Jochi

Jochi
Khan of the Ulus of Jochi
Statue of Jochi Khan in Mongolia
Predecessor	Genghis Khan
Successor	Orda (c. 1204-1280) Batu (c. 1205-1255) Berke, Khan of the Golden Horde from 1257-1267
Born	1181 (1181) Mongolia
Died	1227 (aged 45–46) Eurasia
Spouse	Sarkan Khatun Bekutemish Khatun Ukin Kuchin Khatun Sultan Khatun
House	Borjigin
Dynasty	Mongol Empire
Father	Genghis Khan
Mother	Börte

Jochi (Mongolian: Зүчи, Züçi, Kazakh: Жошы/Joşı, جوشى, Chinese: 朮赤 Shù chì, Crimean Tatar: Cuçi, Джучи, جوچى; also spelled Djochi,Jöchi and Juchi) (c. 1181 – February 1227) was the eldest son of Genghis Khan, and presumably one of the four sons by his principal wife Börte, though issues concerning his paternity followed him throughout his life. An accomplished military leader, he participated in his father's conquest of Central Asia, along with his brothers and uncles.

There is some question as to Jochi's true paternity. Shortly after her marriage to Genghis Khan (known as Temüjin at the time), Börte was abducted by members of the Mergid confederation. She was given to a certain Chilger Bökh, who was the brother of the Yehe Chiledu, as a spoil of war. She remained in Chilger Bökh's captivity for a few months before she was recovered by Temüjin. Shortly afterwards she gave birth to Jochi. By all accounts, Genghis Khan treated Jochi as his first son, but a doubt always remained whether Temüjin or Chilger Bökh was the real father of Jochi. This uncertainty about his paternity was not without consequences. Jochi’s descendants, although they formed the oldest branch of Genghis Khan’s family, were never considered for the succession in claiming their father’s heritage and there were signs of estrangement between Jochi and Genghis Khan.

In 1207 Jochi conquered several of the forest peoples in Siberia, extending the northern border of the Mongol Empire for the first time. On behalf of his father, Jochi led two campaigns against the Kyrgyz, in 1210 and in 1218. Jochi played a major role in the Khwarezm war of 1219-1221 in Central Asia - his forces captured the towns of Signak, Jand, and Yanikant in April, 1220, during this war. Subsequently he was given the command of operation against the city of Urgench (Gurganj, in present-day Turkmenistan), the capital of the Khwarezmian Empire. Here the siege of the town suffered delays because Jochi engaged in extensive negotiation with the town to persuade it to surrender peacefully and to save it from destruction. Jochi's brother Chagatai regarded this action as militarily unsound: Chagatai wanted to destroy the city but Genghis Khan had promised the city to Jochi after his victory. This difference of opinion on military affairs deepened a rift between Jochi and Chagatai. Genghis Khan intervened in the campaign and appointed Ögedei as the commander of the operation. Ögedei resumed the operations vigorously - capturing, sacking and thoroughly destroying the town and massacring its inhabitants (1221).