Kurultai
Encyclopedia
Kurultai is a political and military council of ancient Mongol
and Turkic
chiefs and khans
. The root of the word "Khural" means political "meeting" or "assembly" in the Mongolian language
, it is also a verb for "to be established". In Mongolian the verb root "khur-" means "to gather in large numbers", the suffix "-ld" means "amongst each other", while the suffix "-ai" or "-aan" is similar to the English suffix "-tion" and makes a noun of the verb. Khuraldai (written Khuruldai) or Khuraldaan means "a gathering", or more literally, "intergatheration". This root is the same in the Mongolian word khurim, which means "feast" and "wedding" and originally referred to large festive gatherings on the steppe, but is used mainly in the sense of wedding in modern times.
, for example Genghis Khan
and Ogedei Khan
, were formally elected in a Kurultai; khans of subordinate Mongol states, such as the Golden Horde
, were elected by a similar regional Kurultai. After the new khan has been elected, an elaborate enthronement procedure followed. Johann Schiltberger
, a 15th-century German traveler, described the installation of a new Golden Horde khan as follows:
Russian princes and boyar
s, who often had to wait in Sarai
for the Kurultai to elect a new khan, who would then re-issue their yarlyks (patents), would no doubt often witness this khan kutermiak rituals, which became increasingly more frequent and futile during the mid-14th century time of troubles in the Horde
, giving rise to the Russian word "кутерьма" (kuter'ma), meaning "running around pointlessly".
Kurultai were imperial and tribal assemblies convened to determine, strategize and analyze military campaigns and assign individuals to leadership positions and titles. One such example is Genghis Khan
was declared Khan
in the 1206 kurultai. Most of the major military campaigns were first planned out at assemblies such as this and there were minor and less significant Kurultais under the Mongol Empire under political subordinate leaders and generals.
The kurultai, however, required the presence of the senior members of the tribes participating, who were also in charge militarily. Thus, the deaths of Ögedei
and Möngke
in 1241 and 1259, respectively, necessitated the withdrawal of Mongol leaders (and troops) from the outskirts of Vienna
and Venice
(in 1241) and from Syria
(in 1259), hamstringing military operations against the Austrians and Mamluk
s that might otherwise have continued.
use it in the political or administrative sense, as a synonym for parliament
, congress
, conference
, council
, assembly
, convention
, gathering. Examples are: World Qoroltay of the Bashkirs
, Fourth Qurultay of Crimean Tatars
, National Kurultai of Kyrgyzstan
, the State Great Khural of Mongolia
, Buryatian People's Khural and Kurultai held today in Hungary, there kurultáj written.
In Mongolian, the following forms of the word are still in use today: khuraldai, khuraldaan and khural. "Ulsin Deed Shuukhiin Khuraldaan" means "session of the National Supreme Court".
Also spelled as: kurultay, qurultay, qurıltai, qorıltay, and qoroltay.
The word has several modern usages in the modern Turkish language
as well: "Yüksek Öğretim Kurulu"(Higher Education Counsel), "genel kurul toplantısı" (general board meeting), ". "Kurultay" is also a highly used word in modern Turkish meaning general assembly, such as that of organisations, committees etc. "Kurul" is also a verb in Turkish meaning to be established.
Mongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
and Turkic
Turkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
chiefs and khans
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
. The root of the word "Khural" means political "meeting" or "assembly" in the Mongolian language
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
, it is also a verb for "to be established". In Mongolian the verb root "khur-" means "to gather in large numbers", the suffix "-ld" means "amongst each other", while the suffix "-ai" or "-aan" is similar to the English suffix "-tion" and makes a noun of the verb. Khuraldai (written Khuruldai) or Khuraldaan means "a gathering", or more literally, "intergatheration". This root is the same in the Mongolian word khurim, which means "feast" and "wedding" and originally referred to large festive gatherings on the steppe, but is used mainly in the sense of wedding in modern times.
In the Mongol Empire
All Great Khans of the Mongol EmpireMongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
, for example 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 Ogedei Khan
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...
, were formally elected in a Kurultai; khans of subordinate Mongol states, such as the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, were elected by a similar regional Kurultai. After the new khan has been elected, an elaborate enthronement procedure followed. Johann Schiltberger
Johann Schiltberger
Johann Schiltberger was a German traveller and writer. He was born of a noble family, probably at Hollern near Lohhof halfway between Munich and Freising.- Travels:...
