Kaidu (; b. 1025 – d. 1100;

Middle Mongol Middle Mongol or Middle Mongolian was a Mongolic languages, Mongolic koiné language spoken in the Mongol Empire. Originating from Genghis Khan's home region of Northeastern Mongolia, it diversified into several Mongolic languages after the coll ...

: , Modern Mongol: Хайду, ''Khaidu'' ) was 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 ...

ruler of the

Borjigin A Borjigin is a member of the Mongol sub-clan that started with Bodonchar Munkhag of the Kiyat clan. Yesugei's descendants were thus said to be Kiyat-Borjigin. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia u ...

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

who was the great-great-grandson of

Bodonchar Munkhag Bodonchar Munkhag or, Bodonchar Khan (Mongol: Бодончар Мөнх, b. around late-9th Centuries – d. 10th Century CE.) was a renowned Mongol Borjigin Tribal-Chieftain and Warlord, he was known as founding patriach of Borjigins and ruling ...

(c. 850 – 900). Kaidu's great-grandson was

Khabul Khan Khabul Khan (; ), also rendered as Qabul Khan, Kabul Khan and Khabul Khagan, (b. 1090s/1100 – d. 1148 CE.) was the founder and first known Khan of the Khamag Mongol confederation, he was the great-grandfather of Genghis Khan the founding Khaga ...

(died 1149), and Khabul Khan's great-grandson was

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 ...

(1162–1227), and Kaidu's other great-grandson Khadjuli (died 12th century), and Khadjuli Barlas' great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson Timur Barlas (1330s–1405), his son Bashinkhor Dogshin succeeded him.

Life

Kaidu is mentioned in 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 ...

'', the ''History of Yuan shi'', and the ''

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 ...

''. He was born circa. 1025 as the youngest of the eight sons of Queen Monolun, the widowed wife of Khachi Khulug, son of Menen Dutum. At this time, the Liao Dynasty (907-1125) of the Mongolic Khitan had control over

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 ...

, although the northernmost regions were difficult to keep under control. In the 1050s, the

Khitans The Khitan people (Khitan small script: ; ) were a historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East. As a people desce ...

of the Liao Dynasty attacked the Jalair, a Darligin Mongol tribe living along the Kerulen River in the far-eastern region of Mongolia. The Jalair fled to the Borjigin Mongols led by Queen Monolun (Nomulun in the Secret History), the mother of Khaidu. They killed Monolun and all her sons except Kaidu who was hidden by his uncle Nachin. Khaidu later conquered the Jalair and made them his subjects. Rashid Al-Din says in the ''Jami Al-Tawarikh'':

References

;Further reading * * Groisset, René. "The empire of steppes" Tengrist monarchs 1025 births 11th-century Mongols Borjigin 1020s births 1100 deaths Year of birth uncertain Mongol khans {{Mongolia-bio-stub