The life of Jehghiz Khan. Translated from the Chinese. With an introduction

Life of JengMz Khan

R. E. DOUGLAS

fit '?'? ).'^

z

o

en
<

<

Zj

en

UJ

J

<
a:
o

u
en

z
O o

-3 9
-J z

- <

<

z

Sc
u

O
u

iL m

Cornell University Library
DS 22.D73

The life of Jehghiz Khan.Translated from

3 1924 022 996 270

Cornell University
Library

The original of tliis book is in
tine Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022996270

THE

LIFE OF JEl^GHIZ KHAK

PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
EDINBURGH AND LONDON

Ij- i^t Bmm ^nt^ox.

CHINESE LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.

Two Lectui-es delivered at the Royal Institution. Crown 8vo,
pp. 118, cloth, 5s.

*' The; subject is full of interest, and is treated in these Lectures in an
attractive manner. " — Standard.

" Just the kind of knowledge now most eagerly sought for. The little
work is worth perusal for its own sake." — Allen's Indian Mail.

"Most educated persons who take an interest in the formation of
languages have gained some notion of the general character of Chinese.
Here they will find also a popular description of that language. " — Saturday
Review.

" We sincerely recommend all who are interested in the subject to
peruse it for themselves. "~r/« Oriental.

" An interesting and concise dissertation upon a very important subject
for general readers." — London and China Express.

"Professor Douglas's Lectures are interesting in themselves, and give
plenty of information upon both the constiniction of the language and
the nature of the Celestials. They will be read with pleasure and profit
by that large number of people who like to know the nature of a subject
without intending to make a study of it." — Overland Mail.

" The appearance of Mr. Douglas's two Lectures in print is a matter of
congi-atulation. We have nowhere met within the compass of a small
volume so much valuable information on the subject of China, its
language and literature." — Spectator .

CATALOGUE OF CHINESE PRINTED BOOKS,

Manusceipts, and Drawings in the Library of the British
Museum. By Egbert Kennaway Douglas. Printed by
order of the Trustees of the British Museum. London, 1877.
4to, 344 pp. 20s.

Fi'om. a Review in the " Acaderm/," Sept. 8iA, i877> ^?/ ^^'*^- J- Legge, D. D.,'
LL. D., Professor of Chinese at Osford.

' ' To the Catalogue there is added an Index of all the Works in the col-
lection, alphabetically arranged under their titles. . . . The labour of
Professor iJoiiglas will thus completely fulfil the purpose for which it was
intended. The Chinese Works in the British .Museum are now available
for the student as much as those in the English or any other European
language."

LIFE OF JENGHIZ KHAN.

THE

SCrattglateb hzxa, tje CJinese.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION.

BY

EGBERT KENNAWAY DOUGLAS,

OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, AND
PROFESSOR OF CHINESE AT KING's COLLEGE, LONDON.

LONDON:

TRUBNER & CO., -LUDGATE HILL.

1877.

[4K ri^Tiii reserved,'\

y'^ ^^'(o L

AS A PROOF, HOWEVER UNNECESSARY,
OF AFFECTION,

I 29elitcate tjfa ISoofe

TO MY WIFE.

PREFACE.

The following Life of Jenghiz Klian has been
translated from the Yuen She, or " The History of
the Yuen Dynasty," by Sung Leen ; the Yuen she
luy peen, or " The History of the Yuen Dynasty
Classiiied and Arranged," by Shaou Yuen-ping;
and the She wei, or " The Woof of History," by
Chin Yun-seih. Each of these works contains
facts and details which do not appear in the
other two, and I considered it best, therefore, to
weave the three narratives into one connected
history, rather than to translate one text, and to
supplement it with notes.

viii Preface.

No one can have heard an uninitiated person
attempt to pronounce Chinese names, transcribed
in accordance with the usual dictionary ortho-
graphies, without being aware that, however
accurately these may represent the sounds they
are intended to convey to scholars who have
made them a study, they are quite unfitted for
the use of the general reader. I have taken the
liberty, therefore, in writing Chinese names, ex-
cept those familiar to English readers, of sub-
stituting —

ow, as in the Englisli word ccyw, for the sound expressed in

the dictionaries by amx.
o, for the sound expressed in the dictionaries by cm.
ay, as in the English word lay, for the sound expressed in

the dictionaries by uy.
six, for the sound expressed in the dictionaries by S2e.
un, for the sound expressed in the dictionaries by an.
er, for the sound expressed in the dictionaries by ih.

I am aware that this orthography is not perfect,
but it more nearly conveys the correct sounds
to the uninitiated English eye than those usually

Preface. ix

adopted, and in order that there may be no
confusion in the minds of Chinese scholars as
to the names mentioned, I have added in foot-
notes the sounds of the original characters, as
given in Morrison's Dictionary.

It is a pleasure to me to acknowledge my
indebtedness to Mr. Howorth, ■who has allowed
me to reap where he has laboured, and to con-
dense in my Introduction the narrative of Jenghiz
Khan's western campaigns contained in the third
chapter of his invaluable work on the " History
of the Mongols." I have also to acknowledge
the use I have made of Dr. Bretschneider's
" Notices of Mediaeval Geography and History of
Central and Western Asia," in identifying the
names of foreign places mentioned in the Chinese

texts.

ROBEET K. DOUGLAS.

King's College, London,
September 28, 1877.

INTRODUCTION.

Like all native writers of Oriental history, Chinese
historians take a very contracted view of their
country's annals. In their eyes the records of
internal politics assume such a supreme import-
ance, that even when the current afiairs of foreign
states are closely interwoven with the course of
national events, they fail to find space for more
than very brief references to them. Thus in the
life of Jenghiz Khan, as related in the annals of
the Yuen Dynasty founded by him, we find
minute and, doubtless, accurate details of his
early career, and of his campaigns in China, but
only curt references to the wondrous march of
his battalions through Asia, of the kingdoms which
he created, and of his victorious invasion of
Eastern Europe.

xii Introduction.

In the same way Persian and Mongol his-
torians concern themselves principally with those
portions of his career which forced themselves
into their national records, and treat cursorily his
conquest of Northern China, where alone he con-
solidated his power. It is only, therefore, by
combining the Chinese records of his life with
that which Persian and other historians tell us
concerning htm that we shall get a complete
view of all that this conqueror achieved.

The object of the present work is to supply a
record, from Chinese sources, of his early days,
and of his victorious career in China ; but in order
that it may convey at the same time a general
idea of all that he accomplished, we shall now
proceed to give a brief sketch of the campaigns
in Western Asia and Eastern Europe which he
undertook after he had acquired dominion by his
victories over the rival Tatar and Turkic tribes
which peopled the borders of his Mongolian
patrimony. After Jenghiz' iinal conquest over
the Naimans, the Chinese historian teUs us {vide
p, 5 7) that Kushlek, the Khan of that tribe, fled
to the Kara Khitans, whose territory was bounded

Introdtiction. xiii

on the east by the Uighur kingdom of Kow-
chang, and on the west by Khuarezm. At the
request of Kushlek, the Kara Khitan Khan
granted him permission to collect the fragments
of his father's army which had been scattered by
Jenghiz after the battle on the Irtish. Having
thus collected a force, the treacherous Naiman
leagued himself with Muhammed, the Shah of
Khuarezm, against his host, and after a short
campaign succeeded in compelling the Khan to
abdicate the throne in his favour. With the
power and prestige thus acquired, he believed
himself capable of undertaking a campaign
against the conqueror of his father's kingdom,
and as a first set step towards this end he over-
ran the country of Kowchang. At the same
time he sent two sons of Toto, the late Merkit
Khan, to raise the people of their father's former
kingdom, and despatched a brother of Toto to
Kokonor to enroll the Tumeds under his banner.
On receiving the news of these hostile measures,
Jenghiz ordered General Ch^p^ to march against
Kushlek at Kashgar; Subutai Bahadar was en-
trusted with the command of a force destined

xiv Introduction.

to subdue the Merkits, and a tMrd army was
despatched to punish the rehellious Tumeds. All
these expeditions met with complete success.
After having been defeated in the field, Kushlek
fell a prisoner into the hands of the Mongols, and
expiated his crimes by the loss of his head ; the
same fate overtook the four sons of Toto, after
the total rout of their Merkit following by the
troops of Subutai Bahadar; and a vigorous cam-
paign sufficed to put an end to the Tumed rising.
The success of these operations gave Jenghiz
dominion over all the territory up to the
Khuarezm frontier. Beyond this he had no
immediate desire to go, and he therefore sent
envoys to Muhammed, the Shah of Khuarezm,
with presents, saying, " I send thee greeting. I
know thy power and the vast extent of thine
empire. I regard thee as my most cherished
son. On thy part thou must know that I have
conquered China, and all the Turkish nations
north of it ; thou knowest that my country is a
magazine of warriors, a mine of silver, and that I
have no need of other lands. I take it we have
an equal interest in encouraging trade between

Introduction. xv

our subjects." This peaceable message met with
a cordial rejoinder, and in all probability the
Mongol armies would never have appeared in
Europe but for the unfortunate occurrence which
turned Jenghiz' peaceable overtures into a decla-
ration of war. Shortly after the interchange of
communications between the two sovereigns, some
traders who had been sent by Jenghiz into Trans-
Oxiana were seized and executed as spies by
Inaljuk, the governor of Otrar. Not content with
this outrage, Muhammed beheaded the chief of
the three envoys who were despatched by Jenghiz
to demand the extradition of Inaljuk, and sent
the others back without their beards [vide,
p. 88).

War was now inevitable, and in the spring of
1 2 19 Jenghiz set out from Karakorum on this
eventful campaign. The invading force was
divided into two armies ; one commanded by
Jenghiz' second son Jagatai was directed to
march against the Kankalis, the northern de-
fenders of the Khuarezmian empire ; and the
other, led by Juji, his eldest son, advanced by
way of Sighnak against Jend. Though an attack

xvi Introduction.

from this side was quite unexpected, Muhammed
was able to bring 400,000 men against him.
These vast numbers failed, however, to stem the
tide of invasion, and after a bloody battle, in
which the Mongol troops are said to have slain
1 60,000 of their enemies, the Khuarezmian army-
was completely routed, and Muhammed fled to
Samarkand.

While Juji was thus triumphiag in the north,
the other army marched down upon the Jaxartes
by the Pass of Taras, and invested Otrar, the
offending city. After a siege of five months
(November 12 19^- April 1220), the garrison
being hard pressed, and Inaljuk, the governor,
having refused to surrender, the Vizier, with the
elite of the troops, hoping to save their lives, left
the city at night, and deserted to the Mongols.
If they hoped that by so doing they would re-
ceive mercy at the hands of the Mongols they
were grievously mistaken. Believing .that those
who had been faithless to their own sovereign
would be so to them if occasion offered, the in-
vaders put them one and aU to death. After a
further siege of two months, the citadel to which

Introduction, xvii

the garrison had retreated was taken by assault,
and Inaljuk and his followers were slain. The city
was given up to pillage, and the walls were razed
to the ground, but the citizens who remained
over and above the 200,000 who lost their lives
in the siege were allowed to go free. While this
army was before Otrar, the other force, under
Juji, overran the plains to the west, and at the
same time a third division advanced upon Kho-
gend on the Jaxartes — a city famed for its gar-
dens and its fruits, for its flourishing trade and
the bravery of its inhabitants — and took it. But
while keeping these three armies in the field,
Jenghiz was yet able to muster a fourth, at the
head of which he marched, with his younger son,
Tulay, in the direction of Bokhara. The towns of
Tashkend and Nur surrendered on his approach,
and in June 1 2 2 1 he appeared before Bokhara.

After withstanding a short siege the garrison made
a sortie, with the intention of cutting their way
through the enemy's lines, but were almost com-
pletely destroyed in the attempt, and the victors
occupied the city. On entering the town Jenghiz
ascended the steps of the principal mosque, and said

xviii Introduction.

with a loud voice to his followers, " The hay is cut,
give your horses fodder." No second invitation
to plunder was needed ; the city was given up to
pillage, the most sacred places were defiled, and
the inhabitants were driven from the city that
there might be no let or hindrance to the collec-
tion of the spoUs. " It was a fearful day," says
the contemporary historian Ibn al Ithir; "one
only heard the sobs and weeping of men, women,
and children, who were separated for ever;
women were ravished, while many men died
rather than survive the dishonour of their wives
and daughters." As a final act of vengeance, the
Mongols set fire to the town, and before the last
of their troops left the district, the great mosque
and certain palaces were the only buildings left
to mark the spot where the " Centre of Science "
once stood.

From the ruins of Bokhara Jenghiz advanced
along the beautiful valley of the Sogd to Sa-
markand, which was at that time one of the
wealthiest commercial cities in the world. On
the approach of the Mongols, the Turkish mer-
cenaries in the garrison deserted to them, and as

Introduction. xix

a reward for their treactery shared the fate of
that portion of the Otrar garrison which had
done likewise. The defence having been thus
weakened the Imams surrendered the city, and
then followed a repetition of the horrors which
had been perpetrated at Bokhara. From Samar-
kand the Mongol Khan pursued his victorious
career, and speedily made himself master of the
whole country north of the Oxus. Not content
with this vast acquisition of territory, he crossed
"that river and advanced against Balkh, a popu-
lous and wealthy city and the cradle of the
earliest tradition of the Aryan race. As it was
unfortified, the inhabitants submitted to him,
but by so doing they saved neither their city
nor their own lives, for they were mercilessly
slaughtered, and the city itself was reduced to
ashes.

Beyond this point Jenghiz went no further
westward, but contented himself with sending
Tulay at the head of 70,000 men to ravage
Khorassan, and two flying columns, under Chepe
and Subutai Bahadar, to pursue after Muhammed,
who had fled to Nishapoor. With the instinct

XX Introdtiction.

of bloodhounds these two chieftains followed on
the heels of Muhammed through Khorassan and
Irak Ajem to the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Hunted down and deserted by his followers,
Muhammed took refuge at the village of Astara,
which was then on an island, but which now
stands on the mainland on the south-western
shore of the Caspian. Here he was seized with
an attack of pleurisy, from which he died, having
first nominated his son Jalaluddin as his suc-
cessor. So destitute was this once mighty
sovereigii at his death, that he was buried with-
out a shroud and merely in his shirt.

On the death of his father, JaMluddin betook
himself to TJrgenj (Khiva), with the intention of
placing himself at the head of the 90,000 Kan-
kalis who were there assembled. But these undis-
ciplined warriors proved so turbulent and unruly
that, on the approach of the Mongol armies, he
fled with three hundred faithful followers to
Ghazni. Though thus robbed of their principal
quarry, the Mongol chieftains laid siege to
Urgenj, and eventually captured it by assault in
December 1221. The town was given to the

Introduction. xxi

flames, the inhabitants were seized as slaves by
the conquerors, and the survivors of the garrison
were put to death.

Meanwhile Tulay was despatched, at the head
of 70,000 men, into the fertile province of Kho-
rassan. At this time Khorassan was the richest
and most thickly-populated province in Persia.
Its son, watered by numerous streams, yielded
abundant crops in return for the care and labour
which was bestowed upon it by wealthy and
enterprising husbandmen ; the markets were well
supplied with all the luxuries and necessaries
of life, and on all sides were observable the
comfort and bustle inseparable from flourish-
ing communities., The arrival of the Mongols
changed the whole aspect of the province. LUie
a blight they spread over the country, destroy-
ing with ruthless savagery all traces of civilisa-
tion and every monument of art. Nessa was
the first city which yielded to Tulay's arms.
After a bombardment with catapults for fifteen
days the walls were carried by assault, and
the inhabitants, to the number of ^70,000, were
Idlled by repeated discharges of arrows as they

xxii hitroduction.

lay bound on the ground. While divisions of
his army spread over the province, Tulay, with
the main body of his troops, appeared before

SMerv, "theking of the world," one of the four
chief cities_£f_Khora^an. After having made
two sorties, and having been as often repulsed
with loss, the governor sent an envoy to the
Mongol chief to propose a capitulation. Tulay
received the messenger with such fair promises
that the governor and the notables of the city
were induced to pay a visit to his camp. The
bait having been taken, the unsuspecting visitors
were put to death, and the Mongol troops rushed
in upon the unguarded city. The inhabitants
were ordered to march out of the town to a
neighbouring plain, where, the chief men hav-
ing been beheaded before Tulay, who sat on a
golden throne, a general massacre took place,
in which 700,000 people at the lowest com-
putation lost their lives. The town was sacked
and burnt, and the citadel and waUs levelled with
the ground.

From Merv Ttday advanced in a south-
westerly direction upon Nishapoor, whose in-

Introduction. xxiii

habitants were, doubly obnoxious to him, as
having been renowned for their hostility to the
Mongol invaders, and as having caused the death
of his brother-in-law Thugajar Noyan during the
previous year. At first the notables attempted
to deprecate his wrath by offering to surrender
the city, but Tulay was implacable, and was
determined to wreak his vengeance on the offend-
ing city. After a two days' bombardment the
city was stormed, and though for four days the
garrison fought desperately on the walls and in
the streets, they were at length overpowered,
and, with the exception of 400 artisans, who
were sent into Mongolia, every man, woman,
and child was slain. Fearing that lest in this
dreadful massacre some should have escaped death,
the Mongol chief ordered that every body should
be decapitated, and that separate heaps should be
made of the heads of men, women, and children.
The sack of the city lasted for fifteen days, and
at the end of that time the walls were razed to
the ground, and the site was sown with barley.
According to one historian, 1,747,000 people
lost their lives in this frightful massacre. Herat

xxiv Introduction.

was the next city to fall into the hands of Tulay,
but having opened its gates to the Mongols, it
was spared the fate which had overtaken Merv
■ and Mshapoor, and only the garrison was put to
the sword. Having appointed a Mongol governor
over the town, Tulay marched eastward to join
Jenghiz before Talikhan in Badakhshan.

