Jochi
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jochi (; ), also spelled Jüchi, was a prince of the early
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 ...
. His life was marked by controversy over the circumstances of his birth and culminated in his estrangement from his family. He was nevertheless a prominent military commander and the progenitor of the family who ruled over the
khanate A khanate ( ) or khaganate refers to historic polity, polities ruled by a Khan (title), khan, khagan, khatun, or khanum. Khanates were typically nomadic Mongol and Turkic peoples, Turkic or Tatars, Tatar societies located on the Eurasian Steppe, ...
of the
Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...
. Jochi was the son of Börte, the first wife of the
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 ...
leader
Temüjin Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongol tribes, he launched a series of military campaigns, conquerin ...
, now Genghis Khan. For many months before Jochi's birth, Börte had been a captive of the Merkit tribe, one of whom forcibly married and raped her. Although there was thus considerable doubt over Jochi's parentage, Temüjin considered him his son and treated him accordingly. Many Mongols, most prominently Börte's next son Chagatai, disagreed; these tensions eventually led to both Chagatai and Jochi being excluded from the line of succession to the Mongol throne. After Temüjin founded 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 ...
in 1206 and took the name Genghis Khan, he entrusted Jochi with nine thousand warriors and a large territory in the west of the
Mongol heartland The Mongol heartland or Mongolian heartland is the contiguous geographical area in which the Mongol people have primarily lived, particularly as a historiographic term. It is generally considered to comprise the Mongolian Plateau and some adjace ...
; Jochi commanded and participated in numerous campaigns to secure and extend Mongol power in the region. He was also a prominent commander during the invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire (1219–1221), during which he subdued cities and tribes to the north. During the 1221
Siege of Gurganj The siege of Gurganj was a siege that occurred during the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire. The siege's length is variable, with historians such as Rashid al-Din Hamadani stating that it lasted for seven months, but it is largely agr ...
, tensions arose between him, his brothers, and Genghis, which never healed. Jochi was still estranged from his family when he died of ill health . His son Batu was appointed to rule his territories in his stead.


Birth and paternity

Jochi's mother, Börte, was born into the Onggirat tribe, who lived along the Greater Khingan mountain range south of the Ergüne river, in modern-day
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...
. At the age of ten, she was betrothed to a
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 ...
boy named
Temüjin Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongol tribes, he launched a series of military campaigns, conquerin ...
, son of the Mongol chieftain Yesugei. Seven years later (), after he had survived a violent adolescence, they married. They had their first child, a daughter named Qojin, in 1179 or 1180. By forming alliances with notable steppe leaders, such as his friend
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 ...
and his father's former ally
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 ...
, and with the help of his charisma, Temüjin began to attract followers and gain power. Word of his rise spread and soon drew the attention of the Merkit tribe to the northwest, from whom Yesugei had abducted Temüjin's mother
Hö'elün Hö'elün ( Mongolian: , , ; ) was a noblewoman of the Mongol Empire and the mother of Temüjin, better known as Genghis Khan. She played a major role in his rise to power, as described in the '' Secret History of the Mongols''. Born into th ...
, sparking a
blood feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...
; they resolved to take revenge on Yesugei's heir. Because of their consequences, the subsequent events were considered controversial: most contemporary authors omitted any mention of the events, while the two that did include them (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 Mongol royal family some time after the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, it recounts his life and conquests, and partially the r ...
'', a mid-13th-century epic poem, and the 14th-century Persian historian Rashid al-Din's ''
Jami al-tawarikh ''Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh'' () 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 has caused it to be calle ...
'') are contradictory. The following narrative, containing elements from both, is considered most plausible. In 1180 or 1181, a large force of Merkits raided Temüjin's camp; while most of his family managed to escape, Börte was captured. She was forcibly married to Chilger-Bökö, the younger brother of Hö'elün's original husband. Meanwhile, Temüjin had convinced his allies to assemble substantial forces to help him rescue Börte. Under Jamukha's command, the combined army campaigned against the Merkits and defeated them, recovering Börte and taking large amounts of plunder. Börte was heavily pregnant and gave birth to Jochi in Jamukha's camp. As Chilger-Bökö had undoubtedly raped her, and as she had been among the Merkits for nearly nine months, Jochi's paternity was uncertain; this was reflected in his name, meaning "guest" in Mongolian. While Temüjin always regarded Jochi as his son by blood and treated him accordingly, many Mongols, such as his younger brother Chagatai, viewed him as a bastard sired by Chilger-Bökö.


