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Hö'elün was a Mongol noblewoman and the mother of Genghis Khan. She was abducted by Yesügei, who became her husband and the founder of the Mongol Empire.
- Overview
- Who was Börte?
- Women of influence
- A shrewd strategist
- Unsung heroines
As the legendary ruler's favored wife, Börte kept his massive camp in order—and advised him on everything from politics to military strategy.
Genghis Khan and his wife Börte sit on their thrones before courtiers in this artistic rendering from the book Jami' al Tawarikh (Universal History) by Rashid ad-Din. Börte was Genghis Khan's principal wife and the first queen of the powerful Mongol Empire.
Tents and animals. Horses and swords. The early days of the Mongol Empire were characterized by battle, conquest, and quick expansion, leading the people ruled by Genghis Khan to domination of the world’s largest contiguous empire.
But the great khan didn’t rule alone: His principal wife, Börte, was a critical player in the establishment of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. Here’s how the first Mongol empress exerted her influence—and why she and other women are among the empire’s unsung heroes.
Born around 1161 to the Olkhonoud tribe of what is now inner Mongolia, Börte was betrothed to the future emperor—known as Temüjin in his early years—as a child. Though details about her life are scant, historians know that she married Temüjin, who came from the Borjigin tribe, as a teenager. But their newlywed bliss was shortlived: soon after the marriage, Börte was abducted by a member of the Merkit tribe.
Bride kidnapping was common at the time, and rival tribes did so both to disrupt the lives of their enemies and to settle scores. By kidnapping Temüjin’s new wife, the Merkits were attempting to avenge a longstanding grievance: Temüjin’s mother, Hö’elün, had originally been married to a Merkit before she was abducted by Yesügei, Temüjin’s father.
Although such kidnappings usually resulted in the woman being forced to stay with her captor, Temüjin decided to pursue an unexpected course: Along with his close friend Jamukha, he managed a daring rescue of his new wife. This kicked off outright war between the Borjigins and the Merkits. The Borjigins eventually won, enslaving Merkits women and overtaking their territory, in 1200.
(Who were the Mongols? Here's how the empire was formed.)
Temüjin continued to conquer other tribes for decades, building the Mongols into a feared force that united warring tribes and overtook more and more territory. Meanwhile, Börte became his principal wife.
Over the years, the emperor would marry at least six women, amass hundreds of concubines, and have at least 13 children. But as his first and most favored wife, Börte was the most influential of them all, and her role as principal wife also entailed caring for her husband’s expanding empire.
Her importance would have been visible to all, says Anne Broadbridge, a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the author of Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire. Principal wives managed their own ordo, or household, and were waited on by massive staffs. From concubines and lesser wives to herds of animals, shepherds, servants, and security guards, women’s households could number in the hundreds.
Their households may have been mobile as the nomadic group moved from destination to destination, but they were anything but compact. Instead, these households reached a dizzying scale that attracted the attention of chroniclers and the conquered, who left behind historical records of the women’s wealth. During the rule of Genghis Khan’s grandson, Kublai, for example, the households of the emperor’s four wives may have each included up to 10,000 people, including servants and staff. Wives also traveled with thousands of animals and hundreds of wagons.
(How Kublai Khan did what Genghis could not—conquer China.)
Principal wives like Börte would have occupied the choicest spot in camp, says Broadbridge. “The spatial hierarchy reflects the social hierarchy.”
But Börte’s influence extended far beyond her children and her yurt. Her place in the Mongol hierarchy offered her coveted access to her husband, who sought out her advice on everything from politics to military strategy.
She put that trust to good use, even when it came to the emperor’s closest friends. One of them was Jamukha, her husband’s closest friend who had helped him save her after she was kidnapped and who eventually became khan of the Jadaran. When Börte saw signs that the friends’ alliance was crumbling, she advised her husband to break off the friendship, and in 1204 Temüjin defeated Jamukha in battle and had him executed.
(This empress was the most dangerous woman in Rome.)
Another political intervention had to do with Teb Tenggeri, a shaman who was one of the khan’s close companions. Teb had predicted Temüjin’s rise to power, and thus seemed entitled to a role in the khan’s court. When he publicly insulted Temüjin’s brother, though, Börte drew the line and insisted that her husband severely punish the shaman.
Though archaeological evidence of the Mongol Empire’s enterprising women is scant, says Broadbridge, historical accounts point to the importance of Mongol wives. While men engaged in battle and scouted out new places to conquer, women managed most aspects of daily life both in the battle camps that supported warriors in the field and in more permanent encampments that expanded along with the empire.
(India's warrior queen didn't back down from the British.)
Part ambassador, part adviser, part administrator, Börte established the role of a Mongol empress. She even managed to rise above rumors that her firstborn son, Jochi, was the biological son of her Merkit captor and not Genghis Khan. And though most of her life still lays in shadow, she’s an example of the important role women played in the empire’s establishment and daily life.
Genghis Khan may have had a wife he could trust, says Broadbridge—but he and the rest of the Mongols also needed her, along with the other women in their rapidly expanding sphere. “Without the women in the Mongol Empire, there wouldn’t have been an empire.”
Hoelun was a captive bride of Yesügei, who became the founder of the Mongol Empire. She played a key role in his rise to power and was the mother of Temüjin, also known as Genghis Khan.
This book positions women in their rightful place in the otherwise well-known story of Chinggis Khan (commonly known as Genghis Khan) and his conquests and empire. Examining the best known women of Mongol society, such as Chinggis Khan's mother, Hö'elün, and senior wife, Börte, as well as those who were less famous but equally influential ...
- Anne F. Broadbridge
- 2018
One example was Temüjin’s mother Hö’elün, whose relatives were not even on terms with her kidnapper husband Yisü gei. Nevertheless, Yisügei deliberately chose Hö’elün’s Olqunu’ ut family as the one in which to find a wife for their son Temü jin, and the patterns of exchange marriage suggest that the bride would have been one of Hö’elün’s close relatives.
- Anne F. Broadbridge
- 2018
Jun 1, 2020 · Anyone who looks into the history of the Mongol World Empire soon encounters three extraordinarily powerful and influential women who figured prominently in its rise—Hö’elün (Chinggis Khan’s mother), Börte (his principal wife), and Sorqoqtani (the mother of Khubilai Khan, grandson of Chinggis Khan). More advanced reading soon encounters two more powerful, if somewhat less widely known, women—Töregene (wife and later widow of Ögedei Khan, son of Chinggis Khan) and Oghul-Qaimish ...
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Nov 18, 2021 · Abstract Thirteenth-century sources provide us with striking images of Mongol noblewomen, which are not eclipsed by the heroic conquests and military exploits of their men. While recognising the complexity of gender roles in pre-imperial Mongol society, this article aims to explore the specific responsivities carried by Hö’elün and Börte in the narrative of The Secret History of the Mongols. The selective presentation of their characters and duties further reveals the goal of the Secret ...
