ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠤᠯ ᠤᠨ ᠳᠠᠶᠢᠨ ᠤ ᠤᠷᠠᠯᠢᠭ .pdf

First p u b lish ed in Great Britain in 2 0 0 7 b yPen Sen g g ü m was o u trag ed b y h is au d acity . Th e co n sp irato rs co n sid ered u sin g th ewed d in g p ro p o sal as an o p p o rtu n ity to d estro y Temü jin 1 0 b u t th e Mo n g o ls saw th ro u g h th eir d esig n s. No n eth eless, co n flict b etween th e Kereit an d th e Mo n g o lsen su ed . Alth o u g h Temü jin su ffered a d efeat, h e man ag ed to rally h is fo rces an d mad e a su rp rise attack o n th e Kereit camp as th ey celeb rated th eir v icto ry .With th is d efeat o f th e Kereit in 1 2 0 3 , Temü jin ’s p o wer an d p restig e in creased tremen d o u sly , sin ce it mean t h e n o w d o min ated b o th Cen tral an dEastern Mo n g o lia. Fu rth ermo re, assimilatin g th e Kereit fu rth er in creased th e stren g th o f h is fo rces. He d id n o t, h o wev er, ex termin ate th e Kereit aristo cracy .In stead man y o f To g h ril’s relativ es were treated h o n o rab ly an d g iv en h ig h p o sitio n s, sin ce, h av in g h imself serv ed as a v assal o f To g h ril fo r a n u mb er o fy ears, man y o f th ese men were well-k n o wn to Temü jin an d th ere was n o tru e an imo sity b etween th e Kereit an d th e Mo n g o ls, u n lik e th e Mo n g o ls an d th eTatars. Fu rth ermo re, Temü jin married man y o f th e d au g h ters an d g ran d d au g h ters, o f To g h ril to h is so n s an d fo llo wers, th u s lin k in g th e Kereitsclo sely to th e Mo n g o l ro y al family . To g h ril an d Sen g g ü m escap ed th e d efeat. Ho wev er, To g h ril’s flig h t was sh o rt-liv ed , as a Naiman trib esman came u p o n th e o ld k h an an d k illed h im with o u t realizin g wh o h e was. Sen g g ü m o n th e o th erh an d , fled so u th in to th e k in g d o m o f Xi-Xia (Nin g x ia an d Gan su p ro v in ces o f mo d ern Ch in a).Fin al o p p o sitio n to Temü jin ’s mastery o f th e step p e came fro m th e Naiman co n fed eracy . Th e Naiman in itiated th e war. Hav in g a lo w reg ard fo r th eMo n g o ls, th ey b eliev ed th at if th ey stru ck first th ey wo u ld easily d efeat Temü jin ’s armies.1 1 Ho wev er, as th e Naiman co llected th eir fo rces an d attemp tedto fin d allies amo n g o th er trib es h o stile to th e Mo n g o ls th eir p lan s b ecame k n o wn to Temü jin . After co n sid erab le d eb ate, Temü jin led h is fo rces westward .Mean wh ile th e Naiman h ad co llected n o t o n ly th eir o wn co n sid erab le stren g th , b u t also th e Merk its an d an army led b y Jamu q a, co mp o sed o f Mo n g o l elemen tso p p o sed to Temü jin ’s ru le. Desp ite th eir ag g ressiv e d isp o sitio n , th e Mo n g o ls were o u tn u mb ered b y th eNaiman co alitio n . Th u s u p o n arriv in g in Naiman territo ry , Temü jin o rd ered ev ery man to lig h t a camp fire at n ig h t to co n ceal th e relativ e smalln ess o f th eirn u mb ers. Th e ru se wo rk ed an d d elay ed th e Naiman fro m attack in g . Th e resu ltan t co n fu sio n reg ard in g th e Mo n g o ls’ tru e stren g th cau sed d issen sio n amo n g th eNaiman lead ers. Th eir sen io r k h an , Tay an g Kh an , wan ted to lu re th e Mo n g o ls acro ss th e Altai Mo u n tain s, fu rth er in to th e Naiman ’s o wn p astu relan d s, wh ileh is so n , Gü ch ü lü g , an d o th ers u rg ed a d irect attack . Tay an g Kh an fin ally assen ted to th is, b u t th e d ecisio n p ro v ed d isastro u s. Th e Naiman were cru sh ed b yth e su p erio r g en eralsh ip o f Temü jin an d th e d iscip lin ed fo rces th at h e h ad d ev elo p ed as h e co n q u ered th e step p e.Th e Battle o f th e Sa’ari Step p e was th e cro wn in g ach iev emen t o f Temü jin ’s army . Th e