Kheshig
Encyclopedia
Kheshig (Mongolian
for favored or blessed) were the imperial guard
for Mongol royalty
in the Mongol Empire
, particularly for the rulers like the Genghis Khan
and his wife Borte
. Their primary purpose was as a body guard for the emperors and rulers and to protect them during the day and night. They were divided into 2 areas, the day guard and the night guard, Khevtuul. They were distinct from the regular army and would not go to battle with them, instead staying back on guard duty. Their supreme commander was called Cherbi.
Because the Mongol Empire spanned most of Eurasia
, its impacts on the Mongol controlled-areas were so large. Khishig was the term used for the palace guards of the Great Mogul Emperors in India
, and also for the matchlocks and sabres, which were changed weekly from Akbar the Great
's armoury for the royal use. The royal guard
s in Persia who watch the King's person at night are also called Keshikchi.
Modern Mongolian clan Khishigten are believed to be descendants of the kheshig of the Northern Yuan monarchs
.
Yesugei
, for example, was unwittingly poisoned by one of his enemies. The risk was especially high at night since the yurt
that Mongol nomads traditionally sleep in lacks a solid wall, and so a sword
or spear
can easily penetrate the walls and stab the subject inside. As a result, the Mongol and Turkic monarchs in Mongolia
typically had personal guards. The Kerait
khan
Toghoril (Wang Khan) had an imperial guard, Torguud. According to an oral tradition
, their descendants could be Torghut
people. After the defeat of Wang Khan in 1203, Genghis established the kheshig. The kheshig consisted mainly of sworn personal followers.
At first, this consisted of 70 day guards (Torguud or tunghaut) and 80 night guards (khevtuul). During the reign of Genghis, it seems to have been divided into four groups, commanded by the four generals Mukhulai, Chormaqan
, Bogorchu and Borokhula. Members of the kheshig outranked almost any other military officers in the Mongol Empire. As it was extremely well paid, the vocation was a popular one, and the numbers of Kheshig grew rapidly, to the extent that they were only normally on duty for three days in succession. In light of this, the word kheshig refers favor or blessing in the Mongolian language
. Membership in the Kheshig was regarded as a supreme honor and was an alternative to the necessity of hostage taking for noblemen. In the early days the guard had comprised 1,000 men. By the middle of Genghis Khan's reign, they had expanded to a tumen
(10,000 men) commanded by Nayagha, an uncle of Bayan of the Baarin
.
The Khesig was originally consisted of only Mongolians and Turks. As the Empire expanded rapidly, Genghis Khan's successors recruited Chinese
, Kipchak, Georgian
, Armenian
, Alan
, Korean, Italian
and Russian
units. Since the kheshig was personal appanage
of a monarch, his successors did not inherit them. Instead, the kheshigs of deceased Emperors took care of their lords' families and assisted households. But Guyuk Khan
took most of his father Ogedei's old kheshig.
Kublai Khan
(r.1260-1294) restricted the functions of kheshig, and created a new imperial bodyguard. However, his kheshig was still ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan's four steeds. He had a body guard of 12,000 kheshigs.
Khevtuul are the night guard
part of Kheshig, were tasked with protecting the emperors and rulers while they slept in the yurt
. The name "khevtuul," literally means "ones that are lying" on something like bed or floor in the Mongolian language
implying that they have something to do with night time.
bearers. Scholars believe that the Mongolian clan Khorchin
is related to them.
Asud guard. They consisted fully of Alans
from northern Caucasus
. At first, they served the Mongol monarchs as auxiliaries in battle after the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria
in 1236. The Great Khan Kublai organized them into the imperial guard. Their descendants formed modern Mongolian tribe, Asud
.
Ever-faithful Russian life-guard. One of Kublai's successors, Tugh Temur formed a unit of Russians
near Dadu
in 1330.
Kipchak and Qanqli guards. Sometime after 1216 Kipchak and Qanqli prisoners served the Mongols in North China as warrior
s and kharchin
s (clarified fermented mare's milk makers). Under Kublai Khan, the Kipchaks formed special guards corps. And the Qanqli guards were also formed in 1308.
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
for favored or blessed) were the imperial guard
Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard was originally a small group of elite soldiers of the French Army under the direct command of Napoleon I, but grew considerably over time. It acted as his bodyguard and tactical reserve, and he was careful of its use in battle...
for Mongol royalty
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
in the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
, particularly for the rulers like the Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
and his wife Borte
Börte
Börte was the first wife of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. Börte became the head of the first Court of Genghis Khan, and Grand Empress of his Empire. Little is known about the details of her early life, but she was betrothed to him at a young age, married at 17, and then...