The restdt of Tulay's iavasion of Khorassan
was destined to have far-reaching consequences.
Among those who iled from the face of the

I^ngols was aT'sm all tribe of Turkomans^^_ gaJl£d

Aayi Kankali, who took refuge iq^Asia lljnor^

lere became the nucleus of the Ottoman

Meanwhile Jenghiz made war agaiast JaMlud-
din, who had fled from Khiva to Ghazni, and in
the first encounter with his troops before the
latter city the Mongols suffered a severe defeat.
To retrieve this disaster Jenghiz hurried up
reinforcements, and followed JaMuddin from
Ghazni, from which place he had retired, to
the banks of the Indus. Here JaMluddin faced
his enemies with the broad stream in his rear.
"With desperate valour the Turks fought against

Introduction. xxv

the overwhelming numbers brought against them,
but they were beaten at all points, and Jalalud-
din, seeing that all was lost, mounted a fresh
horse, and jumped him into the river which
flowed twenty feet below. With admiring gaze
Jenghiz watched the desperate venture of his
enemy, and even saw without regret the dripping
horseman mount the opposite bank. Prom the
Indus, JaMluddin fled to Delhi, whither Jenghiz
Sent' a force in pursuit, but the fugitive was
beyond their reach, and having ravaged the
provinces of Lahore, Peshawur, and Melikpoor,
they retired to Ghazni.

I When the news of the Mongol defeat before
Ghazni re ached Herat , the people rose against
the officer Tulay had appointed over them, and
set up a governor of their own in his room.
For this act Jenghiz meted out a terrible
vengeance. Eighty thousand men marched from
the Mongol camp against the doomed city, and
after a siege of six months it fell into their
hands. For a whole week the Mongols ceased

not to kill, burn, and destroy, and 1,600,000
men are said to have been massacred by them.

xxvi Introduction.

With savage fury the invaders passed on to the
ruins of Merv, and searched its corners for forty
days to find victims for their swords. As a last
resource they caused the muezzin to be sounded,
and as each surviving Mussulman emerged from
his hiding-place to go to pray in obedience to
the sacred summons, they pitilessly murdered
them. Jenghiz now determiaed to return to
Mongolia,, and haviag appointed civil governors
over the conquered provinces he retired by way
of Balkh, Bokhara, and Samarkand across the
Jaxartes.

After the capture of Ilak the two generals,
Ch6p(5 and' Sabutai, marched against Eai, " whose
ruin-heaps still remain not far from Teheran,"
and taking advantage of a religious feud which
raged among the inhabitants, gaiaed possession
of the town. From thence they passed through
Azerbaijan, and wintered on the rich plains of
Mogan, on the shores of the Caspian Sea. In
the spring of the following year (1222) they
advanced into Georgia, and having ravaged the
country marched northwards into Daghestan, on
the western shore of the Caspian. Here they

Introduction. xxvii

were surrounded in the mountain defiles by a
combined force of Lesghs, Circassians, and Kip-
chaks. In this difficulty they had recourse to a
ruse to divide the forces of the enemy. " We
are Turks like yourselves," they said to the Kip-
chaks, " and -will you ally yourselves with these
strangers against lis, your brethren ? Make
peace with us, and we will give you gold and
garments as much as you ligt." Seduced by
these words the Kipchaks deserted their allies,
and joining forces with the Mongols, defeated their
former comrades in a pitched battle, which led to
the capture of the towns of Tarku and Terki.

The imfortunate Kipchaks, who had added
treachery to folly, suffered the usual penalty of
those who deserted to the Mongols, and were
in their turn attacked and dispersed. Having
thus freed themselves of their immediate foes,
the invaders advanced upon Hadshi Tarkan,
the modern Astrakhan, and took it, and then
marched against the main body of the Kipchaks.
I These they defeated, and then dividing their
forces they followed the retreating Kipchaks to
the Don, and at the same time ravaged the

xxviii Introduction.

Crimea. "With all haste the Kipchaks retreated

towards the Eussian frontier to ask help from
their powerful neighbours, and their chief went
on to Kief to report the advance of the terrible
enemy. His announcement was received by the
Eussian princes with dismay. The suddenness
of the invasion, and the terror which it inspired
among the neighbouring tribes, startled the Eus-
sian nobles, who knew not the name even of
their advancing foe, nor whence they came. At
the instigation, however, of Mitislaf, Prince of
Gallicia, they determined to march against the
mysterious enemy, and assembled their forces on
the Dnieper. Here they received ten envoys
from the Mongol camp, whose message ran thus :
" We understand that, seduced by the statements
of the Kipchaks, you are marfehing against us.
But we have done nothing against the Eussians ;
we have not taken your towns or villages, and
our sole intention is to punish the Kipchaks, our
slaves. Por a long time they have been enemies
of the Eussians. Side with us, therefore, and
take a signal vengeance upon these barbarians,
and seize their wealth." With barbarous cruelty

Introduction. xxix

the Eussians, disregarding the privileged position
of the envoys, put them all to death. When the
news of this murder reached the Mongol com-
manders they sent again other messengers, saying,
" You have preferred the counsel of the Polousti,
you have killed our envoys. Well, as you wish
for war you shall have it. We have done you
\ no harm. God is impartial. He will decide our
quarrel."

If the arbitrament was to be, thus decided the
Eussians must have been grievously in the wrong,
for notwithstanding that they mustered their
forces from Kief, Smolensk, Kursk, and Trubt-
chevsk, from Volhynia and Gallicia, the fortune
of war declared against them. At first Mitislaf,
who commanded an advanced guard of 10,000
men, gained an advantage over a portion of the
Mongol army, but in a general engagement ten
days later, on the river Kalka, the modern Kaleza,
the Eussians were utterly routed. Six priaces,
a celebrated paladin named Alexander Popo-
vitch, seventy nobles, and 10,000 men of the
Kief division alone, were left dead upon the field-
Most of the fugitives, headed by Mitislaf, fled

XXX Introduction.

across the Dnieper, and the remainder, under Mitis-
laf Eomanovitch, entrenched themselves on the
Kalka. For three days this body of Eussians
successfully resisted the assaults of the Mongols,
and at the end of that time, worn out with fight-
ing, they accepted the offer of the invaders to go
free on payment of a ransom. With terrible
faithlessness, possibly in revenge for the murder
of their envoys, the Mongols broke their plighted
word, and falling upon the unprepared garrison
cut them to pieces.

The pursuit of the main body was now con-
tinued, and the track of the Mongols was marked
by ruined villages and the corpses of their mur-'
dered victims. In vain the inhabitants " of the
towns and villages submitted, cross in hand,
but the principle contained in the grim maxim,
" the vanquished can never be friends with the
victors," prevailed, and no mercy was shown to
"young man or maiden, old man or him that
stooped with age." With rapid marches the
invaders ravaged Great Bulgaria, and then
gorged with booty retired through the coun-
try of Saksin, along the river Aktuba, on

Introduction. xxxi

their way to meet their great master in Mon-
golia.

From this point the Chinese historians take up
the thread of the narrative {vide, p. 98, et seq.).

Very little is known of the personal history
of Jenghiz Khan, but we learn from the biogra-
phical chapters at the end of the Yuen She that,
besides numbers of concubines, he enjoyed the
society of forty wives save one, the chief of
whom was Burt6 Hushin, of the Kungkurat
tribe. By these ladies he had six sons, namely,
Juji, Jagatai, Oghotai, who succeeded him on
the throne, Tulay, Wuluji, and Gulgan. Juji,
Oghotai, Tulay, and possibly Jagatai, were born
to Burt^ Hushin ; Gulgan is said to have been
the son of his second wife, Holakwun ; of Wuluji
nothing is stated, and it is probable that he died
young, as he left no descendants.

On the authority of the historian Abulghazi,
Mr. Howorth states that during the earlier and
more checkered days of Jenghiz Khan, the Mer-
kits made a raid upon his camp and carried off
Burti^ Hushin, his wife, who was then enceinte.
Tlirough the instrumentality of Wang Khan she

xxxii Introduction.

was eventually restored to her husband, but on
her return journey she gave birth to a son, who
was appropriately named Juji, " the unexpected."
Whether from the circumstances of this birth,
or from his naturally headstrong disposition,
Jenghiz appears never to have entertained the
same affection for him that he showed towards
his other sons, and at the conclusion of the
campaign against JaMluddin the coldness which
had existed for some time between father and
son broke out into an open quarrel. Indeed
Jenghiz was in the act of sending a force to the
deserts of the Kirghiz Kazaks, whither Juji had
retired, to compel him to submit ^to his authority,
when news reached him of the rebel's death,
which took place in the year 1224.

But though Juji died thus in disgrace his
family were not disinherited, and when on his
deathbed Jenghiz divided his empire among his
sons, to the heirs of his first-born was assigned
the country from Kayalik and Khuarezm, as far
as the borders of Bulghar and Saksin, "wherever
the hoofs of Mongol horses had tramped." To
Jagatai was given all the country from the

Introduction. xxxiii

Uighur territory as far as Bokhara; to Tulay,
■who was the favourite son of his father, his
constant companion in his campaigns, and his
watchful attendant on his deathbed, was assigned
the home country of the Mongols, the care of
the imperial camp and family, and the archives
of the state, while Oghotai was nominated as the
successor of the dying Khan, with special juris-
diction over Imil and Sungaria.

The death of Jenghiz Khan, which took place
after a short illness in 1227, was at first, for
state reasons, kept a profound secret ; and so
urgent was the necessity felt to be, that the fact
should remain unknown until the succession was
secured to Oghotai, that as the funeral proces-
sion moved northwards to the Great Ordu, at the
sources of the Kerulon, the escort killed every
one they met. The body was then carried suc-
cessively to the ordus of his various wives, and
was finally laid to rest in the valley of Keleen.

Thus ended the career of one of the greatest
conquerors the world has ever seen. When at
the age of thirteen Jenghiz succeeded to the
throne of his father he inherited only a small

xxxiv Introduction,

inhospitable tract of territory on the river Onon.
For a man of his restless ambition and warlike
nature it was impossible that so narrow an
empire should suffice, and with ceaseless energy
he pushed his conquests right and left until the
supreme moment arrived when he saw his armies
victorious from the China Sea to the banks of
the Dnieper. And though it is true that it was
not long before this vast empire crumbled away,
and before the clatter of the hoofs of the Mongol
horses ceased to be heard on the confines of Asia
and Europe, the march of his legions have been
■productive of results which have moulded ~ the
fortunes of the whole civilised world. The dis-'
placement of the Ottoman Turks, by the advance
of the Mongol armies, from their original home in

Northern Asia, led to their invasion of Bithynia
under Othman, and ultimately to their^,^^ance
into Europe under Amurath the Eirst. FiUed
with terror at the approach of these barbarians,
the Greek scholars, who had been attracted to
CoiistMiSnopIeTat that tinie ' the ' greatseatof
leaxningr'BM'i!irdT^ay,'''carr^^ them the

priceless contents of their libraries to shed a new

Introdticiion. xxxv

light on the dark cloud of ignorance and bigotry >
which had settled down on Western Europe, to
revive in Italy a taste for the almost forgotten ]
charms of Homer, of Sophocles, of Aristotle, and (
of Plato, and to awaken throughout Europe a
spirit of investigation which was destined to
lead men's minds beyond the narrow confines of
priestly learning into the boundless fields of reli-
gious and scientific research.

JENGHIZ KHAN.

-^

Now it came to pass that in the year 1162,
in a Mongol tent on the banks of the river

Onon,^ the illustrious conqueror Jenghiz Khan
first saw the light of day. Many years pre-
viously it chanced that in the same valley
one Dobo ^ Mergen was wedded to the Mongol
maid Alun.^ Two sons were the issue of this
marriage, and then Dobo Mergen fell Ul and died.
For years his widow mourned his loss, and it was
so that one night, as she slept upon her bed in
her tent, she dreamed that a white light from
heaven shone upon her, which presently took the
form of a golden-haired Genii, who lay beside her.
By him she conceived, and when her time was come
she bare a son and called his name Budantsar.*

N / 1 W8-nan, on e oj the headwaters of the Amoor.
' ' To-pun Me-le. ' Ah-lan,""' ■• PewEwau-cha-urh.

A

2 Jenghiz Khan.

During his early years Budantsar showed no
sign of his supernatural origin, and to common
observers he passed for a dullard, but to such his
mother answered and said, " The child is no fool,
and the time will surely come when his sons
and his sons' sons shall be among the honoured
ones of the earth."

By and by Alun was also carried to the grave,
and scarcely was she laid beneath the sod when
her eldest sons disputed among themselves as to
the possession of the flocks and herds which had
been hers, which when Budantsar saw, he
despised them in his heart, and rebuked them,
saying, "Do ye not know that poverty and
wealth, disgrace and honour, are the gifts of
Heaven — what then are ill-gotten riches worth ? "
With these words he mounted his favourite
white horse, and, alone and with empty hands,
he rode into a far country. Here, a solitary
man in a desolate land, his food was mean and
scanty, until one day, when he was searching for
a meal, he saw in the distance a falcon catching
and devouring his prey. The sight suggested to
him a means of getting his daily bread ; so with

Jenghiz Khan. 3

stealthy steps and slow, he crept towards the
Mcon, and throwing the lasso with skilful aim,
secured the bird. To train the falcon pre-
sented no difficulty to one who had been accus-
tomed to such work from his youth up ; and it
was so, that before long his falcon laid a daily
supply of food — whether hares, or birds, or other
game — at his master's feet.

Wow it happened that, after a time, a wander-
ing tribe, coming in search of grass and water,
camped nigh to the place where Budantsar dwelt.
With these people he threw in his lot ; with
them he came in and went out; he ate of the
produce of their flocks, and from that day he
lived surrounded by peace and plenty.

And it was so that, after he had attained to
this prosperity, one of his elder brothers said to
the other, " Did not Budantsar go out from us
alone and empty-handed ? Who knows whether
he may not have been frozen to death or have
died of starvation ? I wiU go and seek for him."
So he went ; and when he had found him, he
said, " Come home with me, my brother." So
Budantsar consented, and returned with him to

4 Jenghiz Khan.

the banks of the Onon. Now, as they journeyed
by the way, Budantsar said to his brother, " The
people with whom I have dwelt have no leader,
let ns therefore make war upon them and sub-
due them." So they chose them soldiers, and
with these they marched agaiust the defenceless
tribe and brought it under the yoke of Budantsar.
Now, when Budantsar was gathered to his
fathers, his son ruled in his stead, and to him
also in due course succeeded his son Mahatotan,^
who took to wife the maiden Monalun.^ By
Monalun he begat seven sons, and then died.
Now Monalun was a woman of a hard and hasty
temper, and it happened that one day as she
was driving along she espied a party of Jelair*
youths digging for roots in a field. This act
of trespass kindled her anger, and she cried
out, " This is the field where my sons exercise
their horses. How dare you destroy the turf ? "
So saying, she drove her horses furiously over
them, killing some and injuring others. When
the men of the Jelair tribe heard what had
befallen their kinsmen, they were very wroth

1 Maha-to-tan. ^ Mo-na-lun. ' Ta-lae-urh.

Jenghiz Khan. 5

and made a raid upon Monalun's horses and
drove them off.

The news of this robbery was not long in
reaching the sons of Monalun, who, the instant
they heard it, started in pursuit, without even
waiting to put on their armour. And it was
told -Monalun, saying, "Your sons have gone out
against the Jelairs, and they have left every man
his armour in his tent." Then she made haste
and commanded her sons' wives to carry their
armour to them in the field. And they went ;
but before they reached the battle the day was
lost, and their husbands lay dead upon the
ground. The Jelairs followed up this victory
by massacring Monalun and the whole of her
fanuly with the exception of Haitu, the baby
boy of her eldest son, who was hidden away
by his nurse in a stack of wood, and her seventh
son Nachin, who had married into a distant tribe
with whom he had settled, and so escaped.

Now when ISTachin heard what had happened,
he went to, see whether there yet remained any
of his mother's household alive, and he found
only Haitu and a few women. As he gazed on

6 Jenghiz Khan.

the desolation whicli lay around, his first thought
was of vengeance, and he set about devising
a scheme by which to avenge the death of his
mother and brethren. By good fortune it hap-
pened that when the Jelairs drove away his
brothers' horses, a bay steed escaped from his
captors ; and it was so that twice he was retaken,
and that as often as he fell into their hands he
broke his halter and returned to his old feed-
ing-grounds. On this faithful steed Nachin
mounted; and having disguised himself as a
herdsman, he rode towards the country of the
Jelairs. He had not gone far when he met two
horsemen, father and son, beating the country for
game as do hunters, and with hawks upon their
wrists. As he rode up to the younger man he
recognised his hawk as one which had belonged
to his brethren, so he spake to him, saying,
" Have you by any chance seen a herd of horses,
led by a big bay, pass this way eastward ? "
" No," said the man, " I have not ; but let me
ask you in return whether you have met with
any widgeon or geese as you came along ? "
" That I have," answered Nachin, " and if you

Jenghiz Khan. 7

wlU follow me I will show you some good sport."
So he went with him, and it was so that when
they had rounded a bend in the river, and were
beyond the ken of the other hunter, Nachin fell
upon the youth and slew him. Then taking the
murdered man's horse and hawk he tethered
them to a tree, and turned to meet the < elder
stranger. " Where are the widgeon and geese
you promised us," asked the hunter as Nachin
drew nigh, " and why does my son tarry so long
alone ? " To this Nachin returned no answer,
but deliberately spat in the face of the questioner,
who, roused to fury by the insult, would have
struck the aggressor to the earth, but before he
had time to draw his sword, Nachin closed with
him and dealt him his deathblow.