Mo n g o l v icto ry h ere, an d in a few su b seq u en t sk irmish es, cru sh ed th eNaiman an d th e Merk it, alth o u g h Gü ch ü lü g an d To q to a Bek i, th e Merk it ch ieftain , b o th escap ed westward in to mo d ern Kazak h stan . Th e v icto ry alsob ro k e Jamu q a’s p o wer. He was ev en tu ally tak en p riso n er th ro u g h treach ery , as h is o wn fo llo wers to o k h im cap tiv e an d tu rn ed h im o v er to th e Mo n g o l ru ler.Temü jin reward ed th e men wh o h ad b etray ed th eir fo rmer master b y ex ecu tin g th em, an d o ffered to p ard o n Jamu q a, b u t h e, sen sin g th at th e rift b etween th emwo u ld remain g reat, req u ested an h o n o rab le d eath . Resp ectin g th e tab o o ag ain st sh ed d in g th e b lo o d o f th e aristo cracy , Jamu q a was th erefo re ro lled in to a carp etan d su ffo cated . With th e d efeat o f th e Naiman , Temü jin ’s mastery o f th e Mo n g o lian step p ewas co mp lete, an d with relativ e p eace estab lish ed h e was cro wn ed as Ch in g g is Kh an (mean in g Firm o r Fierce Ru ler) in 1 2 0 6 , at a g ran d q u rilta i o r co n g ress.Also at th is q u rilta i, Ch in g g is Kh an , as h e was h en cefo rth k n o wn , b eg an o rg an izin g h is n ew emp ire as well as h is army . Hav in g stab ilized th e step p es o f Mo n g o lia, Ch in g g is Kh an n ex t b eg an tolo o k at h is n eig h b o rs. Th ere were sev eral immed iate th reats, mo st o f th ese b ein g p o sed b y g ro u p s th at h ad fled fro m Mo n g o lia as Ch in g g is Kh an ’s p o wer g rew,su ch as Sen g g ü m o f th e Kereit, To q to a o f th e Merk it, an d Gü ch ü lü g o f th e Naiman . Th e Jin Emp ire co n tin u ed to med d le in th e affairs o f th e step p e as itattemp ted to co n tro l th e v ario u s trib es. In ad d itio n th ere was o n e o th er g ro u p , to th e n o rth o f Mo n g o lia. Th is co n sisted o f a n u mb er o f trib es k n o wn co llectiv elyas th e Ho y -in Irg en o r Fo rest Peo p le, wh ich in clu d ed trib es su ch as th e Oy irad , Bu riy ad , an d Kirg h iz. Th ese ten d ed to liv e a semi-n o mad ic lifesty le, o ftenestab lish in g p erman en t v illag es an d liv in g mo re b y h u n tin g , fish in g , an d limited ag ricu ltu re rath er th an p asto ral n o mad ism. In g en eral th e Ho y -in Irg en ten d ed toremain n eu tral in th e wars amo n g th e n o mad ic trib es o f Mo n g o lia, th o u g h th ere were in ev itab ly ex cep tio n s, as a few trib es h ad jo in ed Jamu q a’s co alitio n .In 1 2 0 7 Ch in g g is Kh an sen t Jo ch i with an army to su b ju g ate th e Fo rest Peo p le. Qu d u q -b ek i o f th e Oy irad su b mitted an d th en acted as a g u id e fo r Jo ch ito th e Tü men Oy irad , wh o su b mitted to th e Mo n g o ls at Sh iq sh it.1 2 In ad d itio n to th e Oy irad , Jo ch i q u ick ly secu red th e su b missio n o f th e rest o f th e Ho y -inIrg en .1 3 Th e Kirg h iz d o min ated th e u p p er p art o f th e Yen esei Riv er Valley , wh ile th eKem-Kemjiü ts resid ed alo n g its Kemch ik trib u tary . Eco n o mically , it was sen sib le fo r Ch in g g is Kh an to in co rp o rate th is v alley in to h is realm, as Mu sliman d Uig h u r merch an ts h ad imp o rted fu rs an d g rain fro m th is fertile reg io n fo r y ears. Th e Kirg h iz an d Kem-Kemjiü ts b o th su b mitted rath er th an resist th eMo n g o l army ,1 4 as d id th e Tü med s, wh o co n tro lled th e area o f th e Ija an d An g ara riv ers.1 5Th e first sed en tary p o wer th at th e Mo n g o ls in v ad ed was th e k in g d o m o f Xi- Xia, wh ich lay to th e so u th east o f th e n ascen t Mo n g o lian Emp ire.1 6 Th e in v asio no f Xi-Xia is o ften co n sid ered as h av in g b een carried o u t as eith er a step p in g sto