{{Short description|Leading stateswoman in the Mongol Empire}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}} {{Infobox royalty |name = Sorghaghtani |image = TuluiWithQueenSorgaqtani.jpg |caption = Queen Sorghaghtani with her husband, [[Tolui]]. [[Rashid al-Din Hamadani]], early 14th century. |coronation = |spouse = [[Tolui]] |issue = [[Möngke Khan]]<br />[[Kublai Khan]]<br />[[Hulagu Khan]]<br />[[Ariq Böke]] |house = [[Keraite]] |father = Jakha Gambhu, brother of [[Toghril]] |mother = Wasai |religion = [[Church of the East]] |birth_date = {{circa|1199}}<ref name="Sorghaghtani birth year">{{Cite journal|author=[[許正弘]]|url=https://www.his.ntnu.edu.tw/publish01/downloadfile.php?periodicalsPage=2&issue_id=16&paper_id=87|title=〈唆魯禾帖尼生卒年壽及其相涉史〉|journal=《臺灣師大歷史學報》|location=[[Republic of China]]|publisher=[[National Taiwan Normal University|Department of History, National Taiwan Normal University]]|year=June 2015|volume=|issue=53|pages=70|quote=對讀前揭《元史·許國禎傳》，兩條材料所記無疑為一事，下筆著墨濃淡有別，治病功勞則各執一詞，甚至不及彼此名諱。〈顏天翼神道碑〉的敘述顯得更為詳瞻與生動，最重要的是，《元史・許國禎傳》不詳的醫治時間，在此明確被繫於蒙哥即位（1251）之後。唆魯禾帖尼在1252年正月逝世，接受治療當在1251年，時年五十三歲，據以推算應生於1199年。}}</ref> |birth_place = [[Mongolian–Manchurian grassland]] |death_date = 1 March 1252<ref name="Sorghaghtani death day 1">{{Cite journal|author=[[Hung Chin-fu]]|url=https://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/2904qEiyTWA.pdf|title=〈唐妃娘娘阿吉剌考〉|journal=《中央研究院歷史語言研究所集刊》|location=[[Republic of China]]|publisher=[[Academia Sinica|Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica]]|date=March 2008|volume=79|issue=1|pages=41－62|language=zh|quote=拖雷忌日在九月，玉華宮影堂有祭；唐妃忌日在正月，玉華宮影堂亦有祭。《元史·文宗紀三》載，至順元年（1330）十二月「乙丑（十九日），遣集賢侍讀學士珠遘詣真定，以明年正月二十日祀睿宗及后于玉華宮之神御殿」睿宗皇后忌日為正月二十日，這是又一旁證。同書〈文宗紀四〉載，至順二年十二月「庚申（十九日），遣集賢直學士答失蠻詣真定玉華宮，祀睿宗及顯懿莊聖皇后神御殿」。如同至順元年那次一樣，這次也是十二月十九日決定人選，遣赴真定，估計祭祀日期應當也是一個月後的正月二十日。至順三年以後，玉華宮神御殿正月之祭可能有變。或者日期更動或者不再舉行。重紀至元三年（1337），羊歸建議「每年宜於正月二十日致祭」，真正原因，我們不清楚，但正月二十日為唐妃忌日，應當沒有問題。|access-date=2023-03-08|archive-date=2023-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308173652/https://www2.ihp.sinica.edu.tw/file/2904qEiyTWA.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Sorghaghtani death day 2">{{Cite book|author1=[[Ke Shaomin]]|editor=|title=《新元史‧卷六‧本紀第六‧憲宗》|location=[[Republic of China]]|publisher=|date=|pages=|isbn=|accessdate=|url=|language=zh|quote=二年春正月，帝幸失灰之地。命皇弟旭烈兀討木剌夷，以乃蠻人怯的不花爲前鋒。皇太后客烈亦氏崩。置經略司於汴。以忙哥、史天澤、楊惟中、趙壁等爲經略使，屯田唐、鄧諸州。}}</ref> (aged around 53) |death_place = [[Mongol Empire]] |burial_date = |burial_place = [[Gansu]] (at church) }} '''Surqaghtani Beki'''{{efn|{{blist|{{langx|mn|Сорхагтани Бэхи|Sorkhagtani Bekhi}}, {{IPA|mn|sɔr̥χə̆χtʰənɪ̆ pexɪ̆|pron}}|[[Classical Mongolian]]: {{MongolUnicode|ᠰᠤᠷᠬᠠᠭᠲᠠᠨᠢ<br />ᠪᠡᠬᠢ}} {{IPA|cmg|ˈsurqʰaɣtʰanĭ b̥ekʰĭ|}}|{{zh|t=唆魯禾帖尼|p=Suōlǔhétiēní}}}}}} (or simply '''Bekhi'''; {{circa|1199}}<ref name="Sorghaghtani birth year"/> – 1 March 1252<ref name="Sorghaghtani death day 1"/><ref name="Sorghaghtani death day 2"/> ), [[Posthumous name|posthumously]] '''Empress Xianyi Zhuangsheng''',{{efn|{{zh|t=顯懿莊聖皇后|p=Xiǎnyì Zhuāngshèng Huánghòu}}}} was a [[Keraite]] princess and daughter-in-law of [[Genghis Khan]]. Married to [[Tolui]], Genghis' youngest son, Sorghaghtani became one of the most powerful and competent people in the [[Mongol Empire]]. She made policy decisions at a pivotal moment that led to the transition of the Mongol Empire towards a more cosmopolitan and sophisticated style of administration. She raised her sons to be leaders and maneuvered the family politics so that all four of her sons, [[Möngke Khan]], [[Hulagu Khan]], [[Ariq Böke]], and [[Kublai Khan]], went on to inherit the legacy of their grandfather.

