2 - Power Vacuum

Welcome to the Mongol Empire Podcast. My name's Cory, and in this episode today, we're going to be looking at What the Mongol people were like before the rise of Chinggis Khan, because the story of their history doesn't start with him. Chingus Khan was clearly an intelligent thinker, a charismatic leader, and a good judge of character, but he didn't just wake up one day and decide that he was going to conquer the world.

The conditions that enabled him to do this started developing in the decades and centuries prior to his birth. So we need to dig a little bit deeper into the history of northern China and the Eurasian steppe to understand how the Mongols went from being a relatively insignificant tribe to becoming an imperial dynasty.

There are two factors that seem to be key in this rise. The first is the power vacuum that appeared on the steppe after the fall of the Liao. The second is the policy enacted by the Jin to exert influence beyond their northeast frontier. So we need to start the series by travelling back to the 10th century, and the foundation of another empire which also found its origins on the steppe.

The Liao dynasty was founded in 907. They were a nomadic tribe known as the Keitan, which had come to power first by conquering their steppe rivals before absorbing the settled population of what had been the northern part of the Tang Empire.

Unlike previous dynasties, the Liao kept direct control over the tribes of Mongolia and Manchuria. Taxation and labour requirements ensured that the tribes were forced to actively contribute to the Liao state. And in addition to the financial benefits they received for being part of a conquest dynasty, steppe leaders were invited to join hunting parties with the Emperor.

The Liao also encouraged their loyalty by constructing a network of fortifications deep into the steppe. This loyalty was responded to with punitive raids and forced resettlement. Management of the nomads and the sedentary population was undertaken by two separate branches of government, each with a Prime Minister who reported to the Emperor. On paper, this dual government system seems to have resolved the problem of ruling over two distinct population groups.

In reality, however, it was severely undermined by the fact that the Keeton never fully integrated the many different cultures that made up the empire. In the south, the ruling class stayed aloof of their Chinese subjects, and on the steppe, the Liao allowed traditional form of tribal relationships to continue.

They had come to power by being the strongest militarily, economically, and diplomatically, and the tribes that had joined them had benefited from this. But once the Empire had been founded, this relationship didn't really develop. As long as the tribes felt they were getting some kind of benefit, financial or otherwise, their loyalty was guaranteed. And despite the threat of repercussions, the tribes could easily move to a location further from the Liao area of control.

Now, don't be deceived by this apparent fragility. In the mid eleventh century, the time when our story starts, The Empire was stable and prosperous, a position obtained in part by the vast annual tribute received from the Song dynasty in the south and Si in the west. The chances of the Yao Empire being conquered by a tribal vassal seem to be quite low.

The vassal that would achieve this conquest though, was the Jurchen tribe, who lived south of the Amur River in Manchuria. They were brought into the Liao sphere of influence after the Keetan conquest of the Bohai in 926. Trade links between the tribes and empire were established, and a large number of goods moved into northern China, with falcons being particularly valued by the Keetan elite.

According to the official history of the Jin, the Jin Xi, Liao control in Manchuria was limited, and leaders of the ruling clan, the Wan Yin, used and abused the relationship as they went about unifying the region. The first major moves towards a unified Jurchen state were led by Wu Gu Nai, who was chieftain of the clan until his death in ten seventy four.

Wu Gu Nai united a large number of clans under the Wanyan banner, whilst also increasing his prestige and standing with the Liao by handing over political enemies, rebellious chieftains, and undertaking military operations on their behalf. When Nikitan offered Wugunai the trappings of Liao officialdom, he sent a diplomat back who stated If our ruler and lord receives a seal and is entered into the register, the tribesman will certainly kill him.

If the Jinxi is to be believed, then this was part of a larger scheme by Wugunai to maintain a clear divide between the Jurchen and Keetan states. The Liao response to this rejection is unknown, but tribes who may otherwise have been raiding into Liao territory or disrupting trade routes were being stopped by Wugunai. Not having the formal submission of the Jurchen leader, who was already considered to be a vassal, was probably a small price to pay for continued peace in the region.

It seems unlikely, however, that Wu Gunai's response was entirely an act of rebelliousness. He probably had a genuine concern for his own safety, as a submission to the Liao could be perceived as weakness, and a position of the Wanyan clan at the head of the Jurchen tribes was not assured. This was pretty effectively shown in 1074, when his second son, Haile Bo, was elected Khan, and civil war erupted.

The struggle for control continued for the next seventeen years, and prior to the decisive battle in ten ninety one, Hei Li Bo sent his brother Po Si Shu to the Liao Court to request military aid. Whilst there is no indication that any Liao troops took part in the battle, Haile Bo instructed If I should die, you must not collect my bones, and not care for the loss of our relatives, but hasten away on your horse and inform your elder brother Posi Shu.

