92 | The Mongol Empire

Rachewiltz, Igor de. r993. "Muqali, Bol, Tas, An-t,ungJ,

rn In the service of the Khan: Eminent
Personalities of the Early Mongol-Yuan Period (12-00-1300),
edited by Igor de Rachewiltz,
chan Hok-lam, Hsiao chi-ching, and peter w Geier,
l-12. wiesbaden, Germany: otto
Harrassowitz.

Ordo
ordo (ordu) is a term of Turkic origin that refers to
the encampment formed by the
grouping of an undetermined number of tents around
a ruler or an important male or
female member of the royar family. These camps
were at the center of miritary and so_
ciopolitical life of central Asian nomads in general
and the Mongols in particular. The
itinerant characteristic of the Mongol courl meant
that there iu, ,o fixed location
where the Mongol ruler could be found. This fact
contributed to the function of the
word (e'g', in Persian sources) as a synonym to refer
to the royal court regardless ofits
geographical location. consequently, when mentioning
that someone was going to see
the khan, sources generalry say that this person "ru,
gIi.rg to the ordo.,,
The palace-tent of the royal family rnember around
*hi.h th. tents of his (or her)
subordinates were pitched served as the central point
from which social and family life
was-articulated among the Mongol nobility. It is difficult
from the available sources to
establish precisely the extent of these ordos or how
many people thef contained. In the
early empire, we know from The secret History of the
Mongols that people belonging to

0fr\ r []
,\**j\ [t
i*:-, " \ \.

Ordo meant camp, but became a synonym for palace,

often a luxurious and large
In this Persian miniature, chinggis is shown ai his royar Wrt, or ger.
ordo, r4th century, Bibriothdque
Nationale, Paris, France. (DeAgostini/Getty Images)
 Organization and Administration I 93

ent groups different from that of the Mongols that were subjugated by the followers of
Itz, Temujin were distributed among the ordos of Chinggis Khan's family, but figures, al-
rtto
though provided, are difficult to verify. This practice of allocating conquered popula-
tions to different camps of the Mongol nobility was maintained during the years of the
united empire and brought into Iran with Hulegu's conquest. The relationships between
the noble in charge of the ordo, its subordinates, and other ordos made these encamp-
ments hubs of political, economic, and military power, becoming increasingly relevant
in these areas as the empire grew and expanded.
:he Despite the socioeconomic and political relevance of the ordos, the sources reveal
or little about their internal structure and how the camps were organized. Foreign travel-
;o- ers in the Mongol Empire noticed that the rulers and their wives were accompanied in
he their ordos by pages, eunuchs, servants, military commanders, and a number of other
on attendants of both sexes, with specific people performing protocol duties of receiving
:he visitors and embassies. The title amir-ordo sometimes refers to the person in charge of
its the administration of the encampment, but our image of this role remains unclear.
;ee Nevertheless, it is known that it became an important rank of the nobility, since Mon-
gol rulers occasionally married their daughters to men holding this position and since
3r) daughters of some amir-ordo were married to Mongol rulers. This suggests that the
ife position was sufficiently prestigious and the person was wealthy enough to become a
to desired ally for the royal family. Other agents are occasionally mentioned as being sent
he to collect taxes from distant lands or, at times, receiving orders from the khan or the
to khatun; however, no specific title is attached to them, which makes the reconstruction
of the ordo administration a difficult task.
Economically speaking, the ordos were both the origin and destination of Mongol
wealth. Horses, cattle, and precious treasures obtained from the Mongol conquest were
accumulated in these camps, which in turn furthered the ordo's function as a pole of
attraction for merchants bringing luxury goods from around Asia to be sold to the
newly rich (and increasingly richer) Mongol nobility. As the amount of wealth in the
ordos rose, this institution became an important base for political power and a desirable
target for plunder between opposing contenders to the throne. Looting of ordos is doc-
umented across the empire whenever a struggle for power occurred between different
members of the royal family. For example, the ordos of Teguder Ahmad (d. 1234) and
his wives were looted by Arghunt army after he seized control of the Il-Khanate, and
Khubilai Khan also took for himself some of the ordos of the sons and wives of his
brother Ariq Boke after defeating him in the fraternal wars that occurred in Mongolia
during the mid-i3th century.
Some women had their ov'rn ordos, which formed the foundations of their economic
and political influence across the empire. It was noticed by Ibn Bathrta that th e ordos of the
{ women (khatuns) traveled separately from those of their husbands, stressing the owner-
i\ ship and autonomy that these women had over their encampments and their inhabitants.
'fheir ordos had similar characteristics to men's, but not all noble women could have an
ordo.lhey needed to be married to a man of the royal family and, in ideal circumstances,
give birth to a son. These ladies generally maintained their properties when they were
widowed, and the ordos remaned under their control even if they remarried. After they
94 | The Mongol Empire

