The Successors of Genghis Khan - Robert Bedrosian's Armenian ...

BEGINNING OF THE HISTORY OF MONGKE Q_A5AN
After this Sorqoqtani Beki said to Mongke Qa'an: "As the princes
have disobeyed the aqa and not gone to him thou must go with thy
brothers and pay him a visit." In accordance with his mother's suggestion,
Mongke Qa'an set out for the Court of Batu. When he arrived
there and Batu perceived upon his brow the signs of maturity and
ability, he said: "Of all the princes Mongke Qa'an alone is fitted and
qualified for the Khanate, for he has experienced the good and ill of
life and tasted the bitter and the sweet of every affair, and on several
occasions led armies in various directions, and is distinguished from
all by his wisdom and ability; his dignity and honor were and are as
great as they can be in the eyes of Ogetei Qa'an and the other princes,
the emirs, and the army. Qa'an sent him, his brother Kolgen, and
Giiyuk with me, that is, Batu, Orda, and the family of Jochi against
the land of the Qipchaq and the countries in that region in order to
conquer them. And it was Mongke Qa'an who subdued the *Ulirlik19
and Qiipchaq peoples and the Uruqsaq20 and Gherkes peoples and
captured Bachman, the leader of the Qiipchaqs, Tuqar,21 the leader of
the Cherkes peoples, and Ajis,22 the leader of the As peoples. He
also took the town of *Men-Kermen23 massacring and pillaging, and
reduced it to subjection. Then in the utz* y'il, corresponding to the
year 638/1240-12412S Qa'an sent a yarligh that the princes should
return, but before they arrived he had already died, having issued a
yarligh that Shiremiin, his grandson, was to be heir. Toregene Khatun
disobeyed and ignored his ordinance and set up Giiyiik Khan as
Khan. Today it is Mongke Qa'an who is best fitted and most suitable
to be ruler. He is of the family of Chingiz-Khan, and what other
prince is there who by his penetrating thought and straight-hitting
19 See above, Section i, p. 58, note 230.
20 Unidentified.
21 Not in Verkhovsky. Spelt here rWQ.QAS, but cf. above, p. 60.
22 Not in Verkhovsky. Above, p. 58, his name is given as O_achir-Ukula.
" Reading MN KRMAN for the MR KRMAN of Verkhovsky's text. On Men-
Kermen, the Turkish name for Kiev, see above, Section i, p. 69, note 322. According
to the Russian sources, Mongke had at least reconnoitred Kiev. See Vernadsky, p. 52.
That he was present at the capture of the town, which fell on the 6th December,
1240, is inconsistent with the statement above (p. 61) that he and Giiyiik had already
set out on the return journey to Mongolia in the autumn of that year.
24 T. ud, "ox."
25 Actually 1241.
2OI