Yesükhei () or Yesugei Baghatur ( Traditional Mongolian: ;

Modern Mongolian Mongolian is the principal language of the Mongolic language family that originated in the Mongolian Plateau. It is spoken by ethnic Mongols and other closely related Mongolic peoples who are native to modern Mongolia and surrounding parts of ...

: Есүхэй баатар, ''Yesukhei baatar'', ) (b. 1134 – d. 1171) was a major chief of the

Khamag Mongol Khamag Mongol (; ) was a loose Mongolic tribal confederation on the Mongolian Plateau in the 12th century. It is sometimes considered to be a predecessor state to the Mongol Empire. The existence of a somewhat mysterious tribal power known ...

confederation and the father of Temüjin, who later became known as

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 ...

. Yesügei was from 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 ...

family, and his name means "like nine", meaning he had the auspicious qualities of the number nine, a lucky number to the

Mongols 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 o ...

Life

Yesügei was the son of

Bartan Baghatur Yesükhei () or Yesugei Baghatur ( Traditional Mongolian: ; Modern Mongolian: Есүхэй баатар, ''Yesukhei baatar'', ) (b. 1134 – d. 1171) was a major chief of the Khamag Mongol confederation and the father of Temüjin, who later bec ...

, who was the second son of

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 ...

. Khabul was recognized as a

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 ...

by the

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) ...

. Khabul Khan was, in turn, the great-grandson of the Mongol chief Khaidu, the first to try to unite the Mongols. Yesügei abducted his chief wife,

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 ...

, a daughter of the

Olkhunut Olkhonud (; ), also rendered as Olqunuut, was the clan of Hoelun, the mother of Genghis Khan. They helped Genghis to defeat the Naimans. The Olkhunut people were very closely related to the Hongirad tribe. Their descendants still live in Khovd ...

forest people, with the help of his elder brother Negün Taishi and younger brother Daritai Otchigin, from her newlywed husband Chiledu of

Merkit The Merkit (; ; ) was one of the five major tribal confederations of Mongolabducted Hoelun because of her beauty and indications of fertility. After the Khamag Mongol confederation khan Hotula died, the confederation had no elected king, but ''de facto'' Yesügei ruled the confederation. Yesügei had a bloodbrother, or ''

anda Anda or ANDA may refer to: Places China * Anda, Heilongjiang, a city in Heilongjiang, China * Anda railway station, a railway station in Anda, China Iran * Anda, Iran, a village in Fars Province, Iran Norway * Anda, Norway, an island in Øksnes ...

'', Toghrul Khan (later known as Wang Khan and Ong Khan). Yesügei helped Toghrul to defeat his uncle Gurkhan. After Yesügei's death, Toghrul initially helped Temüjin in arranging his marriage to

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 ...

and uniting the tribes, but later defected to Genghis' ''anda'' and rival,

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 ...

. In 1171 Yesügei died when his son Temüjin was nine years old. ''

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 Borjigin, Mongol royal family some time after the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, it recounts his life and conquests, and parti ...

'' records that he was poisoned by

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

while sharing a meal at a wedding on the way home after leaving Temüjin at the home of Dai Setsen, a noble man of

Khongirad The Khongirad (; ; ; ) was one of the major divisions of the Mongol tribes. Their homeland was located in the vicinity of Hulun Lake, Lake Hulun in Inner Mongolia and Khalkha River in Mongolia,M. Sanjdorj, History of the Mongolian People's Repub ...

tribe, when two fathers, Yesügei and Dai Setsen, agreed that their kids, Temüjin and Börte, would marry. When Yesügei was on his way home after leaving Temüjin with Börte's family, he noticed an encampment where the Tatars were celebrating a feast. The ''Secret History'' explains that he wanted to join their feast, but he knew he could not reveal his identity since he was known among the Tatars as the person who killed their relative (called Temüjin Uge) in a battle eight years earlier. Yesügei tried his luck but someone recognized him and offered him poisoned food under the guise of hospitality. Although ill, Yesügei managed to escape back to his family's camp. Yesügei died three days later at home.

Legacy

During the reign 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 ...

, he was given the temple name of Liezu () and the posthumous name Shenyuan Huangdi ().

Family

Yesügei and Hoelun had four sons

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 ...

, (later known as Genghis Khan),

Hasar Khasar (; , ), was one of the three full brothers of the legendary Genghis Khan. According to the ''Jami' al-Tawarikh'', his given name was ''Jochi'' and he got the nickname ''Khasar'' after his distinguished bravery. He was also called Khabht K ...

Hachiun Hachiun (, also known as Hachiun Alchi , Qachi'un, Qachi'un-elchi), was a full-brother 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 Emp ...

Temüge Temüge (c. 1168–1246) was the youngest brother of Genghis Khan, fourth son of Yesugei. Early life ''The Secret History of the Mongols'' states that "when Temujin was 9 years of age, Temuge was three years old." As the youngest son, he recei ...

and a daughter, Temülen. Yesugei had two sons by his second wife

Sochigel Sochigel ( Modern Mongolian: Сочигэл, Russian: Сочихэл, Chinese (Simplifed): 速赤格勒) was either a junior wife or concubine of Yesügei, the chief of the Khamag Mongol confederation and father of Genghis Khan. Sochigel's child ...

Behter Behter or Bekter (; died 1180) was the son of Yesugei, chief of the Khamag Mongol, and a junior wife named Sochigel or Suchigu in some sources and Ko'agjin in others. He was also a half-brother of Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüj ...

and

Belgutei Belgutei ( – ) was the son of Yesugei and Sochigel and half-brother to Genghis Khan. He also became general to Genghis Khan. Belgutei was considered a wise counselor and skilled diplomat, and was often used as a messenger by Genghis Khan. Wit ...

. 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 ...

'' records that in his youth Temüjin killed his brother Behter in a fight for food. His other half-brother, Belgutei, however was a good friend, and later became a general under Genghis.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yesugei 1130s births 1171 deaths Year of birth uncertain

Yesugei Yesükhei () or Yesugei Baghatur ( Traditional Mongolian: ; Modern Mongolian: Есүхэй баатар, ''Yesukhei baatar'', ) (b. 1134 – d. 1171) was a major chief of the Khamag Mongol confederation and the father of Temüjin, who later be ...

Family of Genghis Khan Mongol Empire people Tengrist monarchs

Life

Legacy

Family

See also

References

External links