He shall register under the Liao, except their seal, and ask for an army to take revenge on our enemies. Hailey Bo was victorious, and Wuganai's branch of the Wanyan clan retained control of the tribes. But this episode illustrates the precarious nature of tribal politics. If you show an ounce of weakness, others will try to take your place. The Civil War also highlighted how complex the Jurchen and Keaton relationship was.

Despite apparently being independent, the leaders of the Jurchen considered the Liao to be the arbiters of justice, providers of legitimacy, and appear to have received financial and theoretically military support from their settled neighbours.

Haile Bo died just a year after securing his position in ten ninety two. His successor, the previously mentioned Posi Shu, ruled for the next two years, but spent most of his short reign dealing with rebellions. Po Sishu was succeeded by his younger brother Ying Ge, and the first cracks appear in the relationship between the Jurchen and Liao.

Yet another civil war sprang up on Yingi's succession, but this time round the Liao, probably trying to expand their influence in the region, attempted to be more assertive. Envoys were sent to Ying Ge insisting the war be settled, and he responded by asking, If our tribes and clans fight against each other, is this your business? The envoys were dismissed, and Yingge instructed his men to ignore any future orders issued by the Liao.

Despite these actions though, Yingei was cautious about ridding himself of Keaton's support. In 1102, the Jurchen chieftain Hei Li suggested an alliance to attack the Liao. But instead of joining this rebellion, Ying Gei had Hei Li's envoy arrested and sent to northern China. He then raised the Mengan for the first time, a significant moment in the development of the Jurchen state.

The Mengan was an army unit of a thousand, each with a company commander. Its formation required much greater government control and organization than a regular steppe army, and obviously needed the manpower to support it. This army was then sent against Haile, who The threat must have been more significant than previous uprisings in the region, because the Jin Shi states that the Liao sent an army to put it down.

This army was apparently pretty ineffective, and could only watch as Yinge's reformed force crushed the rebels. And eleven oh two was one of those significant years that every civilization seems to have. For the Jurchen it was really a marker of the new strength they had found by uniting the tribes. For the Liao, it was a symbol of a growing weakness within their government.

The Empire was hugely rich and still well respected by its neighbours, but the reality was that it had lost the military discipline that had powered its own conquests and cowled other nations. Their last serious campaign successfully ended only a couple of years previous to eleven oh two.

But it was one only with considerable effort. And Keaton foreign policy had long focused on maintaining the status quo in the region, through gift-giving and by maintaining strongly fortified defensive positions. But despite this growing military weakness, the Empire was again still stable. There were no internal rebellions, and as we said, it was well respected.

The failure to deal with Haley's rebellion had really highlighted the fact though that there was a power shift happening. And from now on in, Jurchen actions would now be undertaken with one eye on attaining proper independence.

The event that finally broke the relationship came in 1112. Over the years, the Jurchen had submitted many complaints against Liao behaviour. Jurchin traders were ripped off by their Liao counterparts, diplomats were misrepresented by court translators and officials, and Jurchin women and elders were abused as the Liao travelled through Manchuria. The Liao court considered the Jurchen to be inferior and treated them as such.

To reaffirm the superior status of the Empire, Jurchen leaders were required to travel to a fishing spot on the Songhua River, where they met the Liao Emperor. During the ceremony, tribal leaders were expected to entertain the emperor by dancing, a real humiliating demonstration of the powerlessness of the tribes. In 1112, Aguda, the younger brother of the Khan, refused. The Liao Xi records the event. The Emperor went to Chun Prefecture and halted at the Hung Tun River where he fished.

The chieftains of the savage Nu Chi, beyond the border who lived within a thousand Li, had all come to court for an audience in accordance with the old tradition. It happened at this time a first fish feast was given. When the serving of the wine had reached a certain point, the emperor mounted his carriage and ordered all the chieftains one after the other to get up and dance. Standing erect and looking straight at the Emperor, Aguda refused on the ground of inability.

This breach of etiquette was probably more calculated than the Liao Xi lets on. Since the embarrassment of the eleven oh two rebellion, little had been done to rectify the military weaknesses shown by the Liao. In contrast, the Jurchen had spent the following decade growing in strength Yingi's successor, Wu Yasu, had mopped up the remaining independent Jurchen tribes and secured his eastern border by defeating Korea on multiple occasions.