, a 15th-century German traveler, described the installation of a new Golden Horde khan as follows:
Russian princes and boyar
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
s, who often had to wait in Sarai
Sarai (city)
Sarai was the name of two cities, which were successively capital cities of the Golden Horde, the Mongol kingdom which ruled Russia and much of central Asia in the 13th and 14th centuries...
for the Kurultai to elect a new khan, who would then re-issue their yarlyks (patents), would no doubt often witness this khan kutermiak rituals, which became increasingly more frequent and futile during the mid-14th century time of troubles in the Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, giving rise to the Russian word "кутерьма" (kuter'ma), meaning "running around pointlessly".
Kurultai were imperial and tribal assemblies convened to determine, strategize and analyze military campaigns and assign individuals to leadership positions and titles. One such example is 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....
was declared Khan
Khan (title)
Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
in the 1206 kurultai. Most of the major military campaigns were first planned out at assemblies such as this and there were minor and less significant Kurultais under the Mongol Empire under political subordinate leaders and generals.
The kurultai, however, required the presence of the senior members of the tribes participating, who were also in charge militarily. Thus, the deaths of Ögedei
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...
and Möngke
Möngke Khan
Möngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...
in 1241 and 1259, respectively, necessitated the withdrawal of Mongol leaders (and troops) from the outskirts of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
(in 1241) and from Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
(in 1259), hamstringing military operations against the Austrians and Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s that might otherwise have continued.
Modern usage
Various modern Mongolian and Turkic peoplesTurkic peoples
The Turkic peoples are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds...
use it in the political or administrative sense, as a synonym for parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, congress
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different nations, constituent states, independent organizations , or groups....
, conference
Meeting
In a meeting, two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal setting.- Definitions :An act or process of coming together as an assembly for a common purpose....
, council
Local government
Local government refers collectively to administrative authorities over areas that are smaller than a state.The term is used to contrast with offices at nation-state level, which are referred to as the central government, national government, or federal government...
, assembly
Deliberative assembly
A deliberative assembly is an organization comprising members who use parliamentary procedure to make decisions. In a speech to the electorate at Bristol in 1774, Edmund Burke described the English Parliament as a "deliberative assembly," and the expression became the basic term for a body of...
, convention
Convention (meeting)
A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...
, gathering. Examples are: World Qoroltay of the Bashkirs
Bashkirs
The Bashkirs are a Turkic people indigenous to Bashkortostan extending on both parts of the Ural mountains, on the place where Europe meets Asia. Groups of Bashkirs also live in the republic of Tatarstan, Perm Krai, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Samara and Saratov Oblasts of...
, Fourth Qurultay of Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
, National Kurultai of Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...
, the State Great Khural of 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...
, Buryatian People's Khural and Kurultai held today in Hungary, there kurultáj written.
In Mongolian, the following forms of the word are still in use today: khuraldai, khuraldaan and khural. "Ulsin Deed Shuukhiin Khuraldaan" means "session of the National Supreme Court".
Also spelled as: kurultay, qurultay, qurıltai, qorıltay, and qoroltay.
The word has several modern usages in the modern Turkish language
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
as well: "Yüksek Öğretim Kurulu"(Higher Education Counsel), "genel kurul toplantısı" (general board meeting), ". "Kurultay" is also a highly used word in modern Turkish meaning general assembly, such as that of organisations, committees etc. "Kurul" is also a verb in Turkish meaning to be established.
See also
- MongolsMongolsMongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
- Genghis KhanGenghis KhanGenghis 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....
- Mongol EmpireMongol EmpireThe Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
- Thing (assembly)Thing (assembly)A thing was the governing assembly in Germanic and introduced into some Celtic societies, made up of the free people of the community and presided by lawspeakers, meeting in a place called a thingstead...
- WitenagemotWitenagemotThe Witenagemot , also known as the Witan was a political institution in Anglo-Saxon England which operated from before the 7th century until the 11th century.The Witenagemot was an assembly of the ruling class whose primary function was to advise the king and whose membership was...
- Loya JirgaLoya jirgaA loya jirga is a type of jirga regarded as "grand assembly," a phrase in the Pashto language meaning "grand council." A loya jirga is a mass meeting usually prepared for major events such as choosing a new king, adopting a constitution, or discussing important national political or emergency...
- VecheVecheVeche was a popular assembly in medieval Slavic countries.In Novgorod, where the veche acquired the greatest prominence, the veche was broadly similar to the Norse thing or the Swiss Landsgemeinde.-Etymology:...
- LegislatureLegislatureA legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...