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Cha Hetai
Second son of Genghis Khan and keeper of the Great Yasa, who fought in the western campaign and received the Central Asian lands that became the Chagatai Khanate
At dusk on a hilltop, a large tent stands open with a table holding a map marked with small stones inside, a saddled horse tethered outside, and fire stands burning; campfires dot the river plain below, and one tiny sentry stands on the slope.
Also known as Chahe Taihan
- Roles
- Commanders
Chagatai, second son of Genghis Khan and Borte, was known for his strictness and was charged by his father with upholding the Great Yasa, the body of Mongol law and custom. In the campaign against Khwarazm that began in 1219 he besieged Otrar with Ogedei and later joined Jochi and Ogedei in the siege of Urgench. In the division of lands among the sons he received the steppes and oases from the Uighur country westward to the Amu Darya and kept his camp in the Ili valley. At the assembly of 1229 he led the princes in acclaiming his younger brother Ogedei as Great Khan, kneeling to him as an elder brother, and he remained a figure of great authority throughout Ogedei's reign. He died in 1242, shortly after Ogedei, and his grandson Qara Hulegu inherited his domain, from which his descendants built the Chagatai Khanate.
Life and times
Dates c. 1183 CE–1242 CE