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
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
of the
Khamag Mongol confederation and great-grandfather of
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
. and also brother of
Khaduli Barlas who was the ancestor of
Barlas
The Barlas ( mn, Barulās, script=Latn;Grupper, S. M. ‘A Barulas Family Narrative in the Yuan Shih: Some Neglected Prosopographical and Institutional Sources on Timurid Origins.’ Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi 8 (1992–94): 11–97 Chagatay/ ...
Mongol conquer
Timur
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 ...
, he was the son and successor of
Tumbinai Khan
Tumbinai Khan, Tumbinai Setsen or, Timurids say Tumanay Khan (Mongol: Тумбинай хаан, Тумбинай сэцэн, Туманай хаан; died 1130 CE.) was the Khan of the Borjigin Imperial mongol tribe. He lived during the 11th and ...
.
Family and background
Khabul Khan was a son of
Tumbinai Khan
Tumbinai Khan, Tumbinai Setsen or, Timurids say Tumanay Khan (Mongol: Тумбинай хаан, Тумбинай сэцэн, Туманай хаан; died 1130 CE.) was the Khan of the Borjigin Imperial mongol tribe. He lived during the 11th and ...
and great-grandson of the
Khaidu. He was head 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 ...
clan.
Campaigns
Khabul Khan entered history as a result of his clashes with the
Jurchens, a people who lived in
Manchuria
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...
who later established the
Jin dynasty in 1115, and gradually took control over Manchuria. In alliance with the Chinese
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
, they attacked 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 ...
, and by 1122 had captured a significant portion of Liao territory. In 1135, Khabul Khan was invited to the court of the
Emperor Taizong of Jin, where he famously pulled the emperor's beard. The Jin army pursued him into southern Mongolia, but Khabul eluded capture and returned with a larger army to pillage the Jin dynasty.
[Erich Haenisch, ''Die Geheime Geschichte der Mongolen'', Leipzig 1948, p.7 (=section 52)]
When the Jin army then entered Mongolia with the intention of conquering the territories ruled by the
Emperor Dezong of Liao, the founder of the
Qara Khitai, or Western Liao dynasty, it was Khabul Khan who put together a Mongol confederation and led the successful effort to repel this invasion.
[
The confederation was called the Khamag Mongol (or "Whole Mongol") and consisted of the four core clans: ]Khiyad
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 ...
, Taichuud, Jalairs
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 ...
, and Jurkhin. It is sometime considered a predecessor state of Genghis Khan's empire. When the Jurchen accepted their defeat, they recognized Khabul Khan, in 1146 or 1147, as the paramount ruler of the Mongols, although they still officially considered him their vassal.[
Khabul Khan has been described as having expanded his Mongol tribe and achieved incredible triumph in suppressing the ]Tatar
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different tribes, an accomplishment in which he was aided by his son Yasukai. His activities during his reign marked the first attempts to politically unify the Mongols.
Though Khabul Khan had 7 sons, he nominated Ambaghai
Ambaghai or Hambaqai Khan (; ) ( ? – died 1156) was a khan of the Khamag Mongol, one of the great grandsons of Khaidu Khan and the cousin and predecessor of Hotula Khan, he was the Leader of Taichud Clan one of sub-branch of Borjigid, and al ...
, a son of Sengun Bilge from Taichuud clan, as his successor.[
]
Descendants and legacy
Khabul Khan had seven sons, the oldest being Okin-barkhakh and the second oldest Bartan the Valiant. Bartan, in turn, fathered Yesugei, the father of Genghis Khan. The Khabul Khan's third son was Mongler, who fathered Buri the wrestler.
Khabul is considered important today because of his establishment of the Mongol state. He is also considered by some historians to have been a reformer and is described as a promoter of democracy.
See also
* Family tree of Genghis Khan
References
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing
12th-century Mongol rulers
Mongolian nobility
Mongol khans
History of Mongolia
Founding monarchs
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