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5 - The reign of Khubilai khan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2008

By
Morris Rossabi
Edited by
Herbert Franke  and
Denis C. Twitchett
Morris Rossabi
Affiliation:
City University of New York, Columbia University
Denis C. Twitchett
Affiliation:
Princeton University, New Jersey
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Summary

THE EARLY YEARS

In 1229, when Khubilai's uncle Ögödei, rather than his father Tolui, had been selected as the successor to Chinggis khan, it had seemed unlikely that Khubilai would play more than a subsidiary role in Mongolian history. Few could have foreseen that he would eventually become the most powerful figure in the Mongolian domains.

One of those who did was his remarkably competent and intelligent mother Sorghaghtani Beki. Like her near contemporary Eleanor of Aquitaine, Sorghaghtani raised four sons – Möngke, Khubilai, Hülegü, and Arigh Böke – who became monarchs. Both women dedicated themselves to their sons' careers and did not halt their efforts until their sons were enthroned. Sorghaghtani's contemporaries regarded her as one of the greatest women of her age. The Hebrew physician Bar Hebraeus, quoting a poet of his era, wrote about her that “if I were to see among the race of women another woman like this, I should say that the race of women was far superior to men.” Without her political savoir-faire and the training she provided them, her sons would not have succeeded in replacing the house of Ögödei as the main Mongolian royal line.

Sorghaghtani profoundly influenced her sons. First of all, she ensured that they were literate, an indispensable skill for those who aspired to rule a great empire. In addition, by her own example, she taught them some basic political principles. In her appanage in north China, for example, she did not exploit her Chinese subjects, nor did she plunder the region.

Keywords

Chaghadhai khanateChinese theaterChinese ConfuciansKhaiduMongolsSorghaghtani BekiSung dynastynovelsKhubilai Khan
Type
Chapter
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The Cambridge History of China , pp. 414 - 489
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 1994

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