Khutulun
Encyclopedia
Khutulun also known as Aiyurug or Khotol Tsagaan, was the most famous daughter of Kaidu
and the niece of Kublai Khan
. Her father was most pleased by her abilities, and she accompanied him on military campaigns. Marco Polo
and Rashid al-Din
both wrote of her.
Khutulun was born about 1260. By 1280, her father Kaidu became the most powerful ruler of Central Asia, reigning in the realms from western Mongolia
to Oxus, and from the Central Siberian Plateau
to India
.
According to Marco Polo, Khutulun was described as being a superb warrior; one who could ride into enemy ranks and snatch a captive as easily as a hawk snatches a chicken. She assisted her father in many battles, particularly against the Yuan Dynasty
of her cousin the Great Khan - Kublai (r. 1260-94).
Khutulun refused to marry unless a man could first defeat her in wrestling. Many men came forward to try, but none succeeded. She would challenge suitors who wanted to marry her to a wrestling match, in which the prospective groom would have to forfeit 100 horses if he lost. She gained 10,000 horses this way. Her parents became anxious for her to marry.
The people alleged that she maintained an incestuous relationship with her father and thus would take no other man while he lived. Realizing the price her father paid for such malicious propaganda, Khutulun chose a man from among her father’s followers and married him without wrestling him. Sources vary on her husband's identity. Some chronicles say her husband was a handsome man who failed to assassinate her father and was taken prisoner while others refer to him as Kaidu's companion from the Choros
clan. Rashid al-Din wrote that Khutulun fell in love with Ghazan, Mongol ruler in Persia
.
Her father Kaidu increasingly relied on Khutulun for advice as well as for political support. She was unmistakably his favorite child, and according to some accounts, he attempted to name her to be the next khan before his death in 1301. However, his choice was declined due to her male relatives. When Kaidu died, Khutulun guarded his tomb with the assistance of her brother Orus. She was challenged by her other brothers including Chapar and relative Duwa
because she resisted their succession. She died in 1306.
published a book of tales and fables combining various Asian literary themes. One of his longest and best stories derived from the history of Khutulun. In his adaptation, however, she bore the title Turandot, meaning “Turkish Daughter,” the nineteen-year-old daughter of Altoun Khan, the Mongol emperor of China. Instead of challenging her suitors in wrestling, Pétis de La Croix had her confront them with three riddles. In his more dramatic version, instead of wagering mere horses, the suitor had to forfeit his life if he failed to answer correctly.
Fifty years later, the popular Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi
made her story into a drama of a “tigerish woman” of “unrelenting pride.” In a combined effort by two of the greatest literary talents of the era, Friedrich von Schiller translated the play into German as Turandot, Prinzessin von China, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
directed it on the stage in Weimar in 1802.
More than a century later, Italian composer Giacomo Puccini
was still working on his opera Turandot
at the time of his death in 1924. Unlike his other operatic heroine, Madame Butterfly, who lived and died for the love of a man, Turandot rejected any man whom she deemed inferior to her. Puccini's opera became the most famous of the artistic variations of her life’s story.
Kaidu
Kaidu was the leader of the House of Ogedei and the de facto khan of the Chagatai Khanate. He ruled part of modern-day Xinjiang and Central Asia during the 13th century, and actively opposed his uncle, Kublai Khan, who established the Yuan Dynasty in China until his death in 1301...
and the niece of 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...
. Her father was most pleased by her abilities, and she accompanied him on military campaigns. Marco Polo
Marco Polo
Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant traveler from the Venetian Republic whose travels are recorded in Il Milione, a book which did much to introduce Europeans to Central Asia and China. He learned about trading whilst his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, travelled through Asia and apparently...
and Rashid al-Din
Rashid al-Din
Rashīd al-Dīn Tabīb also Rashīd al-Dīn Fadhl-allāh Hamadānī , was a Persian physician of Jewish origin, polymathic writer and historian, who wrote an enormous Islamic history, the Jami al-Tawarikh, in the Persian language, often considered a landmark in intercultural historiography and a key...
both wrote of her.