Adulthood


Marriages and family

Jochi does not reappear in historical sources until 1203. By this time, he was old enough for marriage. Temüjin intended to betroth him to a daughter of his ally Toghrul, but because of Jochi's uncertain birth and Temüjin's comparatively low status, this proposal was taken as insulting by Toghrul's people and eventually led to war between the two leaders. After Toghrul's defeat in 1204, Jochi was given one of his nieces, Begtütmish, as a wife. He also married other women: Börte's niece Öki; her relative Sorghan; and several less powerful women, namely Qutlugh Khatun, Sultan Khatun, Nubqus, Shīr, Qarajin, and Kul. In addition, Jochi took
concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal relationship, interpersonal and Intimate relationship, sexual relationship between two people in which the couple does not want to, or cannot, enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarde ...
s. It is unknown who Jochi's senior wife was, but it was likely either Öki or Sorghan. Jochi's most important sons were
Orda Khan Orda Ichen ( Mongolian: – 1251) was a Mongol Khan and military strategist who ruled the eastern part of the Golden Horde (division of the Mongol Empire) during the 13th century. First Khan of the White Horde Orda Ichen ( – 1251) is cr ...
and
Batu Khan Batu Khan (–1255) was a Mongol ruler and founder of the Golden Horde, a constituent of the Mongol Empire established after Genghis Khan's demise. Batu was a son of Jochi, thus a grandson of Genghis Khan. His '' ulus'' ruled over the Kievan ...
; they were the children of Sorghan and Öki respectively. Neither these women nor Begtütmish was the mother of Jochi's other notable son,
Berke Berke Khan (died 1266/1267; also Birkai; Turki/ Kypchak: برکه خان, , ) was a grandson of Genghis Khan from his son Jochi and a Mongol military commander and ruler of the Golden Horde, a division of the Mongol Empire, who effectively c ...
. The names of eleven other sons are known, but none had significant careers, reflecting the junior status of their mothers. Descendants of younger sons nevertheless used their Jochid lineage to legitimise their right to rule: these included Khiḍr Khan of
Shiban Shiban (; ), Siban () or Shayban (; ) was a prince of the early Golden Horde, a division of the Mongol Empire. He was a grandson of Genghis Khan, the fifth son of Jochi and a younger brother of Batu Khan who founded the Golden Horde. His des ...
's line, and
Tokhtamysh Tokhtamysh ( Turki/ Kypchak and Persian: توقتمش; ; ; – 1406) was Khan of the Golden Horde from 1380 to 1395. He briefly succeeded in consolidating the Blue and White Hordes into a single polity. Tokhtamysh belonged to the House of Bo ...
who descended from Jochi's youngest son Tuqa-Timur.


