Of course, the author could have tried to cast a shadow on the fence in order to create intrigue. But it is no secret to history buffs that Genghis Khan’s eldest son was born shortly after the return of his wife Borte, who had been held captive by the Merkits for nine months and had not seen her lawful husband.
Therefore, Jochi was openly and privately referred to as the “Merkit gift” and was not considered the ruler’s true son. He was never appointed his father’s successor, although in terms of military prowess and administrative talent, he surpassed each of his brothers: Chagatai, who was more inclined to reflection and intellectual activity; Ugedei, who was a drunkard; and Tolui, who was spoiled from childhood and was the youngest son of his parents.
But his fate is a more interesting question, and historical sources shed light on it in very different ways.
The story of Jochi began long before his birth. While hunting in the steppe, his grandfather Yesugei took the bride of the noble Merkita Eke-Chiledu, who was the younger brother of the leader of this tribe. The girl bore her new husband several sons, the eldest of whom was Temujin, the future Genghis Khan.
When the founder of the Mongol Empire himself married, the Merkits attacked his camp and gave the captive women to Chilgir-Boko, another brother of their leader. In their eyes, this seemed like justice being served—instead of the stolen girl, they received another beauty from the son of the culprit. Later, Temujin dealt with the Merkits, who were among the first Mongol tribes to be defeated by him.
Since the origin of his first son was uncertain, our hero was given the name Jochi, which means “guest.” Nothing is known about his childhood, but he must have received a typical education for a Mongol prince, riding well and skilled with a saber and bow.
His name first appears in the chronicles when he was already relatively grown up and ready to marry. His father sought to marry his eldest son to the daughter of his old ally, the Kereit ruler Wang Khan, a brother-in-arms and close friend of Yesugei, who had helped him regain his beloved Borte. However, given Jochi’s questionable status, the Kereits were offended by this proposal, which ultimately led to war. Thus, all Mongols doubted the legitimacy of the eldest prince; this was not a secret known only to the family.
Jochi then took other wives from the Olkhonut tribe, where his mother Oelun came from. The representatives of this clan were like trained lap dogs to the Borjigits and could not go against his will, so it was possible to avoid a scandal, and the prince was not left without brides.
In 1206, when the Mongol Empire was proclaimed, he took under his wing 9,000 warriors with their herds and families—more than his younger brothers. According to an ancient tradition, he was given the lands furthest from his father’s possessions—the upper reaches of the Irtysh River in western Mongolia. Further on were the nomadic Kipchaks, who still had to be conquered, and a significant part of the prince’s life was spent in conflict with them.
But for the time being, at his father’s insistence, he set about conquering those whom the Mongols called the “forest peoples.” These were the multinational inhabitants of the region on the border between the taiga and the great steppe—the ancestors of the Yakuts, Kalmyks, and Buryats, as well as tribes of Samoyedic and Tungusic origin.
Through marriage, Jochi achieved the submission of the Oirats, and also settled matters peacefully with the Yenisei Kyrgyz and smaller clans. This allowed him to take control of the trade in grain and furs, as well as the gold mines, which largely ensured the success of the early Mongol conquests.
Later, either alone or in cooperation with Subutai, the prince finally defeated the Merkits who had migrated westward. In addition, at this time he captured the lands of the large Kipchak alliance of the Kanglys and retained them as his right as a conqueror. For conquering the Oirats, he earned public praise from his father. He also had to suppress the rebellions of tribes that had previously recognized Mongol rule without a fight.
In the late 1210s, Genghis Khan gathered all his armies to attack the Khorezmians with combined forces. Tatar woman Yesui, one of his younger wives, demanded that the question of succession be decided in advance. Chagatai objected to the appointment of the “Merkit gift” as the successor to the Great Khan, and this led to a brawl between the brothers. Then, as a compromise, Ugedei was chosen as the heir.
Many historians have suggested that the conflict was artificially provoked by Genghis Khan himself, who wanted to see his legitimate son on the throne. Others, however, argued that this decision was made later due to tactical mistakes made by Jochi during the conquest of Khorezm. His disobedience to his father also played a role—he did not send his father his share of the spoils when he captured a foreign city in battle.
In any case, the prince was sent toward the enemy capital of Urgench with orders to capture all the cities in his path. Chagatai arrived there by a different route and, together with his elder brother, began the siege of the grand fortress. Since the city had been promised to Jochi, he tried to treat it with care, which is why the Mongols did not achieve success for six months. Then Genghis Khan sent Ugedei there, who took command and quickly resolved the issue, but at the cost of much bloodshed.
After the fall of Urgench, the younger brothers continued their conquests in Central Asia. Meanwhile, the khan’s eldest son returned to his ulus and subjugated the Kipchak tribes that stood in his way. It is unknown whether he saw his father and brothers after that, but we know that he devoted much of his time to hunting and strengthening his possessions. He participated in general Mongol affairs without much enthusiasm.
A few years later, he sent his father 20,000 white horses, knowing that he loved them very much. To this he added countless herds of wild donkeys. But then he refused to take part in the campaign against the Tanguts, citing his illness—however, a messenger informed Genghis Khan that his son was healthy and hunting.
In modern and later sources, there are several theories about his death. One says that he fell from his horse while hunting kulans. This was not such a rare occurrence at the time, as many Eastern and Western aristocrats met their end in this way. Another claims that the prince was secretly sent away by his own father, although there is no evidence to support this. A third theory humane insists that he died of a sudden illness.
At the time of his death, Jochi was about 40 years old and had a significant number of sons. Not the eldest, but the most promising, Batu was appointed first among his brothers by his grandfather’s order. Orda-Ejen ceded leadership of his family, but received the eastern part of his father’s ulus.
The others also received their allotments and continued the wars with the Kipchaks, gradually advancing forward. By the time the Western campaign began, their possessions already reached the Volga. That is, there was no need for the Mongol army to wade across the entire steppe — along the way, pre-prepared supplies of provisions awaited them, and local reinforcements joined them. However, they did not have the strength to defeat Volga Bulgaria and finally conquer the Kipchaks on their own, even when Subutai, who had returned from his reconnaissance raid, was sent to help.
As for Jochi himself, the headquarters of what would later be called the Golden Horde was located in the very center of modern Kazakhstan, near the city of Zhezkazgan, where the khan’s mausoleum is located. However, at that time, representatives of the Borjigin clan and noble Mongols were generally buried in secret. The oldest burial dates back to the mid-13th century, a couple of decades after Jochi’s death.
Soviet scientists determined that the deceased was a Muslim, possibly one of the descendants of our hero. In addition, his body bore traces of several strong saber blows. This gave rise to the hypothesis that the rebellious prince was indeed killed on his father’s orders.