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The Last Campaign and Death of Jebe Noyan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 September 2016

STEPHEN POW
STEPHEN POW*
Affiliation:
Central European University in BudapestPow_Stephen@phd.ceu.edu
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Abstract

Despite Jebe Noyan's importance to the expansion of Chinggis Khan's empire, the Mongol general remains a shadowy figure. In part this stems from the absence of any biography of Jebe in the Yuan Shi and much uncertainly surrounds when, and in what circumstances, he died. Here the argument is made that the Novgorod First Chronicle provides a description of Jebe's capture and death at the hands of the Kipchaks during the 1223 campaign which culminated with the decisive Battle of the Kalka River. The silence and ambiguity surrounding Jebe's fate in pro-Mongol sources of the thirteenth century can perhaps be explained by a taboo surrounding the disgraceful circumstances of his capture and execution.

The paper explores the implications which this identification holds for how we assess the westward campaign of Jebe and Sübe'etei (1220-1224), often perceived as a reconnaissance mission, and how the Mongol leadership viewed enemies west of the Volga in its aftermath. This, in turn, sheds light on the preparations the Mongols made for their return in force to the region in the 1230s. Finally a theory is offered for why Jebe's identification was not made previously which illustrates the challenges facing researchers of the Mongol Empire.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 27 , Issue 1 , January 2017 , pp. 31 - 51
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 2016 

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References

1 C. P. Atwood, ‘Jebe (Yeme)’, in Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire (New York, 2004), p. 265.

2 Allsen, T. T., ‘Prelude to the Western Campaigns: Mongol Military Operations in the Volga-Ural Region, 1217-1237’ Archivum Eurasiae Medii Aevi III (1983), pp. 10–11 Google Scholar.

3 P. D. Buell, Historical Dictionary of the Mongol Empire (Lanham, 2003), p. 257. The author posits that Jebe either died of a natural cause or was killed but the precise timeframe is uncertain; P. Olbricht and E. Pinks (eds.) Meng-ta Pei-lu und Hei-ta shih-lüeh: Chinesische Gesandtenberichte über die Frühen Mongolen 1221 und 1237, (Wiesbaden, 1980), p. 41. The editors make note of conflicting information in eastern sources regarding when Jebe died; Boyle, J. (trans), Ala al-Din Ata Malik Juvaini, The History of the World Conqueror (Cambridge, 1958), p. 143 Google Scholar. See the footnote in which Boyle states that Jebe “vanishes from history” after the western campaign. Sübe'etei, on the other hand, went on to have an illustrious and well-documented subsequent career after taking part in the campaign and returning to Mongolia.

4 The entries on Jebe in Buell and Atwood, referenced above, are typical in their briefness. For a lengthy footnote on Jebe, see: Pelliot, P. and Hambis, L., Histoire des Campagnes de Genghis Khan (Leiden, 1951), pp. 155–156 Google Scholar.

5 In arriving at this conclusion, I am very much indebted to István Vásáry (Eötvös Loránd University) for his advice in regards to the secondary literature in Russian. I also want to express my thanks for his feedback on the entire paper and especially for assessing the merit of the key philological point on which my argument hinges. For advice and research on the relevant literature in Chinese, I express my thanks to both Jingjing Liao (Beijing Normal University) and Zhexin Xu (University of Salzburg).

6 Ratchnevsky, P., Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy, translated by Haining, T. (Oxford, 1991), pp. 170–171 Google Scholar.

7 de Rachewiltz, I. et al. (eds.), In the Service of the Khan (Wiesbaden, 1993), pp. xvii–xviii Google Scholar. The editors/authors of this volume chose Muqali and Sübe'etei as representatives of Chinggis Khan's “four steeds” and “four hounds”, arguing that these two exemplified brilliant statesmanship and military skill respectively, and as such were the “real stars of the Mongol conquest”.

8 M. Raušan, and M. al- Mūsawī (eds.), Rašīd-ad-Dīn Faḍlallāh, Ǧāmiʻ at-tawārīh 1. 1. (Tihrān, 1994-1995), pp. 207-211; Thackston, W. (trans.), Rashiduddin Fazlullah's Jami'u’tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles (Cambridge, 1999), pp. 110–111 Google Scholar.

