Qurchaquz Buyruk Khan () was a 12th century

Nestorian Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian theologian N ...

leader of

Keraites The Keraites (also ''Kerait, Kereit, Khereid''; ; ) were one of the five dominant Mongol or Turkic tribal confederations (khanates) in the Altai-Sayan region during the 12th century. They had converted to the Church of the East (Nestorianism) i ...

. He was a son of Marqus Buyruk Khan.

Name

His name is written in ''

The Secret History of the Mongols ''The Secret History of the Mongols'' (Middle Mongol: ''Mongɣol‑un niɣuca tobciyan''; Traditional Mongolian: , Khalkha Mongolian: , ; ) is the oldest surviving literary work in the Mongolian language. It was written for the Mongol royal fam ...

'' as Qurčaqus. According to Volker Rybatzki and

Christoph Baumer Christoph Baumer (born June 23, 1952) is a Swiss explorer and historian of Central Asia. From 1984 onwards, he has conducted explorations in Central Asia, China, Tibet and the Caucasus, the results of which have been published in numerous books ...

its original form could be Cyriacus, a Syriac name. While per Lev Gumilev, original form may be Gregorius as well.

Reign

He succeeded Kerait ruler Sariq Khan (according to Timothy May, he was his father, while Isenbike Togan says Sariq was just pre-Christian name of Marcus Buyruk Khan) in 1150. He soon emerged as one of the dominant powers in the steppe following destruction of

Liao Dynasty The Liao dynasty (; Khitan: ''Mos Jælud''; ), also known as the Khitan Empire (Khitan: ''Mos diau-d kitai huldʒi gur''), officially the Great Liao (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 916 and 1125, ruled by the Yelü ...

Jurchens Jurchen (Manchu language, Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They ...

. However, this situation soon challenged by

Merkit The Merkit (literally ''"skillful/wise ones"''; mn, ᠮᠡᠷᠬᠢᠳ ; Мэргид, translit=, Mergid; ) was one of the five major tribal confederations (''khanlig'') of probably Mongol

s and

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

who kidnapped his son Toghrul in 1135. He soon reorganized the khanate between his sons. Center was

Karabalgasun Ordu-Baliqalso spelled ''Ordu Balykh, Ordu Balik, Ordu-Balïq, Ordu Balig, Ordu Baligh'' (meaning "city of the court", "city of the army"; mn, Хар Балгас, ), also known as Mubalik and Karabalghasun, was the capital of the first Uyghur ...

, while Toghrul ruled western part of the khanate as a subordinate to his uncle Gurkhan. His other sons Tai Temür Taishi and Yulamacus (as his subordinate) respectively granted Karaa and Boroo river banks, on the east. He soon died in 1165, his son not approving his division, claimed the throne for himself as his eldest son and sole ruler.

Family and descendants

He was married to a certain woman called Ilma who bore him

Toghrul Toghrul ( mn, Тоорил хан ''Tooril han''; ), also known as Wang Khan or Ong Khan ( ''Wan han''; ; died 1203) was a khan of the Keraites. He was the blood brother (anda) of the Mongol chief Yesugei and served as an important early patron ...

and Töre Qaimish, a daughter of Naiman ruler Betegin Oba Kötürchi Buyruq Khan. According to '' Jami at-Tawarikh'', Töre Qaimish was engaged in witchcraft. Being worried about this Cyriacus ordered one of his concubines to kill her. Then, wishing to hide this fact, under a suitable pretext, he killed both of his concubines. He had many sons including

, Erke Qara, Tai Temür Taishi, Yulamacus,Per

Paul Pelliot Paul Eugène Pelliot (28 May 187826 October 1945) was a French Sinologist and Orientalist best known for his explorations of Central Asia and his discovery of many important Chinese texts such as the Dunhuang manuscripts. Early life and caree ...

, these were two different people: Yula and Marcus Jakha Gambhu and Buqa Temür. Through his granddaughter

Sorghaghtani Beki Sorghaghtani Beki ( mn, Сорхагтани Бэхи/ ; ) or Bekhi ('' Bek(h)i'' is a title), also written Sorkaktani, Sorkhokhtani, Sorkhogtani, Siyurkuktiti ( – 1252), posthumous name Empress Xianyi Zhuangsheng (), was a Keraite princess and ...

, he became ancestor of Toluids - rulers of

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

and

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fifth ...

. {{tree chart/end

References

1165 deaths Nestorians Mongol rulers