Given her considerable influence at a critical juncture in the history of the [[Mongol Empire]], Sorghaghtani Beki is widely regarded as one of the most influential and powerful women of the medieval era<ref>Jack Weatherford, ''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, The Secret History of the Mongol Queens''. {{ISBN?}}</ref> Sorghaghtani was a Christian and a member of the Church of the East, a denomination often, though imprecisely, referred to in Western scholarship as “[[Nestorianism]]” As a leading political figure within the imperial establishment, she played a significant role in shaping policies that facilitated the expansion of trade networks and the promotion of intellectual and cultural exchange across Mongol territories, which together formed the largest contiguous land empire in world history.<ref name="weatherford" />

== Life == Sorghaghtani was the daughter of Jakha Gambhu, the younger brother of the powerful Keraite leader [[Toghrul]], also known as Ong Khan. According to the ''[[Secret History of the Mongols]]'', around 1203, when Toghrul was a more powerful leader than Temüjin, Temüjin proposed to Toghrul that Temüjin's eldest son [[Jochi]] might marry Toghrul's daughter or granddaughter, thus binding the two groups. Toghrul refused this alliance and later attempted to kill the increasingly powerful Temüjin through an invitation to discuss this proposal. Temüjin discovered this plan and they escaped at the last moment. Eventually, the Keraites were routed in the ensuing war and Toghrul was killed, possibly by the [[Naimans]].

Unlike his brother, Jakha usually supported Temüjin and gave his two daughters to him and one more daughter to Genghis Khan's oldest son Jochi. Genghis married the elder of the daughters, [[Ibaqa Beki]] (later handed over to the general [[Jürchedei]]), and gave young Sorghaghtani, who was still a teenager, to his son [[Tolui]].<ref name="Man"> {{cite book | title = Kublai Khan | first = John | last = Man | publisher = Bantam Press | year = 2006}}</ref> Sorghaghtani's father Jakha was killed by Jürchedei when the Keraites revolted against Genghis Khan after 1204.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last = Broadbridge |first = Anne F. |title = Women and the Making of the Mongol Empire |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|year=2018|isbn=978-1-108-42489-9|location=[[Cambridge]] |page = 81 }}</ref>

Like most Mongol women of the time, Sorghaghtani wielded great authority at home. [[Mongols|Mongol]] women had far more rights than in many other cultures at the time, especially since the men were often away and they were the ones responsible for the home.<ref name="rossabi" /> Although she herself was illiterate, she recognized the value of literacy in running such a far-flung empire. Each of her sons learned a different language for different regions. Sorghaghtani, a Christian, respected other religions. Her sons, like Genghis, were all very tolerant in matters of religion, and the Mongol Empire promulgated the notion of state above religion while supporting all major religions of the time.<ref name="weatherford" /> Sorghaghtani also financed the construction of a [[madrasa]] in [[Bukhara]] and gave alms to both Christians and [[Muslims]].

