Shigi Qutuqu
The adopted son of the empire's founder Temüjin (later entitled Genghis Khan) and his wife Börte, Shigi Qutuqu played an important role in the codification of Mongol law, serving with distinction as an administrator in North China.
Although the Secret History states that Shigi Qutuqu was adopted by Hö'elün, Temüjin's mother, chronological inconsistencies make this account improbable.
The Secret History exaggerates his role in the years after the empire's foundation, but Shigi Qutuqu was nevertheless appointed to several high-ranking legal positions, in which he served during the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty.
The Secret History of the Mongols and Rashid al-Din's Jami' al-tawarikh both provide details[a] of the early life of Shigi Qutuqu, but the accounts differ greatly.
The raid on Naratu Šitü’en can be dated fairly precisely to a campaign Temüjin fought in alliance with the Kereit chieftain Toghrul and the Chinese Jin dynasty in May–June 1196, but Shigi Qutuqu was already prominent in Mongol society by 1206, which is implausible if he were a small child a decade earlier.
[6] By depicting him as a noble at birth and later the adopted brother of Temüjin, this version may have intended to position Shigi Qutuqu as a more senior member of Mongol society.
[8] The comfort the adoption of Shigi Qutuqu brought Börte, who may have been depressed due to her difficulties conceiving, is sufficient to explain the honour and attention subsequently paid to him.
In one, he managed to subdue a herd of gazelles in a winter blizzard; in the other, he had a role in saving Tolui, Temüjin's youngest legitimate son, from a Tayici'ut bandit.
"[12] Genghis Khan's response, as recorded in the Secret History, was to instruct Shigi Qutuqu to "punish the thieves and put right the lies" by documenting all legal details, including those concerning rewards distribution, in a köke debter (lit.
[18] The History of Yuan, composed c. 1370, notes that Shigi Qutuqu took administrative roles following the occupation of northern China, with his remit including the appointments of minor officials.
According to the Persian chroniclers, Shigi Qutuqu had sacked and burned the city of Ghazni with around 10,000 soldiers and been involved in the capture of Nishapur, before helping to besiege Merv.
[23] Upon hearing of his adopted son's defeat, Genghis Khan masked his private distress with anger and set out to avenge the loss with his three elder sons—Jochi, Chagatai, and Ögedei.
[24] At the Battle of the Indus, during which Genghis comprehensively defeated Jalal al-Din, Shigi Qutuqu was appointed to guard the captured Khwarazmian soldiers.
On the surface, the literate Shigi Qutuqu, who had grown up in Temüjin's household and had thus been personally involved in many important events, was one of the best-qualified Mongols to write such a history.
[37] In modern-day Mongolia, Shihihutug University in Ulaanbaatar is named after Shigi Qutuqu; a statue of him, designed by the Mongolian sculptor Ochirbold, was erected in 2023 at the main campus.
