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ing defeat upon the Keraits, reducing them to abject submission. In 12061 he summoned a Kurultay,2 or Diet of the Nobles, and, in the presence of all the tribal chieftains, formally adopted the title of Chingiz Khan, or "The Very Mighty King."

His ambitions were now aroused, though they were as yet bounded by the narrow horizon in which they had found scope; and he could not have foreseen the goal to which they would carry him.

1 The exact date is uncertain.

2 This word may be read either Kuriltäy or Kurultay. Cf. Pavet de Courteille, Dictionnaire Turk-Oriental, p. 429.

CHAPTER XXII

MONGOL INVASION OF CENTRAL ASIA

TAI YANG KHAN, king of the Christian tribe of Naimans, alarmed at the growing power of the young ruler, sent Alakush-Tekin, chief of the Onguts, or white Tatars, an invitation to join him against the ambitious Mongol. Alakush-Tekin immediately informed Chingiz of the Naimans' intentions, assuring him at the same time of his own friendly feeling. Chingiz promptly marched against Tai Yang, who descended from the Altai to the foot of the Khanggai Mountains, attended by many allies, among whom was Tukta, king of the Merkits.1 In the battle which took place the Naimans were utterly routed. Among the prisoners who fell into the hands of the Mongols was Tatatungo, the chancellor of Tai Yang, who belonged to the Uighur tribe, and tradition attributes to his influence the veneer of civilisation of the Mongols; and it is certain that Chingiz caused him to instruct his sons in the language, laws, and customs of the Uïghūrs.2

Tai Yang Khān perished in this battle, while his son Guchluk fled by way of Bish Balik to the country of the Gür-Khan of Kara-Khitay.3 After wandering for some time and enduring great privations, he at length arrived at the court of the Gūr-Khān (1208). He was hospitably received, and the Khan gave him his daughter in marriage; 2 Ibid. p. 89.

1 Cf. d'Ohsson, i. 86.

3 Cf. Howorth, J.R.A.S., New Series VIII. p. 283.

but the favours showered on him did not prevent his plotting to dethrone his benefactor. He obtained per

mission to enlist the remnants of the Naiman tribe, and thus collected a considerable force; then he entered into a league with Mohammad Shāh of Khwārazm, and 'Othman, prince of Samarkand, who, as we have seen above, were both vassals of the Gur - Khān. They arranged that they should attack their Gür-Khān suzerain simultaneously, the one from the east and the other from the west. The conditions determined on were that if Sultan Mohammad should be the first to gain a victory, Almāligh, Khotan, and Kāshghar, which were in Guchluk's hands, should be ceded to him; but if, on the other hand, Guchluk should win the initial success, KaraKhitay, as far as Finaket, should be delivered over to him.1 Guchluk arrived before the Sultan, and was at first successful, but was afterwards defeated on his way to attack Balāsāghūn, and obliged to retreat. In the meantime the troops of Mohammad and 'Othman had entered Kara-Khitay, and gained a victory over the GurKhan's general, Tanigu, near the city of Taraz. Guchluk, taking advantage of this reverse, hurried back, surprised the Gūr-Khān, and took him prisoner, A.H. 608 (1212). Two years later the Gūr-Khān died, at a very advanced age. Guchluk, now firmly established on the throne of Kara-Khitay, reduced his new subjects to complete obedience. He was a cruel persecutor of Islam, being himself a Nestorian Christian until his marriage with the Gur-Khan's daughter, when he became a Buddhist.2

Chingiz had been occupied since the overthrow of the Naimans with the conquest of China, and "though it

1 The above facts are from the Jahān-Kushāy. Cf. Bretschneider, op. cit. i. 230, 231; the Tarikh-i-Rashidi, p. 289; and d'Ohsson, op. cit. i. 166 et seq.

? Cf. d'Ohsson, i. 170 et seq.; Bretschneider, op. cit. i. 231.

was reserved for his grandson to complete the subjugation of the Celestial Empire,1 a great part of the northern provinces . . . was added to the Mongol dominions during the great Khan's own lifetime." 2

In 1218 he despatched an army 20,000 strong, under Noyan Chebe, to attack Guchluk Khān in Kāshghar. Hearing of their approach, Guchluk fled, but was shortly afterwards overtaken in the mountains of Badakhshān and put to death. He was, as we have seen, a bigot, and especially intolerant in his dealings with Mohammedans. The Mongols proclaimed religious liberty, and thereby ensured for themselves the favour of the people.3

After the downfall of the Kara-Khitays the possessions of Mohammad of Khwārazm extended into the heart of Turkestan, with Samarkand as a capital. Those of Guchluk Khan were restricted to Kashghar, Khotan, and Yarkand.4

6

Chingiz's relations with his powerful neighbour in Khwārazm were long of a peaceful and even friendly nature, but causes were at work which altered them radically. Abu-l-Ghāzi states that the Caliph Nasir's intense jealousy of the northern empire led him to adopt every means in his power to weaken it, and that he invited Chingiz to attack Sultan Mohammad. It is probable that this perfidious policy caused a coldness between the two potentates; but the immediate cause of rupture was an act for which the Khwārazm Sultan was alone responsible. He cruelly slew, at

1 This occupied him between the years 1210 and 1214.

2 S. Lane-Poole, loc. cit. See also Gibbon's 64th chapter.

3 Cf. Bretschneider, loc. cit. ; and on the subject of the religious tolerance of Chingiz, Gibbon, chap. Ixiv.

♦ Cf. d'Ohsson, i. 204.

'He had put his former ally 'Othman to death in A.H. 607 (1210). See d'Ohsson, i. 183.

"Abu-l-Ghāzi, ed. Desmaisons, p. 99.

Otrar, some Mohammedan traders who had incurred his animosity, in spite of the fact that they were travelling under Chingiz's protection. The avalanches which descended on the habitable world in the twelfth century were thus set in motion by princes whose interest required that the vast forces controlled by Chingiz should remain pent up in their native steppes.

In A.H. 615 (1218) he set out for Otrar, determined to avenge the insult offered by Sultan Mohammad, and on his way was joined by large reinforcements of Karliks, Uighur and other Mongol tribes, eager to share in the plunder of the West.1 On reaching that goal he divided his forces among his sons, and laid down for each the object of attack.

Ogday and Chaghatay were to reduce Otrār; Jūji Khan was despatched in the direction of Jand; while two of his generals, with 5000 men, were sent to attack Finaket and Khojend. With the remainder of his forces Chingiz himself, accompanied by his son Tūlī, set out for Bokhārā,2 and arrived at that capital in A.H. 616 (1219), having carried all before him on his march. No sooner had he appeared than the garrison, 20,000 strong, fled towards Khwārazm, but were overtaken on the banks of the Oxus and cut to pieces by the Mongols sent in their pursuit. Meanwhile the shaykhs and mullas of Bokhārā sallied forth and presented the keys of the town to Chingiz Khān, who made a formal entry, penetrated the courtyard of the principal mosque on horseback, and asked whether this fine building was Sultan Mohammad's palace. On being told that it was God's house he dismounted, and, ascending the pulpit, hurled the Koran beneath his horse's feet. He next insisted that the inhabitants should deliver up their hidden treasures. Here his destroying hand would 1 Abū-l-Ghāzi, ed. Desmaisons, p. 100. Abu-l-Ghāzi, loc. cit.

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