9 Olbricht and Pinks, Meng-ta Pei-lu und Hei-ta shih-lüeh, p. 35.

10 Yuan Shi [YS], juan 120 [liezhuan 7] (元史, 卷一百二十·列传第七) Accessed at: http://www.duguoxue.com/ershisishi/13891.html - The officer in question was plausibly named Ishmael; the Chinese rendering is ‘曷思麦里’.

11 Buell, Historical Dictionary, p. 290.

12 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 210; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 110.

13 de Rachewiltz, Igor (trans.), The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century (Leiden, 2006), pp.68–69 Google Scholar.

14 Ibid.; Pelliot and Hambis, Histoire des Campagnes, p. 156.

15 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 208; Thackston, Rashiduddin, pp. 109-110.

16 Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan, p. 64.

17 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, pp. 207-208; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 110.

18 I. de Rachwiltz, Secret History, p. 115.

19 Ibid ., pp. 118-119.

20 Ibid., p. 142.

21 Ibid., pp. 133-134; 151.

22 Allsen, ‘Prelude to the Western Campaigns’, p. 9; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 226; Buell, Paul D., ‘Sübötei Ba'atur’, in In the Service of the Khan, (ed.) de Rachewiltz, Igor et al (Wiesbaden, 1993), p. 15 Google Scholar.

23 I. de Rachewiltz, Secret History, p. 175; Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan, p. 110.

24 I. de Rachewiltz, Secret History, pp. 175-176; Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, pp. 210-211; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 111.

25 Buell, ‘Sübötei Ba'atur’, p. 18.

26 YS, juan 120 [liezhuan 7] (元史, 卷一百二十·列传第七) Accessed at: http://www.duguoxue.com/ershisishi/13891.html - In the biography of Ishmael (曷思麦里), the relevant passage reads: 哲伯令曷思麦里持曲出律首往徇其地; Barthold, W., Turkestan down to the Mongol Invasion (trans.) Minorsky, T. and Bosworth, C.E. (London, 1968), pp. 402–403 Google Scholar; Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan, p. 119.

27 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 208; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 110.

28 I. de Rachewiltz, Secret History, pp. 189-191. Jebe's success in this operation earned praise from Chinggis Khan.

29 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 209; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 110; Buell, Historical Dictionary, p. 170.

30 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 521; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 252

31 Bretschneider, E., Medieval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources (London, 1910), i, p. 297 Google Scholar.

32 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 517; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 249.

33 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 531; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 258.

34 Habibi, A. (ed.), Minhaj Siraj Juzjani, Tabakat-i-Nasiri (Tehran, 1984), ii, p. 171 Google Scholar; Raverty, H. (trans.), Juzjani, Minhaj Siraj, Tabakat-i-Nasiri: A General History of the Muhammadan Dynasties of Asia (London, 1881), p. 987 Google Scholar.

35 Nesawi, M., History of Sultan Jalal al-Din Mankobirti or Tarikh-e Jalali (Tehran, 1945), p. 67 Google Scholar; Houdas, O. (trans.), Histoire du Sultan Djelal ed-din Mankobirti Prince du Kharezm par Mohammed en-Nesawi (Paris, 1895), p. 75 Google Scholar; For Rashiduddin's estimates see: Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 148; p. 150.

36 R. Thomson (trans.), ‘The Historical Compilation of Vardan Arewelc'i’, Dumbarton Oaks Papers 43 (1989): p. 213.

37 I. de Rachewiltz, Secret History, pp. 940-941. Igor de Rachewiltz discusses Juvaini's report of this incident and the conflicting accounts surrounding Toquchar's role in the campaign; Grousset, R., The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia (New Brunswick, 1970), p. 241 Google Scholar.

38 Raverty, Tabakat-i-Nasiri, p. 995. The translator notes statements regarding the arrival of reinforcements.

39 Richards, D. (trans.), Ibn al-Athir, The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil fi'l-ta'rikh. Part 3: The Years 589-629/1193-1231: The Ayyubids after Saladin and the Mongol Menace (Aldershot, 2008), p. 213 Google Scholar.

