Paper long abstract:

The themes of loyalty and betrayal are frequently encountered in the early history of the Mongol Empire (1206-1259). The minor qanates that competed for power on the steppe prior to the rise of Chinggis Qan (1175?-1227) were built upon personal bonds of trust and customary obligations, whilst acts of betrayal and deception were punished through vendetta and feud. The Great Mongol State (Yeke Mongqol Ulus), created by Chinggis Qan, also placed a high value on personal loyalty to the qa'an (Great Qan) through a series of oaths and duties, which informed the relationship between a qan, his companions (nokut) and the commoners. Going back on one's oaths and duties was seen to be a particularly egregious crime and brought about a state of 'bulqa', often glossed as 'rebellion' by modern historians, but more frequently tied to 'fitna' (chaos/disorder) in the Arabic and Persian-language sources. Bulqa could only be avoided by a qan and his subjects meeting their mutual obligations (üile) to one another. The present paper will discuss three such obligations, characterized as: traditional, personal, and imperial.