Khutulun was born about 1260. By 1280, her father Kaidu became the most powerful ruler of Central Asia, reigning in the realms from western 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...
to Oxus, and from the Central Siberian Plateau
Central Siberian Plateau
The Central Siberian Plateau is made up of sharply demarcated surfaces of varying altitudes occupying most of Siberia between the Yenisei and Lena rivers. It extends over an area of 3.5 million km². The highest point is the Putoran Mountains rising to 1701 m. To the north of the plateau are...
to 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...
.
According to Marco Polo, Khutulun was described as being a superb warrior; one who could ride into enemy ranks and snatch a captive as easily as a hawk snatches a chicken. She assisted her father in many battles, particularly against the Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
The Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
of her cousin the Great Khan - Kublai (r. 1260-94).
Khutulun refused to marry unless a man could first defeat her in wrestling. Many men came forward to try, but none succeeded. She would challenge suitors who wanted to marry her to a wrestling match, in which the prospective groom would have to forfeit 100 horses if he lost. She gained 10,000 horses this way. Her parents became anxious for her to marry.
The people alleged that she maintained an incestuous relationship with her father and thus would take no other man while he lived. Realizing the price her father paid for such malicious propaganda, Khutulun chose a man from among her father’s followers and married him without wrestling him. Sources vary on her husband's identity. Some chronicles say her husband was a handsome man who failed to assassinate her father and was taken prisoner while others refer to him as Kaidu's companion from the Choros
Choros
Choros was the ruling clan of the Zungars and Dorbets and once ruled the whole Four Oirats. They founded the Zunghar Empire in the 17th century. According to a myth, their chiefs reckoned their descent from a boy nourished by a sacred tree, a legend shared with the Uyghur royal family.In the late...
clan. Rashid al-Din wrote that Khutulun fell in love with Ghazan, Mongol ruler in Persia
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
.
Her father Kaidu increasingly relied on Khutulun for advice as well as for political support. She was unmistakably his favorite child, and according to some accounts, he attempted to name her to be the next khan before his death in 1301. However, his choice was declined due to her male relatives. When Kaidu died, Khutulun guarded his tomb with the assistance of her brother Orus. She was challenged by her other brothers including Chapar and relative Duwa
Duwa
Duwa , also known as Du'a, was khan of the Chagatai Khanate . He was the second son of Baraq. He was the longest reigning monarch of the Chagatayid Khanate and accepted the Great Khan's supremacy...
because she resisted their succession. She died in 1306.
Legacy in arts
In 1710, while writing the first biography of Genghis Khan, the French scholar François Pétis de la CroixFrançois Pétis de la Croix
François Pétis de la Croix was a French orientalist.He was born in Paris, the son of the Arabic interpreter of the French court, and inherited this office at his father's death in 1695, afterwards transmitting it to his own son, Alexandre Louis Marie, who also distinguished himself in Oriental...
published a book of tales and fables combining various Asian literary themes. One of his longest and best stories derived from the history of Khutulun. In his adaptation, however, she bore the title Turandot, meaning “Turkish Daughter,” the nineteen-year-old daughter of Altoun Khan, the Mongol emperor of China. Instead of challenging her suitors in wrestling, Pétis de La Croix had her confront them with three riddles. In his more dramatic version, instead of wagering mere horses, the suitor had to forfeit his life if he failed to answer correctly.
Fifty years later, the popular Italian playwright Carlo Gozzi
Carlo Gozzi
Carlo, Count Gozzi was an Italian playwright.Born in Venice, he came from an old Venetian family from the Republic of Ragusa...
made her story into a drama of a “tigerish woman” of “unrelenting pride.” In a combined effort by two of the greatest literary talents of the era, Friedrich von Schiller translated the play into German as Turandot, Prinzessin von China, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
directed it on the stage in Weimar in 1802.
More than a century later, Italian composer Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
was still working on his opera Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
at the time of his death in 1924. Unlike his other operatic heroine, Madame Butterfly, who lived and died for the love of a man, Turandot rejected any man whom she deemed inferior to her. Puccini's opera became the most famous of the artistic variations of her life’s story.