40 The tendency to imagine that the goals of the western expedition were not those described in the available sources is a common one in popular and scholarly monographs alike. For examples, see: Gabriel, R., Genghis Khan's Greatest General: Subotai the Valiant (Norman, 2004), p. 89 Google Scholar. The author introduces this campaign as a reconnaissance-in-force to gain information on military capabilities, etc.; Chambers, J., The Devil's Horsemen : The Mongol Invasion of Europe (Edison, 2003), p. 19 Google Scholar; I. de Rachewiltz (ed.), In the Service, p. 132.

41 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 531; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 258.

42 Richards, Ibn al-Athir, p. 218; Atwood, Encyclopedia of Mongolia, p. 521.

43 ʿAbd-al-Wahhāb Qazvini, M. b. (ed.), Alāʾ-al-Din ʿAṭā-Malek Jovayni, Tariḵ-e jahāngošāy (Tehran, 2012), pp. 209 Google Scholar, 228; Boyle, World Conqueror, pp. 148, 173.

44 Qazvini, Jovayni, pp. 209-210; Boyle, World Conqueror, p. 149. Juvaini, a pro-Mongol author, praises the achievement; Richards, Ibn al-Athir, p. 215. While describing the rapid advance of the “westward Tatars,” this hostile author expresses doubt that future generations will believe it, since such a military feat was “unheard of in ancient or modern times”.

45 Jones, Stephen (ed.), Kartlis Tskhovreba: A History of Georgia (Tbilisi, 2014), pp. 320–321 Google Scholar.

46 Richards, Ibn al-Athir, pp. 221-222.

47 Ibid., p. 223.

48 It should be noted that the year of the Kalka campaign has been a matter of long scholarly dispute. The debate mainly centered on whether it took place in 1223 or 1224. The Synodal Transcript of the Novgorod First Chronicle and the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle in the Hypatian Codex place it under the year 6732 which corresponds with 1224. However, M. Stepanov noted that there were two styles of dating in these chronicles being used by medieval chroniclers. N. Berezhkov argued that 1223 is the correct year and his argument has been largely, if not totally, accepted. For his arguments: N. Berezhkov, Khronologiya Russkogo Letopisanya (Moscow, 1963), pp. 317-318. For a recent overview of the debate and some problems with the 1223 dating, see: I. Yamaguchi, ‘The First Raid of Mongols on Russia’, 鳥取環境大学紀要 [Tottori Kankyō Daigaku Kiyō] (2003), pp. 1-11.

49 НОВГОРОДСЬКИЙ ПЕРШИЙ ЛІТОПИС (Москва: Академии Наук СССР, 1950). Accessed at: http://litopys.org.ua/novglet/novg06.htm - Synodal Transcript (the oldest existing version of the Novgorod First Chronicle). The entire, brief account of the campaign and battle is found under the year 6732.

50 ИПАТЬЕВСКАЯ ЛЂТОПИСЬ, Галицко-Волынскій сводъ (Санкт-Петербург, 1908). Accessed at: http://litopys.org.ua/ipatlet/ipat32.htm - Its separate account of the Kalka campaign is found under the year 673/2.

51 Michell, R. and Forbes, N. (trans.), The Chronicle of Novgorod 1016-1471 (London, 1914), pp. 64–65 Google Scholar; G. Perfecky, ‘Galician-Volynian Chronicle’, in The Hypatian Codex, Part II: The Galician-Volynian Chronicle, Harvard Series in Ukrainian Studies 16:2 (Munich, 1973), p. 29. Citations to the English translations are used from this point to reach a broader readership, except at key points where it proves necessary to provide the original text.

52 Davis, P., Masters of the Battlefield (Oxford, 2013), p. 194 Google Scholar.

53 Michell and Forbes, p. 65.

54 C. Halperin, The Tatar Yoke (Columbus, 1986), p. 32. The author argues that based on the messages matching standard patterns and ringing true with Mongol attitudes, the chronicle's account could well be accurate. For an example of the standard Mongol ultimatum, see: Boyle, World Conqueror, pp. 25-26.

55 Perfecky, p. 29.

56 Ibid.

57 Ibid., p. 28.

58 Michell and Forbes, pp. 64-65. The Galician-Volhynian Chronicle mentions Mstislav the Bold fighting in cooperation with his Kipchak allies against Hungarians and Poles only a few years before the Kalka engagement. See: Perfecky, p. 27.

