Borjigin

Borjigin (plural Borjigid; Mongolian: Боржигин, Borjigin; Борджигин, Bordžigin; Mongolian script: , Borjigit), is the last name of the imperial clan of Genghis Khan and his successors. The senior Borjigids provided ruling princes for Mongolia and Inner Mongolia until the 20th century. The clan formed the ruling class among the Mongols and some other peoples of Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Today, the Borjigid are found in most of Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang, although genetic research has shown that descent from Genghis Khan is common in Central Asia.

Origin

The patrilineage began with Blu-grey Wolf (Börte Chino) and Fallow Doe (Gua Maral). As in The Secret History of the Mongols, their 11th generation descendant Dobu Mergen's widow Alan Gua the Fair was impregnated by a ray of light. Her youngest son became the ancestor of the later Borjigid. He was Bodonchar Munkhag , who along with his brothers sired the entire Mongol nation. According to Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, many of the older Mongolian clans were founded by members of the Borjigin — Barlas, Urud, Manghud, Taichiut, Chonos, Kiyat, etc. The first Khan of the Mongol was Bodonchar Munkhag's great-great-grandson Khaidu Khan. Khaidu's grandsons Khabul Khan and Ambaghai Khan (founder of the Taichiut clan) succeeded him. Thereafter, Qabul's sons, Hotula Khan and Yesugei, and great-grandson Temujin (Genghis Khan) ruled the Khamag Mongol. By the unification of the Mongols in 1206, virtually all of Temujin's uncles and first cousins died, and from then on only the descendants of Yesugei Baghatur formed the Borjigid.