Men, Women, and Slaves

An Enduring Tradition

The festivities that were part of the quriltai live on today in Mongolia, in celebrations called naadam. The largest takes place in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar in July on National Day, a public holiday; smaller naadams are held across the country during the summer. A naadam features archery, wrestling, and horse racing—sporting events with strong ties to the nomadic culture of the early Mongols.

Women normally did not take an active role in politics or the military, with a notable exception within the royal family. A khan’s wife could serve as a regent, or temporary ruler, after her husband died and before the next Great Khan was elected. Some wives could also influence the khan’s decisions. Khubilai Khan often heeded the advice of his wife Chabi (d. 1281). She was his favorite wife; Mongol khans usually had several separate households with a different wife in charge of each one. The Mongols looked outside their own clan for wives, which strengthened ties between the clans.

The Mongols also had people who were similar to slaves. Slavery played a more important role in sedentary societies, though, and did not form a large part of Mongol society. After a successful battle, Mongol commanders took their enemy’s surviving relatives as Otogus bo’ols. The Otogus bo’ols could not leave the service of their masters, but they could own property. Over time some of these Otogus bo’ols were treated like family members and others were able to become important members of society. A lower class of slaves, bo’ols, did not have the same opportunities to seek wealth or social influence. The bo’ols were often sold into slavery by their families. The Secret History of the Mongols reports that one hungry Turkic man sold his son into slavery for a “[morsel] from the flesh” of a dead deer.