59 , S. Zenkovsky and Zenkovsky, B. (trans.), The Nikonian Chronicle (Princeton, 1984-1989), ii, p. 287 Google Scholar.

60 Michell and Forbes, 65; НОВГОРОДСЬКИЙ ПЕРШИЙ ЛІТОПИС (Москва, 1950). Accessed at: http://litopys.org.ua/novglet/novg06.htm - The relevant passage reads: “Тъгъда же Мьстислав перебродяся ДнЂпрь, прЂиде в 1000 вои на сторожи татарьскыя, и побЂди я, а прокъ ихъ въбЂже съ воеводою своимь ГемябЂгомь въ курганъ Половьчьскыи, и ту имъ не бы мочи, и погрЂбоша воеводу своего Гемябега жива въ земли, хотяще животъ его ублюсти; и ту и налезоша, испросивъше Половьци у Мьстислава, и убиша и.”

61 Perfecky, p. 29.

62 Michell and Forbes rendered it as Gemya-Beg which means they identified a title separate from the personal name. See also: Howorth, H., History of the Mongols from the 9th to the 19th Century (London, 1880), p. 96 Google Scholar. Howorth, using Karamzin's earlier work as his sole source material, rendered it as Hamabek.

63 Julia Verkholantsev, email correspondence with author, July 31, 2015. The author expresses his gratitude to Julia Verkholantsey of the University of Pennsylvania for kindly offering guidance and insight on the linguistic points discussed here.

64 The resemblance is particularly striking when we consider the softness that Russian vowel “е” communicates to the preceding consonant, producing a sound that is perceived as “ye.” The Library of Congress transliteration system renders this vowel simply as “е” without showing consonant softness – hence the present transliteration of Gemya-Beg. To an English speaker, this would sound like Gyemya Beg or Hyemya Beg. Based on: Julia Verkholantsev, email correspondence with author, August 3, 2015.

65 For example, see: Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, pp. 207-211; Thackston, Rashiduddin, pp. 110-111.

66 Pelliot and Hambis, p. 155; Boyle, World Conqueror, p. 142. Pelliot and Boyle alike noted the tendency for Persian authors, writing much earlier than Rashiduddin, to use the Turkish form of Jebe's name.

67 Qazvini, Jovayni, p. 207; Nesawi, History of Sultan, p. 65; Habibi, Juzjani, p. 171; For transliterations, see: Boyle, World Conqueror, p. 142; Houdas, Histoire du Sultan, p. 89; Raverty, Tabakat-i-Nasiri, p. 987. I wish to extend my thanks to Emad Afkham (Central European University) for assistance with the Persian materials.

68 Jones, Kartlis Tskhovreba, p. 321.

69 Pelliot and Hambis, Histoire des Campagnes, p. 155.

70 Ibid., p. 178; Atwood, Encyclopedia of Mongolia, p. 412.

71 I. de Rachewiltz, Secret History, p. 23.

72 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 209; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 110.

73 Perfecky, pp. 28-29.

74 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, pp. 532-535; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 260.

75 Perfecky, p. 29.

76 Nesawi, History of Sultan, pp. 90-91; Houdas, Histoire du Sultan, pp. 101-102.

77 Davis, Masters of the Battlefield, pp. 195-196.

78 Perfecky, p. 29.

79 Ibid., p. 30.

80 Michell and Forbes, p. 66.

81 Ibid.

82 Bak, J. and Rady, M. (trans.), Master Roger's Epistle to the Sorrowful Lament upon the Destruction of the Kingdom of Hungary by the Tatars (Budapest, 2010), pp. 138–139 Google Scholar. The Kipchak chieftain appears as Kuthen in the relevant passage: “Nunciis hinc inde sepius destinatis predictus Kuthen cum suis iter arripuit in Hungariam veniendi.” He was ultimately killed by a rightfully distrustful lynch mob when the Mongols invaded in 1241.

