Battle of Irtysh River (13th century)

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Battle of Irtysh River
Part of the Mongol campaigns in Siberia
DateLate 1208 or very early 1209 CE
Location
Irtysh in northeast Kazakhstan, at the junction with the Bukhtarma near the Altai Mountains
49°36′N83°48′E / 49.6°N 83.8°E / 49.6; 83.8
Result Mongol victory
Belligerents
Oirats
Commanders and leaders
Strength
Unknown Unknown, possibly as many as 30,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown Heavy, approximately half the total force

The Battle of the Irtysh River or Battle Along the Buqdarma was a battle between the Mongol Empire and remnants of the Merkit and Naimans, fought at the junction of the Bukhtarma with the Irtysh in late 1208 or very early 1209. The Merkit had a longstanding rivalry with the Borjigin, the family of Genghis Khan, and together with the Naimans opposed Genghis Khan's rise to power. The Battle of Chakirmaut in 1204 shattered the forces of the Merkit-Naimans alliance and the survivors fled into southern Western Siberia. When Jochi, the son of Genghis, led an expedition into Siberia to subjugate what the Mongols called the "Forest Peoples", he encountered the remnant armies of the Merkits and Naimans at the Irtysh and soundly defeated them, shattering the alliance. The Merkit commander Toqto'a was slain and the Naiman leader Kuchlug fled.

Contents

Background

Borjigin–Merkit rivalry

The rivalry between the Borjigin Mongols and the Merkits began after Yesugei, a significant chief in the Khamag Mongol confederation, kidnapped Hö'elün from her Merkit husband, Chiledu, on their way home from their wedding, and married her himself. [1] Decades later, Temujin, the son of Yesugei and Hö'elün, married Börte. Soon after, Börte was kidnapped by the Merkit as revenge for the kidnapping of Hö'elün. [2] Temujin managed to rescue her, with the help of his friend Jamukha and the Keraite ruler Toghrul. As Temujin rose to power, Jamukha and Toghrul came to oppose him. [3] Their opposition culminated in an alliance of Jamukha's forces with the Keraite, the Merkit, and the Naimans. The Keraite were defeated in 1203. [4] The Naimans, supported by Merkit, were defeated in the Battle of Chakirmaut in 1204, [5] [6] and the Merkit were again defeated in 1205 at Qaradal Huja'ar. [7] Jamukha was also defeated and captured in 1205. [4] The Merkit and Naimans who survived the battles against the Mongols fled into Western Siberia, where they eventually gathered at the Irtysh. [8] Temujin's victory against the alliance consolidated his control of the Mongol and Turkic tribes in the region. In 1206, he was elected the khan of the new Mongol Empire and given the name Genghis Khan. [9] The Qo'as faction of the Merkit opted to surrender to Genghis Khan and Qulan, the daughter of Dayir Usun, leader of the Qo'as Merkit, married Genghis Khan. [10]

Invasion of Siberia

Among the first military efforts of the consolidated empire was a campaign into Siberia. The presence of the Merkit and Naimans there posed a threat to the new empire, and Genghis did not give them long to foment opposition. [8] [11] The other goal was to subjugate what the Mongols referred to as the "Forest People". [11] Jochi, the oldest son of Genghis, led the expedition. [8] The Oirat leader Qutuqa Beki, who previously had opposed Genghis, met Jochi's army and submitted to the empire, giving it 10,000 soldiers. [9]

Battle

Qutuqa Beki guided Jochi's campaign in tracking the Merkits and Naimans. After going through the Ulun Pass, they met the Merkits and Naimans at the Bukhtarma branch of the Irtysh. [8] [12] The exact date when they encountered and battled them is unclear, occurring in either late 1208 or very early 1209. [13] The combined forces of the Naiman and Merkit possibly numbered as many as 30,000. [12] The Mongols won the engagement, shattering the Merkit-Naiman alliance. [14] The Merkit commander Toqto'a was killed in action by an arrow, and many of his soldiers drowned in the river attempting to flee [8] [12] Toqto'a's sons Qudu, Qaltoqan, Cila'un, and Majar, and the Naiman commander Kuchlug, escaped. [8] [12] Unable to bring Toqto'a's body with them, they cut off his head and carried it with them. [12]

Aftermath

The Merkits and Naimans who survived the battle fled. They regrouped at the Chu but were again defeated. The surviving Merkit fled west, first to the Uyghurs and then, after the Uyghurs allied with the Mongols, to Cumania, and the Naiman leader Kuchlug fled south to Qara Khitai. [15] [11] In 1211, Kuchlug usurped the throne and took over the dynasty. Seven years later, the Mongols invaded Qara Khitai and defeated and executed Kuchlug. At some point likely between 1209 and 1219, most likely 1217 or 1218, generals Subutai, Jebe, and Tuqachar were dispatched to deal with the remaining Merkit, and them and Tuqachar, along with possibly a Uyghur force, met and destroyed the Merkit at the Chem River, in what is present-day western Kazakhstan. [16] [17] Qudu, the surviving son of Toqto'a, escaped to what is now northern Kazakhstan, but was pursued and defeated by Subutai and Jebe. [11]