By 1112, both the Jurchen and Keaton leadership were aware that the Manchurian tribes were now militarily stronger than the Empire. But nobody had thought to inform the Emperor about this power shift. No response to the insult is recorded, and when Wu Yeshu died the following year, Aguda was elected Khan. He quickly declared war on the Liao, an eastern capital, and large swathes of land quickly fell to the Jurchen.

In eleven fifteen, Aguda founded the Jin dynasty and took the imperial name Tai Zu. The war quickly exposed weaknesses within the Liao Empire. Internal rebellions sprang up, and soldiers defected to the Jin or simply just deserted, as the Keitan army melted away. The fate of the Liao Empire was decided in eleven eighteen, when the Emperor decided to reject Jurchen peace terms.

The Supreme Capital of the Liao fell to Tai Zhu in eleven twenty and was followed by the central and southern capitals in eleven twenty two, forcing the emperor to flee to his western capital. Aguda's death in eleven twenty three did not disrupt the Jin conquest. His younger brother, crowned Tai Zong, captured the last Liao Emperor, and a dynasty was formally ended in 1125. The Jin now controlled an empire that stretched from the Korean Peninsula to northwest China.

So you're probably wondering how this all relates to the Mongols. Well, unlike the Liao, the Jin had little interest in directly controlling the steppe tribes. The wealth of the empire would come from the settled lands of China, not the nomads, and a more southerly frontier in what is now the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region was favoured. This resulted in the abandonment of the step fortifications built by the Keaton.

The new frontier is described as being a three-tiered system. The inner section was manned by Jin troops who were stationed behind physical defences. The middle section was populated with people who are described rather vaguely as not being either citizens of a jinn or their steppe allies. And the outer section is the most relevant part for us.

This was protected by the steppe tribes, who were allied to the Jinn. This ally would be used to reduce the power of any steppe rivals, but when it became too powerful, Jinn allegiance would shift, and another tribe would be brought to prominence. This policy ensured that the Jin were able to limit the power of their step neighbours without having to directly intervene. Or at least, that was the theory. Ultimately, the frontier zone was not a completely fixed border in the way we think of today.

Beyond the inner section, the Jin were able to exert a limited amount of influence and carried out their own punitive raids. However, their reluctance to continue to provide a physical presence on the steppe, in the way the Liao had, created a power vacuum that different tribes could now attempt to fill.

And if a variety of sources are to be believed, this vacuum was filled very quickly by the Mongols. Dating of the early Mongol Khans is a little contentious, but it is generally agreed that some form of a Mongol nation coalesced under the rule of Kabul Khan. Whether this was in the eleven twenties or eleven thirties is unclear.

But the Jinxi records Mongol raids on the northern frontier between eleven thirty five and eleven forty two, and this is supported by Song diplomat Zhao Gong, who was sent to the Mongols in the twelve twenties. He reported Of old there was the Mongol state. During the people of Jin's illegitimate Tian Hui period, it also harassed the Jin Katifs and was a worry to them. The Jinn Katives also battled with them, but afterward pacified them by presenting them with gold and silk.

The events he describes took place between 1123 and 1137, and it seems that part of the peace still included an attempt to make the Mongols their outer frontier vassals. Kabul was invited to a feast at the Imperial Court where he got drunk and tugged on the Emperor's beard. Initially this insult was forgiven, and he returned home with gifts, perhaps a suggestion of favoured status.

But the emperor changed his mind, and agents were sent out to the steppe to kill the Khan. A successful trap was laid for the would be assassins and Kabul escaped. It's difficult to gauge the level of threat that this Mongol state really posed to the Jinn.

Undoubtedly, their attacks were a serious distraction for the imperial government. A treaty that ended the twenty year war between the Jin and Song is said to have been broken in part because of the increasing level of Mongol activity in the north. Perhaps a coalition is a better description for the Mongol state in this period. It's likely that Kabul was elected Khan of a Federation of Mongol clans, who then found the northern frontier to be underprotected as the Jin Song War progressed.

The seasonal Mongol raids grew stronger as more clans and tribes were drawn to the success, forcing the Jinn to respond. The peace treaty of eleven forty seven gives further support to an informally organised Mongol state. Emperor Zizong had responded to the Mongol threat by putting together a force of eighty thousand troops. This was utterly defeated by the Mongols in eleven forty six, and a peace treaty was agreed.

The terms of the deal were expensive for the Jin, but they were not required to make any territorial concessions. The Mongols demanded material wealth, livestock food and silk. This wasn't really the peace treaty of an aspiring imperial state. The growing Mongol threat also brings the frontier system into focus. Was it really working as a three tiered system at this stage? I would argue not.