n e to ward s th e in v asio n o f th e Jin Emp ire o r fo r eco n o mic reaso n s, b u t it wasactu ally in v ad ed fo r reaso n s relatin g to th e secu rity o f Mo n g o lia.1 7 Alth o u g h militarily in ferio r to th e Jin d y n asty to th e east, Xi-Xia was still ap o werfu l state. In ad d itio n , it ex ercised so me in flu en ce in th e step p e, p articu larly amo n g th e Kereit, an d h ad o ften serv ed as a safe h av en fo r d ep o sed Kereitlead ers.1 8 In d eed , Sen g g ü m h ad fo u n d refu g e in Xi-Xia b efo re b ein g fo rced to leav e after p illag in g with in th e k in g d o m.1 9Ch in g g is Kh an in v ad ed Xi-Xia in 1 2 0 5 , u sin g Sen g g ü m’s p resen ce th ere as a p retex t.2 0 It is also p o ssib le th at h is attack was in ten d ed to d estab ilize Xi-Xia,an d th u s k eep a p o ten tial en emy – wh ich also h arb o red a riv al – o ff b alan ce, an d h is o wn army away fro m Mo n g o lia, wh ile h e secu red h is h o ld o v er h is n ewlywo n k in g d o m. Th e in v asio n b eg an in th e fo rm o f raid s, in wh ich th e Tan g u t o f Xi-Xia mad eo n ly limited attemp ts to rep el th e mo re mo b ile Mo n g o l armies. It was n o t u n til 1 2 0 9 th at Ch in g g is Kh an b eg an a tru e in v asio n o f co n q u est. Sev eral cities h adalread y b een tak en wh en th e Mo n g o ls reach ed th e cap ital o f Zh o n g -Xian g in May 1 2 0 9 . After th e sieg e o f Zh o n g -Xian g – o n e o f th e Mo n g o ls’ first en d eav o rsat sieg e warfare – h ad d rag g ed o n in to Octo b er, Ch in g g is Kh an reso rted to b u ild in g a d y k e to d iv ert th e Hu an g He Riv er in to th e city , an d b y Jan u ary th ed iv erted riv er h ad almo st co llap sed th e walls. Ho wev er, th e d y k e th en b ro k e an d flo o d ed th e Mo n g o l camp , fo rcin g th em to with d raw to h ig h er g ro u n d .No n eth eless, th e Tan g u t d ecid ed to su rren d er rath er th an to co n tin u e to resist.2 1 Mean wh ile, ten sio n h ad also in creased b etween Ch in g g is Kh an ’s n ew statean d th e Jin d y n asty o f No rth ern Ch in a. Sev eral trib es th at b o rd ered th e Jin Emp ire h ad switch ed th eir alleg ian ce to th e Mo n g o ls, wh ile o th ers, su ch as th eJu y in , simp ly rev o lted ag ain st th e Jin .2 2 Th e Mo n g o l in v asio n o f th e Jin Emp ire co mmen ced in 1 2 1 1 , p artially to av en g e p ast tran sg ressio n s, b u t also simp ly too b tain p lu n d er, as th ey co u ld n o lo n g er raid in Xi-Xia sin ce it h ad b eco me a Mo n g o l clien t state. Alth o u g h th e Mo n g o ls d ev astated mu ch o f th e Jin Emp ire,th ey with d rew in 1 2 1 2 an d retain ed o n ly a small p o rtio n o f Jin territo ry , p rimarily to co n tro l th e mo u n tain p asses b ack in to th e step p es. Th ey alsoco mp elled th e Jin to p ay a h an d so me amo u n t in trib u te.2 3 Peace b etween th e two states was sh o rt-liv ed . In th e au tu mn o f 1 2 1 2 ,Ch in g g is Kh an o n ce ag ain in v ad ed th e Jin Emp ire in a two -p ro n g ed attack , th e seco n d army b ein g led b y To lu i, Ch in g g is Kh an ’s y o u n g est so n . Bo th fo rces to o ksieg e en g in eers with th em. Th e Mo n g o ls with d rew in 1 2 1 4 , o n ce ag ain h av in g b een p aid a sizeab le trib u te an d tak en a co n sid erab le amo u n t o f p lu n d er. Perh ap smo re imp o rtan tly , th e Mo n g o ls h ad d emo n strated th at th e Jin fo rces co u ld n o t d efeat th em in o p en co mb at; n o r co u ld th ey rely o n th eir fo rtificatio n s to p ro tectth em, as th e Mo n g o ls to o k n u mero u s cities slo wly b lo ck ad in g th e cap ital o f Zh o n g d u (n ear mo d ern Beijin g ). As b efo re, th e Mo n g o ls main tain ed a p resen cein strateg ic p asses