83 Michell and Forbes, p. 66.

84 Perfecky, p. 30.

85 Richards, Ibn al-Athir, p. 223.

86 Fennel, J., The Crisis of Medieval Russia (New York, 1983), p. 91 Google Scholar. Note 22 describes the brodniki as people from the northeastern region of the steppes who joined with the Mongols at some point in the battle; Halperin, Tatar Yoke, pp. 30, 32. The brodniki appear to have been steppe freebooters, like the later Cossacks, and were likely of mixed Slavic and nomadic ethnicity. References to them are too scanty to draw firm conclusions.

87 Michell and Forbes, p. 66.

88 НОВГОРОДСЬКИЙ ПЕРШИЙ ЛІТОПИС (Москва: Академии Наук СССР, 1950). Accessed at: http://litopys.org.ua/novglet/novg06.htm - The relevant passage reads: “Ини же Татари поидоша по русскыхъ князихъ, бьюче до ДнЂпря; а у города того оста 2 воеводЂ Цьгырканъ и Тешюканъ на Мьстислава и на зяти его на АндрЂя и на Ольксандра Дубровьцьскаго.”

89 See for example: Nicolle, D. and Shpakovsky, V., Kalka River 1223 (Oxford, 2001), pp. 66–67 Google Scholar. Here we see ‘Tsugyr Khan’ and ‘Teshi Khan’ commanding the Mongol left wing (!) at the Kalka. No mention is made of the similarity of their names to those of Chinggis Khan and his eldest son, charged with conquering the Kipchaks.

90 The Turkic forms of Chinggis Khan and Jochi Khan's names are Tschingiz Khan and Tushi Khan respectively. The similarity of Тешюканъ to Tushi Khan is particularly striking. See: Golden, P., ‘Tushi: The Turkic Name of Jochi’, Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 55 (2002), pp. 143–151 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Halperin, Tatar Yoke, p. 31. There are numerous hints in the Novgorod First Chronicle that communication between the Russians and Mongols, particularly during these negotiations, was carried out in Turkic. So the names of the emperor and eldest prince would likely be conveyed to the Russians in Turkic, and that seems to be precisely what we see in the chronicler's rendering of their names. This issue requires more space than is available here for its discussion. For Jochi's commission to rule the northwest regions, see: Allsen, ‘Prelude the Western Campaigns’, p. 12.

91 Michell and Forbes, p. 66.

92 YS, juan 120 [liezhuan 7] (元史, 卷一百二十·列传第七) Accessed at: http://www.duguoxue.com/ershisishi/13891.html

93 Michell and Forbes, p. 66.

94 Brundage, J. (trans.), The Chronicle of Henry of Livonia (Madison, 1961), p. 205 Google Scholar.

95 Richards, Ibn al-Athir, p. 224.

96 Perfecky, p. 30.

97 Michell and Forbes, p. 66.

98 Richards, Ibn al-Athir, p. 224.

99 Bretschneider, Medieval Researches, p. 299.

100 Szentpétery, E. (ed.), Scriptores Rerum Hungaricarum (Budapest, 1938), ii, p. 541 Google Scholar. The relevant passage reads: “Gens Tatarorum vicina est illis, set hiidem Tartari commiittentes (sic) cum eis, non poterant eos in bello devincere; imo in primo prelio devicti sunt per eos.”

101 Olbricht and Pinks, Meng-ta pei-lu und Hei-ta shih-lüeh (Wiesbaden, 1980), pp. 209-210.

102 I. de Rachewiltz, Secret History, p. 201.

103 Ibid., pp. 202-203.

104 Modern historians consistently place Jebe's death within 1223-1225, during or slightly after this westward campaign. See: Atwood, Encyclopedia of Mongolia, p. 265; Buell, Historical Dictionary, p. 171.

105 C. Atwood, ‘The Date of the ‘Secret History of the Mongols’ Reconsidered’, Journal of Song-Yuan Studies 37 (2007), pp 1-4; I. de Rachewiltz, Secret History, p. xxv. The translator notes: “The Secret History is the only genuine (not to be confused with reliable) native account. . .”

