The Complex Rivalry and Brotherhood of Temujin and Jamuka

Key Insight

Ong Khan, harboring his own feud with the Merkid, readily agreed to help Temujin rescue Borte and enlisted Temujin's sworn anda (blood brother), Jamuka, for additional support. Their combined forces, with Ong Khan leading the Right Wing and Jamuka the Left, successfully raided the Merkid. Amidst the chaos of the rout, Temujin frantically searched for Borte, who, initially fleeing from her new captors, recognized his voice and reunited with him in an emotional embrace. Though the other two women were not rescued, Temujin declared a decisive victory, having inflicted similar pain upon the Merkid.

Following the rescue, Borte was discovered to be pregnant, leading to a century-long political debate over the paternity of her first son, Jochi, whose name means 'visitor' or 'guest.' Temujin then joined his small camp with Jamuka's larger group in the Khorkhonag Valley, where they publicly renewed their sworn brotherhood for a third time. In a ceremony, they exchanged golden sashes and strong horses, symbolizing the sharing of their essence, and swore an oath to 'love one another,' even sleeping under a single blanket. This period also saw Temujin learning the herding way of life.

However, their relationship was strained by steppe kinship hierarchies, with Jamuka's lineage claiming higher 'white bone' status over Temujin's 'black-boned' ancestry. In 1181, Jamuka began treating Temujin as inferior, demanding he take the less prestigious sheep and goats, while Jamuka himself would lead the horses. Angered, Borte urged Temujin to break away, which he did that night, secretly fleeing with his followers. This rift escalated into two decades of warfare, establishing Jamuka as Temujin's chief rival for the unification and leadership of the Mongols, a title Temujin, at age 27, sought to claim in 1189 through a khuriltai, despite modest turnout.