after th eir with d rawal, th ereb y p rev en tin g th e Jin fro m lau n ch in g attack an in to Mo n g o lia.As th e Mo n g o l p resen ce crep t so u th an d remain ed a th reat, th e Jin Emp ero r, Xu an Zo n g , mo v ed h is cap ital fro m Zh o n g d u to Kaifen g . Th is, h o wev er,b reach ed th e terms o f h is p eace treaty with th e Mo n g o ls, an d Ch in g g is Kh an o rd ered a n ew in v asio n later in 1 2 1 4 , n o t lo n g after h is fo rces h ad left. Wh ileZh o n g d u co n tin u ed to resist all effo rts to cap tu re it, Mo n g o l armies co n tin u ed to b e su ccessfu l in th e field . Zh o n g d u , h o wev er, co u ld o n ly h o ld o u t fo r so lo n g with o u t relief, an d in Ju n e 1 2 1 5 it su rren d ered . Du rin g th e co u rse o f in v asio nsev eral Jin g en erals switch ed sid es, as it seemed ap p aren t th at th e Emp ero r an d h is ad v iso rs h ad n o co n cep t o f h o w to d eal with th e Mo n g o ls. Fu rth ermo re, afterth e fall o f Zh o n g d u o th er p ro v in ces b eg an to reb el. Fo llo win g a Mo n g o l in v asio n o f Man ch u ria, th e an cestral lan d s o f th e Jin ,th e Mo n g o ls co n tro lled th e n o rth ern an d n o rth eastern p o rtio n s o f th e Jin Emp ire. Alth o u g h Ch in g g is Kh an h imself with d rew in 1 2 1 6 to d eal with a reb ellio namo n g th e Ho y -in Irg en , b y 1 2 1 8 mo st o f th e Emp ire was in Mo n g o l h an d s, an d mo re an d mo re Jin g en erals, in clu d in g eth n ic Ju rch en (th e fo u n d ers o f th eemp ire) an d Kh itan s an d Han Ch in ese, were ch an g in g sid es. It seemed th at th e Emp ire was o n th e v erg e o f co llap se u n til ev en ts in th e west stav ed o ff d efeat fo ran o th er fifteen y ears. Th ese ev en ts o ccu rred in Cen tral Asia. Wh ile th e Mo n g o ls h ad in v ad ed Xi-Xia an d th e Jin Emp ire, Ch in g g is Kh an h ad n o t fo rg o tten ab o u t th e Naiman an d Merk it refu g ees wh o h ad fled west. In d eed , wh en h e in v ad ed th e Jin Emp ire h eto o k th e step o f p lacin g an army o n th e western b o rd ers o f h is emp ire to p ro tect it fro m an y p o ssib le attack b y Gü ch ü lü g . In ad d itio n h e h ad g ain ed n ew v assalsin th e west, th e Uig h u rs o f Tu rfan an d so me smaller trib es h av in g su b mitted b etween 1 2 0 6 an d 1 2 0 9 as h is p o wer g rew. Man y o f th ese h ad su ffered fro mattack s b y th e Merk it an d th e Naiman . After Gü ch ü lü g fled Mo n g o lia h e h ad ev en tu ally mad e h is way in to Cen tralAsia an d u su rp ed th e th ro n e o f th e Kara Kh itai emp ire, in wh at is n o w Kazak h stan . Ho wev er, h e an d h is Naiman trib esmen were n o lo n g er su p p o rtedb y th e Merk it, sin ce fo llo win g th e Mo n g o ls’ d efeat o f th e co mb in ed ren eg ad e Naiman an d Merk it fo rces o n th e Irty sh Riv er in 1 2 0 9 th e Merk it h ad fledwestward an d fo u n d refu g e amo n g th e Qan g li, a Tu rk ic g ro u p liv in g n o rth o f th e Aral Sea. Alth o u g h th e Naiman were ab le to av o id th e Mo n g o ls fo r a few y earsmo re th e Merk it were n o t as fo rtu n ate. An army led b y two o f Ch in g g is Kh an ’s mo st g ifted g en erals, Jeb e an d Sü b ed ei, p u rsu ed th em in to Qan g li territo ry an dd efeated th em. Jeb e an d Sü b ed ei d id n o t attemp t to in co rp o rate th e Qan g li in to th e Mo n g o l Emp ire at th is time – th ey merely co mp leted th eir task an d tu rn edfo r h o me. Ho wev er, th is was n o t as easy as th ey h ad h o p ed , sin ce o n th eir retu rnjo u rn ey th ey en co u n tered a Kh warazmian army led b y Su ltan Mu h ammad II. Th e Mo n g o l g en erals h ad strict o rd ers to av o id co n fro n tatio n with th eKh warazmian Emp ire, b u t Su ltan Mu h ammad