Related Research Articles

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. Little is known about the details of her early life, but she was betrothed to Genghis at a young age, married at seventeen, and then kidnapped by a rival tribe. Her husband's daring rescue of her may have been one of the key events that started him on his path to becoming a conqueror. She gave birth to four sons and five daughters, who, along with their own descendants, were the key bloodline that further expanded the Mongol Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merkit</span> 12th-century tribal confederation of the Mongolian Plateau

The Merkit was one of the five major tribal confederations (khanlig) of probably Mongol or Turkic origin in the 12th century Mongolian Plateau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hö'elün</span> Mother of Genghis Khan (fl. 1162–1210)

Hö'elün was a Mongolian noblewoman 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naimans</span> 12th-century tribal confederation of the Mongolian Plateau

The Naiman were a medieval tribe originating in the territory of modern Western Mongolia, and are one of the tribes of modern Mongols and in the middle juz of the Kazakh nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keraites</span> Former Turco-Mongol tribal confederation in Mongolia

The Keraites were one of the five dominant Mongol or Turkic tribal confederations (khanates) in the Altai-Sayan region during the 12th century. They had converted to the Church of the East (Nestorianism) in the early 11th century and are one of the possible sources of the European Prester John legend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toghrul</span> Mongol chieftain, khan of the Keraites (c. 1130–1203)

Toghrul, also known as Wang Khan or Ong Khan was a khan of the Keraites. He was the blood brother (anda) of the Mongol chief Yesugei and served as an important early patron and ally to Yesugei's son Temüjin, later known as Genghis Khan. The main source on his life is The Secret History of Mongols.

Jamukha was a Mongol military and political leader and the chief rival to Temüjin in the unification of the Mongol tribes.

Kuchlug was a member of the Naiman tribe who became the last emperor of the Western Liao dynasty. The Naimans were defeated by Genghis Khan and he fled westward to the Qara Khitai, where he became an advisor to his future father-in-law Yelü Zhilugu. He later rebelled, usurped the throne and took control of the empire, putting an end to the rule of the House of Yelü. He was killed in 1218 by the Mongols and the domain of the Qara Khitai was absorbed into the Mongol Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genghis Khan</span> Founder of the Mongol Empire (c. 1162–1227)

Genghis Khan, also Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire, which he ruled from 1206 until his death in 1227; it later became the largest contiguous empire in history. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongol tribes, he launched a series of military campaigns, conquering large parts of China and Central Asia.

Mongol campaigns in Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on the Mongolian plateau in 1206. Smaller military operations of the Mongol Empire in Central Asia included the destruction of surviving Merkit and Naimans and the conquest of Qara Khitai. These were followed by a major campaign against Khwarazm. Expansion into Central Asia began in 1209 as Genghis Khan sent an expedition to pursue rivals who had fled to the region and threatened his new empire. The Uyghur kingdom Qocho and leaders of the Karluks submitted voluntarily to the Mongol Empire and married into the imperial family. By 1218 the Mongols controlled all of Xinjiang and by 1221 all the territories of the former Khwarazmian Empire. In 1236, the Mongols defeated the eastern portions of Cumania and swept into Eastern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongol invasion of Persia and Mesopotamia</span>

The Mongol conquest of Persia comprised three Mongol campaigns against Islamic states in the Middle East and Central Asia between 1219 and 1258. These campaigns led to the termination of the Khwarazmian dynasty, the Nizari Ismaili state, and the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad, and the establishment of the Mongol Ilkhanate government in their place in Persia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongol conquest of the Qara Khitai</span> 1218 military campaign

The Mongol Empire conquered the Qara Khitai in the year 1218 AD. Prior to the invasion, war with the Khwarazmian Empire and the usurpation of power by the Naiman prince Kuchlug had weakened the Qara Khitai. When Kuchlug besieged Almaliq, a city belonging to the Karluks, vassals of the Mongol Empire, and killed their ruler Ozar, who was a grandson-in-law to Genghis Khan, Genghis Khan dispatched a force under command of Jebe and Barchuk to pursue Kuchlug. After his force of 30,000 was defeated by Jebe at the Khitan capital Balasagun, Kuchlug faced rebellions over his unpopular rule, forcing him to flee to modern Afghanistan, where he was captured by hunters in 1218. The hunters turned Kuchlug over to the Mongols, who beheaded him. Upon defeating the Qara Khitai, the Mongols now had a direct border with the Khwarazmian Empire, which they would soon invade in 1219.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongol campaigns in Siberia</span> Part of the Mongol conquests

In the 13th century, the Mongol Empire launched several military expeditions in the region of Siberia as part of its invasions and conquests. The first campaigns in North Asia involved the rise of Genghis Khan in the first decade of the 13th century and the early territorial expansion of his empire into South Central and southern Western Siberia. Even this early period of expansion gained the Mongol Empire access to trade and tribute all the way north to the Arctic Ocean in some areas. Expansion throughout North Asia and into historic Manchuria continued throughout the 13th century, including against northern possessions of Cumania and the Jin dynasty, and into as late as the early 14th century with the securing of the Sakhalin island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tayang Khan</span> Khan of Northern Naimans

Tayang Khan — was a khan of the Naimans. According to The Secret History of the Mongols, he was physically weak when he was born and his father Inanch Bilge did not believe his son would survive to adulthood, therefore he was also called Torluq Tayang.

