Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (46 page)

Trubetzkoy, Nikolai S.
The Legacy of Genghis Khan
. Trans. Anatoly Liberman. Ann Arbor: Michigan Slavic Publications, 1991.

Vaughan, Richard.
Chronicles of Matthew Paris
. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1984.

Vladimirtsov, Boris Y.
The Life of Chingis-Khan
. Trans. Prince D. S. Mirsky. New York: Benjamin Blom, 1930.

Voltaire.
The Orphan of China
. In
The Works of Voltaire,
vol. 15, trans. William F. Fleming. Paris: E. R. DuMont, 1901.

Waldron, Arthur N.
The Great Wall of China
. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Waley, Arthur.
The Travels of an Alchemist
. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1931.

———.
The Secret History of the Mongols and Other Pieces
. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1963.

Wang, Edward. “History, Space, and Ethnicity: The Chinese Worldview.”
Journal of World History
10, no. 2 (1999).

Glossary

airak
                  Fermented mare’s milk.

anda
                  Sworn brothers. Temujin and Jamuka were
andas
. Yesugei (Temujin’s father) was the
anda
of Torghil Khan, known as Ong Khan of the Kereyid.

Arik Boke
                  Youngest son of Tolui, defeated by his brother Khubilai in the quest to become Great Khan. Born about 1217; died in 1264.

Avarga
                  First capital of the Mongol Empire at the base camp of Genghis Khan after he seized the territory from the Jurkin; located at the confluence of the Kherlen and Tsenker Rivers.

Baljuna, Lake
                  Place where the Baljuna Oath or Covenant was made between Genghis Khan and a handful of his most faithful followers. It may actually have been a river.

Batu         
         Son of Jochi, khan over Russia from 1227 until his death in 1255.

Begter
                  Half brother of Temujin, who killed him. Son of Yesugei and Sochigel.

Belgutei
                  Half brother of Temujin, to whom he remained loyal throughout his long life of more than a hundred years. Died in 1255.

Berke
                  Son of Jochi; after his brother Batu Khan, he became the khan over Russia from 1257 to 1267. He fought with his cousins in the Ilkhanate and refused to recognize Khubilai as Great Khan.

Boorchu
                  Early companion of Temujin, later a major general in the Mongol army.

Borijin
                  Genghis Khan’s clan name.

Borte
                  First and primary wife of Temujin. Born around 1160; died around 1222.

Burkhan Khaldun
                  “God Mountain,” located in the Khentii range.

busgui
                  Male; literally, “beltless.”

Cathay
                  Early European spelling for the Khitan, relatives of the Mongols and rulers of northern China during the period 907–1125, called the Liao dynasty by the Chinese.

Chaghatai
                  Second son of Genghis Khan and Borte (1183–1242); his descendents ruled most of central Asia and eventually became the Moghul dynasty of India.

Chiledu
                  Merkid tribesman, first husband of Hoelun before her kidnapping by Yesugei.

deel
                  traditional Mongolian robe worn by men and women.

Genghis Khan
                  Title given to Temujin in 1206, although he may have also used it as early as 1189, when he first became khan.

ger
                  Portable home made of felt over a latticework frame, called a
yurt
by outsiders.

Guchlug
                  Son of Tayang Khan of the Naiman, later ruler of the Black Khitan Kingdom.

Gur-khan
                  Ancient title meaning supreme khan.

Guyuk
                  Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (1246–1248); son of Ogodei.

Hoelun
                  Mother of Genghis Khan. Around the year 1161, she was kidnapped from Chiledu of the Merkid by Yesugei, with whom she had four sons and a daughter.

Hulegu
                  Conqueror of Baghdad, and founder of the Ilkhanate over Persia. Died in 1265.

Ikh Khorig
                  The Great Taboo, name applied to the area around Genghis Khan’s burial site.

Jadaran clan
                  Descended from the first son born after Bodonchar the Fool kidnapped a pregnant wife. (The Borijin clan descended from the last son born to her.)

Jamuka
                  
Anda
of Genghis Khan, and for a brief time Gur-khan of the Mongols until executed by Genghis Khan.

Jochi
                  Eldest son of Genghis Khan and Borte, but his legitimacy was not acknowledged by his brothers. He died in 1227, the same year as his father; his descendants became the Golden Horde of Russia.

Jurched
                  Manchurian tribes that ruled in northern China. Also known as the Jin (Chin) dynasty, 1115–1234; ruled by the Golden Khan.

Jurkin
                  Lineage closely related to Genghis Khan.

Karakorum
                  Also known as Kharkhorin; second capital of the Mongol Empire (from 1235 until 1260). It was built by Ogodei on the Orkhon River in central Mongolia in the land that had once belonged to Ong Khan of the Kereyid.

Kereyid
                  Tribe or collection of tribes of central Mongolia, along rich pasturelands of the Orkhon and Tuul Rivers; ruled by Torghil, the Ong Khan.

Khaidu
                  Grandson of Toregene and Ogodei (1236–1301); khan over much of central Asia and rival to his cousin Khubilai Khan.

Khan
                  Chief or king. Steppe titles can be very confusing. In addition to khan, the most common designation for the emperor in the dynasty of Genghis Khan was the title that is written in modern Mongolian as
khaan
or is transliterated from classical Mongolian as
kha’an, khagan, qahan, qaghan,
or
qa’an
. To avoid confusion between the Mongolian titles of khan and khaan in this book, only khan is used with names, as in Khubilai Khan or Batu Khan, and Great Khan is used instead of emperor or khaan. For example, “Genghis Khan’s son Ogodei was elected Great Khan in 1229.”

