1. Sorghaghtani Beki made policy decisions at a pivotal moment that led to the transition of the Mongol Empire towards a more cosmopolitan and sophisticated style of administration.
13 Facts About Sorghaghtani Beki
1. 2.
Sorghaghtani Beki raised her sons to be leaders and maneuvered the family politics so that all four of her sons, Mongke Khan, Hulagu Khan, Ariq Boke, and Kublai Khan, went on to inherit the legacy of their grandfather.
3.
Sorghaghtani Beki was a Christian, specifically a member of the Church of the East.
4.
Sorghaghtani Beki was the daughter of Jakha Gambhu, the younger brother of the powerful Keraite leader Toghrul, known as Ong Khan.
5.
Sorghaghtani Beki financed the construction of a madrasa in Bukhara and gave alms to both Christians and Muslims.
6.
When Sorghaghtani Beki asked for part of Hebei as her appanage in 1236 after the end of the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty, Ogedei hesitated, but not for long.
7.
Sorghaghtani Beki shunned him into compliance by pointing out that the place was hers by right anyway because her husband had conquered it.
8.
Meanwhile, the ambitious Sorghaghtani Beki had secretly teamed up with Guyuk's cousin Batu Khan, the senior male in the Borjigin and ruler of the Golden Horde.
9.
Batu and Sorghaghtani Beki championed the name of Mongke, who had fought along with Batu in the European campaign, as Khagan.
10.
Sorghaghtani Beki was buried in a Christian church in Gansu.
11.
Sorghaghtani Beki was enshrined in a Christian church in Ganzhou in 1335, and sacrifices were ordered to be offered here.
12.
Sorghaghtani Beki is spoken of very highly both in the Secret History, as well as by Muslim, Chinese and Christian historians.
13.
Sorghaghtani Beki was the niece of the powerful Keraite leader of the Mongols, Ong Khan.