But his revenge was not yet complete, and he
rode on in pursuit of other victims. Now, it was
so that as he passed under a certain hill, he saw
some Jelair boys tending a herd of horses which
were suspiciously like some which used to run in
his brothers' fields. The boys took no heed of
his approach, but went on with their game of
throwing stones at a mark. Then Nachin, having

8 Jenghiz Khan,

first looked carefully round to see that there was
no help within call, drew nigh to the children,
and that he might get them within reach, put to
them the same question which he had asked of
the men. WhUe yet the' words of an answer
were on their lips, he slew them one and all, and
returned in triumph with the hawks and horses
which he had captured.

Taking with him Haitu and the women, he
then returned to his own home. Now, as soon
as Haitu had arrived at man's estate, Nachin
made him ruler over his wife's kinsmen and the
neighbouring Tseker tribe. Being thus freed from
aU cares of government, he turned his thoughts
towards means of executing further vengeance on
the Jelairs. This time he determined to go in
force against them, so, having picked out a chosen
band of men, he invaded their borders. In the
battle which ensued, dominion was given him
over his adversaries, who fled utterly routed.
From that time his power and fame increased
mightUy, and he established a fortified camp on
the banks of the river Palakekhan. Across this
stream he built a bridge for the convenience of

Jenghiz Khan. 9

those coming and going, and little by little the
tribes and peoples on all sides of him came and
joined themselves to him.

These are the generations of Jenghiz Khan.
Haitu begat Paisinghur ; ^ Paisinghur begat Tun-
pakai; Tunpakai begat Kopula^ Khan; Kopula
Khan begat Partamu ; * Partamn begat Yesukai ; *
and Yesukai begat Temuchin,^ who was afterwards
called Jenghi z^ Kha jL Now it chanced that
Yesukai made war against the Tartars, whom he
utterly defeated, and whose chief, Temuchia by
name, was the victim of Yesukai's sword. As he
returned in triumph to his encampment at the
Telewan Panto ° mountains, he was met by the
news that his wife Yulun^ had given birth to a
son. And when they had examined the child,
behold, a clot of congealed blood like a red stone
was found in his clenched fist. At sight of this
Yesukai was much astonished, and because he
saw in it a mysterious reference to his victory over
the Tartar chieftain, he called his son Temuchin.

' Pae.sing-hwB-urh. ' K8-poo-llh. ' Pa-urli-ta-mtth.
• Yay-stlh-kae. ^ TeS-mtth-ohiu.

' Teg-le-vvan Pwan-to. ' YuS-lun.

10 Jenghiz Khan.

Among the tribes whicli had at one time heen
allied to Yesukai were the Taijuts,^ but mischief
was made by evil men between him and them,
and when Yesukai was gathered to his fathers,
these, despising the youth of Temuchin, who was
but thirteen years old, threw off their allegiance,
and drew other like-minded tribes * to their
banner. Thus it happened that some whom he
had reckoned as firm friends rebelled against
him, and when with tears in his eyes he sought
to retain such, he was met with the taunting
reply, " The deepest wells are sometimes dry,
and the hardest stone is sometimes broken ; why
should we cling to thee ? " So they left him.
Now, when his mother heard what they had done,
she was very angry, and seizing the national stan-
dard, she led her son's troops in person after the
fugitives. Those whom she overtook she brought
back to their allegiance, and thus fully one-half of
the rebels returned to the banners of Temuchin.

At this time the Choke tribe, which was tribu-
tary to Temuchin, dwelt apart on the river Sale,^

^ Tae-cMh-wu. '^ Cha-miih-ho, Klh-leS, Nai-man.

' A river which has its source near that of the Onon, and
which runs parallel with it.

Jenghiz Khan. 1 1

and it was so that a portion of Chamuka's ^ fol-
lowers devised a scheme for carrying off their
horses. But the plan being made known to the
Choke men, they hid themselves among their
cattle, and when the marauders appeared, they
used their bows and arrows to such purpose that
the ground was strewn with the bodies of the
slain. At news of this discomfiture Chamuka
was exceeding wroth, and taking with him a body
of Taijuts, he marched at the head of 30,000
men to attack Temuchin, who was encamped on
the plain of Turpunchowsu.^ Now, as soon as
Temuchin heard of the formidable opposition
which threatened him, he collected his forces,
and acting on the advice of his mother, formed
his men into thirteen divisions. Then he awaited
the attack. And it was so that when Chamuka
advanced, the two armies joined in battle, and
after a fierce confiict, the army of Chamuka was
entirely overthrown.

Now it so happened that the followers of
Chowle,* who was related to the Taijuts, used
often to fall in with Temuchin and his servants
1 Cha-mtth-ho. ^ Too-urh-pun-ohaou-soo. '^ Chaou-leS.

12 Jenghiz Khan.

on hunting expeditions. On one such occasion
Temuchin said to Chowle, " Let us camp together
to-night." " Willingly," answered Chowle ; " but I
have with me four hundred followers, and I have
not food for them, even if I were to send back
half, so I fear we cannot." But Temuchin pressed
the invitation upon him and gave him and his ser-
vants to eat and to drink. The next morning the
joint party started again to beat for game, and by
Temuchin's orders, his followers drove the game
towards Chowle, so that he captured large num-
bers. And it was so that when Chowle's men
returned to their camp, they said one to another,
" Though the Taijuts are our brethren, they yet
seize our carts and horses, and rob us of our food.
At the present moment we have no one to rule
over us, but if we must have a ruler, let it be
Temuchin." The yoke of the Taijuts now be-
came so heavy on the necks of the Chowles, that
the chieftain, Yuler,^ with another, rebelled against
them. But the rebels were unable successfully
to resist their persecutors, and the outbreak was
put down with so strong a hand that from that

1 Tuh-ia.

Jenghiz Khan.- 13

time tlie Chowles ceased to be as a separate
tribe.

Tenmchin's reputation for courage and virtue
was now widespread, and the Taijuts, who in
their turn were oppressed by lawless chieftains,
turned with pleasure to Temuchin, whose gene-
rosity was proverbial, and under whose beneficent
rule no footman was without clothes, and every
trooper had a horse. Thus it came to pass that
the Taijuts and seven neighbouring tribes joined
themselves to Temuchin. At this time Temuchin
gave a feast to his kindred, including Serchin
Taicho,^ and Serchin Perke,^ and others, all of
whom came with banners flying, and with carts
bearing kumiss to the banks of the Onon. To
Huercha,^ the mother of Serchin Perke, and the
rest of her family he gave one skin of kumiss,
but to Epekerler,* his stepmother, he gave a skin
for herself. This favouritism roused the anger of
Huercha, who exclaimed in her wrath, "What
business has Temuchin to prefer Epekerler to me.
I do not believe that he intended to make this

1 Slh-chin Tae-oliow. = Slh-chin Plh-ke.

3 Hoo-urh-cha. * E-plh-klli-lSh.

r4 Jenghiz Khan.

distinction between us." In her fury, she ordered
her servants to seize Sheker,"' the chamberlain, and
to flog him. And now it was Temuchin's turn to
be angry, and from this time there was a feud be-
tween the houses of Temuchin and Serchin Perke.
The quarrel thus caused was aggravated by a
dispute between the herdsmen of the two prin-
cipals, for it was said that one of Serchin Perke's
shepherds stole a horse's bridle from one of
Temuchin's servants. Upon which Temuchin's
overseer seized the thief, in defence of whom
Serchin Perke's headman wounded the overseer
with a sword. This violence was the signal for
a general conflict. The servants on both sides,
seizing what weapons they could, some their
kumiss sticks, others their swords, rushed iato
the fray. On his side, the overseer tried to
pacify his men by sayiag that his wound was
only a trifle. But it was of no use ; his men's
blood was up, and they fought so well that
Serchin Perke's shepherds were glad to seek
refuge ia flight, leaving Huercha and others in
the hands of the victors. When the news of the
1 Shlh-ke-urh.

Jejtghiz Khatti 15

disaster reached Serchin Perke, he sent envoys to
Temuchin to desire peace. To this Temuchin
assented; but the peace was of short duration, [_^^

for it happened that a Tartar chief having broken
his treaty with the Kin emperor, who ruled over
the north of China, the Chinese general, Wanyen
Seang,^ was sent northwards to do battle with
him. And it was so that as soon as Temuchin
heard of the war, he marched from the Onon
in support of the Kins, and directed Serchin
Perke to form a coalition with him. But when
he came not, Temuchin attacked the Tartars
single-handed, and, having put them to rout,
killed their chief and captured their baggage
waggons. While Temuchin was thus employed,
the Naimans, a neighbouring Turkish tribe, plun-
dered some of his tributaries, and again he sent
sixty envoys to Serchin Perke to demand his aid
against his new enemies. But Serchin Perke
would not, and being mindful of his old grudge
he killed ten of the messengers, and sent the rest
back naked. Then was Temuchin exceeding
wroth, and said, " Did not Serchin Perke flog my

^ Wan-yen Seang.

1 6 Jeiighiz Khan.

chamberlain and wound my overseer ? and now
he has dared to offer me this further insult." So
saying he marched against him, and in the battle
which ensued he killed and captured the whole
tribe, with the exception of a small remnant,
which escaped from the field only to be over-
whelmed in the defiles of Tuletu^ a few months
later by their powerful foe.

Now it was so that when Temuchin volun-
teered his services to the Kins, one Tole, the son
of the chief of the Kerait'' tribe also offered his
aid, for which service he received the Chinese
title of Wang or prince. And because this was
an imusual distinction, the title overshadowed his
name, and he was henceforth called Wang Khan.
Years before, on the death of his father, Wang
Khan had succeeded as chief, and being suspicious
of certain of his brethren, he put them to death.
He thus roused a strong party against him, which,
headed by his uncle, Chur,^ drove him from the
throne, and he' fled a fugitive, with but a handful
of men to Temuchin's father, Letsu.* His plight
was so pitiable that Letsu took compassion on
1 Too-le6-too. = Klh-leS. ^ Keuh-urh. < LeS-tsoo.

Jenghiz Khan. 17

him, and after a victorious campaign against the
rebels, succeeded in placing him again on the
throne of his father. In gratitude for this wel-
come help, Wang Khan swore eternal friendship
with Letsu, and in token thereof he made a treaty,
known as " Ganta," with him.

As long as this powerful ally hved, Wang
Khan kept undisturbed possession of his throne,
but no sooner was Letsu gathered to his fathers
than the malcontents again arose, under the
leadership of his brother, Gorkohola,^ and sought
the assistance of the Naimans, against the fratri-
cidal chief. With ready zeal the Naimans adopted
the insurgents' cause, and so slight was Wang
Khan's hold over his subjects, that after a short
campaign he was again deposed, and Gorkohola,
his brother, reigned in his stead. This time he
du'ected his fugitive steps in the first instance to
Hose,^ but finding no welcome there, he visited
the Uighurs ^ and Mohammedans,* and at last
found refuge with the Khitans.® But his alliance

1 Gih-urh-kJh-o-la.

° The modern province of Kansuh, and the northern portion
of Shense.

' Hwuy-kah. * Hwuy-hwuy. ^ KeS-tan.

B

1 8 Jenghiz Khan.

witli his new friends was of short duration. His
was a faithless and truculent nature, and before
long the Khitans followed the example of the
people of his own tribe, and drove him beyond
their borders. Deserted by all but a faithful few,
. he wandered he knew not where. The provisions
he took with him in his flight were soon exhausted,
and for days and weeks he and his followers lived on
the milk of their ewes and the blood of their camels.
When Temuchin heard of the distress of his
father's protege, he sent to invite him to his
camp, and himself went out to meet him. Having
supplied his immediate wants, Temuchia took him
with him to the river Tula,^ and in all respects
treated him as though he had been his father.

Shortly after this Temuchin made war against
the Kelais and fled before them. And it was so
that in his flight he was accompanied, amongst
others, by Muhule,^ the son of Kungwunkuhwa.
This same Kungwunkuhwa was, as long as he
lived, in constant attendance on Temuchin.
One day when on a campaign against the Nai-

^ Too-la, one of the head waters of the Yenisei.

- Muh-hoo-le. •

Jenghiz Khan. 19

mans he, with five others, formed Temuchin's
bodyguard, and it happened that having ridden
far Temuchin became faint and hungry. Seeing
this, Kungwunkuhwa killed a camel ■which was
by the river's side, and having dressed and
cooked some of its flesh he gave it to Temuchin
to eat. They then continued their journey, but
before they had nearly reached their destiaation
Temuchin's horse broke down. Again his faith-
ful follower came to his aid. Dismounting from
his horse he put Temuchin thereon, and ran on
foot beside him until, becoming completely ex-
hausted, he fell down dead on the ground. At
his death he left five sons, of whom Muhule was
the third, and who turned out to be a worthy
son of a noble sire.

At his birth it is said that a white vapour
filled the tent of his nativity, which when the
wise woman saw, she said, "Verily this is no
common child." As he grew up he was distin-
guished for his intelligence and skUl in archery,
and so renowned were his exploits in afterlife
that he formed one of the quartette of generals
who gained for themselves the title of " The four

20 Jenghiz Khan.

Heroes." This was the Muhule who accompanied
Temuchin in his flight from before the Kelais.
And it came to pass that as they journeyed a
fierce storm of snow and wind came on, and when
night drew nigh, there being no shelter at hand,
Muhule stretched a mat on the ground, and
while Temuchin slept on it he, with another
officer, placed himself to windward of him so as
to protect him from the snow, and not a foot did
either of these faithful servants move through
all the long dreary night. When morning came
they went on their way, and it was so that the
road took them through a narrow defile shut in
between high hiUs covered with trees. When
Temuchin looked around, and saw the place
which they were entering, he said, " This is just
the place for robbers : suppose we were attacked
here, how should we defend ourselves ? "

"May it please you," replied Muhule, "I
would be responsible for them."

Scarcely had he uttered these words when
from the surrounding forest rushed a band of
robbers, who poured their arrows on Temuchin's
party like a shower of raia. But Muhule was

Jenghiz Khan. 2 1

equal to the occasion. Seizing his bow, he dis-
charged three arrows in quick succession at the
robbers, and with each arrow a man fell dead.
When the robbers saw the wonderful accuracy of
his aim they cried aloud, " Who are you ? "
" Muhule," was the answer. The sound of the
dreaded name struck fear to the hearts of the
robbers, who, the instant they heard it, turned
and fled to their fastnesses, and Temuchin went
on his way without further molestation.

On this occasion Temuchin's adversity was of
short duration, and before long he was again in a
position to undertake a successful campaign
against the Merkits,^ whose chief, Toto, he
utterly defeated at Mount Manacha. As Wang
Khan was still in difficulties, Temuchin handed
over to him the plunder which he secured during
this war. The sight of the loot excited the greed
of Wang Khan, who, perceiving that Temuchin
had not squeezed the Merkits quite dry,
collected together a force and marched against
them before they had recovered from their late
defeat. Not a word did he say to Temuchin of

1 Mih-urh-ke-sze.

22 Jenghiz Khan.

his intention, nor wlien he returned loaded with
booty did he give him any of his spoils. Temu-
chin was of too generous a nature to harbour
resentment against his former guest for this un-
fair dealing, and when it became again necessary
to wage war against Polo, the Naiman chief, he
invited Wang Khan to join forces with him.

As the allies advanced they met a patrol of a
hundred Naiman horsemen which had been sent
out to reconnoitre. On finding himself face to
face with a large force, the patrol leader with-
drew his men towards a mountain, but as he
galloped his saddle turned round with him, and
he was taken prisoner. Presently Temuchia
encountered the main Naiman army under the
generals Tsesu ^ and Shepar,^ and as it was to-
wards evening the two armies pitched their
camps, having agreed to joiu in battle on the
morrow. Uow it was so that Chamuka, who
had been Temuchia's bitter enemy ever since the
defeat which he suffered at his hands on the
plain of Turpunchowsu, desired now to compass
his ruin by sowing discord between the allies ia

■^ Tse-soo. ' Shih-pa-urh.

Jenghiz Khan. 23

the presence of the enemy. In the dead of the
night, therefore, he came to Wang Khan, saying,
" You and I are like the snowbirds, but your
ally is like the wild goose. Come cold, come
heat, the snowbird is true to the north ; but when
the winter comes on, the wild goose flies off to
the south."