Khanbalik
                  Mongol capital built by Khubilai and now the city of Beijing. In the Mongol era, it was also known as Da-Du or Ta-Tu to the Chinese; previously, it had been Zhongdu when it served as the Jurched capital.

Khasar
                  Brother next in age to Genghis Khan; he was both a strongman and a marksman.

khatun
                  Mongol queen.

Kherlen River
                  One of the three rivers that flows from Burkhan Khaldun. Temujin lived on this river when Borte was taken by the Merkid, and he later made his base camp farther downstream at Avarga.

Khitan
                  Tribe closely related to Mongols. They ruled northern China as the Liao dynasty (907–1125), but were defeated and replaced by the Jurched. The Mongols used this name for all of northern China, and Marco Polo picked it up with the word
Cathay
.

Khodoe Aral
                  Name used for the area around Avarga, near the confluence of the Kherlen and Tsenker Rivers.

khubi
                  Share of booty, hunt, or loot.

Khubilai Khan
                  Grandson of Genghis Khan (1215–1294); claimed the title of Great Khan and established the Yuan dynasty over China.

khuriltai
                  An official council or meeting, usually summoned to confirm elections or make major decisions such as whether to go to war.

Kipchak
                  Turkic tribe in southern Russia.

Merkid
                  Tribe along the Selenge River, modern border of Mongolia and Siberia.

Mongke Khan
                  Eldest son of Tolui, Great Khan from 1251 to 1259.

morin huur
                  Horsehead fiddle.

naadam
                  Celebration involving wrestling, archery, and horse racing.

Naiman
                  Tribe of western Mongolia, ruled by Tayang Khan until defeated by Genghis Khan in 1205.

nerge
         
         Line used to enclose the animals at the start of a group hunt.

Oghul Ghaimish
                  Wife of Guyuk; as his widow, she tried to rule as regent of the Mongol Empire but was defeated by Sorkhokhtani and her sons.

Ogodei
                  Third son of Genghis Khan and Borte, Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1229 to 1241.

Ong Khan
                  Ruler of the Kereyid tribe. Also known by his name Torghil as well as by Wang Khan or Van Khan, variations of his title. Because his tribe was Christian, he was often assumed by Europeans to have been the fabled Prester John.

Onon River         
         One of the three rivers that flows from Burkhan Khaldun; the river on which Genghis Khan was born and spent his childhood.

ordu
or
horde
                  The court of the khan. The word came into English as
horde
. It was also used in Turkish,
ordu
, and became the word
Urdu
, the camp or army language that became the official language of Pakistan.

ortoo
                  Mongolian postal system; also called
yam
.

Otchigen
                  Youngest son of the family; Prince of the Hearth, or Prince of the Fire.

Shankh Monastery
                  Buddhist monastery founded by Zanabazar and the resting place of the black
sulde
of Genghis Khan.

Shigi-Khutukhu
                  Tatar boy raised by Hoelun, born around 1180 and died about 1262. Supreme judge of the Mongol Empire and the likely author of
The Secret History of the Mongols
.

Sochigel
                  Mother of Begter and Belgutei, who were fathered by Yesugei, to whom she may or may not have been married. Her name is not mentioned in the
Secret History
.

Sorkhokhtani
                  Wife of Tolui, mother of Mongke, Khubilai, Hulegu, and Arik Boke. By defeating the ruling family of Ogodei in 1251, she gave control of the Mongol Empire to her sons, but she died shortly thereafter.

Sulde
                  Banner; soul; spirit.

Tangut
                  Tribal dynasty over kingdom of Xia-Xia (Hsia-Hsia) along upper Yellow River, including Ordos, ruled by Burkhan Khan, who was killed by the Mongols in 1227 when his kingdom was incorporated into the Mongol Empire.

Tayang Khan
                  Ruler of the Naiman of western Mongolia.

Tayichiud         
         Close relatives of Temujin’s family, but they deserted his family when his father died.

Teb Tengeri
                  The shaman who created discord in Genghis Khan’s family and was killed by Temuge, the youngest brother of Genghis Khan.

Temuge
                  Youngest brother (Prince of the Hearth or Fire) of Genghis Khan.

Temujin
                  Birth name of Genghis Khan.

Temujin Uge
                  Tatar warrior killed by Yesugei, who subsequently gave his son that name.

Temulun
                  Youngest sibling and only sister of Temujin.

Tolui
                  Youngest son of Genghis Khan (1193–1233). Married to Sorkhokhtani, who managed to seize control of the empire for their four sons, with power eventually falling to their son Khubilai.

Toregene
                  Wife of Ogodei Khan, regent of the Mongol Empire during the period (1241–1246).

tumen
                  Military unit of ten thousand.

Uighur
                  Turkic people now living in western China; first foreign nation to seek admission to the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan.

Ulaanbaatar
                  Modern capital of Mongolia; name means Red Hero.

Xanadu
                  Western name for Khublai’s capital of Shangdu in inner Mongolia. After he built Khanbalik as the permanent capital, Shangdu became the summer capital.

Yeke Khatun
                  Great Empress.

Yeke Mongol Ulus
                  Great Mongol Nation.

Yesugen and Yesui
                  Tatar sisters who married Genghis Khan.

Zanabazar
                  Buddhist lama, descendant of Genghis Khan and founder of the Shankh Monastery.

For a complete listing of names, terms, and alternate spellings, see Paul D. Buell,
Historical Dictionary of the Mongol World Empire
(Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press, 2003).