Jamukha
Jamukha, a military and political leader of the Jadaran tribe who was proclaimed Gur Khan in 1201 by opposing factions, was a principal rival to Temüjin during the struggle for supremacy over the diverse tribes of the Mongolian steppe, a conflict that ultimately led to their unification under Temüjin.
Biography
Jamukha was born into the Jadaran tribe, a sub-tribe within the Khamag Mongol confederation. He was also an anda, a sworn brother, to Temüjin.According to The [Secret History of the Mongols], when Börte, wife of Temüjin, and Sochigel, his step-mother, were abducted by the Three Merkits, Wang Khan, Jamukha, and Temüjin combined forces against the Merkits to recover both women.
In 1201, the leaders of thirteen tribes hostile to Temüjin assembled a kurultai. They elected Jamukha as Gur-khan, a title previously used by the rulers of the Kara-Khitan Khanate. Jamukha's assumption of this title represented the final breach between him and Temüjin, leading Temüjin to form a coalition to oppose him. In the fall of that year, a major battle broke out between Jamukha's alliance and the Keraite-Khamag Mongol alliance in the Argun [River (Asia)|Ergune] valley. This decisive engagement, known as the Battle of the Thirteen Sides, ended with Temüjin's victory, significantly advancing his path towards eventually becoming Khan of all united Mongol tribes.
Jamukha was ultimately less successful than Temüjin in building a broad and resilient coalition. For example, Jamukha tended to rely on traditional tribal aristocracy and did not actively recruit commoners or shepherds who lacked high tribal status. In contrast, Temüjin's willingness to promote based on merit and loyalty attracted a wider following, allowing him to recover from earlier military setbacks and eventually emerge victorious.
Following the Battle of the Thirteen Sides, Jamukha was betrayed and captured by his own men, who submitted him to the victorious Temüjin. Citing one of the laws Temüjin had established, which forbade the betrayal of one's Khan, Temüjin had Jamukha's betrayers immediately executed. Jamukha himself was subsequently interrogated. Offered the choice to live and join Temüjin, he requested instead to die honorably at the hands of his anda. Temüjin granted this request, and Jamukha was executed according to noble tradition, "without spilling blood".
In popular culture
Jamukha is portrayed as a major character in the 1956 film The Conqueror, the 1965 film Genghis Khan, and the 2007 film Mongol. In The Conqueror, the screenplay depicts him as unfailingly loyal and subordinate to Temujin, ending with Jamukha insisting on a bloodless execution after Temujin grants him a favor. This contrasts sharply with the 1965 Genghis Khan film, which depicts them as lifelong rivals who both perish in a climactic duel, a significant deviation from historical accounts.He appears in the KOEI video game Genghis Khan II as a playable ruler.
He is also a character in Shike, a two-volume novel published in 1981 by Robert Shea. The novel fictionalises and compresses Japanese history to incorporate both the Genpei War and the attempted Mongol invasions of Japan.