Khabul Khan (Mongolian: Хабул хан; Chinese: 合不勒), also rendered as Qabul Khan, Kabul Khan[1] and Khabul Khagan, (b. 1090s/1100 – d. 1130 CE.) was the founder and first known Khan of the Khamag Mongol confederation and great-grandfather of Genghis Khan,[2] and brother of Khaduli Barlas, who was in turn the ancestor of Timur. He was the son and successor of Tumbinai Khan.

Khabul Khan
Founder & Khan of the Khamag Mongol
Statue of Khabul Khan in Mongol Castle
Borjigin Khan &
1st Khan of the Khamag Mongol
Reignc. 1130 – 1148
Coronation1130 in Khuruldai
PredecessorTumbinai Khan
SuccessorAmbaghai Khan
Born1090s/1100
Mongolian Plateau
Died1148/49 CE.
(aged 45–59)
Khamag Mongol
IssueOkhinbarkhag
Bartan Baghatur
Khutugtu Monkhor
Hotula Khan
Khulan
Khadaan Baghatur
Todoi
Era dates
12th-Century
HouseBorjigin
FatherTumbinai Khan
ReligionTengrism

Family and background edit

Khabul Khan was a son of Tumbinai Khan and great-grandson of the Khaidu. He was the head of the Borjigin obog.[3]

Campaigns edit

Khabul Khan became quite notable for his clashes with the Jurchens, a people who lived in Manchuria and who later established the Jin dynasty in 1115, gradually taking control over the region. In alliance with the Chinese Song dynasty, they attacked the Khitan-led Liao dynasty, and by 1122 had captured a significant portion of Liao territory.[4] In 1135, Khabul Khan was invited to the court of the Emperor Taizong of Jin, where he famously pulled the emperor's beard. The Jin army pursued him into southern Mongolia, but Khabul eluded capture and returned with a larger army to pillage the Jin dynasty.[5]

When the Jin army entered Mongolia with the intention of conquering the territories ruled by the Emperor Dezong of Liao, the founder of the Qara Khitai, or Western Liao dynasty, it was Khabul Khan who organized a Mongol confederation and led the successful effort to repel this invasion.[3]

The confederation was called the Khamag Mongol ("Whole Mongol") and consisted of the four core clans: Khiyad, Taichuud, Jalairs, and Jurkhin. It is sometime considered a predecessor state of Genghis Khan's empire.[6] When the Jurchen accepted their defeat, they recognized Khabul Khan, in 1146 or 1147, as the paramount ruler of the Mongols, although they still officially considered him their vassal.[3]

Khabul Khan has been described as having expanded his Mongol tribe and achieved incredible triumph in suppressing the Tatar tribes, an accomplishment in which he was aided by his son Yasukai.[7] His reign saw the first attempts to politically unify the Mongols.[8]

Though Khabul Khan had 7 sons, he nominated Ambaghai, a son of Sengun Bilge from the Taichuud clan, as his successor.[5][6]

Descendants and legacy edit

Khabul Khan had seven sons, the oldest being Okin-barkhakh and the second oldest Bartan the Valiant. Bartan, in turn, fathered Yesugei, the father of Genghis Khan. Khabul Khan's third son was Mongler, who fathered Buri the wrestler.[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Man, John. (2013). Genghis khan : life, death, and resurrection. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781466861565. OCLC 872644244.
  2. ^ Mongolia :: The rise of Genghis Khan – Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  3. ^ a b c Beckwith, Christopher (16 March 2009). Empires of the Silk Road. Princeton University. ISBN 978-1400829941.
  4. ^ Biran, Michal (2005). The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History: Between China and the Islamic World. Cambridge University.
  5. ^ a b Erich Haenisch, Die Geheime Geschichte der Mongolen, Leipzig 1948, p.7 (=section 52)
  6. ^ a b Bold, Bat-Ochir (2001). Mongolian nomadic society: a reconstruction of the "medieval" history of Mongolia. Routledge. ISBN 0700711589.
  7. ^ Udhoke, Sukhpreet (June 19, 2017). "Law of Yaasa under which Guru Arjan Sahib was martyred". LinkedIn.
  8. ^ Vidakovic, Nenad (30 April 2015). "Early Mongols – the Ethno-Political History to the 13th Century". Migration and Ethnic Themes. 31 (1): 65–114. doi:10.11567/met.31.1.3 – via Hrčak.
  9. ^ Waley, Arthur (12 January 2008). The Secret History of the Mongols and Other Pieces. House of Stratus. ISBN 9780755116041.
Khabul Khan
Regnal titles
Preceded by
New creation
Khan of Khamag Mongol
1130–1148/49
Succeeded by