Kaidu (b. 1025 – d. 1100;

Middle Mongol Middle Mongol or Middle Mongolian, was a Mongolic koiné language spoken in the Mongol Empire. Originating from Genghis Khan's home region of Northeastern Mongolia, it diversified into several Mongolic languages after the collapse of the empire ...

: ; mn, Хайду, Haidu, ) was a

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

ruler of the

Borjigin A Borjigin, ; ; russian: Борджигин, Bordžigin; English plural: Borjigins or Borjigid (from Middle Mongolian);''Histoire des campagnes de Gengis Khan'', p. 119. Manchu plural: is a member of the Mongol sub-clan, which started with Bo ...

Clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

who was the great-great-grandson of

Bodonchar Munkhag Bodonchar Munkhag (Mongol: Бодончар Мөнх, ; died 10th Century CE.) was a renowned Mongol warlord and a direct ancestor of Genghis Khan as well as of the Barlas Mongols, the tribe of the Central Asian warlord Timur. According to the ...

(c. 850 – 900). Kaidu's great-grandson was

Khabul Khan Khabul Khan ( mn, Хабул хан; ), also rendered as Qabul Khan, Kabul Khan and Khabul Khagan, (b. 1090s/1100 – d. 1130 CE.) was the founder and first known Khan of the Khamag Mongol confederation and great-grandfather of Genghis Khan. and ...

(died 1149), and Khabul Khan's great-grandson was

Genghis Khan ''Chinggis Khaan'' ͡ʃʰiŋɡɪs xaːŋbr />Mongol script: ''Chinggis Qa(gh)an/ Chinggis Khagan'' , birth_name = Temüjin , successor = Tolui (as regent)Ögedei Khan , spouse = , issue = , house = Borjigin , ...

(1162–1227), and Kaidu's other great-grandson Khadjuli (died 12th-Century), and Khadjuli Barlas great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson

Timur Barlas Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

(1330s–1405), his son

Bashinkhor Dogshin Bashinkhor Dogshin, Bashinkur Khan, Baishinkhur, also known as Bashinkur (Mongol: Башинхор Догшин) (born 11th century AD) was an Imperial Mongol Borjigid Ruler, he was the son and successor of Khaidu Khan, Bashinkhor was a great-gre ...

succeeded him.

Life

Kaidu is mentioned 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 ...

'', the ''History of

Yuan shi The ''History of Yuan'' (''Yuán Shǐ''), also known as the ''Yuanshi'', is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political ...

'', and the ''

Jami al-Tawarikh The ''Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh'' (Persian/Arabic: , ) is a work of literature and history, produced in the Mongol Ilkhanate. Written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani (1247–1318 AD) at the start of the 14th century, the breadth of coverage of the work ha ...

''. He was born circa. 1025 as the youngest of the eight sons of Queen Monolun, the widowed wife of Khachi Khulug, son of Menen Dutum. At this time the

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 ...

(907-1125) of the Mongolic Khitan had control over

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, although the northernmost regions were difficult to keep under control. In the 1050s, the

Khitans The Khitan people (Khitan small script: ; ) were a historical nomadic people from Northeast Asia who, from the 4th century, inhabited an area corresponding to parts of modern Mongolia, Northeast China and the Russian Far East. As a people desce ...

of the

attacked the Jalair, a Darligin Mongol tribe living at the

Kerulen River Kherlen River (also known as Kern or Kerülen; ; ) is a 1,254 km river in Mongolia and China. Course The river originates in the south slopes of the Khentii mountains, near the Burkhan Khaldun mountain in the Khan Khentii Strictly Protected ...

in the far-eastern region of Mongolia. The

Jalair Jalair ( mn, Жалайр; ; ), also Djalair, Yyalair, Jalayir, is one of the Darliqin Mongol tribes according to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani's ''Jami' al-tawarikh''. They lived along the Shilka River in modern Zabaykalsky Krai of Russia.History of Mo ...

fled to the Borjigin Mongols led by Queen Monolun (Nomulun in the Secret History), the mother of Khaidu. They killed Monolun and all her sons except Kaidu who was hidden by his uncle Nachin. Khaidu later conquered the Jalair and made them his subjects. Rashid Al-Din says in the ''Jami Al-Tawarikh'':

References

;Further reading * * Groisset, René. "The empire of steppes" 11th-century Mongolian people Borjigin 1020s births 1100 deaths Year of birth uncertain {{Mongolia-bio-stub