Börte: Genghis Khan's Empress and Mongol Empire Builder

[00:00:00][Music] queens of the world borta GIS Khan's beloved Empress thank you to grons for sponsoring this video gingis Khan is famous for launching the conquest of the largest contiguous Empire the world has ever seen and for fathering enough children that today nearly every person of Asian descent carries his DNA but he might not have done any of it if not for the love he bore one incredible woman his Empress borta the couple started their story as a great romance as it evolved into a saga of War conquest and politics borta was by her husband's side ruling in his stad and influencing trade across the Empire she doesn't seem to have minded his many other wives whom we will also meet today let's get to know the great Mongol Empress borta in 1161 on the rolling plains of what is now Western Mongolia surrounded by gleaming lakes rivers and Jagged snowcapped Mountains a baby girl was born borten was the daughter of Chen and of Da shashan chief of the okad tribe their people were nomadic herders the people moved throughout the seasons to find their flocks water and grass they frequently traded with and occasionally raided settled communities to obtain Goods they were unable to manufacture their animals numbered mostly sheep which were Hardy and provided wool felt fashioned clothing blankets and yts Tents which could quickly be dismantled and easily transported to the next fertile grassland sheep also provided milk meat skins and Bones used for various tools and their dong was collected by children to fuel fires there wasn't a lot of wood on the Asian steps Mongols kept some goats and cattle and camels for dairy meat and is Beast of Burden but their most valuable and revered animal is the horse the Mongols Speed and Agility on Horseback allowed them to efficiently scout out the next camp and make Lightning Fast raids on settled communities many Mongol Legends cast horses as Heroes and over 500 words in the Mongol language are eoin related they ferment H's milk to make a sacred alcoholic drink called arag their Mains are believed to contain their spirit and are never cut when a horse dies it is greatly honored its spirit is believed to have the power to help or hurt its owner Mongol children are taught to ride before they can walk so it was with borta the secret history of the Mongols the main primary source that records her time describes her as having a fair complexion with light in her face and fire in her eyes meaning she was beautiful intelligent and bold but Mongol women were far from Shrinking Violets their existence was hard and they had to be tough though women spent most of their time tending the flock and keeping the home they also had all the skills of a man this included everything from hunting down wolves that threatened the flock to Waging War they were skilled with a bow and arrow sword and on Horseback daughters were praised for being as strong as their brothers during their annual winter War season the whole family traveled to support a warrior husband and father this led to a more stable family life and wives were ready to pick up their husband's weapons if needed formidable women folk dictated a more egalitarian gender Dynamic wives were allowed to keep their own religion and if a married daughter was abused or neglected she was welcomed home and protected by her own family women wore the same clothes as men a form-fitting robe called a Dell fashioned from animal skins for the poor or silk from China for the rich wealthy women accessorized with beaded headdresses and Jewelry these constituted a considerable amount of the family's wealth as they could be easily carried most significantly the woman owned the family's yurt 10-year-old borta dawned her best headdress when she was introduced to yug chief of the kog Mongol Clan and his 9-year-old son tagen the Chief came from a powerful lineage but had fallen on Hard Times thus he was seeking an alliance with a powerful family through the marriage of his eldest son it was important in their culture that Brides be found from far away rearing animals made them well aware of the risks of inbreeding Father and Son were headed to meet another tribe but they came across daen by accident the night before the wealthy Chief had a dream about a falcon placing the sun and moon at the feet of a young boy when fate delivered timen to him he knew it was meant to be even though the poor Chief could not afford B's bride price her father agreed to the betral it was decided that timin would stay and work for his future father-in-law to pay off the debt until the child fian were old enough to Wed Chief yug bid his son farewell then headed home on the way he encountered a camp of tartars enjoying a feast he had killed one of their relatives in battle but he was hungry and the party was lit so he disguised himself and joined in hospitality is vital to nomadic societies so the group welcomed The Stranger but his costume wasn't good enough someone recognized him and served him a cup of poison EG the next morning yuk bid his host farewell and mounted his horse but he was soon vomiting and doubled over in pain he reached his wife's yurt and from his deathbed he sent a message to retrieve his son so he could come home and care for his siblings after 3 days of Agony he died timin's future father-in-law allowed him to return home as he was too young to take his father's place as Chief another member of the tribe took command and timin his mother and siblings were abandoned they resorted to a life of poverty hunting and Gathering as timen entered adolescence he plotted to retake his Birthright he was his father's eldest son by his senior wife but he had an older half brother beer born to a concubine he hoped to cut his little brother to the chase so timen and his younger full Brothers hatched a plot while the siblings were out hunting they ambushed beer and murdered him their mother scolded them but timen now had a