Yesugen

{{short description|Tatar noblewoman and wife of Genghis Khan}} {{Infobox royalty|name=Yesugen|consort=Yes|spouse=Genghis Khan|issue=Cha'ur|era dates=Early 13th century|house=Borjigin|father=Yeke Cheren}}

'''Yesugen''' ({{langx|mn|Есүгэн}}) was one of the wives of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. She was of Tatar ancestry. Her elder sister Yesui also subsequently became a wife of Genghis Khan. During his military campaign against the Tatars, Genghis Khan fell in love with Yesugen and took her in as a wife. She was, along with Yesui, the daughter of Yeke Cheren, a Tatar leader executed by the Mongol forces.<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|pages=84}}</ref> <blockquote>“Being loved by him, Yisügen Qatun said, ‘If it pleases the Qa’an, he will take care of me, regarding me as a human being and a person worth keeping. But my elder sister, who is called Yisüi, is superior to me: she is indeed fit for a ruler.’ ”<ref>Rachewiltz, Igor de (December 2015). "The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century". ''Western Washington University''.</ref> ''-The Secret History of The Mongols''</blockquote>Despite her willingness to be married to Genghis Khan, Yesugen declared that her older sister, Yesui, was “superior” to her. Genghis Khan searched for and found Yesui, and Yesugen yielded her position to her sister.<ref name=":0" /> To Yesugen were assigned the Khangai Mountains as territory.<ref>{{cite book | author=Weatherford | title=The Secret History of the Mongol Queens | page=28 }}</ref> Like his other wives, Yesugen had her own ''ordo'', or court. However, she did not wield the same power or influence as his first wife Börte.<ref>Broadbridge, 2018, pp.74-75</ref> She birthed at least one child for Genghis Khan, a son named Cha'ur.<ref>Broadbridge, 2018, p. 86</ref> Cha'ur, however, did not live to adulthood.<ref>Broadbridge, 2018, 133.</ref>

==Notes== {{reflist}}

==Sources== * {{cite book | title=The Secret History of the Mongol Queens | author= Weatherford, Jack.| year=2010 | publisher=Broadway Paperbacks, New York}}

Category:People of Tatar descent Category:13th-century Mongol women Category:13th-century Mongols Category:12th-century Mongol women Category:12th-century Mongols Category:13th-century deaths Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Wives of Genghis Khan Category:Tatar women