Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
remained under male rule. Never before had such a large empire been ruled by wo-
men.
Töregene passed power on to her inept son Guyuk in 1246, but he died mysteri-
ously within 18 months and was replaced by his widow Oghul Ghamish, who had to
face Sorkhokhtani, the most capable woman in the empire. With the full support of
her four sons, whom she trained for this moment, Sorkhokhtani organised the
election of her eldest son Möngke on 1 July 1251. So great was her achievement
that a Persian chronicler wrote that if history produced only one more woman
equal to Sorkhokhtani, then surely women would have to be judged the superior
sex.
While Kublai Khaan ruled China, his cousin Khaidu continued to fight against him
from Central Asia and, true to the Mongol tradition, Khaidu's daughter Khutlun
fought with him. According to Marco Polo, who called her Aiyaruk, she was both
beautiful and powerful. She defeated so many men in wrestling that today, Mongo-
lian wrestlers wear an open vest in order to visibly distinguish the male from the fe-
male wrestlers.
After the fall of the Mongol empire in 1368, the men returned to squabbling over
sheep and stealing horses, but the women kept the imperial spirit alive. In the late
15th century a new conqueror arose, determined to restore the empire. Known to
the grateful Mongols as Manduhai the Wise Queen, she took to the battlefield and
united the scattered tribes into a single nation. She fought even while pregnant and
was once injured while carrying twins; she and the twins survived, and her army
won the battle.
Faced with Manduhai's tenacity and skill, the Chinese frantically expanded the
Great Wall. Although she left seven sons and three daughters, the era of the great
warrior queens of Mongolia had passed with her death. Even so, Mongolians still
watch and wait for a new Manduhai.
Revolutions
In 1911 the Qing dynasty crumbled. The Mongols broke away and created their own in-
dependent country under their highest Buddhist leader, the Jebtzun Damba (Living
Buddha), who became both spiritual and temporal head of the nation as the Bogd Khan
(Holy King). When the Chinese also broke free of the Manchus and created the Republic
of China, the new nation did not recognise Mongolia's independence, claiming portions
of the Manchu empire, including Tibet and Mongolia. In May 1915 the Treaty of
Khyakhta, which granted Mongolia limited autonomy, was signed by Mongolia, China
and Russia.
The Russian Revolution of October 1917 came as a great shock to Mongolia's aristo-
cracy. Taking advantage of Russia's weakness, a Chinese warlord sent his troops into