In the fickle Wang Khan, Chamuka found a
ready listener to his suggestion, and that very
night he secretly withdrew his troops to a dis-
tance. When morning broke, therefore, Temu-
chin looked, and behold the camping-ground of
Wang Khan was deserted. In this difficulty
Temuchin determined to pursue after his faithless
ally, and he went even unto the Sale river, but
when he got there, finding that the fugitive had
gone on to the river Tula, he gave up the chase.
At this time also Elerho,^ Wang Khan's son, was
seeking to join his father, and it was so that the
Naiman general, Tsesu, having been informed of
his movements, suddenly set upon him on the
road. The attack was completely successful, and
Elerho barely escaped with his life, leaving his
1 E-ia-ho.

24 Jenghis Khan.

men and baggage in the hands of the enemy.
With all speed Elerho fled to Wang Khan and
told him his story. Without a moment's hesita-
tion Wang Khan placed a force at his son's dis-
posal to pursue after the enemy, and at the same
time he sent messengers to Temuchin, saying,
" The iNaimans have brutally plundered my men
and people, 'v^''iSi. your highness lend your four
renowned generals that I may avenge me of my
enemies ? "

Unmindful of Wang Khan's previous treach-
ery, Temuchin assented to his rec[uest, and sent
Muhule and three others ^ with troops to the
support of his son. With all speed they hasted
to obey the orders, but while yet they were on
the way Elerho was utterly defeated by the Nai-
mans, and again scarcely made good his escape,
which was this time also impeded by his horse
being out of condition. But the Naimans had a
sterner foe to meet in the Mongol army which
now overtook them. Bravely they fought, but
they were no match for the men which followed
Muhule and his colleagues ; and after a vigorous
^ Paou-urh-tse, Po-lo Khan, and Tse-la-kwan.

Jenghiz Khan. 25

battle they fled in confusion, leaving their OM'n
baggage and their spoils of war in the hands of
the Mongols. Laden with booty, Muhule re-
turned and laid his trophies at the feet of Wang
Khan.

This appeared to Temuchin to be a favourable
opportunity to break the power of the Naimans,
and he therefore sent his brother Hochar ^ against
them. Again the fortune of war was against the
Naimans; their battalions were routed, many of
their generals were killed, and the slain upon the
field might have been counted by millions.
From this time the power of the ISTaimans
diminished, and in like proportion that of Temu-
chin's old enemies the Taijuts grew and increased.
Against these last it was necessary, therefore,
that Temuchin should now direct his attack.
With fatal goodnature he again invited Wang
Khan to take part with him in the projected
campaign, and on the river Onon the allies gave
battle to Hanghu,^ the Taijut chief, whom they
utterly defeated, killing and capturing men with-
out number.

^ Ho-cha-urh. " Hang-boo.

26 Jenghiz Khan.

When the neighbouring tribes^ heard what
had happened, they began to fear for their own
safety; so they held a meeting at the Alay
Springs, and having sacrificed a white horse,
they severally swore an oath to unite in resist-
ing Temuchin and his ally Wang Khan. But it
was so that Taiyin, the Hungkele chief, being
fearful lest the scheme should miscarry, secretly
sent messengers to Temuchin to make known to
him the conspiracy. Being thus forewarned, the
allies marched against the leaguers, and utterly
defeated them at the Paile stream. After the
battle, Wang Khan withdrew his troops. Now
it came to pass that Wang Khan's brother, Chas-
hekanpu,^ conspired against him, and spake unto
Atungaishe ^ and Ekertor,* saying, " My brother's
temperament is very uncertain, as you know he
murdered all my brothers, and I feel that it is
very unlikely that he wiU leave me unscathed."

These words were repeated by Atungaishe, and
reached the ears of Wang Khan, who instantly

1 Ha-ta-kin, Sa-Uh-choo-tih, Too-urh-pun, TS-tS-urh, and
Hung-kelh-le.

* Cha-shKh-kan-poo. ^ Ah-tun-gai-shlh.

< E-kih-tB-urh.

Jenghiz Khan. 27

ordered Ekertor to be brought before him in his
tent, that he might unfold the plot. Having
carefully examined the culprit, he said to him,
" Have you thus forgotten the oath of friendship
which we swore when we were together in diffi-
culties on the road from "Western Hea ? " ^ With
these words, he spat in his face, and all those
who sat with him rose and did likewise. But
upon Chashekanpu Wang Khan's chief wrath fell,
and so cruelly did he persecute him, that he fled
with Ekertor and the rest to the Waimans.

And it came to pass that Temuchin made war
against the Tatars, and prevailed against them.
Seeing that the Mongol power was thus in the
ascendant, Taiyin, the Hungkele chief, determined
to follow up the secret communication which he
had made to Temuchia by submitting to him.
With this intention, he marched to meet the
conqueror, but it was so that while he was on
the way, Hochar, Temuchin's brother, met him,
and believing that he came as an enemy, fell
upon him, and plundered his tribe. Angered at
this reception, Taiyin threw himself into the

1 Hose.

28 Jenghiz Khan.

arms of Temuchin's bitter foe Chamuka, who
■with a number of tribes ^ met in assembly at the
river Keen. On this occasion the assembled
tribes elected Chamnka Gurkhan over them, and
entered into a solemn compact, which they con-
firmed by oath, saying, "Whoso betrays our
plans, may he be broken like the banks of
this river, and cut oif like these trees." As
they repeated these words they stamped down
the banks, and felled the trees with their
hatchets. Having thus established a confede-
racy, they marched to the attack.

Now it happened that there was with them a
man ^ who had for a wife a relation of Temuchin,
named Chower,^ and this Chower, having heard
what was devised against her relative, secretly
went to Temuchin, and told him everything.
Well knowing the advantage of being the attack-
ing force, Temuchin, on receipt of this informa-
tion, instantly marched against the confederates,
and completely defeated them. Followed by the

, 1 Ha-ta-kin, Sa-llh-choo-Wh, Too-urh-pun, TS-tS-urh, E-ke-
la-Bze, and Ho-urh-la-Bze.

^ Ta,-hae-kan. ' Chaou-urh.

Jenghiz Khan. 29

remnants of his army, Chamuka took to flight,
and the Hungkele tribe, carrying out their inten-
tion in -which they had previously been tliwarted,
submitted to the Mongols.

And it -was so that in the " Dog " year, i.e.,
1202, Temuchin took the field against the
Angtse ^ and Chakan Tatars ; and before he set
out he bound his officers and men by an oath,
saying, " If we pursue after our enemies we will
not cast our eyes on the spoils." At the same
time he gave them his word that when the
campaign was over, the booty should be equally
divided amongst them. But the three men,
Alertan,^ Hutser,' and Talatai,* broke their oath,
and took of the spoils, which when Temuchin
heard, he took from them all they possessed, and
divided it amongst the rest of the army. Now it
happened that Toto, the Merkit chief, who when he
had been defeated by Temuchin, had fled to the
defiles of Polohucha,^ issued forth from his place
of retreat at this juncture, and stirred up mis-
cliief against the Mongols. But again he had to

' Gang-tse. ' Ah-Uh-tan. ' Hoo-tse-urh.

* Ta-le-tae. ° Pi3-lo-hoo-cha.

30 Jenghiz Khan.

fly before his adversaries, and on tliis occasion he
entered into a league with the Naimans and
other tribes to attack Temuchin. Temuchin soon
became aware of the new confederation against
him, and, as a precautionary measure, he sent
out cavalry to reconnoitre, while with the main
body of his troops, and with those of Wang
Khan, who had joined himself to him, he retired
into his entrenchments. The first brunt of the
attack was directed against Elerho, Wang Khan's
son, who had pitched his camp on a high moun-
tain. The onslaught was furious, but Elerho's
troops stood firm, and the Naimans retreated.
Taking advantage of this check, Temuchin ad-
vanced against the enemy, and set the battle in
array on the plains of Chuitan.'^ Now, there
was with the IsTaimans a magician, who professed
to have power over the winds, and when the two
armies were going into the battle he used his
enchantments, and the wind came, not as he
desired it, however, but full in the faces of his
countrymen. With the wind came also snow,
which iilled the ditches and covered over the

^ Chuy-tan.

Jenghiz Khan. 3 1

brooks, so that the Naimans were thrown into
confusion. Seeing this, Temuchin and his ally
Wang Khan charged in upon them, and utterly-
routed them.

Meanwhile, Chamuka had raised a body of
troops to assist the Naimans, but when he came
up and found them in full flight, he returned by
the way he came, having robbed and plundered
the standing possessions of the tribes along his
route. Now it was so that after this campaign
Temuchin sought to ally "Wang Khan closely to '
him by proposing his son Chotsin as a suitor for
the hand of Wang Khan's daughter, Chower
Petse,^ and ia return offered his daughter Kotsin
Petse' as wife to Wang Khan's son Tosilho.^
But these alliances were not destined to be
effected, and the betrothals were broken off amid
angry words and fierce threats. These misunder-
standings were due to the intrigues of Chamuka,
who followed up the advantage he had thus
gained by poisoning Elerho's mind against his
father's quondam ally.

" It is all very well," he said, " for Temuchin to

* Chaou-urh Pe-tse. ' KBh-tsin Pe-tse. ^ T5-Bze-ho

32 Jenghiz Khan.

play the part of son to your father Wang Khan,
but in very truth he has been in communication
with the ISTaiman generals during the whole time,
and he only aims at his destruction. Ifow, if
your father will raise a force to attack Temuchin,
I will support him with all the troops at my
command."

To this proposal Elerho listened with willing
ears, and was confirmed in his new-formed iaten-
tion by the adhesion of the convicted looters,
Talatai, Alertan, and Hutser, who joined them-
selves to him, saying, "We are on your side, and
will undertake to cut off every son of Temuchin's
mother." Having gained this support, Elerho
sent messengers to Wang Khan to discover to
him the plot. But Wang Khan was not by any
means as enthusiastic in the cause as his son.
" Chamuka's words," said he, " are fair words, but
in life you will find that you must , have more
than fair words before you may safely trust a
man." But Elerho refused to listen to these
words of wisdom, and sent messengers yet four
times to over-persuade his father. At last Wang
Khan opened his mouth, and said, " I owe my

Jenghiz Khan. 33

life to Temucliiii. My hair is now white with
age, and my only desire is to live the rest of my
days in peace ; but since you weary me with your
importunities, do as seems best to you, only don't
come to me for sympathy if you fail."

Acting on this encouragement Chamuka set
fire to Temuchin's feeding-grounds, and in the
year of the Boar, i.e., 1203, Wang Khan, who
had then fallen in with the policy of his son,
sought to entrap Temuchin. With this object in
view, he sent messengers to him, saying, " Let us
now renew the marriage proposals which we
before talked of, and do thou come to drink
Puhwuncha^ (engagement wine) with us." At
first Temuchin, thinking no evU, readUy accepted
the invitation, but while yet on the road his sus-
picions became aroused, and having commanded
one of the ten horsemen he had with him to go
forward to Wang Khan with a message of apo-
logy, he returned home. Now, when Wang
Khan saw that his scheme had come to nought,
he made haste to coUect troops secretly to in-
vade his enemy's land. But it chanced that a

^ Poo-hwan-cha-urh.

34 Jenghiz Khan.

certain groom hearing what was devised against
Temuchin, went privately to lay before him the plot.
On receipt of this news Temuchin set his troops
in motion, and having made his baggage waggons
secure in entrenchments, he sent Chelemu' for-
ward with the advance, while he sought out
Wang Khan. Having set the battle in array, he
defeated in succession several tribal ^ armies, and
then engaged the forces of Wang Khan. Over
these also he gained the mastery, and Elerho,
seeing that the battle was against him, charged
into the enemy's lines with characteristic impetu-
osity. But he failed to turn the tide of war, and
having been wounded by an arrow in the temple,
he was obliged to retire. No sooner had victory
declared on the side of Temuchin, than the Kelui '
tribe, who had been in alliance with Wang Khan,
transferred their allegiance to the conqueror.
Meanwhile Wang Khan returned to the place
from whence he came, and Temuchin withdrew to
the lake Tungko, where he encamped, and from

1 Chg-le-miih.

^ The Choo-Uh-kan, Tung-ah, and Haou-urh-shlh-le-mun.

s Ke-luy.

Jenghiz Khan. 35

which place he sent a messenger to Wang Khan,
saying —

"When the Khan's uncle, Chur, drove him
from his throne, and he came to my father for
help, did not my father, in answer to his prayer,
destroy the armies of Chur in Hose, and restore
to the Khan the land and people which had been
snatched from him ? Was not the benefit thus
conferred a great one ?

" When the ]N"aimans attacked the Khan, and
he fled westward, and had no place to dwell in,
did I not invite his brother, who was within the
Kin borders, to come northwards, and when the
Merkits oppressed the Khan, and he sought
succour from me, did I not send my brethren
Serchin Perke and Taicho to destroy them ? This
also was a considerable benefit.

" Again, when the Khan was in straits, did I not
pass over to Hatala, and seize on the sheep, horses,
and goods of his enemies, and give them over to
him one and all ? Did I not support and house
the Khan for a month, until those of his followers
who were emaciated with famine had grown fat
and well-favoured ? This was a third benefit.

36 Jenghiz Khan.

" Did not also the Khan secretly make a raid
on the Merkits, and, haviag plundered them, did
he not keep aU the spoil without giving me so
much as a single hair, and I bore htm no grudge ?
And when the Khan was tottering under an attack
of the Naimans, did I not send four generals, who
gave him back his subjects, and restored to him
his throne ? This was a fourth benefit.

" Did I not swoop down upon the five tribes,
the Turpun, Tatar, Hatakin, Salachute, and
Hungkele, as a Haitung falcon sWoops upon
a wild goose, and that which I saw did I not
take, and that which I took did I not hand over
to the Khan ? This, then, was a fifth benefit.

" Neither can these five benefits be gainsayed,for
are they not capable of proof ? Yet is it not so
that the Khan, instead of making me recompense,
has turned his gratitude into hate, and has lifted
up his hand against me ? "

When Wang Khan heard these words, he said
to Elerho, " Did I not tell you what would hap-
pen ? " " Things have gone too far to dream of
peace," replied his son ; " we must exert all our
strength for a final effort, and if we beat him he

Jenghiz Khan. 37

will be our servant, and if he beats us we must
be his servants. The quarrel has gone beyond
the stage of diplomacy."

At this time Temuchin's relatives, Alertan and
Hutser, were with Wang Khan, and to these the
emissary who carried word to Wang Khan was
charged with this message — " Formerly, when our
kingdom was without a ruler, Serchin and Taicho,
the descendants of my ancestor Palakota, were
invited to ascend the throne, and when they
declined, you, Hutser, the son of my uncle
Nakwan, were proposed for the dignity, and you
also made excuse. But as the office could not
be left vacant, you, Alertan, were invited to
succeed, and when you refused to be made king,
you urged me to take the throne. Say, now, was
I eager for it ? Did I in any way put myself for-
ward? The land of the ' three rivers' ^ is the nur-
sery of our family ; let it not fall into the hands of
others. At present you are on friendly terms with
Wang Khan ; but no one is more fickle than he.
See how he has treated me ; and if he has behaved
so to me, who has stood his friend on so many
occasions, what may not you expect at his hands ? "

1 The Kerulon, Ouon, and Sale (?).

38 Jenghiz Khan,

To all this Alertan and his companion made
no answer.

The approach of evil days had prompted
Temuchin to send these messages, for it was so
that at this juncture, detached from his most
powerful allies, he suffered so ruinous a defeat at
the hands of a neighbouring tribe, that he was
compelled to fly with but niueteen followers by
way of the desert. As he approached the river
Panchune his provisions became exhausted, and he
and his followers were suffering much from hunger
when it so happened that a crow flew towards
the little company. No sooner was it seen than
a flight of arrows were discharged at it, and it fell
dead, pierced with several wounds. But now a
difficulty arose as to how it was to be cooked.
Then said Chapar, or the Ghebr, a tall, square-
eyed, broad-foreheaded western worshipper of fire,
" Give me the bird." So he took it, and having
carefully skinned it, he put as much of the flesh
as was sufficient for a meal for Temuchin into the
skin, and having added water from the river,
boiled the flesh in the skin over the fire.^ While

1 "A wonderful pot indeed," says the Chinese editor of the
history, in a marginal note.

Jenghiz Khan. 39

in this strait, Tenmchin was joined by a portion
of the Kungkurats, and by Putu, the chief of the
Ekelasil ^ tribe, who, like Temuchin, had fled
from the face of his enemies. To this spot also
came his brother Hochar, with his little son
Tokwan, from the Holakwan Mountains, where
he had been routed by Wang Khan, who had
taken his wives and the rest of his children
prisoners. On the road, the stock of provisions
carried by these last fugitives became exhausted,
and they were obliged to exist on the birds' eggs
which they found by the way. At this time the
relative positions of the two great rivals had
become completely reversed. While Temuchin's
power had declined, Wang Khan's had vastly
increased, and for a season the Mongol chief had
difficulty in keeping his head above water. In
this emergency he bound by oath to his banner
all those whom chance had thrown in his way.
Each and all drank a draught of the muddy waters
of the Panchune, and, lifting their hands to heaven,
they swore that as they had together drunk the
clear and muddy waters of the river, so they

1 E-Mh-la-sze.

40 Jenghiz Khan.

would ever stand shoulder to shoulder, accepting
the sweets of prosperity and the bitters of adver-
sity as the fortunes of war might determine.

