Yesui was one of the wives 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, ...
. She was of
Tatar ancestry.
Like the other wives of Genghis Khan, she had her own ''ordo'', or court and to her was assigned the
Tuul River. Her sister
Yesugen was also a wife of Genghis Khan. Both were the daughter of Yeke Cheren, a Tatar leader executed by Genghis Khan's army. She was fleeing with her first husband when her sister was captured.
Yesugen convinced Genghis Khan to marry Yesui and that she, Yesugen, would submit to Yesui's seniority. Yesui was found and captured, her husband fled, and she agreed to marry the Khan.
Though she did wield significant influence as a wife, this was far less than that wielded by Genghis Khan's first wife,
Börte. In 1226, she accompanied her husband as he set out on a punitive expedition to the
Tangut kingdom. When he fell ill, Yesui administered the government to hide his condition.
Notes
Sources
*
Women of the Mongol Empire
Genghis Khan
Tatar people
13th-century women rulers
12th-century Mongolian women
13th-century deaths
Year of birth unknown
Women in war in East Asia
Women in 13th-century warfare
Wives of Genghis Khan
{{Mongolia-bio-stub