Yesügei- Mongolian FigureMortal"The Brave"
Also known as: Yesugei Baatar and Yesügei Ba'atur
Description
Father of Genghis Khan, a minor chieftain of the Borjigin clan. He was poisoned by Tatars when Temüjin was nine years old, leaving the family to be abandoned by their clan and struggle to survive on the steppe.
Mythology & Lore
Chieftain of the Kiyad
Yesügei Ba'atur led the Kiyad, a sub-clan of the Borjigin Mongols. He was not a paramount chief. He led a small following, raided well enough to earn the epithet Ba'atur ("The Brave"), and married Hoelun from the Olkhonud clan. When his son was born, he had just captured a Tatar chieftain named Temüjin, and following Mongol custom, he gave the boy that name.
Death and Its Consequences
The Secret History tells that Yesügei, returning from arranging young Temüjin's betrothal to Börte of the Onggirat, stopped at a Tatar encampment and accepted their hospitality. The Tatars recognized him. They poisoned his food. He made it home but died shortly after, leaving Hoelun with several young children and no protector.
Without Yesügei, the Kiyad followers saw no reason to stay. The Taychiud kinsmen abandoned the family on the steppe, took the livestock, and left Hoelun to feed her children by digging roots and catching fish in the Onon River.