Samur Gunj

Samur Gunj (* 1380s; † around 1455) was a daughter of Khan Elbeg Nigülesügchi , the ruler of the northern Yuan dynasty and his main wife Kobeguntai. She has worked to preserve the Borjigin clan all her life .

Life

Her father killed one of his sons and took his wife to be his own. He later killed his adviser Daiyuu on suspicion of molesting her. To prevent the revenge of Daiyuu's family, he gave his daughter Samur Daiyuu's son for marriage. Samur's husband was given command of the Oirats and was appointed their Tayishi (= leader).

Since many of her clan's members were practically the prisoners of her bodyguards, she convinced her husband to go on campaigns to free them. After her son died during the fighting, she persuaded her grandson Esen to become the new leader of the Oirats. Samur supported him because he had brought the Mongolian Plateau and most of the Silk Road under his control.

Although Esen initially sought unity between the Oirats and his grandmother's Borjigin clan, he later turned against her and had several of her nobles killed. When his daughter was about to give birth to her child, he planned to kill her if she were to become a boy. Samur helped her great-granddaughter escape. They pretended their child was a girl at first, but when this turned out to be a lie, Samur took the boy to her yurt for protection and then eventually entrusted him to Mongols, who were loyal to the Borjigins, who were supposed to protect him from Esen . That boy was Batu-Mongke, who would later become a direct ancestor of Dayan Khan .

Samur died around the same time as Esen.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Jack Weatherford. (2010). The Secret History of the Mongol Queens. Random House LLC. ISBN 0-307-58936-6 . Pages 142, 146, 149-151.