Temuchin was soon afterwards called on to put
the sincerity of his new allies to the test, for
Wang Khan was not long before he opened a
fresh campaign against him. In the battle which
followed, Temuchin had the advantage of fighting
on his own ground, and to such good account did
he turn this privilege, that at the end of the day
he had once again the satisfaction of seeing the
backs of his enemies. This defeat gave rise to
serious defections among Wang Khan's fine-
weather followers ; and Alertan, Hutser, and
Chamuka even sought occasion to kill him, but
failing in their object, they fled to the camp of
the Naimans. With the fluctuations common to
the nomade tribes of Central Asia, this victory
caused Temuchin's star to appear again in the
ascendant. The news of it induced several de-
tached tribes to enlist under his banner, and so
speedily and mightily did his power thus increase,
that he now felt himself in a position to plan a
campaign against his rival. But first of all he

Jenghiz Khan. 41

desired to recover his brother Hochar's wives and
children from the hand of Wang Khan, and with
this object he ordered two of his most trusty
followers to feign to be servants of Hochar, and
to speak unto Wang Khan, saying, " Our master's
brother, Temuchin, believing that our master's wives
and children are in the hands of the Khan, would
suggest that our master be allowed to escort them
to a place of safety. If the Khan will forget
recent disagreements, and will call to mind our
friendship of old, our master will submit himself
with bound hands to him."

These words put Wang Khan so completely off
his guard that he sent back messengers with his
men, carrying a bag of blood wherewith to conse-
crate an oath of friendship with Hochar. As soon
as the messengers arrived at the Mongol camp,
Temuchin engaged their services to act as guides
to his troops in a midnight attack upon Wang
Khan. Noiselessly and with bated breath the
Mongols advanced upon the unsuspecting Khan,
and suddenly at dead of night they charged in
upon his camp. The manoeuvre was completely
successful. Wang Khan's army was utterly

fl?

42 Jenghiz Khan.

routed. Whole tribes surrendered at discretion
to the conqueror, and Wang Khan, with Elerho, his
son, barely escaped from the field with their lives.

" Ah," sighed Wang Khan, as he fled, " I allowed
myself to be over-persuaded by my son, and the
boundless misfortunes of to-day are my reward ! "

But for Wang Khan the final catastrophe was
very near at hand. As he went by the way a
Naiman general met him and slew him. Thus
^ diedWang Khan, who had been the chief oppo-
nent of Temuchin throughout his career [and who,
^ if we may accept the result of Mr. Howorth's

careful investigations, has been known for cen-
turies throughout the civilised worid as Prester
John]. Elerho did not long survive his father. At
first he fled to Western Hea,^ but having been
there convicted of plundering he was driven thence
and went to the kingdom of Kweisil,^ where he
was murdered.

Having thus annihilated the house of Wang
Khan, Temuchin went on a hunting expedition to

^ The modern province of Kansuh and the northern portion
of ShenBe.

^ Kuoh^, in Eastern Turkistan.

Jenghiz Khan. 43

Temerker/ where he celebrated his victory. No-w-
it came to pass that Tayang Khan, the chief of
the Naimans, fearing in his heart the gro-wing
po-wer of Temuchin, sent messengers to Alah"wusil,^
the chief of the White Tatar tribe, saying, " I
hear that there has arisen in the East a chief
■who aspires to the title of Emperor. ISTo-w there
is only one sun in the heavens, and there is
only one supreme ruler upon earth, so if you
•will send supports to my right wing I will
undertake to rob him of his bows and arrows."

But it was so that Alahwusil was under obliga-
tion to Temuchin, and therefore instead of assent-
ing to Tayang's proposal, he sent messengers
bearing six flasks of wine to Temuchin to inform
him of what had occurred. Up to this time
wine had been imknown among the Mongols, and
the result of Temuchin's iirst taste of it gained
from him only a qualified approval. "A little of
this stuff," he said, " raises the spirits, but an
overdose confuses themT^ In return, however,
for Alah"wusil's information and presents, he sent
him five hundred horses and a thousand sheep,
1 Tlh-mlh-kKh. » Ah-la-hwtth-sze.

44 Jenghiz Khan.

and at the same time made with him an offensive
alliance against the Naimans.

In consequence of this hostile action on the
part of Tayang Khan, Temuchin in the following
year (1204) held a council at the river Temeker
to arrange the plan of the campaign against the
Naimans, which had now become inevitable.
But while fully recognising the necessity of
fighting out the quarrel, a majority of the Mongol
generals declared themselves in favour of puttiag
off the struggle for a time. " The spring is just
opening," said they, "and our horses are thin
after the cold and bad forage of the winter ; let
us, therefore, wait until they have been strength-
ened by the summer pastures, and in the autumn
let us take to field."

To these Temuchin's brother, Gotsekin,^ answered,
" The provocation we have received is too great
and the matter is too urgent to make the con-
dition of our horses a sufficient plea for delay."

Then stood forth another warrior and said,
" The threat of the Naimans to capture our bows
and arrows is an insult which must be avenged.
^ Q8-tse-kin.

Jenghiz Khan. 45

Trusting in the mightiness of their kingdom they
speak swelling words. If then, while they are
lifted up in their pride we overthrow them, we
shall once again recover our prestige."

These words pleased Temuchin better than the
words of the first speaker, and he spake saying,
"Let us fight at once, and who is there who
doubts on which side the victory will lie ? "

Having thus arrived at a decision, he mustered
his forces for the attack and pitched his camp at
Mount Chintakai. To his grandson Khubilai and
General Chep6^ he gave the command of the
advanced guard. Meanwhile Tayang moved his
camp to the Kangai Mountains, where he was
joined by Toto, the chief of the Merkits, and
other chieftains with their armies, in all making
a formidable array. And it happened that when
the two armies were near each other a loose
troop horse from the Mongol camp, whether
designedly or by accident, strayed into the
Naiman lines.' And it was so that when Tayang
saw how poor was its condition that he said to
those about him, " See how thin and weak the

1 ChS-plh.

46 Jenghiz Khan.

Mongol horses are ; now if we decoy them within
our borders we shall be able to surround and
utterly destroy them."

But this temporising policy pleased the N"ai-
man generals as little as immediate action had
the majority of the Mongol chiefs. " Our former
rulers," said one,^ " always led us straight to the
attack, and in those days our enemies never saw
our horses' tails or the backs of our men. Your
present counsel is but the product of fear. If
you have not the courage to lead us, let your
wives come and command our army.''

These taunts had their effect, and Tayang rose
in anger and set the battle in array. Temuchin
also took up his position for the fight and set
Hochar over the centre. Now when Chamuka,
who was with the army of Tayang, saw Temu-
chin's army, and the order of its array, he said to
his followers, " Of old the Kaimans were to the
Mongols as a ewe to its unborn lamb, but now is
their strength great and not as formerly." So
saying he withdrew his contingent and retired
from the field, leaving his allies to face the

^ Hoo-loo-soo-plh-ka.

Jenghiz Khan. 47

enemy alone. Early in the morning Temuchin
joined in battle with his foes, and when the sun
touched the western horizon his victory was
complete. The formidable Tayang was num-
bered with the slain, and his troops were in full
flight. While yet the vanquished soldiers
hurried from the field darkness fell upon them,
and thousands were dashed to pieces over the
mountain precipices which surrounded them.
But the number of those who thus perished was
as nothing to those who were slain and taken
prisoners. Among the latter was a Uighur
named Tatatung, who had fled from the field
carrying with him his seal of office. When
brought to the tent of the Mongol Khan, Temu-
chin asked him to what use he applied his seal.
To which he replied, "A seal such as this is
given to every holder of office, and by virtue of
it we raise taxes and issue our orders." " You
shall thus employ it on my behalf," said Temu-
chin, and from that time forth eyery Mongol officer
was given a seal of office. Proceeding with his
examination of his prisoner, Temuchin found him
to be learned in his native literature, and he

48 Jenghiz Khan.

therefore ordered that he should instruct his
brothers and sons in the Uighur language, seeiag
that they, in common with their countrymen,
were ignorant of letters.

On the morniag after the battle numbers of
those who had escaped the previous day surren-
dered themselves to the conquerors, and several
of the tribes ^ which had fought by the side of
the Naimans gave in their allegiance to Temu-
chia. Fresh from this victory Temuchia attacked
the Merkits, whose chief, on the defeat of his
army, fled to Tayang's brother Polo Khan.

At this time Parshu Urte, the Tekin, or King
of Kowchang,^ hearing of the fame of Temuchin,
murdered the Khitan of&cials who, when he had
sworn allegiance to their sovereign, had been
placed over his territory, and offered his services
to the Mongol chief. Now it was so that many
centuries before these events a forest stood be-
tween two rivers which flowed from the Holin
Mountains. One night a bright light was seen
to overspread the trees, and at the end of nine

1 The Too-urh-pun, Tatars, Ho-to-kin, and Sa-lah-ohoo-tlh.
" Klaproth and D'ohsson identify Kowchang with the
country of the Uighure.

Jenghiz Khan. 49

months and ten days the forest brought forth
five sons, who were reared by the neighbouring
shepherds, and who when they had grown up
were made chiefs over the land. The thirtieth
in descent from these children of the wood
was the Tekin Yulun, who more than once
took the field against the Chinese. In an
evil day, however, Yulun made peace with
his foes and cemented the newly-formed friend-
ship by a marriage between his son and the
daughter of the Chinese emperor. Now to the
south of the Holin Mountain there stood a rock
called Huletaha, which was as a rock of strength
to the kingdom of Kowchang ; and the Chinese
envoys, knowing that if they could rob Yulun of
this support they could gain possession of his
kingdom, took advantage of the marriage festi-
vities to make a request for its possession.
" We have something to ask of you," said
they, addressing the Tekin. " The Lucky Eock
is of no value to you, and our countrymen,
who have heard much about it are desirous to
see it. We pray you, therefore, to let us take
it away."

50 Jenghiz Khan.

Being -willing to please his new allies, Yulun
granted the envoys their recLuest, but the rock was
so large that they found it was quite impossible
to carry it away bodily. They therefore caused
fires to be lit around and upon it, and when the
stone was hot they soused it with vinegar.
Instantly it split to pieces, and the crafty envoys
carried off their spoil. As they moved away
with their burdens the whole kingdom was con-
vulsed; the birds and beasts from every tree,
forest, and plaia set up a wail of lament, and on
the seventh day death struck the Tekin Yulun
low. From that time the people no longer dwelt
in peace. Sovereign after sovereign followed
each other to the grave in quick succession, and
their enemies compassed them in on every
side. Thus the nation went from bad to worse,
untn Parshu Urte arose, who was the nine
hundred and seventieth sovereign who had sat oh
the throne. In his days the Khitans gained
dominion over the land, and it was to avoid their
tyranny that he threw himself into the arms
of Temuchin. His offer of support was readily
accepted by Temuchin, who gave his daughter

Jenghiz Khan. 51

in marriage to Urte's son. On many fields of
battle, notably in a campaign against the Uighurs,
Urte fought side by side with the Mongols, and
after the defeat of the Merkits above spoken of,
he took part with his new allies in an invasion
of the kingdom of Hea (1205). In this cam-
paign success attended the arms of the allies.
The strong stockade of Laile was taken after an
obstinate resistance, and the city of Losil,^ to-
gether with the inhabitants thereof, fell into the
hands of the invaders.

At the conclusion of this war, as Temuchin was
leading his troops on their homeward march, he
chanced to see a shepherd boy bowing, dancing,
and prostrating himself before his cap, which he
had put on the top of a shepherd's staff stuck
in the ground. The strange sight roused the
curiosity of Temuchin, and he rode up to the boy
and asked him the meaning of his conduct. " I
have heard," replied the lad, "that when two
men meet, the younger bows and shows reverence
to the elder, and as I was by myself, there was
nothing left but my cap to which I could show

1 LS-sze.

52 Jenghiz Khan.

deference. In so doing I was but following the
example of courtiers."

Amused with the boy's answer Temuchin
inquired who he was, and learned that his
name was Chakan, and that his father was a
minister of the King of Hea. He was further
told that in the minister's household there was a
certain favourite concubine who was so harsh
and unkind to Chakan that he preferred tending
sheep on the plain to dwelling under the same
roof with her. Pitying his condition Temuchin
took the lad home with him, and recommended
him to the care of Berte Fujin, his wife. At
first the change of life did not suit the tastes of
the boy. He longed to be back in the desert
with his sheep, and when night came he would
leave his tent and stretch himself on a mat
spread on the ground with the sky for his
covering. One night as he was thus lying with
his shoes beside him his slumbers were dis-
turbed by an owl which persistently hooted
close to his ear. At last he threw one of his
shoes at the bird and killed it on the spot. In
the morning when Temuchin heard of the adven-

Jenghiz Khatt. 53

ture he shook his head. " That bird," said he,
" was your good genius, and you did very wrong
to kill it." Fortune, however, continued to smile
on the shepherd boy. Temuchin gave him a wife
from his own household, and in return for the
favours heaped upon him he succeeded in ren-
dering his patron signal services in the field.
His nomadic training had well qualified him for
the duties of a scout, and subsequently on the
occasion of the capture of Yunchung, his report
of the Yayhu Pass and of the troops defending
it induced Temuchin to lead the attack against
it, which proved so completely successful. His
name will occur again in the record of the
Mongol campaigns.

Now in the year 1 206 the power of Te muchin
had so mightily increased that he felt the time
had arrived when he should proclaim himself
the ruler of an empire. He therefore summoned
the notables of liis Idngdom to an assembly on
the banks of the Onon, and there on the spot
where he first saw the light of day he assumed
the imperial title. At the same time he estab-
lished the White Banners of the Nine Pennons,

54 Jenghiz Khan.

and at tlie request of the assembled chiefs he
took the name of Jenghiz ^ Khan. In the sixth
year of the reign of Taiho of the Kin dynasty,
and the second year of the reign of Kaihe of the
Sung dynasty this event took place.

Having thus assumed imperial sway, he has-
tened to justify the assumption by leading the
assembled chiefs against his old enemies, the
JsTaitnans. And it chanced that he encountered
the Khan while he was on a hunting expedition.
The chances of war were therefore at the outset
on the side of Jenghiz, who lost not a moment in
attacking his enemy. The battle was speedily
decided ; the ISTaiman army was routed, and Polo
the Khan fell into the hands of the Mongols.
The misfortune which thus overtook Polo, va-
cated the ISTaiman throne, and Kushlek,^ the son
of the former Khan, Tayang, was proclaimed Khan
in his stead ; but the defeat which had befallen
the tribe was so complete that Kushlek, despair-
ing of being able to stand alone, fled with Toto,
the Merkit Khan, to the river Irtish.

With the fall of the Naimans disappeared every

' Sinict Ching-sze, i.e.. Perfect Warrior. ' Koo-taoo-luy.

Jenghiz Khan. 55

formidable opposition to the Mongol rule in all
the regions round about, and Jenghiz, therefore,
began to contemplate the possibility of being able
to avenge the wrongs which he believed himself
to have sustained at the hands of the Kin
emperors. In this project he was encouraged
by some Kin prisoners who had fallen into his
hands, and who described their sovereign as having
forfeited the affection of his people by his pride, his
vices, and his tyranny. But, notwithstanding the
weakness thus indicated, Jenghiz knew well the
difficulty of overturning a throne which had been
established for several generations, and which was
supported by a fixed order of government, and he
therefore determined to postpone the carrying out
of his scheme until he had more completely con-
solidated his power.

Meanwhile, in recognition of the signal service
which had been rendered him throughout his
whole career by Muhule and Purshu, he created
them princes on his right hand and on his left.
" It is to you," he said, addressing them, " that I
owe my empire. You are and have been to me
as the shafts to a carriage, or the arms to a man's

56 Jenghiz Khan.

body. I pray that you may never falter in your
attachment to me."

As a step towards his intended invasion of the
Kin Empire, Jenghiz, in the autumn of 1207,
marched against "Western Hea, and captured the
stronghold of Hwunlohai, while, to secure his rear,
he despatched Alertan and Powla ^ on an embassy
to the Kirghiz ^ (?). About this time also he
received envoys bearing famous falcons as gifts
from the tribes of Etemale and Alertan.

In the spring of the following year (1208),
Jenghiz renewed his attack upon Western Hea,
and when the summer came on he retired to
Lungting to escape the extreme heat. While
there, news reached him that Toto and Kushlek,
the Merkit and Naiman Khans, were actively
preparing for war, and as soon as winter set in,
therefore, he marched against them. On the way
his advanced guard met the Oirat^ tribe, which
submitted to him, and whose chief volunteered to
guide his army to the Merkit and Naiman en-
campment on the river Irtish. Here a great
battle was fought, which resulted in the complete

1 Paou-la. " Ke-lelh-kelh-sze. ' Wei-la-tlh.

Jenghiz Khan. 57

overthrow of the allies. Toto was among the
slain, and Kushlek fled to the Khitans.

The growth and confirmation of Jenghiz's power
constantly attracted allies to his banner, and in
the spring of 1209 the ruler of the kingdom of
Hwayhor ^ gave in his allegiance to him. While
the negotiations of peace were goiag on between
the two sovereigns, Toto's son, bearing his father's
head, came to the king of Hwayhor to enlist his
sympathies and support against Jenghiz. But the
king, rightly deeming that the friendship of Jen-
ghiz was likely to be of more value than an
alliance with Toto's disorganised forces, would
have nothing to say to him, and drove him and
his followers away. This circumstance he took
care to relate to Jenghiz, and he emphasised the
narration by accompanying it with countless rare
and costly gifts.