Sorghaghtani's husband Tolui, whose [[appanage]]s included eastern Mongolia, parts of [[Iran]] and northern China, died at the age of 41 in 1232. [[Ögedei Khan]], Genghis's third son who had succeeded his father, gave her enduring authority to handle Tolui's estates. The ''Secret History'' suggests that Ögedei may have consulted Sorghaghtani on various matters, and he always held her in high regard. Ögedei appointed her in charge of the Empire's administration, which meant she played a pivotal role in securing the lands won under Genghis Khan.<ref>Juvaini, The History of the World Conqueror, 550-1.</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Women in Mongol society: The characteristics and roles of females among the Mongols | author = Per Inge Oestmoen | url = http://www.coldsiberia.org/monwomen.htm |date = January 2001 }}</ref>

Ögedei sought to link her realm to his and proposed marriage, which she declined; he then proposed that she marry his son [[Güyük Khan|Güyük]] (Mongol widows often married again within the family), but she refused, claiming that her four sons needed her attention.<ref>Baabar, 1999, ''From World Power to Soviet Satellite: History of Mongolia'', edited by C. Kaplonski. Cambridge, England: University of Cambridge. p.&nbsp;45.</ref> This decision later turned out to be one of the most important ones in the formation of the Mongol Empire, as all four of Sorghaghtani's sons (grandsons of Genghis) became important leaders in their own right.<ref>Weatherford, p.&nbsp;143.</ref>

When Sorghaghtani asked for part of [[Hebei]] as her appanage in 1236 after the end of the [[Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty]], Ögedei hesitated, but not for long. She shunned him into compliance by pointing out that the place was hers by right anyway because her husband had conquered it. However, Ögedei also expanded his appanage, seizing some territories of Tolui and taking most of Sorghaghtani's soldiers.

After Ögedei Khan died in 1241, his wife [[Töregene Khatun]] ruled as regent until 1246, when she managed to get her son Güyük elected as [[Khagan]] at a large [[kurultai]]. However, he immediately set out to undermine his mother's power as well as that of Sorghaghtani, [[Alakhai Bekhi|Alaqai Beki]] (the [[Ongud]] ruler and daughter of Genghis Khan) and [[Ebuskun]] (the wife of [[Chagatai Khan]], regent for the Central Asian Empire).

Meanwhile, the ambitious Sorghaghtani had secretly teamed up with Güyük's cousin [[Batu Khan]], the senior male in the [[Borjigin]] and ruler of the [[Golden Horde]] (north of the [[Caspian Sea]] to [[Bulgaria]]). In 1248, when Güyük was setting out on a campaign to the Middle East (ostensibly for conquest, but possibly to defeat Batu Khan), he died under somewhat suspicious circumstances; some have speculated that Sorghaghtani may have taken "direct action against Güyük".<ref name="weatherford" />

After Güyük's death, Sorghaghtani sent her eldest son Möngke to Batu Khan. Batu and Sorghaghtani championed the name of Möngke, who had fought along with Batu in the [[Mongol invasion of Europe|European campaign]], as Khagan. Möngke was named Great Khan at a kurultai organized by Batu in [[Siberia]] sometime before 1250, but this was contested as not being properly in Mongolia. However, the ancient Mongol homeland where Genghis was born was in her regency, so she organized a kurultai here which was attended by Batu's brother [[Berke]]. Möngke was formally named the Great Khan. The Ögedei and Güyük families attempted to overthrow him but failed. Möngke arrested and drowned Güyük's widow [[Oghul Qaimish]], and many other members of Ögedei's family.