. Their primary purpose was as a body guard for the emperors and rulers and to protect them during the day and night. They were divided into 2 areas, the day guard and the night guard, Khevtuul. They were distinct from the regular army and would not go to battle with them, instead staying back on guard duty. Their supreme commander was called Cherbi.
Because the Mongol Empire spanned most of Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, its impacts on the Mongol controlled-areas were so large. Khishig was the term used for the palace guards of the Great Mogul Emperors in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, and also for the matchlocks and sabres, which were changed weekly from Akbar the Great
Akbar the Great
Akbar , also known as Shahanshah Akbar-e-Azam or Akbar the Great , was the third Mughal Emperor. He was of Timurid descent; the son of Emperor Humayun, and the grandson of the Mughal Emperor Zaheeruddin Muhammad Babur, the ruler who founded the Mughal dynasty in India...
's armoury for the royal use. The royal guard
Royal Guard
A Royal Guard describes any group of military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, such as Emperor/Empress, King/Queen, or Prince/Princess...
s in Persia who watch the King's person at night are also called Keshikchi.
Modern Mongolian clan Khishigten are believed to be descendants of the kheshig of the Northern Yuan monarchs
Post-imperial Mongolia
The Northern Yuan Dynasty refers to the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty which continued to rule Mongolia after the expulsion of the Mongol court from China in 1368, until the emergence of the Qing Dynasty in the 17th century. The period was marked by factional struggles and the often only nominal...
.
History
The assassination of the leaders of rival Mongol tribes was a common occurrence thanks to the ever-shifting loyalties and conflicting interests at play within Mongol tribal politics. The father of Genghis KhanGenghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
Yesugei
Yesugei
Yesügei Baghatur , was major chief of the Kiyad-Borjigin clan and the father of Temüjin , Hasar, Hachiun, Temüge, Temülen, Behter, and Belgutei. Yesügei was the son of Bartan Baghatur, who was the son of Khabul Khan, who was recognized as a khagan by the Jin Dynasty...
, for example, was unwittingly poisoned by one of his enemies. The risk was especially high at night since the yurt
Yurt
A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
that Mongol nomads traditionally sleep in lacks a solid wall, and so a sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
or spear
Spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...
can easily penetrate the walls and stab the subject inside. As a result, the Mongol and Turkic monarchs in Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
typically had personal guards. The Kerait
Kerait
The Kereit tribe was one of the five major tribal confederations in Mongolian plateau in the 12th century, and dominant in the area and, as allies of Genghis Khan, influential in the rise of the Mongol Empire...
khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
Toghoril (Wang Khan) had an imperial guard, Torguud. According to an oral tradition
Oral tradition
Oral tradition and oral lore is cultural material and traditions transmitted orally from one generation to another. The messages or testimony are verbally transmitted in speech or song and may take the form, for example, of folktales, sayings, ballads, songs, or chants...
, their descendants could be Torghut
Torghut
The Torgut are one of the four major subgroups of the Four Oirats. The Torghut ruling dynasty traced its descent to the Kereit ruler Wang Khan's bodyguards....
people. After the defeat of Wang Khan in 1203, Genghis established the kheshig. The kheshig consisted mainly of sworn personal followers.
At first, this consisted of 70 day guards (Torguud or tunghaut) and 80 night guards (khevtuul). During the reign of Genghis, it seems to have been divided into four groups, commanded by the four generals Mukhulai, Chormaqan
Chormaqan
Chormaqan was one of the most famous generals of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan. He was also a member of the keshik....
, Bogorchu and Borokhula. Members of the kheshig outranked almost any other military officers in the Mongol Empire. As it was extremely well paid, the vocation was a popular one, and the numbers of Kheshig grew rapidly, to the extent that they were only normally on duty for three days in succession. In light of this, the word kheshig refers favor or blessing in the Mongolian language
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
. Membership in the Kheshig was regarded as a supreme honor and was an alternative to the necessity of hostage taking for noblemen. In the early days the guard had comprised 1,000 men. By the middle of Genghis Khan's reign, they had expanded to a tumen
Tumen
Tumen or Tümen was a part of the decimal system used by Turkic and Mongol peoples to organize their armies. Tumen is an army unit of 10,000 soldiers...
(10,000 men) commanded by Nayagha, an uncle of Bayan of the Baarin
Bayan of the Baarin
Bayan of the Baarin , also known as "Bayan chingsang" or, to Marco Polo, as "Bayan Hundred Eyes" , was a Mongol general...
.