Early commands

In 1206, having united the tribes of Mongolia, Temüjin held a large assembly called a where he was acclaimed as "Genghis Khan". He began to reorder his new nation, dividing it between members of his ruling dynasty. As the eldest son, Jochi received the largest share—nine thousand subject warriors, all with their own families and herds; Chagatai received eight thousand, and their younger brothers Ögedei and
Tolui Tolui (born ; died 1232) was the youngest son of Genghis Khan and Börte. A prominent general during the early Mongol conquests, Tolui was a leading candidate to succeed his father after his death in 1227 and ultimately served as regent of th ...
received five thousand each. As expected for a firstborn, Jochi received the territories furthest away from the homeland for his (domain): they were located in western Mongolia along the River Irtysh. This allocation was made with the expectation that Jochi would expand his domains, and so in 1207–08 he campaigned against and subjugated the , a collection of tribes on the edge of the Siberian taiga between the
Angara The Angara (; ) or Angar ( мүрэн) is a major river in Siberia, which traces a course through Russia's Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai. It drains out of Lake Baikal and is the headwater tributary of the Yenisey. It is long, and has ...
and Irtysh rivers. Jochi secured a marriage alliance with the
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. ...
, whose leader Qutuqa Beki guided the Mongols to the
Yenisei Kyrgyz The Yenisei Kyrgyz () were an ancient Turkic people who dwelled along the upper Yenisei River in the southern portion of the Minusinsk Depression from the 3rd century BCE to the 13th century CE. The heart of their homeland was the forested T ...
and other Hoi-yin Irgen. These tribes soon submitted, and Jochi took control of the region's trade in grain and furs, as well as its gold mines. He subsequently reinforced
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 ...
's army before it defeated the renegade Merkits at the battle of the Irtysh River in late 1208 or early 1209. Jochi would campaign intermittently against the Merkits and their Qangli allies for the next decade, finally destroying the last remnants of the people in 1217 or 1218 alongside Subutai. The historian Christopher Atwood has argued that this narrative minimised Jochi's role, that in reality he, not Subutai, was the primary commander in all campaigns against the Merkit and Qangli, and that his right to rule the former Qangli lands was justified by the success of the campaigns. Alongside his brothers Chagatai and Ögedei, Jochi commanded the right wing in the 1211 invasion of the Chinese
Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...
. The Mongols marched southwards from Genghis's campaign headquarters in modern
Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of China. Its border includes two-thirds of the length of China's China–Mongolia border, border with the country of Mongolia. ...
in November 1211: first they attacked the cities in the area between
Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the Capital (political), capital of Inner Mongolia in the North China, north of the China, People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrativ ...
and
Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province, China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 census, it had a population o ...
, and then they followed the
Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of ; its principal peak is ...
into
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 ...
, where they pillaged and plundered in autumn 1213. He may have also taken part in the Irghiz River skirmish, an inconclusive engagement fought against the army of
Muhammad II of Khwarazm 'Alā' al-Din Muhammad II (Persian language, Persian: علاءالدین محمد خوارزمشاه; full name: ''Ala ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Abul-Fath Muhammad Sanjar ibn Tekish'') was the Shah of the Khwarazmian Empire from 3 August 1200 to 11 Janu ...
. The ''Secret History'' records two conversations between Jochi and his father about his campaigns: once when Genghis declined Jochi's request to spare the life of a renowned Merkit archer, and once when Jochi's triumphant return from the subjugation of the Oirats garnered high praise from his father.