106 Grousset, Empire, p. 241.

107 I. de Rachewiltz, Secret History, p. 191.

108 YS, juan 120 [liezhuan 7] (元史, 卷一百二十·列传第七) Accessed at: http://www.duguoxue.com/ershisishi/13891.html - The relevant passage reads: 军还, 哲伯卒. Rendered in traditional characters and without added punctuation, it is: 軍還哲伯卒

109 Pelliot and Hambis, Histoire des Campagnes, p. 270. This is Pelliot's conclusion.

110 YS, juan 120 [liezhuan 7] (元史, 卷一百二十·列传第七).

111 Allsen, ‘Prelude to the Western Campaigns’, p. 11.

112 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 535; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 260.

113 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 531; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 258. Note that in the case of direct quotations from Thackston's work, his chosen transliterations of proper nouns are represented.

114 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, pp. 70-71, 208; Thackston, Rashiduddin, pp. 40, 110.

115 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 72; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 41.

116 Olbricht and Pinks, Meng-ta pei-lu und Hei-ta shih-lüeh, p. 194.

117 Richards, Ibn al-Athir, p. 221.

118 Boyle, World Conqueror, pp. xv-xx. Boyle provides a detailed outline of Juvaini and his historical work here.

119 Qazvini, Jovayni, pp. 209-210; Boyle, World Conqueror, p. 149.

120 Raušan, and al- Mūsawī, Rašīd-ad-Dīn, p. 210; Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 111.

121 Berezhkov, Khronologiya, pp. 317-318; For the statement in the Galician-Volhynian Chronicle that the initial Russian-Kipchak attack occurred on a Tuesday, see: Perfecky, p. 29.

122 Painter, G. ‘The Tatar Relation’, in The Vinland Map and the Tartar Relation, (ed.) Skelton, R. et al. (New Haven, 1995), pp. 72–75 Google Scholar. The original passage on the entire battle reads: “Comani autem coadunati cum Ruthenis omnibus pugnaverunt cum Tartaris iuxta duos rivulos nomen unius Calc alterius vero Coniuzzu id est ovium aqua, coni enim tartarice oves dicuntur latine, uzzu vero aqua, et devicti sunt a Tataris. Effusus est sanguis utraque parte usque ad frenos equorum sicut qui bello interfuerant referebant.” My thanks to Dorottya Uhrin (Eötvös Loránd University) for bringing my attention to this passage. For the latest Hungarian scholarship on C. de Bridia which argues he spent a prolonged period at Batu's encampment during the Carpini mission, reflected in his tendency to use Mongolian vocabulary and provide insights from Mongol informants, see: D. Uhrin, ‘Kutyafejűek és marhalábúak. Mongol törzsnevek a Historia Tartarorumban’ Vilàgtörténet, XXXVII (2015), pp. 43-59.

123 Thackston, Rashiduddin, p. 324.

124 Halperin, Tatar Yoke, pp. 30-32.

125 Buell, Historical Dictionary, p. 35.

126 Ibid ., p. 257.

127 Buell is not the only author to suggest Jebe likely died in combat during the campaign. Interestingly, another scholar who worked with Chinese sources was of the view that Jebe was likely killed in the subsequent ambush by the Bulgars in the Volga region. See: Desmond Martin, H., The Rise of Chingis Khan and His Conquest of North China (New York, 1971), p. 274 Google Scholar.

128 T. Allsen, ‘Mongol Census Taking in Rus, 1245-1275’, Harvard Ukrainian Studies V (1981): p. 32.

129 D'ohsson, Constantine, Histoire des Mongols depuis Tchinguiz-Khan jusqu'à Timour Bey ou Tamerlane (Amsterdam, 1834), i, p. 342 Google Scholar.

130 Howorth, History of the Mongols, i, p. 96.

131 Chambers, Devil's Horsemen, p. 31.

132 НОВГОРОДСЬКИЙ ПЕРШИЙ ЛІТОПИС (Москва: Академии Наук СССР, 1950). Accessed at: http://litopys.org.ua/novglet/novg06.htm - The relevant passage reads: “Татари же възвратишася от рЂкы ДнЂпря; и не съвЂдаемъ, откуду суть пришли и кдЂ ся дЂша опять: богъ вЂсть, отколе приде на нас за грЂхы наша.”; Michell and Forbes, p. 66.

* This paper is dedicated to the memory of a friend, Jeff Morris. I first discussed this historical problem with him.