Temujin marries 19-year-old Borte in about 1180. 19 years for a girl of those times is the limit for marriage. She really liked Temujin.
Borte-fujin, Borte-uchjin (from Chinese Fujin — «Mistress»; 1161 — 1230) — the senior wife of Temujin (Genghis Khan); daughter of Day-Sechen (Dai-noyon) from the genus Ungirat and his wife Tsotan.
Temujin takes her to his village, where they live for some time in happiness. Together with his wife, Temujin receives a kiit (bride’s dowry) as a dowry. One of the items of the dowry is a sable dokha, which Borte’s father Day-Sechen received for having engraved 99 sacred letters on the sanctuary of the Mongol-Kiyats.
Day-Sechen possessed a sacred rank since he was allowed to engrave the letters on the shrine. Probably it belonged to priests of god Tengri and raised the sort to Huns or Ashina. The Kiyats themselves on one of scientific versions occur from Hunnu. This is indicated by the Mongolian calaca of their ethnonym — Kiyat as a derivative of Huyan (Hares) — the name of the ruling family of the Hunnu.
Receiving a dokha in this way symbolized that the Eternal Heaven in the person of its clergy favored Temujin. And in the steppe, where one pays attention to omens, it means a lot. The main thing was not the sable duck, but the fact that Temujin married the daughter of a descendant of Hunnu and Tengri’s priest.
Temujin’s increased social status after marrying Borte allowed him to go out into the world. He made his way to the keraite khan Tooril. Tooril was the son of the Nestorian Christian Khurjakus (George) and grandson of Markuz (Mark). The grandfather was crucified by the Jurchens, Tooril himself was overthrown by his uncle Gurkhan. Yesugei helped Tooril to return the khan’s throne. They became Anda twins.
With this in mind, Temudgin went to Tooril. The sable duck he was wearing was a pass as a sign that he was a man worthy of a visit to the khan. The Keraite Khanate at that time was not a monoethical proto-state. It included various Mongol and Turkic tribes, opposed by numerous Naimans.
Genghis Khan and Van Khan on a miniature from the manuscript Jami at-tawarikh (15th century)
Tooril would have accepted Temujin even without the dokha. He needed any strength to defeat the Naimans. Tooril called Temujin «the eldest son». One should not attach much importance to this epithet, as it was only an honorific title.
While Temujin was exchanging pleasantries with Tooril the Merkits attacked the camp of the Yesugei family. They were attracted by Borte, and having captured her and the second wife of Yesugei Sochikhel, the Merkits galloped away without searching for the family. Sochikhel herself surrendered to the Merkits and gave them Temujin’s wife in their hands.
The Merkits did not intend to harm Borte. She was in a privileged position and nobody touched her. Rumors that Temujin’s firstborn son Dzhuchi was born of a Merkit appeared already during the struggle between Genghis Khan’s sons for supreme power.
According to the popular legend in 1184 Temujin together with Keraites and Dzhajirat Jamukha defeated the Merkits and returned Borte. But in reality the Merkits gave Borte to Tooril, who returned it to Temujin. The raid on the Merkits was organized by Sochikhel’s son Belgutei, who wanted to return his mother. Sochikhel refused to return to her native village and fled with her Merkit husband into the taiga. Enraged Belgutey ordered to kill all Merkit warriors who participated in the raid, and to take their wives and daughters as concubines.
Borte itself was returned under some conditions or guarantees from Temujin. The subsequent battles with the Merkits for twenty years were conducted within the framework of those wars that he waged. He did not fight specifically against the Merkits. This is confirmed by Rashid-ad-Din:
Genghis Khan decreed that none of the Merkits should be left alive, and all were killed, because the Merkit tribe was rebellious and warlike and had fought him many times … The few survivors either stayed then in their mothers’ wombs, or were hidden with relatives — Rashid-ad-Din. Collection of chronicles. M.: L., 1952. Vol. 1, book 2. — P. 116.
It should be noted that the khan of Keraits Tooril in his childhood was either a prisoner or a hostage-amanat of the Merkits. He had connections among them and the Merkits appealed to him with a request for mediation.
After this story, Temujin’s authority rose to the heavens. He was feared by the Merkits and exalted by the kerait khan Tooril. His relatives began to return to him. One of the first to return was his uncle — the younger brother of Yesugei Daritai-otchigin and Temujin’s cousin Huchar.
Temujin was a great man and forgave his kin.