Who was Princess Khutulun, descendant of Genghis Khan who became a legendary fighter

“You may know that King Kaidu had a daughter named Aigiarne, which in Tatar means “Bright Moon”. This maiden was very beautiful, but also so strong and courageous that in all her father’s kingdom there was no man who could surpass her in feats of strength.”.

This is how Marco Polo began to tell in his “Book of Wonders” the story of a princess from one of the most powerful dynasties the world has ever known.

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She was called Khutulun, although she was also known by several other names, including Aigiarne used by the famous Venetian explorer, and lived in the 13th century when the Mongol Empire stretched from the borders of Hungary to the East China Sea and was ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan.

She was his great-great-granddaughter and also the great-granddaughter of Ogodei, whom Genghis himself personally designated as his successor, so her father was one of the most powerful Mongol kahns (maximum ruler).

But more than his ancestry, it was his exceptional personality that captivated Marco Polo, not only because he stood out like few others in his field, which was battle, but because he refused to marry.until she found a kind man who could defeat her“.

This was not easy because, in addition to being, like all Mongolians, men and women, an excellent archer and excellent horsewoman, she was a great fighter. bokh, Mongolian fight in which the first person to touch the ground with a part of their body other than their hands or feet loses.

That was the challenge for any suitor: if she hit him, she would marry him; If he lost, she would have to give him 100 horses.

The news spread throughout the kingdoms and so many young people accepted the challenge that, undefeated, Khutulun had 10,000 horses, according to Marco Polo, who stopped at a meeting with a prince who bet instead of a hundred, a thousand horses, well”His heart was very clear about what he wanted to gain.“.

He says Kaidu was very happy”because he was a beautiful young man and the son of a great king“and he begged his daughter”let him win“.

She, of course, refused and went out to fight surrounded by an audience that wanted her defeat”so that such a beautiful couple could be together“.

Khutulun fighting while King Kaidu, his wife and courtiers watch, in an illustration from a 15th century edition of "The book of wonders" by Marco Polo.

“The maid and the young man came to fight, and they took each other’s arms and started very well; But it wasn’t long before he lost the test.

“Then the greatest pain in the world came to the place because they had lost one of the most beautiful men who had ever arrived there or who had ever seen him..

“And soon the maiden had those 1,000 horses; The young man went to his country with great shame“.

Although sometimes it may seem so, this is not a fairy tale.

Nor is it the plot of a work of fiction, although Marco Polo is not considered a very reliable source.

His popular book was for many, at first, a fable, in part because it did not describe the Mongols as they were thought to be – ravenous, bloodthirsty monsters who wanted to devour the entire world – but rather admirable, civilized human beings.

But although the Venetian merchant’s memories are embellished to the point of sometimes falling into falsehood, Marco Polo was not a liar: his account is a romantic version of his experience.

And the likeness of Khutulun, although tinged with mythology, it is supported historical texts, especially those written by Rashid al-Din Hamadani which guaranteed him a place in his “Jami al-Tawarij“, a unique source about the Mongol Empire who wrote in the 14th century.

There are details that don’t match, which means that tracing this princess’s outline is not an exact science.

This generally happens with everything relating to the Mongols, due to the scarcity of primary sources; Outsiders wrote about them, often their enemies.

So the story of Khutulun is half mythology and half probability, but what is known about it is fascinating.

Spoken portrait (with many voices)

The opera is based on a story from the book by François Pétis de la Croix (1710) in which Khutulun is called Turandot, which means “daughter of Central Asia”. (Getty Images).

We know that she was Kaidu’s only daughter and his favorite…even though he had 14 older brothers – as a political advisor at court and a strategist in war.

The king took her to the many battles he fought, especially against his relative Kublai Khan, the first emperor of the Yuan dynasty to rule all of China, whom he considered a traitor who rejected Mongol traditions and adopted Chinese ones.

“Sometimes -Marco Polo says- He entered the enemy army, caught a man there, and took him to his father, as deftly as a hawk leaps over a bird.“.

As for his physique, it was also the Venetian explorer who gave clues, saying that he was “so well formed in all its extremities, and so tall and strong, that could almost be mistaken for a giant“.

We also know that in the end she agreed to marry, without needing to be defeated, it is said in part because her father’s enemies spread rumors that they had an incestuous relationship, and she decided to refute them.

Although it is not clear who her husband was.

Rashid says that Khutulun was in love with Ghazan, who in 1295 became khan of Persia, but they did not marry.

Some chronicles claim that the lucky man was a handsome assassin hired by Kublai to kill his father, who was discovered and pardoned for demonstrating his bravery.

But it’s not safe.

What most historians agree on is that Kaidu wanted to make her his heir But not only were her brothers opposed, she was not interested in that kind of power: her kingdom was on the battlefield.

Khutulun died an undefeated warrior from unknown causes – and some say suspicious circumstances – in 1306.

Since then, more than a work of fiction, it has inspired them.

Experts point to its story as the seed of Puccini’s opera “Turandot”the one who has the beautiful aria “Nessun slept“, in which the protagonist promises to marry whoever can solve a series of riddles.

But while in that metamorphosis from Khutulun to Turandot she ended up as a princess who remains in her palace passively waiting, in Mongolia she remained a woman-at-arms to be taken, literally.

And very present in the 21st century, as a heroine of comics, video games and literary works, including “Princess Khutulun” (2017), by the multi-award winning Mongolian journalist, writer, filmmaker and activist Shuudertsetseg Baatarsuren.

This historical novel remained at the top of the Mongolian bestseller list for an entire year and was adapted for film in the epic film “Khutulun, the Warrior Princess” (2021).

Source: Elcomercio