clear path to retaking power when he reached the age of majority 15 timin determined to honor his oath to Mary borta whom he hadn't seen for seven years her father had feared that he had died and was delighted to welcome him back he oversaw the marriage and accompanied the newlyweds back to the groom's camp where borta mother presented timen with an incredibly valuable black Sable cloak though their marriage was arranged borta and timin came to truly love and care for each other before long they welcomed a daughter one day an old serving woman was out seeing to the flock when she felt the ground trembling she ran back to the camp screaming that a raiding party was on the way timen was undoubtedly being targeted so his mother put him on a horse and sent him into the mountains to safety the rest of the family jumped in the saddle and followed him but there were no mounts left for borta a servant hid her in an old car heart and tried to pull her to safety but a Spoke broke and she was surrounded by enemy Merit Warriors they were thrilled to have captured such a valuable lady and took her back to their own Chief who might have forced her to become his wife most Mongol men who learned that their wife had been raped would have mourned her for dead and remarried but tagen was devastated and blamed himself for leaving his beloved wife behind he cried that his bed was made empty and his breast torn apart he took the valuable black coat her family had gifted him and presented it to on Quan a neighboring Chief together they hatched a plot to rescue borta after 8 months pining for his wife timen and his new Army attacked the Merit people the secret history describes as the pillaging and plundering went on timen moved among the people that were hurriedly escaping calling borta borta and so he came upon her for lady borta was among those fleeing people she heard the voice of timen and recognized it she got off the cart and came running towards him although it was still night lady borta recognized timin's Reigns and tether and grabbed them in the Moonlight he recognized lady borta and they fell into each other's arms life on the Asian steps wasn't easy the Mongols survived primarily on animal products and had limited access to diverse plant nutrients even today modern diets aren't nearly as rich in nutrients as our bodies need to operate at their best that's why I've added grons to my daily routine these easy toog grab gummies are a multivitamin daily dose of greens and a probiotic all rolled into cute and serious seriously tasty gummy bears grons has over 20 vitamins and minerals and 60 plus whole food ingredients grons puts a lot of care into their doses so you're getting 100% of your daily needs of safe vitamins grun are nut-free gluten-free dairyfree and vegan meaning they're made with plant-based pectin not gelatin they have no artificial colors or flavors and come in low or no sugar options but they taste like a fruit snack each daily pack includes eight gummies but I'm always searching the pack for one more oh well I'll get another pack tomorrow start your new year off right with grons get up to 52% off by clicking the link in the description and now back to history though timen once again had his wife by his side he was bent on destroying the merits and chase them down ACR cross Asia he found he quite enjoyed this so he didn't limit himself to slaying only the Mir kits but anyone who opposed him he conquered people across the wide expanse of the steps he slaughtered many but preferred to leave them alive so that they could join his army or pay taxes he amassed a huge fighting force and came up with a few important Personnel Innovations first he scattered conquered Warriors among his own people so that they would assimilate rather than rise up against him he also shared The Spoils of War evenly and promoted based on Merit rather than noble birth thus his conquered people quickly became loyal to their new ruler by 1206 he had United the people of the felt tents and took the title GIS Khan the Mongols were shamanist and believed that the spirits of Nature and their ancestors inhabited the world around them over everything arched the sky God tangeri timin believed that tangeri had chosen him to conquer the world in his name those who stood against his manifest destiny were resisting Tang's will and must die in this Divine Mission he subdued northern China and the Eastern Islamic lands the cities of nishapur in Iran MV in turkistan and hirat in Afghanistan all resist Ed The Horde and were destroyed with ruthless efficiency in 1222 The Horde besieged the city of Shari gulgula in modern-day Afghanistan after weeks of starvation the ruler's daughter who resented her father shot an arrow into the Mongol camp on it was a note which reposed a deal she would reveal to them a secret entrance to the city if the con would marry her and make her a queen timin agreed and the princess showed him that if his men damned up a canal a passageway into the Citadel would be revealed under the water the Mongols crept into the city at night and slaughtered everyone the screams of the dying could be heard throughout the valley the city which remains abandoned to this day is now known as the city of Screams as for the princess when she came to the con for her reward he told her that he would never trust a woman who betrayed her own father he ordered her to be executed in a horrific yet common way among the Mongols she was tied up in a carpet and dragged behind a horse until her body was torn to shreds the Mongols have a lasting reputation as Savage violent UNC barbarians particularly in the West where they haunted the dreams of medieval Muslims and Christians but this is not entirely true tagen was well aware that the settled people he was dominating far outnumbered his horde if they rose up against him he would be defeated so it benefited him to be preceded by a horrific reputation many of the stories of Mongol brutality were exaggerated