Alakhai Bekhi

Alakhai Bekhi (Alagai Bäki; c. 1191 – after 1230) was the oldest daughter of Genghis Khan and his first wife Börte.^[1] She acted as Regent of the territories in China proper conquered by her father after he withdrew to the Mongolian Plateau in 1215.

Life

In 1206, the Ongud allies of Genghis Khan attended his great Kurultai and brought gifts from their lands. In recognition of their loyalty, Alakhai was betrothed to a relative, perhaps the son, of Alaqush of the Ongud. When she was about sixteen years old, she went south of the Gobi Desert, where the Ongud lived a semi-nomad life. This gave Genghis Khan a foothold beyond the Gobi Desert, where many sedentary kingdoms of large populations were located. Alakhai Beki supplied the Mongols with horses and provisions, whenever they came south.^[2]: 57

In 1211, the Ongud revolted against Alakhai and tried to kill her. She managed to escape, but her husband and other supporters were killed. She took two of her stepsons with her to the Mongol army. Genghis Khan then sent part of his army with her and the revolt was suppressed. Though Genghis planned on the widescale killing of male Onguds in retaliation, Alakhai persuaded him to only punish the murderers of her husband. After that Alakhai married her stepson Jingue and the Ongud remained loyal to her and Genghis Khan.^[2]: 69

She was also left in charge of the territories in China proper conquered by her father after he withdrew back to the Mongolian Plateau in 1215. He gave her the title "Princess Who Runs the State".^[2]: 72 She regularly dispatched troops to aid her father in campaigns.

In 1212, after Jingue's death, she married Boyaohe, another stepson.^[3] They had a son named Negudei and Chakhu. Negudei died in battle in the 1230s. She then worked to promote the interests of her grandchildren by arranging marriages for them to women of the Borjigin clan.^[2]: 80

Alakhai promoted literacy and, according to a Chinese envoy, read daily. Medicine and religious texts in particular held her interest. Alakhai had a nephew named Mongke.^[2]: 70

References

1. McLynn, Frank (2015-07-02). Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World. Random House. ISBN 9781446449295.
2. Weatherford, Jack (2010). The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire. New York: Crown Publishing Group.
3. Women in power

Sources

• Atwood, Christopher P. (2004). Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. New York: Facts on File. ISBN 978-0-8160-4671-3.
• Broadbridge, Anne F. (2018). Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire. Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization. Great Barrington: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-1086-3662-9.
• Broadbridge, Anne F. (2022). "Daughters, Consort Families, and the Military". In May, Timothy; Hope, Michael (eds.). The Mongol World. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 341–350. ISBN 978-1-3151-6517-2.
• Dunnell, Ruth W. (2023). "The Rise of Chinggis Khan and the United Empire". In Biran, Michal; Kim, Hodong (eds.). The Cambridge History of the Mongol Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 19–106. ISBN 978-1-3163-3742-4.
• May, Timothy (2018). The Mongol Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-4237-3. JSTOR 10.3366/j.ctv1kz4g68.
• Ratchnevsky, Paul (1991). Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy. Translated by Thomas Haining. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 978-0-6311-6785-3.
• Zhao, George Q. (2008). Marriage as Political Strategy and Cultural Expression: Mongolian Royal Marriages from World Empire to Yuan Dynasty. New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 978-1-4331-0275-2.