Jochi

Jochi
A statue of Jochi in modern-day Mongolia
Khan of the Ulus of Jochi
Predecessor	none
Successor	Orda Batu
Born	c. 1182
Died	c. 1225
Issue	Orda Khan Batu Khan Berke Khan others
Dynasty	Borjigin
Mother	Börte
Military career
Battles / wars	Battle of Irtysh River Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty Irghiz River skirmish (unconfirmed) Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire Siege of Gurganj

Jochi (Mongolian: ᠵᠦᠴᠢ; c. 1182 – c. 1225), also known as Jüchi,^[1] was a prince of the early Mongol Empire. His life was marked by controversy over the circumstances of his birth and culminated in his estrangement from his family. He was nevertheless a prominent military commander and the progenitor of the family who ruled over the khanate of the Golden Horde.

Jochi was the son of Börte, the first wife of the Mongol leader Temüjin. For many months before Jochi's birth, Börte had been a captive of the Merkit tribe, one of whom forcibly married and raped her. Although there was thus considerable doubt over Jochi's parentage, Temüjin considered him his son and treated him accordingly. Many Mongols, most prominently Börte's next son Chagatai, disagreed; these tensions eventually led to both Chagatai and Jochi being excluded from the line of succession to the Mongol throne.

After Temüjin founded the Mongol Empire in 1206 and took the name Genghis Khan, he entrusted Jochi with nine thousand warriors and a large territory in the west of the Mongol heartland; Jochi commanded and participated in numerous campaigns to secure and extend Mongol power in the region. He was also a prominent commander during the invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire (1219–1221), during which he subdued cities and tribes to the north. During the 1221 Siege of Gurganj, tensions arose between him, his brothers, and Genghis, which never healed. Jochi was still estranged from his family when he died of ill health c. 1225. His son Batu was appointed to rule his territories in his stead.