In the early eleven forties, reaction to the steppe raid seems to depend entirely on the Jin government providing a financial or military response, rather than using a third party to fight on their behalf. The eleven forty seven Treaty may well have been the catalyst for switching to a more indirect form of control over the steppe.

The tribe that would benefit from this change was the Tatars, and the effect seems to have been pretty immediate, with raids into northern China reducing as the Mongols refocused their attention.

We don't know what happened to Kabul, he just disappears from the records, but we do know he was succeeded by Amberguy, and it was Amberguy's death that set up a blood feud that wouldn't be resolved until the eleven nineties. The feud started with a marriage agreement. Perhaps as an attempt to head off the growing Tartar threat, Amberguy arranged a marriage with a Tartar chieftain.

When he was travelling to fulfil the terms of the agreement, he was captured by a different group of Tartars who were in the pay of the Jinn. Always happy to dispose of an enemy chief, the Jinn nailed Ambergai to a wooden donkey. Before he died, Ambergai managed to get a message to the Mongols, demanding that his successor Ketula avenge him.

The Secret History of the Mongols, the epic poem recording the events of Chinggis Khan's life, uses the death of the Vamberguy to justify the later campaign of extermination that Chinggis would carry out against the Tatars. Ambergai's death started a protracted war between the Mongols and the Jin Tatar alliance. And here we see perhaps further evidence supporting the success of the Gin Step policy.

Despite inflicting another heavy defeat on the Jurchen army, the Mongols really struggled against the Tatar, to the extent that Emperor Zizong's successor, Hailing Wang, was able to use the entirety of the eleven fifties as a To make extensive preparations for another invasion of the Song. As part of these preparations, the Jin Supreme Capital was moved from the Jurchen homeland to Beijing,

From a logistics point of view, this move made some sense. The infrastructure surrounding Beijing was heavily developed, and had a good network of roads, canals, and a river system which facilitated easier transportation of troops, trade and tanks. That the imperial government was confident enough to move the capital closer to the steppe suggests that the threat from the northwest border had greatly reduced.

At the beginning of the eleven sixties the Mongols disappeared from the records, which is perhaps understandable. In eleven sixty one the Jin Empire exploded in activity. First of all, Hailing Wang launched the attack on the Song. Despite the decade long preparations, the assault struggled to cross the Hwai River, and the units that did succeed, found themselves isolated, and the attack stalled. Soon after war had been declared, Hailing Wang was assassinated.

His reign had been consolidated by mass purges of opponents Moving the capital had been unpopular, and he was generally viewed as a tyrant. In fact, Heiling Wang is known as the Prince of Heiling rather than Emperor because he was posthumously demoted to the status of commoner. At the same time as war and assassination, the remnants of the Keeton people rose up in the north of the Empire, and this would be followed by the elevation of the next emperor in the Jurchen homeland.

Emperor Xizong turned out to be a highly capable man. Whilst dealing with the rebels, a war of the song, and trying to consolidate his own position, he managed to convince the Tatars to attack the Mongols in eleven sixty two, which resulted in the fragmentation of the Mongol coalition. The success of the Tatar attack could be viewed as the triumph of the Jin steppe policy. They had empowered the Tatars to the extent that the Mongols had been defeated without any direct intervention.

The Tartar victory gave Emperor Xizong the time to resolve all of the internal problems faced by the Empire at this point. He concluded a peace treaty with the Song, and then led the dynasty into the most stable period of its history. For the Mongols, the defeat meant the end of the raids into northern China, and a return to dealing with the intricacies of steppe politics. And the fragmentation of the Mongol tribes is where we finish.

The evidence we've looked at today suggests that the power vacuum that formed on the steppe with the fall of the Yao did not directly create the Mongol state, but provided the ideological foundations for future Mongol conquest. Like other steppe tribes throughout history, early Mongol power and unity was based on the continued accumulation of wealth rather than any imperial ideal, and the Khans were able to maintain this unity by successfully raiding northern China.

The defeat in eleven sixty two to the Tartars may have abruptly ended this period of success. But events such as the death of Ambergai and the victories of Kabul contributed to the creation of a historic identity which could be drawn upon and celebrated as Chinggis Khan moulded an empire. Next time on the Mongol Empire podcast, we finally meet Chingis Khan, and we'll see how the Mongol people would be brought from abject poverty to empire.

Instead of me rattling off a dull list of sources, check out the Mongol Empire Podcast website at MongolEmpirePodcast.com where everything used today can be found. If you actually want to get in contact with the podcast, you can email me at Cory at C O R E Y at Mongolempirepodcast dot com Or find us on Twitter at MongolEmpirePod. That's it for today. Thanks a lot for listening.