[can’t find any pictures of her D: ]
so let’s talk about one of Genghis Khan’s daughter. namely Alaqai Beki.
some stuff i’ve read about her life:
- genghis khan had a habit of marrying his daughters into tribes on the outskirts of his empire, with the intent of them ruling the area and holding the borders for him. he generally seemed to have more faith in the ruling capabilities of his daughters than his sons from what i’ve seen trololol
- so yeah alaqai beki was sent to marry into/govern the onggud tribe when she was probably in her teens
- and she was not going to have an easy time of it because the mongols had waged a brutal war against them to bring them into the empire aaaand they had a lot of rage where their new rulers were concerned
- alaqai had a pacifist/diplomatic streak from the start (more on this in a second!) her husband’s wives were all dismissed, and by custom she could have had her husband’s children killed as they might pose a threat to any children she may have had. instead she decided to take them into her custody and raise them to be loyal
- anyway, yep, she held the area in the south of the empire, aiding the mongol army, monitoring the silk road etc etc etc
- but yeah i mentioned how the onggud weren’ttttt exactly happy with the situation and who can blame them really?
- so they rose up, revolted against her, and killed her husband
- alaqai beki and her stepsons barely escaped with their lives
- AND HERE’S WHERE THINGS GET EXCEPTIONALLY FASCINATING TO ME
- genghis khan was like okay let’s march to war and wipe all the onggud out. when cities revolted against the mongols, the mongols tended to kill every last man, woman, and child. This was what Alaqai grew up knowing, politics as usual, no one would have been surprised if she said yeah okay do it
- BUT SHE FUCKING REFUSED TO LET HIM DO IT
- she just asked for her father to punish the small number of rebels, because why punish the people who hadn’t participated? and genghis khan listened to her
- and then she went back and people were generally stunned that she had interceded on their behalf and by all accounts she ruled well until her death
- oh yeah and during this time she became literate and did a lot of reading on the various religions of the day. and her kingdom was a cosmopolitan, diverse one
- and i’m just fucking fascinated by her okay??? because she chose peace and understanding and just JKLAFLJKSLJKSF KEYBOARD SMASH
- someone make a show or movie about her (and her sisters) okay??
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