Kuchlug
Encyclopedia
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...
. He was defeated by 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 fled westward to the Kara-Khitan Khanate
Kara-Khitan Khanate
The Kara-Khitan Khanate, or Western Liao was a Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Liao Dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in North and Northeast of modern day China...
, where he became an advisor. In 1210, he took control of the khanate. He was killed by the Mongols
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
when they conquered the region in 1218.
Naiman Origins and Westward Flight
Kuchlug was the son of Taibuqa, the Tayang Khan (leader) of the Naiman tribe. In 1204, JamuqaJamuqa
Jamukha was a Mongol military and political leader and the chief rival to Temüjin in the unification of the Mongol tribes....
, the chief Mongol rival of Temüjin (later Genghis Khan), fled to the Naimans. Temüjin followed and launched an assault upon the tribe. Taibuqa at first hesitated, considering it better to fall back to the Altai Mountains and attack the Mongols from there. Kuchlug, however, favored a direct assault on the Mongols on open ground. He went so far as to dismiss his father's plan as cowardly. Taibuqa relented and allowed Kuchlug to carry out his attack.
The battle was a disaster for the Naiman. Jamuqa abandoned them and fled. Taibuqa was mortally injured, and his main commander was killed. The rest of the tribe surrendered to Temüjin and were absorbed into his ranks. Kuchlug managed to escape and with a few Naiman soldiers fled westward towards the Kara Irtish.
Afterwards Genghis Khan was wary of the threat Kuchlug still posed. In 1208, they again met in battle, and Kuchlug was pushed further west into Semirechye. Reeling from a second defeat at the hands of the Mongols, Kuchlug turned to the Kara Khitai
Kara-Khitan Khanate
The Kara-Khitan Khanate, or Western Liao was a Khitan empire in Central Asia. The dynasty was founded by Yelü Dashi, who led the remnants of the Liao Dynasty to Central Asia after fleeing from the Jurchen conquest of their homeland in North and Northeast of modern day China...
for protection.
Rebellion against the Gur-Khan
Once he was accepted into the Kara-Khitan Empire, Kuchlug quickly gained a strong foothold. He found service as an advisor for the Gur-khan (meaning Universal Khan), the ruler of the Kara-Khitais, and even married one of the Gur-khan's daughters. He also reorganized the remaining Naiman into a military unit under his command.During this time the Kara-Khitans were engaged with a struggle against Muhammad II
Muhammad II of Khwarezm
Ala ad-Din Muhammad II was the ruler of the Khwarezmid Empire from 1200 to 1220. His ancestor was a Turkic slave who eventually became a viceroy of a small province named Khwarizm. After his father died, Muhammad inherited his father's lands, and it was from there he began expanding outwards...
of the Khwarezmian Empire
Khwarezmian Empire
The Khwarazmian dynasty or Khwarezmian dynasty, also known as Khwarezmids, dynasty of Khwarazm Shahs or Khwarezm-Shah dynasty was a Persianate Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin.They ruled Greater Iran in the High Middle Ages, in the period of about 1077 to 1231, first as vassals of...
. Having conquered the remnants of the Kara-Khanids
Kara-Khanid Khanate
The Kara-Khanid Khanate was a confederation of Turkic tribes ruled by a dynasty known in literature as the Karakhanids or Ilek Khanids, . Both dynastic names represent titles with Kara Kağan being the most important Turkish title up till the end of the dynasty.The Khanate ruled Transoxania in...
in modern-day Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Muhammad then turned his sights on the Kara-Khitans. During the ensuing struggle Kuchlug saw his chance, and in 1210 he rebelled against his father-in-law. Muhammad gave support to this other leader battling against the Gur-khan.
The Gur-khan pulled back to his capital of Balasagun
Balasagun
Balasagun was an ancient Soghdian city in modern-day Kyrgyzstan, located in the Chui River valley between Bishkek and Issyk-Kul Lake....
. In 1211 he was finally captured by Kuchlug. The Gur-khan was allowed to remain ruler of the Kara-Khitais, at least in name, but Kuchlug retained the real power. When the Gur-khan died in 1213, Kuchlug took direct control of the khanate.
Struggle against Muhammad II
Once Kuchlug had firmly established himself as ruler, Muhammad demanded Kara-Khiatai territory in exchange for his previous support. Kuchlug refused, and the two sides eventually went to war. The fighting was fierce on both sides, with many atrocities committed against the local population. Ultimately the war was indecisive, and the Syr-Darya eventually came to be the de facto border between the two rulers.Religious influences
Kuchlug was from the Naiman tribe, which was devoutly Nestorian. It can be assumed that he, along with his soldiers, brought their beliefs with them to the lands of the Kara-Khitai. Additionally, his wife was a Buddhist. Once Kuchlug assumed power throughout the khanate, he would often demand that a town’s population make a choice between converting to Nestorianism or Buddhism, or face punishment.During this time tales began to reach the west of the war between the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Kuchlug and Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Muhammad. It was told that Prester John
Prester John
The legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...
was again battling the Muslims in the East, now with Kuchlug filling the role of the mythical Christian king.
Along with his personal beliefs, Kuchlug’s bitter war with Muhammad gave him a strong motivation to hate Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. He began to persecute Muslims through his kingdom, especially in the major cities of Yarkand and Kashgar
Kashgar
Kashgar or Kashi is an oasis city with approximately 350,000 residents in the western part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Kashgar is the administrative centre of Kashgar Prefecture which has an area of 162,000 km² and a population of approximately...
. In one instance, the imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
of Hotan was nailed to the door of his madrassa.
Downfall and Death
In 1218 the governor of OtrarOtrar
Otrar or Utrar is a Central Asian ghost town that was a city located along the Silk Road near the current town of Karatau in Kazakhstan. Otrar was an important town in the history of Central Asia, situated on the borders of settled and agricultural civilizations...
(a city controlled by Muhammad II) humiliated and murdered two missions sent by Genghis Khan. Furious at these insults, the Mongols prepared to launch an attack against Muhammad. However, in between the Mongols and Muhammad lay the Kara-Khitai, controlled by Genghis Khan’s old enemy, Kuchlug. Before any invasion of the Khwarezmian Empire
Khwarezmian Empire
The Khwarazmian dynasty or Khwarezmian dynasty, also known as Khwarezmids, dynasty of Khwarazm Shahs or Khwarezm-Shah dynasty was a Persianate Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin.They ruled Greater Iran in the High Middle Ages, in the period of about 1077 to 1231, first as vassals of...
, Kuchlug had to first be defeated.
In 1218 the Mongols began their assault on the khanate. After a brief resistance in Semirechye, the capital city of Balasagun surrendered without a fight and Kuchlug fled southwards to Kashgar. The Muslim residents, however, angered at the persecution they had received, refused to help Kuchlug. He continued south across the Pamirs, eventually reaching the border of Badakhshan
Badakhshan
Badakhshan is an historic region comprising parts of what is now northeastern Afghanistan and southeastern Tajikistan. The name is retained in Badakhshan Province which is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the far northeast of Afghanistan, and contains the Wakhan Corridor...
. There, a group of hunters caught him and handed him over to the Mongols. He was beheaded, and his head was exhibited throughout the towns that used to suffer at his hands.
In popular culture
In Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, Kuchlug appears (under the name Kushluk) in the second level of the Genghis Khan campaign, leading the Kara-Khitai against Genghis.Sources
- Christian, David. A History of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia. (1998)
- de Hartog, Leo. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. (1989)