, his reputation may have been little diminished during Ghazan's reign, Ghazan respected Bolad. Seeing Mongol commoners selling their children as damaging the Mongol nation, similar to Kublai, Ghazan budgeted funds to redeem Mongol slaves and made Bolad the commander of the tumen which consisted of Mongol slave boys. It is claimed that Bolad assisted

Rashid-al-Din Hamadani Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (;‎ 1247–1318; also known as Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, ) was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran.Universal History Universal history may refer to: * Universal history (genre), a literary genre **''Jami' al-tawarikh'', 14th-century work of literature and history, produced by the Mongol Ilkhanate in Persia ** Universal History (Sale et al), ''Universal History'' ...

because he knew

Mongolian history Various nomadic empires, including the Xiongnu (3rd century BC–1st century AD), the Xianbei state ( AD 93–234), the Rouran Khaganate (330–555), the First (552–603) and Second Turkic Khaganates (682–744) and others, ruled the area of ...

very well. Under Öljeitü (1304–16), Bolad achieved great influence as '' chingsang'' and '' agha''. According to

Kashani Kashani or Qashani (), often shortened to Kashi or al-Kashi (), is a surname meaning a person who comes from Kashan, Iran. It is also used as a feminine given name. Notable persons with that name include: People Surname * Abū Zayd ibn Muḥammad ...

, he ranked behind

Chupan Amir Chūpān (; died October/November 1327), also spelt Choban or Coban, was a Chupanids, Chupanid noble of the Ilkhanate, and nominal general of the Mongol Empire. He was ennobled by Yesün Temür (Yuan dynasty), Emperor Taiding of Yuan as Duke ...

and

Kutlushah Kutlushah, Kutlusha or Qutlughshah (, , or Cotlesse in Frank sources), was a general under the Mongol Ilkhanate ruler Ghazan at the end the 13th century. He was particularly active in the Christian country of Georgia and especially during the M ...

who served the Ilkhan as main advisors. He was responsible for logistical support system during the Gilan campaign in 1307. Bolad was awarded the Duke of Ze () by Ayurbarwada Khan of the Yuan on 6 July 1311. Bolad died on 26 April 1313 in Arran (modern

Republic of Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russi ...

). He was posthumously created Prince of Yongfeng (永豐郡王) by Ayurbarwada. He had a son in Ilkhanate, named "Pir Hamid".

Background

In China

In Ilkhanate

References

Further reading