Jenghiz was now free to invade Hea, and with-
out loss of time he marched an army into his
neighbour's territory. His forces were opposed
by the son of the king, Legan, who had been
especially appointed for the service, but the prince

' Hwuy-ho-urh.

58 Jenghiz Khan.

was defeated, and General Kowlingkung -was
among the prisoners who fell into the hands of
the Mongols. This success was followed by the
capture of the Wuleanghai pass throu gh the Great
"Wall , on which occasion the imperial tutor, Se-
peshe, was taken prisoner. The fortress of Emun,
" The Barbarian's Gate," was the next to fall, and
the Mongols then crossed the Yellow Eiver, and
laid siege to Mng-hea Fu, in Kansuh. Finding
the city too strong to take by assault, Jenghiz
tried to turn the waters of the river into the town,
but the current burst the artificial banks which he
had erected, and flooded his own camp so destruc-
tively that he was obliged to raise the siege.
Thereupon he determined to gain his end by
peaceful means, and sent an envoy into the city
to invite the king to treat with him. To this
the king agreed, and in token of his friendship he
gave Jenghiz his daughter to wife.

In 1 2 1 o, as soon as the rigour of the winter

was over, the Eins attacked the entrenchment of

Wushowpow,^ on the Yellow Eiver, whereupon

Jenghiz sent General Chdp6 against them with

^ Woo-shaou-paou.

Jenghiz Khan. 59

orders to advance eastward if he should succeed
in overcoming the invaders.

Now, it was so that when the Mongols were
tributary to the Kins, the reigning emperor sent
an ambassador named Yuntse to receive the usual
tribute from Jenghiz at Tsingcho.^ But Jenghiz
despised the envoy for his imbecility, and so
omitted the usual ceremonies of welcome. Exas-
perated at this treatment, Yuntse returned to his
master and requested him to send troops to
punish his insolent vassal. The emperor, however,
declined to enter upon so difficult a campaign on
such a pretext ; and shortly afterwards, when he
was gathered to his fathers, he bequeathed the
succession to the throne to the outraged envoy
Yuntse. In accordance with the usual practice,
on the accession of Yuntse, an envoy was dis-
patched to Jenghiz to announce the coronation
of the new emperor. " And who is your new
sovereign ? " asked the Mongol chief. " Yuntse,"
answered the ambassador. On hearing this de-
spised name Jenghiz turned towards the south, in
the direction of the Kin capital, and spat on the

^ Tsing-chow, the modern Kuku Khoten, in Tartary.

6o Jenghiz Khan.

ground. " I thought," said he, " that your sove-
reigns -were of the race of the gods, and do
you suppose that I am going to do homage to
such an imbecile as that ? " Without another
word he mounted his horse and rode away to
the north. Now, when Yuntse heard what had
happened, he was exceeding wroth, hut fearing
to declare open war against Jenghiz, " I will
wait," said he, " until he comes with his tribute,
and then I will slay him with his followers."
But Jenghiz, who now felt' that there was a gulf
between them, prepared himself for battle, and
sent General Ch^p^, as mentioned above, to
harass the northern frontier of his new enemy,

In the spring of the following year (121 1),
while the Mongols were encamped on the river
Keloor, AsUan Khan, the chief of the Halalus
from Turkistan, and Etuhu, the chief the Hway-
hors, offered their submission and services to
Jenghiz. In the second month, at the head of
his forces, with which were embodied these new
recruits, Jenghiz marched once more against the
Kips. Prior to this the Kin general, Nahamai-
chu, seeing that the Mongols were making every

Jenghiz Khan. 6i

preparation for war, such as manufacturing large
quantities of arrows, and bestowing special care
on the drill of their cavalry, warned his sovereign
of the impending danger. But Yuntse would
not be persuaded, and cast Nahamaichu into
prison as an unpatriotic alarmist. Scarcely, how-
ever, were the doors closed upon the prisoner
when the Mongols crossed the frontier and ad-
vanced towards Yunchung.^ To gain their object
they were obliged first of all to make themselves
masters of the Yayhu Pass, and Chakan, above-
mentioned, who was familar with the country, was
Sent forward to spy out the state of the enemy.
His report of the inefficiency of both foot and
horse being such as to justify an immediate
attack, Jenghiz instantly advanced and carried
the position by assault. Following on this suc-
cess the important passes of Yunchung and
Chewyuan fell iato his hands, and he further
captured and destroyed the district cities of
Tashuy and Lo.

The Kin emperor, Yuntse, now became
thoroughly alarmed, and having released the
1 The modern Ta-tung Fu in Shense.

62 Jenghiz Ktian.

general Nahamaichu, he sent him with a message
of peace to Jenghiz. But Jenghiz peremptorily
refused to listen to his proposals ; and the Kins,
therefore, seeing that a continuance of the war
was inevitable, strengthened the entrenchments
at the stockade Wushowpow, of which they had
previously gained possession. These defensive
measures were, however, unavailing. In the
seventh month General Ch^p^ again advanced
to the attack. This time his onslaught was
successful, and Wushowpow, together with the
camp of Wuyue, fell into his hands. Mean-
while Jenghiz advanced against the main Kin
army, which was posted at the meeting of the
waters near Suenping.^ The battle* was well
contested, but the Mongols were victorious along
the whole line ; and, flushed with victory, they
pushed on to the prefectural city of Terhing,^
which they captured. On receiving news of
this disaster, the garrison of the Kuyung Pass
through the inner Great Wall took to flight, pur-
sued by General Ch^p6, who followed them

' In the modern prefecture of Seuen-hwa.
" Tlh-hing, the modern Paou-gan Chow.

Jenghiz Khan. 63

soutliwards througli the wall, and advanced on
the capital.

In the tenth month Jenghiz made a raid upon
the Kin pasture-grounds, and carried off a num-
ber of horses. At this time the Leau, chief, Yaylu
Ako, came to Jenghiz and offered him his sub-
mission. Encouraged by this defection from the
province of Leautung,^ Jenghiz ordered his sons
Juji, Jagotai, and Oghotai, to advance eastward
on separate lines of march. In fulfilling these
instructions, the three ' princes captured Wn,*
So,^ and other sub-prefectural cities, and when
winter set in they encamped their forces on
the northern frontiers of Kin. This success-
ful advance gained them many adherents, and
not a few Kin officials, deeming the Mongol
power to be in the ascendant, transferred their
allegiance to the sons of Jenghiz.

The attitude of the inhabitants of Leautung
began now to give the Kin emperor some un-
easiness, and he sent an envoy to claim a

^ Parts of modern provinces of Monkden and Chili.
" To the north-east of Shin-che Heeu in Shense.
' In S8 Chow in Shenae.

64 Jenghiz Khan.

renewed expression of allegiance from Yaylu
Lewko, a scion of the Lean royal house, who
was the principal man in the province. But
Yaylu Lewko, perceiving that the power of the
Kin dynasty was on the wane, and desiring to
wrest again the province from its clutches, re-
fused to swear fealty to his nominal sovereign ;
and, having gathered together a large army pro-
claimed himself generalissimo, with a General
Eta as second in command. This movement met
with great success, so much so, that the " tents
of the troops covered more than a hundred Chinese
miles of country." While matters were in this
state, Jenghiz sent General Chepd to invade
Leautung, who, meeting with Yaylu Lewko,
asked whither he was going. Finding himself
in presence of a superior force, Lewko thought
it prudent to dissemble his intentions, and re-
plied, " This is the Leau army, and I go to offer
my submission to the Great Emperor. I should
have come before, but the roads are so bad and
my horses are in such a wretched condition that
I have been detained."

" My mission," said Chepe, " is to subdue the

Jenghiz Khan. 65

Nuchis, and I look upon it as a providential
chance that I have met you. Come novf, therefore,
and let us join forces." To this Lewko assented,
and it was arranged that they should confirm the
agreement by an oath. The two chiefs, therefore,
ascended a peak of the Golden Mountains,^ and
having sacrificed a white horse and a white cow,
they broke an arrow between them, and, facing
northward, vowed a vow, by which Lewko bound
his fortunes to those of the Mongol Empire, and
Chdp6 in return undertook to propose to Jenghiz
that, after the conquest of Leautung, that province
should be granted as a fief to Lewko.

The Kins now sent an army of 600,000 men
against Lewko, and proclaimed on high that for
every pound of his bones they would give a
pound of gold, and for every pound of his flesh,
a pound of silver. With the assistance of his
allies, the Mongols, Lewko defeated the Kin
army in a pitched battle; and having reduced the
province to order, he received the title of king
from the hands of Jenghiz, who also conferred the
rank of queen on his concubine Yoloshe. Find-
ing force unavailing against the rebel, the Kin

^ The Altai Mountains.

E

66 Jenghiz Khan.

emperor sent an envoy to attempt to buy Mm
over, but neither vras this manceuvre successful,
and the envoy returned, strongly impressed with
the opinion that Lewko was too firmly seated on
his throne to be easily overturned. This report
only added to the rage of the emperor, who, de-
termining to make yet another attempt at coercion,
despatched an army of 400,000 men against the
rebellious province. But the same adverse fate
which had overtaken the former invading force
befell this one also, and the General Wannu, after
suffering a disastrous defeat, fled with the renmants
of his army to the Eastern Capital.'' Lewko now
took up his residence at Heenping, to which town
he gave the name of Chungking, or Central Capital.
Meanwhile, Jenghiz had been pursuing a career
of conquest in China, and having made himself
master of the sub-prefectural cities of Chang and
Hang ^ in the province of Chili, a portion of his
army, under the command of Muhule, advanced
against Fucho.' On arriving near the city, Muhule

1 The modern Fung-teen Foo, or Moukden.
^ In Seuen-hwa Foo.

' The modern ruins of Kharabalgasun, about thirty miles
from Kalgan, on the road to Kiachta.

Jenghiz Khan. 6^

found the Kin army, numbering 400,000 men,
placed in order of battle in a strong position to
the north of the Yayhu Pass.'' Pully alive to the
difficulties in his path, he chose a number of
" dare-death " ■warriors, and with these charged in
with a loud shout on the enemy. The emperor's
standard waved over the heads of the horsemen,
and nothing could withstand their impetuosity.
The Kin ranks were thrown into disorder, and
though the men fought bravely they soon turned
and fled, and the defeat, became a rout. The
Mongols followed in pursuit of the fugitives as
far as the river Hwuy, and countless corpses
strewed the line of retreat.

Jenghiz now had to meet a fresh Kin army,
300,000 strong, under the command of the Gene-
rals Hosh^le andKewkeen. The two forces met
at Kwanertsui, and the Kins fled before their
enemies. Following up these successes, Jenghiz
laid siege to the Western Capital^ in the au-
tumn, and succeeded in enticing the Kin general,
Gotun, who had been sent to raise the siege, into

^ To the north-west of Seuen-hwa Foo.
" The modern Ta-tung Foo.

68 Jenghiz Khan.

the Me3ra Pass, where he literally exterminated
his troops. Having thus rid himself from aU
danger from the rear, he renewed the siege, but
heing wounded by an arrow in an engagement
under the walls, he Withdrew with his troops into
Mongolia. Profiting by the advantage thus offered
them, the Kins recovered from the Mongols the
cities of Seuen-ping, and Terhing Poo, and several
fortified positions.

In the ninth month of the same year, Jagatai
made himself master of the sub-prefectural city
of Pungshing,^ and three months later General
Chdp4 made an ineffectual attack on the Eastern
Capital (Moukden). Pinding the city too strongly
fortified to be taken by open assault, Chepe with-
drew his troops ae though he had given up the
enterprise, but returning secretly at the dead of
the night, he made a furious onslaught on the
town, and captured it by a cowp de main.

In the following year (12 13) Lewko had him-
self proclaimed king of Leautung, and took for
the title of his reign the name of Yuentung. In
the autumn, Jenghiz, who had recovered from his
1 In Seuen-liwa Foo,

Jenghiz Khan. 69

wounds, was again at the head of an army in JSTorth-
ern China, and having captured the prefectural
city of Suenter,^ he led his troops to the attack
of Terhing. The storming parties were led by
Tulay and Tseke, Jenghiz's son and son-in-law, who
were the first to set foot within the walls. The
city having been entered, victory declared on the
side of the Mongols, whose banners were soon float-
ing above the battlements. From Terhing Jenghiz
marched to Hwailai,^ in front of which town he
found the Kin army, under the command of Gene-
ral Kowke, drawn up in battle-array. Flushed
with victory, the Mongols at once engaged the
enemy, and carried everything before them. The
Kins were utterly routed, and were pursued by
the Mongols as far as the " Old Northern Pass " '
through the great wall. Having thus disposed of
the main Kin army, Jenghiz advanced on Cholu,*
but fearing to leave the Kins in possession of the
Kuyung Pass in, his rear, he left Koteputse with
a force to mask it.

^ The modern Seuen-hwa Keen.

" Huae-lae, in Seuen-hwa Foo.

s Koo-plh-kow.

* Forty li to the south of Paou-gan Chow.

/O Jenghiz Khan.

At this time the successes of Jenghiz began to
sow seeds of secession in the ranks of his enemies,
and so terrible had his name become that General
Hushahu, who was commanding at the Western
Capital (Tatimg Foo), evacuated the city and fled
at his approach. Meanwhile Jenghiz advanced out
of the TsHking Pass/ and after having defeated a
Kin army at Wuhweling, captured the sub-pre-
fectural cities of Cho ^ and E.' The example
which had been set by Hushahu was now fol-
lowed by Wulanpar, the Khitan commander at
the " Old N'orthern Pass," who • retired from that
position without striking a blow. At the same
time General Chep^ carried the Kuyung Pass to
the north-west of Peking by assault, and effected
a juncture with the force under the command
of Koteputse.

After his retreat from the Western Capital,
Hushahu retired to the court of his sovereign,
and having there entered into a conspiracy with
other officers as treacherous as himself, he broke

^ Tsze-king, to the weBt of Tih Chow, in Chili.

» The modern Ch5 Chow.

2 The modern Yih Chow, in Chili.

Jenghiz Khan. 71

into the palace and slew his master. At the
sound of the tumult, the favourite wife of the
murdered emperor seized the seal and fled into
the recesses of the hareem. But Hushahu and
his co-conspirators were not the men to hold
anything sacred, and they followed the flying
lady, determined to secure the all-important em-
blem of power. With heroic fortitude Ching-she
resisted their demands, and, as long as she was
able, their violence, and she only gave up her
charge with her life. Armed with the seal of
authority, Hushahu set it to an edict proclaiming
Prince Sim emperor in the place of his father.
If Hushahu thought by this exchange of sovereign
to retrieve the fortunes of , his country, he was
terribly mistaken. Having secured a firm footing
within the Great Wall, Jenghiz despatched three
armies in the autumn to overrun the empire.
One force on the right commanded by his sons
Juji, Jagatai, and Oghotai marched towards the
south ; the left wing under his brother Hochar,
Kwangtsin Noyen, and Chotseteposhi advanced
eastward towards the sea ; while Jenghiz and
Tulay with the centre directed their course in a

72 Jenghiz Kka?i.

south-easterly direction towards the province of
Shang-tung. Complete success attended all three
expeditions. The right wing advanced as far as
Leo in Honan, and after having captured more
than twenty-eight cities'' rejoiaed headquarters
by the great western road. Hochar made him-
self master of Sucho, Pingluan, and Leause, and
Jenghiz halted only when he had subjugated
the whole line of country as far as to Tangcho
on the Shantung promontory, and reduced to
submission twenty-eight cities.^

While Jenghiz was thus waging a successful
war, Muhule laid siege to Mecho.^ After a pro-
tracted resistance the city was taken by assault,

^ Paou, the modern Tsing-yuen Heen, in Paou-ting Foo ;
Suy, Gansah, Ganting, Hing, Ming, Tsze in Chili ; Seang,
Wei-hwuy, Hwai, M5ng, Leo in Honan ; Tsth, Loo, Leaou,
Tain, Ping-yang, Tai-yuen, Kelh, Heen, PS, Fun, Shih, Lan,
Hin, Tae, Woo in Shense.

^ Heung, PS, M5, 35 li to the north of the modern Jin-kew
Heen ; Gan, 25 li to the north of the modern Woo-keaou Heen,
Ho-keen, TsSng, King, Heen, Shin, Ke, Le, Ke, and Kae in
Chili ; Hwa, 20 li to the east of the modern Hwa Heen in
Honan ; Gin, Ptlh, PO (the modern Lew-ching Heen), Tse (the
modern Tsening Chow), Tae-gan, Tae-nan, Pin, Tae (the modem
Hwuy-min Heen), YJh-too, Tsze (the modern Tsze-chuen
Heen), Wei, Tang, Lae, and E in Shantung.

^ In Choo-ohing Heen, in Shantung.

Jenghiz Khan. 73

and the inhabitants suffered the usual Mongol
penalty for the crime of resistance, and were
" butchered." The desertion of Sheteene and
Seowpoter at this juncture was a serious loss
to the Kins, and so high was the value set upon
their secession by the Mongols that Muhule con-
ferred upon them the rank of Wanhu.^ In the
winter of 121 3 Jenghiz retired with his three
armies to the neighbourhood of the Capital and
encamped on the Tako Eiver. At this time all
the country north of the Yellow Eiver, with the
exception of the capital and some ten cities,^ was
in the hands of the Mongols.