or fabricated and it worked when the K's Army Army approached a city it was often handed over without a fight but the Mongols were more than mindless barbarians when they conquered a new land they allowed its local leaders to remain in power providing they sent proper tribute and because their own faith was tied to the landmarks of their Homeland they did not expect others to follow it and allowed freedom of religion they valued Artisans Scholars and engineers and forcibly settled them around their empire to facilitate technological advancement this cross-pollination of ideas created valuable Commodities gold bade which took silk from China Gold from Tibet and Weavers from Baghdad dressed the Mongol rulers and their wives covered their horses and lined their tents they ate from blue and white pottery which utilized porcelain from China and blue cobalt from Persia and their bowls were often filled with rice a staple in eastern Asia which The Horde made popular in Persia so thank the Mongols next time you order from the Halal truck these goods were traded along the artery of the Silk Road it had existed for over a thousand years before the Mongols but it was riddled with Bandits the Mongols love trade because they could tax it they made the Silk Road safe and popular again it was said that a man could walk from one end to the other with a gold plate plate on his head without being robbed they also created a Communications Network similar to The Pony Express in addition to being the Catalyst for her husband's Empire building borto was also his most valued advisor and helpmate while he was off slaying she managed the people and animals and made sure everything ran smoothly in his Camp she advised him on martial and political matters on one occasion the secret history records timen's brother bursting into the couple's tent while they were asleep together And asking for help with an enemy before the con could say anything borta sat up in bed covered her breast with the edge of a blanket and described the cruelty of the enemy after listening to his wife timin decided to help his brother he also followed her advice when she told him to break with an important Ally after the friendship had soured and she in insisted that a shaman be punished for insulting his younger brother the insolent holy man's back was broken after timen became genas Khan she was crowned katun or grand Empress by his side as his territories multiplied so did borta power and responsibilities she oversaw the Empire's economy and diplomacy she advised merchants and managed trade routes across Asia and she did it all while giving birth to nine children four Sons hoi chagatai okade and talui and five daughters Kua alakai tumalon alalon and chaen the daughters were married to key allies while the sons dawned armor and rode into battle alongside their father on his own gask Khan's military genius might have burned bright for a generation then faded to a footnote of history but the large family borta provided transformed his brief spark into an eternal flame of Dynasty which would burn across Asia for centuries she enhanced her own social standing and secur the love of her people by adopting and raising many orphan children however borta was rather famously not the only woman to warm the K's bed like many other Mongol men of his status this tagin took several lesser wives yugan was the daughter of a tartar leader whom the Mongols killed in battle when Tagan saw her among his prisoners he wanted her she went with him willingly or as willingly as she could in that situation while they were in bed together she begged him to marry her sister yui as well the con found her just as beautiful the Sister Wives were each given their own courts and territories to rule over and they often accompanied tagen on his campaigns when he became ill at the end of his life they concealed his condition kulan was the daughter of a merit leader when her battle weary father finally surrendered in the winter of 1203 timin demanded his daughter as a term of surrender the con sent one of his officers to deliver his new bride but when they arrived 3 days late timen was Furious and accused the officer of sleeping with kulan he protested claiming that he had to take a longer route to protect the girl from other soldiers he invited timen to have sex with her himself and inspect her virginity when the con was satisfied with his new wife's Purity he accepted her father's surrender but the marut leader rose up again he was again subdued and this time there would be no peace kulan's Father was executed and his wealth plundered timen didn't hold kulan's father's actions against her she gave birth to a son jelan who fought at his father's side MOG katun was given to the con by her father a chief of the bakran tribe it was said that timen loved her very much but she was more interested in his son oade with whom she often went hunting when the con died oade married his father's Widow she was among his senior wives and briefly acted as his Regent Ibaka Baki was the eldest daughter of an incredibly wealthy kirat leader who allied with gask Khan to defeat the nemans as part of the alliance Ibaka was given to the con two of her sisters were given to the con's Sons After 2 years of childless marriage timen had a nightmare that he must leave this wife he divorced her and gave her to one of his generals as reward the con allowed Ibaka to keep her title as katun but he requested that she leave him a token of her do to remember her by jaru was a renowned beauty and a favored wife of the con of the Neiman tribe he was a useless ruler so she was the real power at least until genas Khan rode in he destroyed the neimans and killed their con Furious the freshly widowed jar beazu offended the Mongols by calling them dirty and smelly but when the reality of her situation struck her she took back her insults and visited the con in his tent to beg forgiveness she surrendered herself to him and promised to