Khwarazmian war and succession

In 1218, Genghis was provoked into launching a campaign against the Central Asian
Khwarazmian Empire The Khwarazmian Empire (), or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. Khwarazmians ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran ...
after a Mongol trade caravan was killed by the governor of the border town of
Otrar Otrar or Otyrar ( ; ), also called Farab, is a Central Asian ghost town that was a city located along the Silk Road in Kazakhstan. Otrar was an important town in the history of Central Asia, situated on the borders of settled and agricultural civ ...
and subsequent diplomatic overtures failed. According to the ''Secret History'', Yesui, one of Genghis's secondary wives, requested that he decide the succession before setting out. Though Genghis appears not to have cared about Jochi's possible illegitimacy, Chagatai vehemently objected to his brother becoming the next khan, shouting "How can we let ourselves be ruled by this Merkit bastard?" After a short brawl between the brothers was broken up, the ''Secret History'' continues, the suggestion of Ögedei as a compromise candidate was endorsed by both brothers and their father. Other sources record a less febrile gathering taking place after the war's conclusion, so some historians speculate that the ''Secret History'' account was "a later interpolation" and that Jochi only lost his place as heir after making mistakes during the Khwarazmian campaign. The Mongol armies, estimated to number 150,000 or 200,000 men, descended upon Otrar in late 1219. Leaving Chagatai and Ögedei to besiege the town, Genghis took their younger brother
Tolui Tolui (born ; died 1232) was the youngest son of Genghis Khan and Börte. A prominent general during the early Mongol conquests, Tolui was a leading candidate to succeed his father after his death in 1227 and ultimately served as regent of th ...
and traversed the Kyzyl Kum desert to attack the city of
Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
. Meanwhile, Jochi was dispatched to march down the
Syr Darya The Syr Darya ( ),; ; ; ; ; /. historically known as the Jaxartes ( , ), is a river in Central Asia. The name, which is Persian language, Persian, literally means ''Syr Sea'' or ''Syr River''. It originates in the Tian Shan, Tian Shan Mountain ...
river in the direction of the Khwarazmian capital
Gurganj Konye-Urgench (, ; , ), also known as Old Urgench or Urganj, was a city in north Turkmenistan, just south from its border with Uzbekistan. It is the site of the ancient town of Gurgānj, which contains the ruins of the capital of Khwarazm. Its in ...
and subdue all the cities ''en route'', which Genghis intended to become part of Jochi's territories. The towns of Sighnaq and Asanas offered particularly stiff resistance and their inhabitants were thus slaughtered, while Jand and Yanikant were occupied without much trouble. In late 1220, he travelled southwest along the shores of the
Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...
to Gurganj, while his brothers Chagatai and Ögedei, having captured Otrar, converged on his position. There are contradictory accounts of the
siege of Gurganj The siege of Gurganj was a siege that occurred during the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire. The siege's length is variable, with historians such as Rashid al-Din Hamadani stating that it lasted for seven months, but it is largely agr ...
and Jochi's part in it. What is certain is that the siege was lengthy, lasting between four and seven months, and that it was exceptionally fierce: the defiant Khwarazmian defenders forced the Mongol army to engage in bitter house-by-house
urban warfare Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the p ...
, with much of the city destroyed either by burning
naphtha Naphtha (, recorded as less common or nonstandard in all dictionaries: ) is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Generally, it is a fraction of crude oil, but it can also be produced from natural-gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and ...
or flooding from collapsed dams. After the city's fall in 1221, its inhabitants were either killed or enslaved. The usual narrative of the siege recounts that Jochi and Chagatai quarrelled on how best to conduct its progress, as Jochi presumed that the rich city would become part of his domain and wished to damage it as little as possible. Chagatai on the other hand held no such qualms. When Genghis heard about this infighting, he ordered that Ögedei be promoted to command his brothers. Atwood argues that this narrative was a later invention designed to buttress Ögedei's rule as khan of the empire and that Jochi in reality retained primacy throughout the siege.


Death and legacy

Regardless of the narrative discrepancies, Jochi lost the favour of his father following the siege. Genghis likely considered it a military failure on account of its length and destruction; Jochi also erred by not sending his father his rightful share of the loot. After its conclusion, Chagatai and Ögedei departed southwards to join their father in his pursuit of the renegade Khwarazmian prince Jalal al-Din, while Jochi moved north, ostensibly to bring the Qangli to heel in his new territories, which included the steppes west of the river Chu. Some sources allege that he preferred to spend his time hunting, an activity he was very greatly fond of. It is unclear if he ever met his father again. Although Jochi sent huge numbers of wild asses and 20,000 white horses to Genghis as a gift , relations were steadily worsening because of Jochi's preoccupation with his territories. On his return home, Genghis ordered Jochi to join him, but the latter claimed he was too ill to do so. When a traveller claimed that he was not ill and merely hunting, Genghis resolved to bring him to heel. Before he could do so, in either 1225 or 1227, news came that Jochi had died of his illness. One account, likely fabricated, states that Jochi had been so offended by the destruction at Gurganj that he had made a secret alliance with the Khwarazmians, and that having found out, Genghis ordered that Jochi be poisoned. Batu was confirmed as ruler of his father's territories by Genghis—his elder brother Orda assumed a junior position, while their younger brothers each took a strip of land to rule. Jochi's descendants would grow more independent, eventually ruling over the state known as the
Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...
. Although a large mausoleum in
Ulytau Region Ulytau Region (; ) is a region of Kazakhstan. The administrative center of the region is the city of Jezkazgan. The area split off from Karaganda Region in 2022. The region's borders roughly correspond to the western half of the old Jezkazgan R ...
in Kazakhstan has traditionally been identified as the resting place of Jochi's remains,
radiocarbon dating Radiocarbon dating (also referred to as carbon dating or carbon-14 dating) is a method for Chronological dating, determining the age of an object containing organic material by using the properties of carbon-14, radiocarbon, a radioactive Isotop ...
indicates that it was built much later and that it is not the site of the grave.


References


Notes


Citations


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1180s births 1220s deaths 13th-century Mongol khans Children of Genghis Khan Sons of emperors Year of birth uncertain Tengrist monarchs