Sorghaghtani fell ill and died in February or March 1252 around [[Tsagaan Sar]], the Lunar New Year festival in the [[Mongolian calendar]], a few months after Möngke's accession ceremony. She was buried in a Christian church in [[Gansu]].<ref>Jackson, p.&nbsp;101.</ref>

== Children == {{see also|Family tree of Genghis Khan}}

Sorghaghtani bore Tolui at least four children. They included:

* [[Möngke Khan]]: Great Khan (1251–1259) of the [[Mongol Empire]]. * [[Kublai Khan]]: Great Khan (1260–1294) of the Mongol Empire and the [[Yuan dynasty]] * [[Hulegu Khan]]: khan (1256–1264) of the [[Ilkhanate]] dynasty that ruled [[Persia]], Turkey, [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Armenia]]. * [[Ariq Böke]], her fourth son, was also declared Great Khan (rivalling Kublai) for a short period in 1260; he fought Kublai in the [[Toluid Civil War]] and would eventually be captured by Kublai in 1264.

==Legacy== In 1310, she was regarded as "Empress" in a ceremony that included a mass. Sorghaghtani was enshrined in a Christian church in [[Zhangye|Ganzhou]] in 1335, and sacrifices were ordered to be offered here.<ref>C.P. Atwood ''Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire'', p. 512</ref> By 1480 a cult had been conducted for her memory at the [[Orda (organization)|orda]] that was kept by the [[Chahars]].<ref>Hidehiro Okada, "The Chahar shrine of Eshi Khatun" in Ed.Denis Sinor, John R. Krueger, Rudi Paul Lindner, Valentin Aleksandrovich ''The Uralic and Altaic Series''</ref> This ordo moved to [[Ordos City]] (in modern [[Inner Mongolia]]) in the 17th century.

She is spoken of very highly both in the ''Secret History'', as well as by Muslim, Chinese and Christian historians. {{quote|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 that of men.|Syriac scholar [[Bar Hebraeus]] (1226–1286)<ref name="weatherford">{{cite book | title = Genghis Khan and the making of the modern world (long excerpts) |first = Jack |last = Weatherford |publisher = Three Rivers Press |year = 2004 |isbn = 978-0-609-61062-6 |url = https://archive.org/details/genghiskhanmaki00jack |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091205092334/http://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/~amit/books/weatherford-2004-genghis-khan-making.html |archive-date = 2009-12-05 |url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="rossabi"> {{cite web |title = Women of the Mongol Court |first = Morris |last = Rossabi |date = 7 August 2024 |url = http://www.woodrow.org/teachers/world-history/teaching/mongol/women.html }} These edited notes were taken from a lecture by Morris Rossabi, presented as part of the lecture series in conjunction with ''Mongolia: The Legacy of Chinggis Khan'', an exhibition at the Denver Art Museum.</ref>}}

{{quote|Among the Mongols this lady is the most renowned, with the exception of the emperor Güyük's mother Töregene.|Papal envoy [[Giovanni da Pian del Carpine]](c. 1180&ndash;1252)<ref>{{cite book | title = The texts and versions of John de Plano Carpini and William de Rubruquis | author = Richard Hakluyt, Charles Raymond Beazley, Giovanni, Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Hakluyt Society, Willem van Ruysbroeck, Geoffrey, William Lambarde, Bede, Ohthere, Wulfstan, John Dee, Florence, Saxo, Ives de Narbonne | publisher = Printed for the Hakluyt society | year = 2005 | isbn = }}</ref>}}

{{quote|Extremely intelligent and able...the most intelligent woman in the world. There is no doubt that it was through her intelligence and ability that she raised the station of her sons above that of their cousins and caused them to attain to the rank of qa'ans and emperors.|Persian historian and [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhanid]] [[Grand Vizier]] [[Rashid-al-Din Hamadani]]<ref name="autogenerated1307">{{cite book | title = Jami al-Tawarikh | author = Rashid-al-Din Hamadani | publisher = | year = 1307–1316 | isbn = }}</ref>}}

