Her Suitors Wrestled Her For Her Hand in Marriage
And she never lost
Hello friends! Happy Wednesday! I hope you all had a great weekend either celebrating your mom(s), celebrating their memory, or celebrating the mom-like figures in your life. My mom, who reads my newsletter every week, told me that Heather Cox Richardson’s “Letter From an American” newsletter was about the history of Mother’s Day. Worth a read for any folks interested!
After this past week, I felt we all needed to channel some badass warrior princess energy. Although I can’t wrestle men to the ground like our heroine this week, I like to think I could do the equivalent verbally. Let’s get to it!
Khutulun
Khutulun’s story is why I write this newsletter. Most know her as a Mongolian princess who was the great-great-granddaughter of Genghis Khan. But, if you dive a little deeper, you learn she was one of the most skilled martial artists to ever grace this dang Earth. Khutulun was born in 1260 and is known by several names. For the purpose of this story, we still stick with Khutulun. When she was twenty, Khutulun’s father, Kaidu Khan, became the most powerful ruler in Central Asia. But there was ~drama~ in Khutulun’s family. Keeping up with the Khans has a great ring to it. Her father preferred defending their empire the old-fashioned way by riding horses around and pillaging villages while her uncle, Kublai, preferred taking control via politics and government. This caused a huge rift within the family and turned into a thirty-year conflict.
Khutulun’s upbringing defied most gender norms. She was not only raised by a father who valued teaching his children the art of riding horses and shooting but she also had FOURTEEN brothers. As a result, she had incredible shooting, wrestling, and riding skills and her father relied heavily on her for military expertise. But she wasn’t only giving him expertise, she was fighting alongside him as they worked to maintain their reign. Others were in awe of her skills. Marco Polo (yes, the real Marco Polo) said she was “as deftly as a hawk” when it came to pouncing on her enemies.
Even though Khutulun was raised in a way that defied gender norms, there was still a discussion about who she would marry given that she was the daughter of one of the most powerful rulers in Asia. Her father begged her to get married but Khutulun was not having it. But, when your father is basically the leader of Asia you can’t exactly say “thanks, but no thanks!” so Khutulun made a proclamation. Any man who wanted to marry her had to beat her in a wrestling match. If they won, they got her hand in marriage. If they lost, they’d have to give her 100 of their horses. Unsurprisingly, Khutulun ended up with 10,000 horses (which is apparently the equivalent of “so many horses we lost count so just say 10,000”). Eventually, Khutulun was forced to get married as rumors started to spread that she wasn’t getting married because she was having sex with her dad. Because that’s the only logical reason people could think of as to why she didn’t want to get married??
While Khutulun eventually married, it wasn’t enough to give her the power she deserved within her family. Her father tried to set her up as his successor but her brothers aggressively rejected that idea. After he died, she remained a general in the army until a few years later when she also died. It’s rumored she was killed by a hitman, but we will probably never know. Although her physical life ended too soon, Khutulun is still known as the greatest female warrior in Mongolian history.
Alright, that’s all for this week! See ya next Wednesday!
Citations
“Khutulun” Wikipedia
“Khutulun, the Mongolian Warrior Princess” Archeotravelers.com
“Khutulun: The Wrestler Princess” Rejected Princesses