In the spring of the following year the Mongol
generals, who had been within sight of the capi-
tal for some weeks, were eager to measure their
strength with that of the garrison. Jenghiz, how-
ever, was desirous of avoiding any risk by which his
prestige might be injured, and he, therefore, sent
an envoy to the Kin emperor, saying, " All your

' A commander of 10,000.

^ TuDg, Shun (the modern Shun-e Heen), Chin-ting (the
modern Ching-ting Heen), Tsing (the modern Taing Heen),
Wfih (the modern Chaou Chow), Ta-ming, Tungping in Chili ;
Tlh (the modern Ling Heen) in Shantung ; Pei, and Has Chow
in Keansoo.

74 Jenghiz Khan.

possessions in Shantung, and the whole country
north of the Yellow Eiver, are now mine, with the
solitary exception of Yenkiug. By the decree of
Heaven you are now as weak as I am strong, but
I am still willing to retire from my conquests ;
as a condition of my so doing, however, it will
be necessary that you distribute largess to my
officers and men to appease their fierce hostility."
These terms were so much more favourable than
the Kin emperor had dared to hope for, that he
willingly accepted them ; and as a peace-offering
he presented Jenghiz with a daughter of the late
emperor, another princess of the imperial house,
5 oo youths and maidens, and 3000 horses. At the
same time he sent his minister Fuhing to escort
the Mongol conqueror out of the Kuyung Pass.

No sooner had the Mongols passed beyond the
Great "Wall, than the Kin emperor, fearing to
remain any longer so near the Mongol frontier,
moved his court to Peenleang (Kaifung Fu) and
left Fuhing and General Mujen Tsinchung in
charge of Shochung, the heir-apparent, at the
capital. This transfer of capital appeared to
Jenghiz to indicate a hostile attitude, and he
therefore prepared to renew the campaign. Soon

Jenghiz Khan. 75

afterwards the Kin general, Choto, went over with
his troops to the Mongol army, which had already-
passed southward through the Great Wall. This
last desertion came at a time when troops were
wanted for the siege of the capital, and Choto was
therefore sent with his followers to swell the ranks
of the forces under Generals Samuka, Shumulu,
and Mingan, who were encamped under the walls.
Jenghiz took no part in the campaign of this year,
but rested on his laurels at Yurlo ^ in Mongolia.
In the autumn the heir-apparent made good his
escape from the capital to Peenleang, and later in
the year Muhule, who was waging war in Leau-
tung, captured Kowcho,^ Lutsung, and Kinpo.
About the same time Changking of Kincho, at
the head of the Gtilf of Leautung, murdered the
collector' of revenue, and haviag proclaimed him-
self king of Linhai, sent messengers to Jenghiz,
announcing his adhesion to his cause.

In the following year ( 1 2 1 6) the Kin general,
Fucha Tsekin, commanding at Tungcho,* on the

1 Yu-urh-lo.

5 Kaour Chow, to the south-west of the right division of the
Kartsin Mongols who lived west of Tsakhar.
3 TseS-too-she. * Tung Chow.

76 Jenghiz Khan.

Peiho, deserted to the Mongols, and received the
rank of general from his new aUies as a reward
of his defection. In the second month Muhule,
who was layiag siege to the Northern Capital/
was attacked by the Kin general Yiatsing, who
issued out of the city at the head of 200,000
men against the besiegers. For many hours the
battle was fiercely contested, and at last the Kins
fled defeated, leaving 80,000 dead on the field.
Meanwhile the provisions in the city became
exhausted, discontent began to show itself in the
garrison, and finally the Khitan soldiers, headed
by their general, Wukule Eletuhu, murdered the
commandant, Yintsing, and surrendered the city
to the Mongols. At first Muhule, who was very
wroth at the protracted resistance which had
been offered him, was inclined to raze the city to
the ground, but his generals dissuaded him, say-
ing, " The N"orthern Capital is the most important
position in Leause, and if, after having accepted
its surrender, you destroy it, how can you expect
other cities to follow its example ? "

The city was, therefore, spared, and Wukule
Eletuhu was left in command as a reward for
^ The ancient Ta-ning Ching in Leause.

Jenghiz Khan, y/

having surrendered the town ; but Muhule, deem-
ing it possible that a man who had once been
traitor might play the same part again, left a
large force to watch him. The wise clemency
shown to the Northern Capital soon bore fruit,
for it happened that almost immediately after-
wards the commandant of Hing-chung Tu^ fol-
lowed Wukule's example, and received a like
reward. The loss of the Central Capital'^ was
such as the Kins could not tamely submit to, and
they, therefore, sent a large army under the com-
mand of the minister, Leying, to relieve it. Hear-
ing of the approach of this force, the Mongols
put themselves in battle array near Pacho, and
after a severe engagement with the advancing
host, gained a decisive victory over them.

Jenghiz, who had agaia taken the field, now
captured the sub-prefectural cities of Tsing^ and
Shun,* and in order to prosecute his campaign
with more complete prospects of success, he ordered
Changking to bring ten divisions from the Northern

* A city of the Turned tribe to the north-west of Ning-yuen.
^ The modem Pekiog.

' The modern Tsing Heen, in Chili.

* The modern Shun-e Heen, in Chili.

78 Jenghiz Khan.

capital to swell his ranks. But Changkiag refused
to obey the order, and Muhule seeing that his
submission "was insincere, sent Seowyeseen to
inspect his troops. On arriving at Pingcho,^
Seowyeseen was told that Changking was ill,
but discrediting the report, he forced his way
into his palace, and was just in time to seize the
rebel in the act of flight. No trial was needed
to prove the treachery of the prisoner, and he
was put to death on the spot.

The instant the news reached Kincho, Chang-
king's brother, Che, seized that city, and pUlaged
Hingchung Fu. Muhule now marched against
this new rebel, and in the first place encountered
an army led by Changking's son, Tungping. Wlien
he had arranged the order of battle, he addressed
the archers, saying, " The infantry of the enemy
have no armour, and they are, therefore, quite
unable to withstand your arrows. Fire on them
with aU your skiU." He then gave the word to
the cavalry to charge, and they overthrew the
rebel host with great slaughter. Tungping was
among the slain, and 12,800 officers and men
^ Pingchow in the modern Loo-lung Heen.

Jenghiz Khan. 79

■were left dead on the field. Muhule then ad-
vanced upon Kincho, and gave battle to Che, who
marched out of the city to meet him. Again
the Mongols were successful, and the rebels fled,
having sustained a loss of 3000 slain, and a
countless multitude who were drowned.

And it was so that so great was the terror
which the Mongol arms inspired, that the Kin
general, Fuhing, who was commanding at the
capital, committed suicide by taking poison, and
the next in command, Mujen Tsinching, evacuated
the city. Thus was General Mingan able to
march in and take possession without having to
strilve a blow. . As the summer advanced, Jeng-
hiz retired to Leangking, in Hwancho,^ to rest
Ms troops, and from thence he sent Hutuko to
make a list of the treasures captured in the capital.
To this place also came the Kin general, Sh^sew,
who had commanded the entrenchments at Hunglo
Shan, and offered his sword to Jenghiz. In ac-
cordance with the practice he had adopted in
China, the Mongol chief promoted him to be col-
lector of revenue at Kincho, in Leautung.

^ The modern Koo-urh-too Pa-urh-ho-sun, in Mongolia.

8o Jenghiz Khan.

Jenghiz now determined to send another em-
bassy to the Kin emperor, and he, therefore,
commanded Ekele to go to him, and to say,
" Every city north of the river, and in Shantung,
are now mine. Eesistance has become useless,
and if you will abdicate your throne, I will make
you king of the country south of the river, and
will leave you in peace." But he would not.
Therefore Jenghiz ordered Sheteene to recom-
mence hostilities ; and, as an incentive to his
generals, he presented each with a golden " tiger "^
tablet. Then went Sheteene forth, and in the
eighth month he took Pingcho, and at the same
time the Kin minister, Kechu, surrendered.
Meanwhile Muhule marched against Kwangning
Fu,^ and subdued it, this making, the eight hun-
dred and sixty-second city which had fallen into
the hands of the Mongols.

Now it came to pass that in the loth month
the Kin governor, Puhe Wannu, -took Leautung
and proclaimed it the kingdom of Teenwang,

■^ On these tablets was engraved the figure of a crouching
tiger, above which were placed one, two, or three pearls, accord-
ing to the rank of the recipient.

2 The modern Kwang-ning Heen, in the department of Kin
Chow.

Jenghiz Khan. 8i

adopting for his NeenhoWj after the manner of
Chinese emperors, the characters Teentai/ This
■was a direct infringement of the rights •which
Jenghiz had already conferred on Yaylu Lewko,
■who ■was much alarmed at the success of his rival.
No sooner, therefore, did the news of the Kin
governor's victory reach him than he started for
the capital to lay his case before Jenghiz, by
■whom he was "well received, and "who conferred
a place about the court on his son. About this
time, also, Sheteenseang captured the city of
Hingcho,^ -when the collector of revenue, Cho'w-
shoyu, ■was taken prisoner.

In the spring of the foUo^wing year — that is
to say, 12 1 7 — Jenghiz retired for a -while to his
travelling palace on the Luko ^ Eiver. With the
advance of summer, ho^wever, he again toolc the
field and made a successful raid on Tso^wcho* and
the defile of the mountain Ho, the Atlas of
China. Later in the year he despatched Sanle
Bahadur and others at the head of a force from
Western Hea, to march on Peenleang through the

^ Teen-tae. ^ The modern Hing Heen in Shense.

' To the west of the modern Peking. * Tsaou Chow.

F

82 Jenghiz Khan.

Tung Pass.'^ But this pass, whicli has so often
turned back the tide of war, proved too strong
for them, and they, therefore, attempted to turn it
by a flank march. With this object they took a
circuitous and difficult route over the mountains
into the province of Honan, and captured the
city of Jucho.^ From this point they determined
to make the passage across the turbid waters of
the Yellow Eiver, and being without sufficient
boats, they constructed a bridge by lacing their
spears together, and filling up the interstices
between them with stones and earth. By
means of this contrivance every man crossed
over dryshod, and when once on the opposite
shore the Mongol generals advanced without
delay on Peenleang. While this movement was
in progress in Central China the Kin general^
Puhe Wannu gave in his allegiance to Jenghiz,
but shortly afterwards iinding a favourable oppor-
tunity to throw off the yoke of his new sove-
reign, he rebelled against the Mongol chief, and
usurped authority over Eastern Hea. ISTow it
was so that while as at this time Muhule laid
1 On the Yellow River. " Joo Chow.

Jenghiz Khan. 83

siege to Kincho, Changche, who having gone over
to the Kins, was on his way to the Northern
Capital was lodging within the city. Eightly
judging that the town would ultimately be
compelled to yield to the attacking force, this
"turncoat" resolved to repeat his former act of
treachery, and gave himself up into the hands of
Muhule. But Muhule, probably deeming that
no faith was to be placed in the loyalty of such
a double-dyed traitor, ordered his immediate exe-
cution. Disorder was now conspicuous through-
out all the districts which still obeyed the Kin
rule, and suspicion, the offspring of fear, was
spread through all ranks. At one time a cry
was raised against the-Buddhist priests as traitors
to their country, and this was followed by a
fearful massacre, which was carried out under
the superintendence of General Shegowtun,
who, however, was destined shortly to pay the
penalty of his misdeeds, for on entering the Tung
Pass he was murdered by the hand of an
assassin.

In 1 2 1 8 Jenghiz appointed Muhiile generalis-
simo of the forces, and prince of the kingdom

84 Jenghiz Khan.

of Lu. On the occasion of investing this trusty
chief with new honours, Jenghiz, addressing the
assembled officers, said — " North of the Taihing
Mountains I am supreme, but all the region to
the south I commend to the care of Muhule."
He also presented him with a chariot and a
banner with nine scalops. As he handed him
this last emblem of authority he spake to his
generals, saying, " Let this banner be to you an
emblem of sovereignty, and let the orders issued
from under it be obeyed as my own."

Having now made up his mind to prosecute
the war in Honan, Jenghiz appointed Hing
Shings (surveyors ?) to make a map of China,
and at the same time he despatched Muhule
against those cities in Chili and Shantung which
still held out. With alacrity the redoubtable
Muhule took the field, and before the year was
out he captured the city of Suyching (the
modern Gansuh Heen), Lecho, Taming Pu,
Tungcho, and Tingcho in Chili, and Etucho,
Lintsilcho,^ Tangcho, and Laicho in Shantung.
Beyond these limits he further secured for Jeng-

1 The modern Lin-tsze Heen.

Jenghiz Khan. 85

hiz the cities of Meenching, Lu, and Me. During
this campaign the losses among the Kui generals
from death and from desertion were numerous.

In the autumn of the following year (12 19)
the Mongol troops marched through the Tsil-
king, or Judas-tree, Pass, and encountered a
force under the renowned Kin general Changju.
The battle which was obstinately contested on
both sides ended in the victory of the Mongols,
by whom the now captive Changju was restored
to his former post. Having secured this pass,
Muhule advanced from the "Western Capital (Ta-
tung) into Shense, and took by storm, among
other cities, those of Taiyuen, Pingyang, Hin,
Tai, Tsih, Lu, Fun, and Ho. During these opera-
tions the Kin general Wukulun lost his life, and
the vice-president, Lehwa, in despair at the success
of the Mongols, committed suicide. On gaining
possession of Yentu (the modern Peking), Jenghiz
had saved alive the imperial household, among
whom was Yaylu Chutsai, a member of the Khi-
tan royal house, with whose appearance Jenghiz,
the conqueror, was so struck that he wished to
attach him to his person. " Leaou and Kin,"

86 Jenghiz Khan.

said Jenghiz to his prisoner, " have always been
enemies, I have now revenged you." " My
father and grandfather," said Chutsai, " served
the Kins, and I cannot be unfaithful." His scru-
ples, however, were overcome, and he remained
at Jenghiz's court and received from his new mas-
ter the name of Wurtusahala, or "Longbeard."
Being a man of considerable learning he was
constantly consulted by Jenghiz in all affairs of
state, and his powers of diviaation were frec[uently
caUed into requisition by his superstitious Mon-
gol chief It is related of him that during the
campaign against the Sultan of Khuarezm he
foretold the manner of death which was to over-
take that' sovereign, and that he read aright the
meaning of a comet which appeared, and which
he interpreted as foreshadowing the death of the
Kin emperor. To his praise it is to be said that
he always used his influence over his Jenghiz on
the side of mercy, and when in the Irongate'' Pass
Jenghiz encountered an unicorn, Chutsai took ad-
vantage of the Mongol's fear at the appearance of
the monster to turn him from further slaughter.
1 The Derbend Kaluga, a pass ia the Karatag Mountains.

Jenghis Khan. 87

" This animal," said he, " has heen sent from
Heaven to warn you that if you are the Son of
heaven, all the peoples of the earth are your
children, and heaven abhors the sight of their
hloodshedding." When cities and districts fell
into the hands of the Mongols, instead of follow-
ing the example of the army and carrying away
captive men and women, Chutsai possessed him-
self of all the hooks and medicines he could
find, and to such good account did he turn
these prizes that he is said to have saved thou-
sands of lives during times of epidemics, by his
medical skill.

In the neighbourhood of Powting Fu, how-
ever, the Kins stUl showed some signs of vigour,
and General Wuseen made a determined attack
on Manchiag, where Changju was commanding.
In the battle which ensued Changju was shot by
an arrow, and the cry instantly arose among the
Kin soldiery, " The Mongol general is wounded."
But Changju, disregarding the pain caused by the
arrow, threw open the gates and headed a sortie
agaiust the attacking force with such skUl and
judgment, that the Kins were completely routed.

88 Jenghiz Khan.

Jenghiz now sent an expedition against Western
Hea, and laid siege to the capital, upon which
the king, Le, fled to Seleang.'^

While the Mongols were thus occupied in
China, Lewko, the king of Leautung, invaded
Corea, and took the city of Keangtung. In
this emergency the king of Corea applied for
help to Jenghiz, who instantly sent an army to
his succour, in return for which aid the king
submitted himself to the Mongol chief, and sent
tribute to his court.

Shortly after this Changju again met Wuseen
in the field and again defeated him, after which
he took Keyang, Kuyang,* Chungshan,' and
other cities. In the summer of this year some
envoys who had been sent by Jenghiz to Mu-
hammed, the ruler of Khuarezm, were murdered
by order of the latter, upon which Jenghiz
immediately advanced westward and took the
city of Gotala,* where he captured the chief
Hacher-chelanto.^

' The modern Leang-ohow Poo in Kansuh.

' The modern Keuh-yang Heen in Chili.

' In the modern department of Ting Chow in Chili.

* Otrar. * Inaljuk (1).

Jenghiz Khan. 89

In the autumn Mutule took forcible possession
of Kohan, ,Ke, and Heen, with other cities in
Shense, and butchered their inhabitants.

In the spring of the following year Jenghiz,
following up his first victory in Central Asia, took
the city of Puha,^ and two months later Tash-
kend ^ fell into his hands. Content for the time
with these successes, he summered his troops on
the Hesheletesze Eiver.^ In the autumn he again
placed himself at the head of his army, and
added the city of Wotolor to his other triumphs.

