The question of whether Genghis Khan was a slave in his youth is a question that has been asked by many readers of the Secret History of the Mongols, and the answer is more complicated than it might appear. The most accurate answer is that Temüjin was briefly held in captivity by the Tayichiud, a Mongol clan that had once been a part of the Khamag confederation and that had captured him in his youth. He was held in a cangue, a wooden collar used to restrain prisoners, and he was eventually rescued by his father’s friend Toghrul.
This brief captivity is sometimes loosely referred to as “slavery,” but it was not slavery in the conventional sense. Temüjin was not sold into slavery, and he was not held as a chattel. He was held in captivity by a clan that was using him as a hostage, in order to leverage the political position of the Kiyat. The captivity was, in effect, a political maneuver rather than a legal institution, and it was eventually resolved through the political intervention of Toghrul.
The Tayichiud Captivity
The Tayichiud were a Mongol clan that had once been a part of the Khamag confederation and that had since broken away. The Tayichiud were rivals of the Kiyat, and they had long been a source of tension for Yesugei and his family. After the death of Yesugei around 1171, the Tayichiud saw an opportunity to take the surviving Kiyat by force, and they captured Temüjin and held him in captivity.
The captivity was not a long one. The Secret History reports that the Tayichiud held Temüjin for a short time, and that he was eventually rescued by Toghrul, who had been an old friend of Yesugei. The rescue was accomplished through a combination of military pressure and political negotiation, and Temüjin was returned to his family. The episode was formative for Temüjin, and it was a reminder of the dangers of the steppe life.
The Cangue
The Secret History reports that Temüjin was held in a cangue during his captivity. A cangue, also known as a “caba” in Mongolian, is a wooden collar or yoke that is placed around the neck of a prisoner. The cangue was a common form of restraint in medieval China and Central Asia, and it was used to hold prisoners who were awaiting trial or who were being transported to a new location.
The use of the cangue for Temüjin is significant because it indicates that the Tayichiud were not holding him as a chattel, but as a prisoner awaiting some form of political resolution. The cangue was a relatively humane form of restraint, and it was the form of restraint that was used for prisoners of high status. Temüjin, as the son of a Kiyat chieftain, was a prisoner of relatively high status, and the use of the cangue is consistent with this status.
The Rescue
The rescue of Temüjin was accomplished through the political intervention of Toghrul, the Keraite prince. Toghrul had been an old friend of Yesugei, and he had agreed to help the Kiyat in their struggles. Toghrul, who was a powerful ruler in his own right, used his influence to pressure the Tayichiud into releasing Temüjin. The rescue was a major political event, and it cemented the relationship between Temüjin and Toghrul.
The rescue of Temüjin was also a turning point in the early career of the future Genghis Khan. The episode taught Temüjin the value of alliances with the powerful, and it cemented his relationship with Toghrul, who would later play an important role in his rise. The episode also taught Temüjin the dangers of being captured, and it may have contributed to his later interest in security and intelligence.
The Later Life of Temüjin
The Tayichiud captivity was a brief episode in the life of Temüjin, and it did not have a lasting effect on his career. Temüjin went on to become the most powerful man in the eastern steppe, and he was eventually proclaimed as Genghis Khan at the kurultai of 1206. The Tayichiud were eventually defeated by Temüjin, and the Tayichiud leaders were killed or scattered.
The episode of the Tayichiud captivity is, however, a reminder of the difficult circumstances of Temüjin’s early life. The boy who would become the most powerful man in the world was, in his youth, briefly held in captivity by a rival clan, and he was rescued only through the political intervention of a powerful ally. The episode is a reminder of the importance of alliances and of the dangers of the steppe life, and it is one of the formative events in the early career of Genghis Khan.
The Historical Significance
The Tayichiud captivity is also significant for what it tells us about the political life of the steppe. The captivity was a political maneuver rather than a legal institution, and it was resolved through political negotiation rather than through violence. The episode is a reminder that the steppe was not a lawless wilderness, but a complex political environment in which clans, alliances, and personal loyalties played a central role.
The episode is also significant for what it tells us about the character of Temüjin. The Secret History portrays Temüjin as a man who, even in captivity, maintained his composure and his sense of purpose. The episode is a reminder that the future Genghis Khan was, from an early age, a man of considerable ability and determination, and that his later success was not merely the result of good fortune.
Sources
- John Man, Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Legacy (London, 2004).
- Igor de Rachewiltz, ed., The Secret History of the Mongols (2 vols., Brill, 2004–2013).
- Paul Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy (Oxford, 1991).