The Khesig was originally consisted of only Mongolians and Turks. As the Empire expanded rapidly, Genghis Khan's successors recruited Chinese
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
, Kipchak, Georgian
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
, Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, Alan
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
, Korean, Italian
Buscarello de Ghizolfi
Buscarello de Ghizolfi, or Buscarel of Gisolfe was a European who settled in Persia in the 13th century while it was part of the Mongol Ilkhanate. He was a Mongol ambassador to Europe from 1289 to 1305, serving the Mongol rulers Arghun, Ghazan and then Oljeitu...
and Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
units. Since the kheshig was personal appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
of a monarch, his successors did not inherit them. Instead, the kheshigs of deceased Emperors took care of their lords' families and assisted households. But Guyuk Khan
Güyük Khan
Güyük was the third Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. As the eldest son of Ögedei Khan and a grandson of Genghis Khan, he reigned from 1246 to 1248...
took most of his father Ogedei's old kheshig.
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
(r.1260-1294) restricted the functions of kheshig, and created a new imperial bodyguard. However, his kheshig was still ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan's four steeds. He had a body guard of 12,000 kheshigs.
Primary Units
Torguud (Tunghaut) are the day guard of the Mongol khans. They were always close to their rulers during their conquests or daily-life. Famous Subotai was in the kheshig in his early years.Khevtuul are the night guard
Night Watch
A Night Watch is a lookout, guard or patrol at night, in a nautical, military or police context; see Watchman .Night Watch or Nightwatch as a proper name may refer to:-Art:...
part of Kheshig, were tasked with protecting the emperors and rulers while they slept in the yurt
Yurt
A yurt is a portable, bent wood-framed dwelling structure traditionally used by Turkic nomads in the steppes of Central Asia. The structure comprises a crown or compression wheel usually steam bent, supported by roof ribs which are bent down at the end where they meet the lattice wall...
. The name "khevtuul," literally means "ones that are lying" on something like bed or floor in the Mongolian language
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
implying that they have something to do with night time.
Supplementary units
Khorchin were a battle guard of the Khagans. The word Khorchin refers quiverQuiver
A quiver is a container for arrows. Quivers have been traditionally made of leather, bark, wood, furs and other natural materials; modern quivers are often made of metal and plastic....
bearers. Scholars believe that the Mongolian clan Khorchin
Khorchin
Khorchin is a subgroup of the Mongols that speak the Khorchin dialect of Mongolian and predominantly live in southeastern Inner Mongolia....
is related to them.
Asud guard. They consisted fully of Alans
Alans
The Alans, or the Alani, occasionally termed Alauni or Halani, were a group of Sarmatian tribes, nomadic pastoralists of the 1st millennium AD who spoke an Eastern Iranian language which derived from Scytho-Sarmatian and which in turn evolved into modern Ossetian.-Name:The various forms of Alan —...
from northern Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. At first, they served the Mongol monarchs as auxiliaries in battle after the Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria
Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria
The Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria lasted from 1223 to 1236.-The Mongol campaigns:In 1223, after defeating Russian and Cuman/Kipchak armies at the Battle of Kalka, a Mongol army under the generals Subutai and Jebe was sent to subdue Volga Bulgaria. At that point in history Genghis Khan's troops...
in 1236. The Great Khan Kublai organized them into the imperial guard. Their descendants formed modern Mongolian tribe, Asud
Asud
Asud were a guard and military group of Alani origin. The Mongol clan Asud is the plural of As, the Arabic name for the Alans.After the Mongol invasion of Rus, many Alans submitted to the Mongol Empire. Some of them resisted the Golden Horde longer. Many warriors moved from Northern Caucasia to...
.
Ever-faithful Russian life-guard. One of Kublai's successors, Tugh Temur formed a unit of Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
near Dadu
Khanbaliq
Khanbaliq or Dadu refers to a city which is now Beijing, the current capital of the People's Republic of China...
in 1330.
Kipchak and Qanqli guards. Sometime after 1216 Kipchak and Qanqli prisoners served the Mongols in North China as warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
s and kharchin
Kharchin
Kharchin is a subgroup of the Mongols residing mainly in North-western Liaoning and Chifeng, Inner Mongolia. There are Khalkha-Kharchin Mongols in Dorno-Gobi Province and in Ulaanbaatar.They are descended directly from the Kharchin tümen of the Northern Yuan Dynasty...
s (clarified fermented mare's milk makers). Under Kublai Khan, the Kipchaks formed special guards corps. And the Qanqli guards were also formed in 1308.
See also
- Mongol EmpireMongol EmpireThe Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
- Mongol military tactics and organizationMongol military tactics and organizationThe Mongol military tactics and organization helped the Mongol Empire to conquer nearly all of continental Asia, the Middle East and parts of eastern Europe. In many ways, it can be regarded as the first "modern" military system....
- Society of the Mongol Empire
- Organization of state under Genghis KhanOrganization of state under Genghis Khan-Pax Mongolica:Coined as a parallel to Pax Romana, the Pax Mongolica is a term used to describe the phenomena during the 13th and 14th centuries where trade from China to Europe was not only possible, but common and free from profound interference...