Featured Article Summary #182

Al-Altan (c. 1196–1246), also known as Altalun and Altaluqan, was Genghis Khan’s youngest child and favorite daughter, born to his main wife Börte. To strengthen Mongol control, she was married around 1211 to Barchuq Art Tegin, a powerful Uyghur ruler, after he accepted Mongol submission. After Genghis died in 1227, Ögedei Khan likely began taking Uyghur territory and taxes for the central Mongol government. When Ögedei died in 1241, Al-Altan was said to have been there and was suspected of poisoning him, keeping her under suspicion until her nephew Güyük Khan took power. Soon after, she was put on trial and executed by the general Eljigidei, and official histories were forced to hide or remove details about her. Her death later became a major grievance during the Toluid Revolution in 1251, when supporters of Al-Altan helped execute Eljigidei in revenge. Al-Altan was the youngest daughter of Börte, who married Temüjin (about 1178) after a long betrothal. She and Temüjin had nine children together, while he later had other wives and children who were considered lower in status than Börte and her family. After Temüjin rose to become Genghis Khan in 1206, Al-Altan and her sisters were used to strengthen alliances by marrying influential leaders and helping manage large tribes. In 1211, Genghis Khan rewarded the Uyghur ruler Barchuq Art Tegin for breaking from his old master by naming him a “fifth son” and betrothing the young Al-Altan to him. Barchuq then fought as an ally in major campaigns, including wars against the Khwarazmian Empire and others, though it is unclear whether Al-Altan personally joined these expeditions; Barchuq died sometime before 1241. Genghis died in 1227 and was followed by his chosen heir, Ögedei, Al-Altan’s brother, after a short gap in rule. Ögedei became increasingly addicted to alcohol and died in 1241 after a drinking binge, leading to rumors that he was poisoned—suspicions fell on two women, including Ibaqa Beki (later cleared) and Al-Altan. Al-Altan was never cleared; after surviving her brother-in-law’s widow Töregene’s regency, she was tried and executed after Güyük’s coronation in 1246, and the details were suppressed because it involved killing a royal family member. In 1251, Möngke Khan took power during the Toluid Revolution and accused the Ögedei family of breaking Mongol law by executing Al-Altan, Genghis’s favourite daughter, without proper consultation. After Möngke stopped an Ögedeid coup, Eljigidei was targeted, captured near Herat, and executed, allegedly brutally on Batu Khan’s orders. Later, Al-Altan’s story was heavily censored and distorted in official and Persian accounts, with Rashid al-Din offering conflicting claims about whether she ever married Barchuq and how she died, which makes these records unreliable.