{{quote|The bringing of the Khanate to the house of Tolui Khan and the placing of the right in its due place were due to the competence and shrewdness of Sorqoqtani Beki and the help and assistance of Batu, because of their friendship for one another...Sorqoqtani Beki, and his sons after his [Tolui's] death until the time when they became qa'ans and rulers through the efforts and endeavors of their mother and as the result of her ability and intelligence.|Rashid-al-Din Hamadani<ref name="autogenerated1307"/>}}

{{quote|Now in the management and education of all her sons, in the administration of affairs of state, in the maintenance of dignity and prestige and in the execution of business, [Sorghaghtani] Beki, by the nicety of her judgment and discrimination, constructed such a basis and for the strengthening of these edifices laid such a foundation that no turban-wearer would have been capable of the like or could have dealt with these matters with the like brilliance. In any business which [Ogedei] Qa'an undertook, whether with regard to the weal of the Empire or the disposal of the army, he used first to consult and confer with her and would suffer no change or alteration of whatever she recommended...

For the report of her wisdom and prudence and the fame of her counsel and sagacity had spread to all parts, and none would gainsay her word. Furthermore, in the management of her household and in the ceremonial of her court she laid for kinsmen and stranger such a foundation as the khans of the world had not been capable of."|Persian Historian [[Ata-Malik Juvayni]]<ref>{{cite book | title = Genghis Khan: The History of the World Conqueror | author = Ata-Malik Juvayni | publisher = | year = 1260 | isbn = }}</ref>}}

===Prester John=== Sorghaghtani was the niece of the powerful [[Keraite]] leader of the [[Mongols]], [[Ong Khan]] (often known simply as Toghrul). To Europeans, Toghrul was one of the distant Eastern rulers who was sometimes associated with the legend of "[[Prester John]]".<ref>Rachewiltz , p. 114.</ref> During Mongol-European diplomacy, the Mongols sometimes played upon this perception by the Europeans, describing Mongol princesses such as Sorghaghtani and [[Doquz Khatun]] as being "daughters of Prester John".<ref>Jackson, p. 175</ref>

== References == === Notes === {{Notelist}}

=== Citations === {{Reflist}}

=== Sources === {{refbegin}} * [[Jeannine Davis-Kimball|Davis-Kimball, Jeannine]]. (2002) ''Warrior Women, An Archaeologist's Search for History's Hidden Heroines''. Warner Books, Inc. pp.&nbsp;223–226. {{ISBN|0-446-52546-4}} * [[Peter Jackson (historian)|Peter Jackson]], ''Mongols and the West'' (Longman, 2005). *[[Igor de Rachewiltz]], ''Papal Envoys to the Great Khans'' (Stanford University Press, 1971). *Jack Weatherford, ''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World'' *[[Jack Weatherford]] ''The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire's Crown'' 2010 * {{cite book |last=Tang |first=Li |year=2006 |chapter=Sorkaktani Beki: A prominent Nestorian woman at the Mongol Court |language=en |pages=349-356 |doi=10.4324/9781003204022-25 |chapter-url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Jingjiao/4mBCEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA349 |editor-last1=Malek |editor-first1=Roman |editor-last2=Hofrichter |editor-first2=Peter |title=Jingjiao: the Church of the East in China and central Asia |series=Collectanea Serica |publication-place=Germany |publisher=[[Monumenta Serica Institute]] / Steyler Verlag |isbn=978-3-8050-0534-0}} {{refend}}

{{Yuan empresses}} {{Authority control}}

[[Category:12th-century births]] [[Category:1252 deaths]] [[Category:Women from the Mongol Empire]] [[Category:Church of the East Christians from the Mongol Empire]] [[Category:Church of the East in China]] [[Category:Church of the East in Gansu]] [[Category:13th-century queens consort]] [[Category:Genghis Khan]] [[Category:Kerait people]] [[Category:Yuan dynasty posthumous empresses]] [[Category:Mothers of Chinese emperors]]