serve him well he was beguiled by her beauty and took her as a wife borta and these six lesser wives were all Mongolian but the con also had another number of foreign concubines two of whom are well known to history cha was the daughter of a leader of Western sa and was handed over to the con as a term of surrender Cho was the daughter of the emperor of China in 1214 the Mongols slid Siege to Jang du modern day Beijing and she was handed over as a condition of surrender according to Legend as Mongol soldiers conquered and pillaged Asia they had a standing order to bring the most beautiful women they captured straight to the emperor while this sweeping edict is now questioned by historians there are plenty of examples of the con claiming Choice women for his bed allowing soldiers free reign to pillage enslave and rape the inhabitants of a city they conquered for a set period of time was standard practice among the Mongols and many other conquesting groups including the Viking KS the magars and the Romans it was considered the right of a soldier who had bled for a city to take his philit the human victims of these atrocities were reduced to nothing more than The Spoils of War the sexual exploitations perpetrated by gask Khan himself are laid bare in the human genome in 2003 researchers found that about 16 million men in Central Asia or one in8 carry gask Khan's Y chromosome while that seems like a lot his total number of descendants is actually much higher because the Y chromosome is passed down from father to son this figure only accounts for men who have only had male ancestors between themselves and gask Khan when you add in everyone who has had even one female in their lineage back to con the figure jumps to the billions while he's probably not the ancestor of every person of Asian descent his progyny is unquestionably prolific but exactly how extensively the con spread his seed in his own lifetime is a bit of a mystery some reports claim that he SED between 1 and 3,000 children but this number is now questioned by historians who Wonder at the plausibility of the emperor successfully siring six children every month of his 40-year conquest and still have time and energy to jump in the saddle it is now thought more likely that barta's nine children plus The Offspring of the K's lesser consorts all of whom became prominent members of society with ample opportunities to reproduce were even more effective at spreading their father's genes than he would have been on his own only barta's Sons were considered eligible for the throne so naturally they fought each other over inheritance as hoi was born 9 months after his mother's captivity with the merits his paternity was somewhat questionable though boret vehemently denied being raped still his younger brother chotai often insulted him and claimed that he was not the rightful Heir because of the infighting gask Khan skipped his two oldest sons and instead named his third son ogod as his Heir Bor and timin continued to have a close relationship into old age there is nothing recorded of her being jealous of his other wives presumably she accepted their existence as a natural side effect of being married to a powerful man but her position as the ultimate Empress by his side was never questioned so these other women were no threat to her in the winter of 1227 the 65-year-old KH was besieging the city of xong Shing in China when he fell ill some say he tumbled off his horse others that he contracted malaria typhus or even Bubonic plague Marco Polo claimed that he was shot by an arrow while another scribe said he was struck by lightning a legend even claims that the emperor had a beautiful captive woman brought to his bed she smuggled in a dagger and stabbed him in the genitals G Kus died after 21 years as KH borta arranged a grand funeral secured the succession of her third son and advised all of her children not to fight but to band together against the world she followed her husband to the Grave 3 years later in 1230 when she was 69 she was likely buried by her husband's side in a secret place somewhere in the Mongolian Homeland the location of the great KH and Caron's burial remains a mystery eight white Yurts were set up for the people to come and pray to gas and borta in the yurs were a pair of matching empty Royal coffins the golden lineage of timen and borta continued to expand the Mongol Empire their children and grandchildren conquered the Turks and the Russian princes destroyed two European armies seized Baghdad and claimed Southern China their Speed and Agility allowed them to conquer 11 million contiguous square miles they amassed more land in 25 years than Rome did in 400 their empire was the second largest in human history topped only by the British Empire in the 19th century but it remained intact for only a single generation the grandchildren split it up in the midst of Civil War hoi's descendants formed the golden horde and controlled Eastern Europe they famously spread the bubanic plague from Central Asia to Europe in 1346 they went into decline in the 1500s as Ivan the Terrible was building up the Russian Empire the children of Second Son shakai formed a conate that controlled Central Asia their descendant Babor founded the mugal empire in India OG's son Guk died without an air so the sons of youngest brother toui took over the heart of their grandfather's Empire hulagu formed the ilate which later became Iran KublaCon became the first emperor of the Yuan dynasty of China his daughter princess Jago married the king of Korea modern-day Korea the the last of timen and barta's ruling descendants s Alm Khan was imir of bukara until 1920 when he was overthrown by the Russians the many generations of Asian Royals in between claimed descent not only from gask Khan but also from his revered and beloved wife borta the mother of the Mongol Empire want even more tea on History check out the history Tea Time 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