The rise of Genghis Khan involves the events from his birth as Temüjin in 1162 until 1206, when he was bestowed the title of "Genghis Khan", which means something along the lines of "Universal Ruler" or "Oceanic Ruler" by the Quriltai, which was an assembly of Mongol Chieftains.

Qutuqa Beki — was a 13th century chief of the Oirats who played major role on formation of Mongol Empire.

The Battle of Chakirmaut was the concluding battle of Genghis Khan's unification of the Mongol tribes. Temujin fought and defeated the combined forces of coalition of tribes led by the Naimans under Tayang Khan and his son Kuchlug and rival Khan claimant Jamukha. Tayang Khan died in battle, Kuchlug fled with a small force and Jamukha retreated but was later captured and executed.

The Irghiz River skirmish was a minor engagement fought between forces of the Khwarazmian Empire and the Mongol Empire during the early 13th century. While the occurrence of the skirmish itself is well-attested, its precise dating is uncertain, since the major chroniclers of the period give differing accounts. Modern historians have proposed two possible dates: 1209 or 1219. The background events are similar for each possible date: Genghis Khan, khagan of the Mongols, sent an army under his general Subutai to attack hostile forces in the former lands of the Qara-Khitai dynasty. Shah Muhammad, the ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire, received news of large armies operating along his northern borders and set out to confront them.

There were many wives and concubines of Genghis Khan, as was common for powerful Mongol men of the time. Wives and concubines were frequently acquired from conquered territory, and, in the case of Genghis Khan, sometimes whole empires, and the women enrolled as either his wives or concubines were often princesses or queens that were either taken captive or gifted to him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baljuna Covenant</span> 1203 oath sworn by Genghis Khan

The Baljuna Covenant was an oath sworn in mid-1203 AD by Temüjin—the khan of the Mongol tribe and the future Genghis Khan—and a small group of companions, subsequently known as the Baljunatu. Temüjin had risen in power in the service of the Kereit khan Toghrul during the late 12th century. In early 1203, Toghrul was convinced by his son Senggum that Temüjin's proposal of a marriage alliance between his and their families was an attempt to usurp their power. After escaping two successive Kereit ambushes, Temüjin was cornered and comprehensively defeated at the Battle of Qalaqaljid Sands.

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Broadbridge 2018, pp. 43–47; May 2016, pp. 225–226.
  2. ↑ Broadbridge 2018, pp. 58–64; May 2016, p. 226.
  3. ↑ Broadbridge 2018, pp. 64–66.
  4. 1 2 May 2016, p. xxv.
  5. ↑ May, Timothy (2007-03-22). The Mongol Art of War. Havertown, Pennsylvania: Casemate Publishers. p. 157. ISBN   978-1-78159-721-7. Archived from the original on 2023-12-11. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
  6. ↑ May 2016, pp. xxv, 226.
  7. ↑ May 2016, pp. 226.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 May 2016, p. 382.
  9. 1 2 Hope, Michael (2016-10-06). Power, Politics, and Tradition in the Mongol Empire and the Ilkhanate of Iran. Oxford University Press. p. 39. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198768593.001.0001. ISBN   978-0-19-876859-3. Archived from the original on 2022-07-04. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  10. ↑ May, Timothy (2022-05-25). "Seven: The Conquest of Qara Khitai and Western Siberia". In May, Timothy; Hope, Michael (eds.). The Mongol World. Taylor & Francis. p. 193. ISBN   978-1-351-67631-1. Archived from the original on 2023-12-02. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Buell, Paul D. (2010-02-12). The A to Z of the Mongol World Empire. Scarecrow Press. pp. 25–26. ISBN   978-1-4617-2036-2. Archived from the original on 2023-12-02. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Sverdrup, Carl Fredrik (2017-05-04). The Mongol Conquests: The Military Operations of Genghis Khan and Sübe'etei. Casemate Publishers. pp. 111–112. ISBN   978-1-913118-22-8. Archived from the original on 2023-12-02. Retrieved 2023-12-02.
  13. ↑ Buell 1992; May 2018, p. 58.
  14. ↑ May 2016, p. 226, 382.
  15. ↑ May 2016, p. 382; May 2018, p. 58.
  16. ↑ Favereau, Marie (2021-04-20). The Horde: How the Mongols Changed the World. Harvard University Press. p. 47. ISBN   978-0-674-24421-4. Archived from the original on 2023-12-02. Retrieved 2023-12-01.
  17. ↑ May 2018, pp. 58–59.

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