While the campaign was thus progressing in
Central Asia, Muhule was not idle in China.
The Mongol banner took the place of the Kin
standard on the walls of Puching, and Wuseen,
wearied with uselessly resisting the Mongol arms,
went over to their camp and surrendered the
city of Chinting into their hands. According to
the custom adopted by Muhrde, this desertion
was rewarded by an office, and Wuseen was ap-
pointed as deputy-commander of the western divi-
sion north of the river, with Sheteene as his chief.

It was at this time that Yenshe of Tungping,

1 Nur (?). ° Ta-sze-kan.

^ Between Samarcand and Nakhsheb.

90 Je7ighiz Khan.

at the head of 300,000 inhabitants of Chang-
te,^ Taming,^ Tsil, Ming, and other cities, went
over to the Mongols. This defection encour-
aged Muhule to attempt the capture of Tung-
ping,^ but cotitrary to his usual experience the
attack was unsuccessful; and as the possession of
the city was of no great strategical importance, he
contented himself by masking it with the forces
under Yenshe, while he himself laid siege to Tsu
And Ming.* While engaged in these operations he
still had sufficient troops to overrun the country
north of the river. It, was in this campaign that
the Kin general Wanyen Weiko lost his life.

While Muhule was thus prosecutiug the war in
China, Jenghiz was leading his victorious armies
into Central Asia. The spring of 1221 saw him
master of Bokhara, Samarcand, and other cities ;
while to the sword of his son Juji fell, among
other towns, those of Yangkekan ^ and Parchang.^
As the summer advanced, wearied with slaughter,
Jenghiz established his camp in the Irongate

1 Chang-tlh in Honan.

2 Ta-ming Fu, Tsze, Ming in Chili. ' In Chili.
* In Yung-neen Heen, in Chili,

= Yengigent (?). " Barkhaligend (?).

Jenghiz Khan. 91

Pass, to the west of Samarcand. While resting
here, an envoy, Wukusun by name, arrived from
the Kin emperor to ask for terms of peace. But
the day of peace was past, and Jenghiz sent him
back to his master without so much as granting
him an audience. The situation of the Kins in
China was now indeed desperate. Treachery was
rife among their commanders, and one after the
other thought to make friends with the Mongols
by betraying their sovereign. Thus, through the
treachery of Mungku, the commandant of Tung-
ping, that city, which had resisted the attack of
Muhule, was handed over to Yenshe without a
blow, and a little later the Sung general Heshe-
kwei, "the faithful and patriotic" commandant
of Leenshui,-' deserted to the Mongols with his
whole force.

As soon as the fierce heat of summer had some-
what subsided, Jenghiz again took the field, and
captured Talikhan and other cities, and at the
same time his sons Juji, Jagatai, and Oghotai
made themselves masters of a number of towns,
among which was Yulunghashe.^ Meanwhile

^ To the north of Gan-tung Heen in Keang-soo.
^ Urgendj or Khiva.

92 Jenghiz Khan.

Tulay, who had been despatched at the head of
70,000 men to ravage Khorassan, speedily took
Maruchak,^ Merv/ and Serakhs.^

In China the Mongol arms were as successful
as in Central Asia. Having conquered the pro-
vince of Shense, Muhule marched across the
Yellow Eiver and advanced westward. This
movement so alarmed the king of Hea for the
safety of his kingdom, that, in order to avert the
danger of an invasion, he determined to throw in
his lot with the Mongols. To this end he placed
General Tankokan with 50,000 men at the dis-
posal of Muhule. Thus reinforced Muhule took
Keacho * on the Yellow Eiver, Suiter,* and other
cities in Shense, and then laid siege to Yengan.^
This city, however, successfully resisted his at-
tack, and not caring to waste more time before
it, he marched upon Lucho, which fell -before
him after a desperate resistance, and after many
mighty men on both sides had been slain.

In the eleventh month Changlin, the governor

■■ Maluohayeko. ^ Malu. ' Selasze. * Kea Chow.
' The modern Suy-tlh Chow, Paou-gan, Foo Chow, Fang, in the
modern Chung-poo Heen, and Tan in the modern E-chueu Heen.
* Also ip Shense.

Jenghiz Khan, 93

of. Sung-gan, went over to the Mongols, and
succeeded by this act of treachery in putting them
in possession of all the country^ east of the capi-
tal. For this important service he was appointed
Commandant of the Eastern Division of Shantung.
It was during this year that the Khitan Yaylu
Chutsai, whom Jenghiz took prisoner at Peking,
first began to draw up the calendar of the Yuen
or Mongol dynasty. The scientific attainments
which enabled him to do this, as well as the know-
ledge he displayed on numerous occasions, so im-
pressed Jenghiz that he specially commended
him to the care of his son Oghotai, saying, " This
man has been sent to us by the mercy of Heaven,
do thou in the future commit the government of
the State and of the army to him, and in nowise
neglect his counsels."

The spring of 1 220 saw Tulay marching against
Khorassan. "With fierce impetuosity he speedily
made himself master of Thus and Nishapoor, and
overran and plundered the kingdom of the Mulae.^

1 Including the cities of Tsang, King in Chili, and Pin and
Tae in Shantung.
= The kingdom of the Mulahida, or Ismaeliaus, in Kuhistan.

94 Jenghiz Khan.

From thence he crossed the river Sosolan, and

having captured Yayle^ and other cities he formed

a junction with his father Jenghiz before Talik-

han. To the attack of their combined forces the

entrenched camp at Talikhan yielded after a

struggle, and as the season was now advancing,

Jenghiz retired to the entrenchments of Tarha, to

give rest to his troops. His retirement in these

summer quarters was, however, destined to be but

of short duration, for the western king, Jal&luddln,^

formed with Melik Khakan, a hostile alliance

against him, and defeated his general Hahutu.

Jenghiz then led his troops in person against the

allies, and after a well-fought fight utterly routed

them. Melik Khakan remained a prisoner in the

hands of the conqueror, and JaMluddJn only saved

himself by flight. Eager to take him also, Jenghiz

sent General Bala in pursuit of him, but the

fugitive made good his escape.

Meanwhile Muhule possessed himself of a

number of cities in China, among which were

Keen, King, Pin in Shense, and Yuen,^ in Kan-

suh — Fungseang in Shense, alone resisting his

1 Herat (?). = Cha-lau-ting.

3 The modern Chin-yuen Heen.

Jenghiz Khan. 95

arms. These successes so disheartened the Kin
sovereign, that he again sent Wukusun to Jenghiz,
■who at that time had returned to the Uighur
country, to renew propositions for peace. Jenghiz
received the envoy with courtesy, but was in no
wise disposed, after his recent victories, to lower
his terms. " Formerly," said he, " I proposed to
your master that he should cede to me the
country to the north of the Yellow Eiver, and in
return I promised to make him king of the terri-
tory south of the river. Now, the country I then
asked for has become mine by right of conc[uest, as
has also the country to the west of Tung Pass, with
the exception of a few cities. Let your master
give up these cities to me, and I wiU. undertake to
place him on the throne south of the river."

Wukusun, however, had no instructions to
accept such proposals as these, so he asked for
his passports and returned to his master. At this
time the Kin cause suffered another loss, for the
Duke Huteentso, believing that victory was on the
side of the Mongols, deserted to them, and sur-
rendered into their hands the Blue Dragon Fort.
Immediately afterwards Muhule took the Cow-

q6 Jenghiz Khan.

heart Stockade, on which occasion the prefect
was killed by a fall of a house upon him. In
the winter Muhule followed up his successes by
taking the town of Hochung Fu,^ over which he
placed Sheteenying as commandant.

In the spring of the following year (1223) the
Mongol cause in China suffered an irreparable
loss by the death of Muhule, who expired at
Wunhe ^ after a short illness. As . he saw his
end approaching, the great warrior spake to his
brother Taisun and said, " For forty years I have
worn armour and wielded the spear for my
country, and though I have led my troops in
every quarter of the empire I have never once
been defeated. My only jegret is that I die
leaving Peenleang unconquered. It now remains
for you to put forth your strength against it."'
The death of this distinguished warrior compelled
Jenghiz to reconsider the disposition of his
armies, and he, therefore, retired to the Valley of
Peruan,^ to which point also he summoned his
sons Juji, Jagatai, and Oghotai, and General Bala.

' In the modern Tung-tse Heen in Shense.

" WSn-he Heen in Shense. ' Pa-Ioo-wan.

Jetighiz Khan. 97

During the councils which were held at this place
of assembly, it was determined to relinquish for
the present all idea of further conquest in the
west ; but in order to consolidate his power over
the already conquered provinces, Jenghiz ap-
pointed Taluhwachi, or seal-beariag officials, to
act as viceroys in the kingdoms of Central Asia.

In the winter of the same year, the Kin emperor
Seun was gathered to his fathers, and Shosun,
his son, reigned in his stead, under the neen-
how of Chingta, or " Perfected Greatness." The
king of Hea also beiag weary of the harassing
affairs of his kingdom, abdicated in favour of his
son Terwang. MeanwhUe General Subutai sub-
dued the Kipchaks,^ and led a plundering expedi-
tion across the western frontiers, from which he
returned laden with booty.

The gradual disappearance of the Kin power
brought the Mongols close to the frontiers of the
Sung empire, which held sway over the whole
of China south of the provinces of Honan and
Shense. The approach of these northern conquerors
caused great uneasiness at the court of the Sung

^ Kin-olio.

G

98 Jenghiz Khan.

emperor, who, in order to propitiate them, sent
Kumungyu again to Jenghiz to propose terms
of peace. The mission of this envoy, however,
proved to be a failure, and in the spring of the
followiag year the Smig general, Pangepin, carried
the war into the Mongols' territory hy crossing
the Yellow Eiver. General Sheteene was dis-
patched to oppose the invaders, and in a battle at
Guncho^ he completely defeated him. This dis-
aster probably accelerated the death of the Sung
emperor Mngtsung, which took place in the eighth
month. As he died without leaving a direct heir,
he was succeeded on the throne by the son of
Prince Yimg, who adopted as his neenhow the
title of Letsimg.

It was in the course of this year that Jenghiz,
once more carrying his arms into the west, in-
vaded India, but meeting with an unicorn he re-
treated at the instigation of Yaylu Chutsai, who
interpreted the appearance of the monster in the
manner already described.

Having given up aU idea of advancing further
into India, Jenghiz turned his steps homewards,
' The modern GSn Heeu in Shantung.

Jenghiz Khan. 99

and once again, after an absence of seven years,
revisited his Ordu. While Jenghiz was yet on
his way, Wuseen raised the standard of revolt
at Chinting in Chili and slew Sheteene. As soon
as the news of the murder of his brother reached
Sheteentse he marched against "Wuseen, and hav-
ing utterly defeated him in the field, occupied
Chinting. It was fortunate that Sheteentse's ac-
tion was thus prompt, for no sooner did the Sung
general Pangepin hear of Wuseen's action than he
marched to his aid. Having, however, disposed
for the time being of Wuseen, Sheteentse was at
liberty to attack Pangepin, and this he did with
such effect that the Sung army was dispersed, and
the leader was left among the slain on the field.
But Wuseen though defeated was not utterly
crushed, and in the tenth month he recaptured
Chinting, and Sheteentse fled discomfited to Kow-
ching in Chili.

In the spring of the following year (1226)
Jenghiz again took the field, and led an army
against Western Hea. In this campaign Heishui ^
and other cities yielded to his arms, and the whole

1 To the north of the modern Gan-ting in Shense.

100 Jenghiz Khan.

of Kansuh was reduced to his yoke. Now it was
so that when Jenghiz arrived before Kancho in
that province, he found that the defence of the
town was entrusted to the father of Chakan, the
shepherd boy whom he had taken under his pro-
tection. Chakan, therefore, received orders to
communicate with his father, and to accomplish
this he shot a note attached to an arrow into the
city. In this note he invited his father to send
out envoys to the Mongol camp, who when they
came agreed to negotiate the surrender of the
city.

When on their return, however, the news of
the transaction became noised abroad, thirty-six
of the men of the city rose with Acho, the second
in command, at their head, and slew the envoys,
together with Chakan's father. But this outbreak
did not save the city ; and not only so, it very
nearly insured the destruction of the town, for
when the Mongol army entered the walls i
Jenghiz was minded to raze it with the ground.
Chakan, however, pleaded for the people, whom
he declared to be innocent, and induced Jenghiz
to execute only the actual murderers.

Jenghiz Khan. roi.

Pursuing his march from Kancho, Jenghiz cap-
tured Seleang Pu, Solo, and Holo in Kansuh, and
then passing into Shato, he reached the N"iae
Fords on the Yellow Eiver, and made himself mas-
ter of Yiagle and other cities in Shense. Mean-
while, Sheteentse determined to make another
attempt to drive Wuseen out of Chinting. Choos-
iag a dark night, he led an attack on the city which
proved completely successful, and Wuseen iled to
the hills towards the west, where he entrenched
himself.

In the ninth month the Sung general, Letsuen,
, ^ defeated Changlin in Shantung, and took him pri-
soner, upon which Taisun, prince of Keun, marched
against Letsuen and surrounded him in Etu.
Here he' held out agaiiist the Mongols for three
months, at the end of which time he placed him-
self and his troops under their banner and de-
livered into their hands the city of Tsingcho in
Honan. For this meritorious deed he was named
Inspector of Shantung and Hwainan.

At the same time Jenghiz took Lingcho on the
Yellow Eiver in Shense, on which occasion the
Five Planets appeared together in the south-west

102 Jenghiz Khan.

This appearance was considered by the sooth-
sayers to he so ominous that Jenghiz determined
to retire for a while to the valley of Yencho,^
where he encamped. In the south, Oghotai and
Chakan laid siege to the Southern Capital (Kai-
fung Tu) and sent Tangkiag to summon it to sur-
render, but the garrison held out. While these
advances were being made in China, Terwang,
the king of Hea, was gathered to his fathers, and
Leseen his son reigned in his stead. This also
was a bad year for the empire of Kin.

In the spring of the following year Jenghiz for
the last time placed himself at the head of his
troops in the field. Leaving a force to lay siege
to the capital of Hea, he led an army across the
TeUow Eiver, and successfully stormed the cities
of Tseshe,* Lintow Fu,* Towcho,* and Sening in
the proviace of Kansuh, and slew many mighty
men of Kin. Another force, under Prince Han-
chin Koyen, took possession of Sintu Fu^ in ChUi.

' Lake Lopnor (?).

° Tslh-shlh to the west of the modern Ho Chow.

' In the modern Telh-taou Chow.

■* In the modern Taou-chow Ting.

^ In the modern Ke Chow.

Jenghiz Khan. 103

From Sening Jenghiz advanced upon Lungter
and Tersun^ in Kansuh, both of which places he
reduced. At the close of this campaign he re-
ceived an ambassador from the Kia emperor,
who came charged with a message of peace, but
Jenghiz refused to entertain his proposals.

A kind of presentiment now seized him that
he was about to die, and calling his officers about
him he spake unto them, saying : " My time has
come. Last winter when the Five Planets ap-
peared together in one quarter was it not to warn
me that an end should be put to slaughter, and
I neglected to take notice of the admonition ?
Now let it be proclaimed abroad, wherever our
banners wave, that it is my earnest desire that
henceforth the lives of our enemies shall not be
unnecessarily sacrificed."

At this juncture Leseen, the king of Hea, gave
himself up, and he was sent a prisoner into Mon-
golia. Thus ended the kingdom of Hea.

From Tsingshui in Kansuh, where the Mongol
troops were encamped, Jenghiz moved to the river
Sekeang,in the same province, where, in the seventh

• To tha east of the modern Tsing-ning Chow.

104 Jenghiz Khan.

month, he was seized with an illness, of which he
died a short time later at the travelling palace at
Halowtu, on the banks of the river Sale.^ As the
great chief lay adying he called his officers to him'
and said, " The flower of the Kin army guards the
Tung Pass on the Yellow Eiver. On the south
their flank rests on the mountains, and on the
north on the river. The position is one, therefore,
of great strength. Now this do, ask for a right
of way through the Sung province of Honan and'
thus turn the position. The Sungs being at en-
mity with the Kins wOl probably grant you this
permission with readiness. Having gained this,
march on Tang and Teng'* and threaten Taleang.*
The Kins wiU be obliged to march to its succour,
and to do this they will be compelled to leave
the Tung Pass unguarded ; at the same time, after
a journey of several thousand miles, their men
and horses will be in such a sorry plight that they
will easily fall victims to your arms."

Thus died the great Jenghiz Khan, in the year

^ A river which has its source near that o£ the Onon.
^ Tang and Teng are cities in Nan-yang Foo in Honan.
' Forty li to the west of the modern Joo Chow in Honan.

Jenghiz Khan. loj

1227, in the sixty-sixth year of his age, and the
twenty-second of his reign, and they buried hitn
in the valley of Keleen.-' During the reign of
his grandson, KhubHai (1266), he received the
posthumous title of Wu Hwangte, or " Warrior
Emperor," and in 1299 the additional title of
Fateenkeyun Shing Wu Hwangte was conferred
upon him, with the Temple name of Taitsu or
" Great Ancestor."

Jenghiz was a man of vast ability, and led his
armies lilce a god. Thus he was able to subdue
forty kingdoms, and to tranquillise Western Hea.
Such powers are wonderful, and their loss is
deeply to be regretted.

On the death of Jenghiz, Tulay was made
regent of the empire pending the accession of
Oghotai.

1 To the north of the desert of Gobi.

PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
EDINBURGH AND LONDON