died, the whole ordo would pass, in theory to another woman, who would inherit the ri
ownership of the camp, its property, and the people attached to it. The fate of these wom- f
eris ordoswas diverse and marked bythe political circumstances of each Mongol khanate. .\
For example, while we lose track of the majority of womeris ordos in Iran in the 14th b
century, the ordo of Doquz Khatun (wife of Hulegu) was maintained as a womeris ordo
until the end of Mongol rule in Iran in 1335, with a succession of different women being
named owners of the ordo after Doquz passed away almost 70 years earlier.
Bruno De Nicola

See also: Government and Politics: Titles; Women in the Court; lndividuals: Doquz
Khatun; Hulegu; Ibn Battuta; Khubilai Khan

Further Reading
De Nicola, Bruno. 2013. "Ruling from Tents: Some Remarks on Woment Ordos in Ilkhanid
Iran." In Ferdowsi, the Mongols and Iranian History: Art, Literature and Culture from
Early Islam to Qajar Persia, edited by F. Abdullaeva, R. Hillenbrand, and A. Peacock,
126-133. London: L B. Tauris.
Jackson, Peter. 2006. "From lJlus to Khanate." In The Mongol Empire and Its Legacy, edited
by R. Amitai-Preiss and D, Morgan, 12-38. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill.
Melville, Charles. 2006. "The Keshig in Iran: The Survival of the Royal Mongol Household."
ln Beyond the Legacy of Genghis Khan, edited by Linda Komaroff, L35-164. Leiden,
Netherlands: Brill.

Qasar
Qasarwas the second son ofYisugei and Hoelun and thus Chinggis Khan's eldestyognger
full brother and one of his ablest generals. Qasar was two years younger than Temujin
(later Chinggis Khan). Qachi'un Elchi and Temuge Otchigin were Qasar's younger
brothers, while Belgutei was his younger half brother. In the sources, Qasar was also
called by his full name, Iochi Qasar, with "Jochi' meaning "guest" and "Qasar" meaning
"wild beastl' Different from his elder brother tmujin, who was skillful of the mind,
Qasar was known as an excellent archer, a powerful warrior, and sometimes a good
adviser and messenger. He was a loyal supPorter of Temujin. He and Temujin murdered
their common half brother Begter, Belgutei's elder full brother. Qasar also protected Te-
mujin when the Tayichi'uds came to capture the latter and his family's property'
Chinggis Khan had complicated feelings toward Qasar. On one hand, he appreciated
Qasart loyalry This was demonstrated when Ong Khan defeated Chinggis Khan. Qasar,
who had joined Ong Khan, left his wife and sons in Ong Khan's camp and joined Ching-
gis Khan at Lake Baljuna. In the campaigns against the Kereit and the Naiman, Chinggis
Khan won by relying on Qasar's strategy of feigned surrender and his charge of the cen-
tral army (qol).The khan also entrusted Qasar with crucial tasks. Against the |in Empire,
Qasar captured the city of Dading and subdued Vuqanu (in Chinese, Puxian Wannu) of