Nayan

Nayan (died 1287 ) was a prince of the Borjigin royal family of the Mongol Empire. He organized a remarkable and serious rebellion against the Mongolian Khagan Kublai Khan . He was a Nestorian Christian . Much of what is known of Nayan was recorded by the Venetian traveler Marco Polo .

Origins

Nayan was a member of a branch of the Mongolian royal dynasty and came from one of the brothers of Genghis Khan . He was either a great-great-grandson of Temuge, Genghis Khan's youngest full brother, or of Belgutai, his half-brother. More than one prince named Nayan existed and their identities are confusing; the historian Pelliot was of the opinion that the Christian prince Nayan was not a descendant of Belgutai. He gives Nayan's father as Ajul, son of Tacar, son of Jibügan, son of Temugt. Genghis Khan's close male relatives gained control of large appanage domains in Mongolia and neighboring countries such as Manchuria . Marco Polo describes Nayan as the ruler of four large provinces: "Ciorcia" (possibly Jurchen), "Cauli" (Korea, probably only part of North Korea), "Barscol" and "Sichintingiu". In its districts was a city called Kwang-ning, which is why Nayan was called "Prince of Kwang-ning". In addition, Nayan was also the leading leader of the Eastern Sujets (tribal groups and districts ruled by Mongol Adanage princes) ruled by the descendants of the brothers of Genghis Khan. Whatever the exact extent of Nayan's appanage, he certainly had enough lands in and around Manchuria to give him a power base from which to launch a rebellion against his relative Kublai Khan.

rebellion

Nayan is portrayed as a traditional Mongolian reaction against the increasing Sinization of Kublai Khan and his government. Nayan clung to the ancestral nomadic values ​​of the Mongols and was dismayed by Kublai's alienation from these ideals. Kublai Khan may have acted on the model of Chinese government principles, consolidating power in his own hands, and the semi-independent Appanage princes beginning to feel threatened. Nayan colluded with two other descendants of brothers of Genghis Khan, Shiktur and Qada'an, who also held Adanage in eastern Mongolia and Manchuria. He was also in contact with Kublai Khan's nephew and staunch enemy Kaidu , who ruled large parts of Central Asia .

Nayan broke into open rebellion between May 14th and June 12th, 1287 and the main battle against Kublai took place around July 16th. With suspicion and legitimate fears about the collaboration between Nayan and Kaidu, Kublai Khan sent his lead general, Bayan, on an investigation. A contemporary source reports that Nayan invited Bayan to a banquet, but Bayan was warned of a trap. Whatever the truth of this incident, Bayan was sent with an army to occupy Karakoram to prevent Kaidu from moving east and joining Nayan. Kublai himself, despite his advanced age of 72, raised another army and quickly moved against Nayan in Manchuria. The speed and magnitude of Kublai's response meant that the various rebels were given very limited opportunities to coordinate their movements and concentrate their forces, and consequently left it open to be defeated individually. The Imperial Fleet transported large quantities of supplies to the mouth of the Liao River to aid the campaign. Nayan himself camped further inland on the banks of the same river. Kublai directed his troops from a sedan chair that was mounted on or pulled by four elephants.

At a rapid pace and with careful scrutiny of his army, Kublai Khan's forces surprised Nayan in his camp. The Nayan camp was protected by a wagon camp, a field reinforcement commonly used by steppe nomads. The khagan's army was organized into three divisions: first the Mongols, then the Chinese, and third, the Guard and the Kipchaks, who combined under Kublai's direct command. Nayan's army was less disciplined than Kublai's, and it is alleged that shortly before the battle began, they panicked when some of the Khagan troops fired early explosive equipment. According to Marco Polo, as a Christian, Nayan's standard bore the insignia of the cross. The armies faced each other with their great kettle drums and horns ringing. The battle began with the exchange of arrows, but then evolved into hand-to-hand combat with a lance, sword and iron mace. The battle was fierce, and lasted from morning to mid-day when Nayan's army began to disintegrate. Nayan's soldiers began to flee the field, many were killed and Nayan himself was captured.

Aftermath of the rebellion

Kublai ordered the immediate execution of Nayan. He was supposed to be executed in secret so that no request for mercy could arise. Nayan was thus executed in a way that avoided spilling his royal blood. He was rolled in a carpet and suffocated or tossed up and down or kicked by the horses of the Khan's soldiers until he was dead. Though unable to effectively support Nayan's rebellion, Kaidu remained a powerful threat for the rest of Kublai Khan's life. Kublai chose not to find Nayan's Nestorian Christian co-religionists guilty and forbade their persecution in his country.

In the course of suppressing Nayan's rebellion, Kublai Khan was able to begin to fully integrate into his domain the lands and peoples previously ruled by the Apanage princes.

bibliography

• Cordier, H. (1920) Ser Marco Polo, Vols. I and II, John Murray, London. (English)
• Grousset, R. (1970) The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, Rutgers University Press. (English)
• Jackson, P. (1999) From Ulus to Khanate: The making of the Mongol states c. 1220-c. 1290, in The Mongol Empire and its Legacy, ed.R. Amitai-Preiss and DO Morgan, Brill, Leiden. (English)
• Man, J. (2012) Kublai Khan, Random House, London. (English)
• Pelliot, P. (1963) Notes on Marco Polo, Vols., I, II and III, Imprimerie Nationale, Paris. (English)
• Rossabi, M. (1988) Khubilai Khan: His Life and Times, University of California Press. (English)