Yuan Dynasty Mongol Empress: 元朝蒙古皇后 ᠬᠠᠲᠤᠨ (ᠶᠡᠬᠡ ᠶᠤᠸᠠᠨ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ)

Art by 陸曼陀 Danling★Lu
Music: Büüvein duu《Бүүвэйн дуу》"Lullaby" 

Yuan Dynasty Mongol Empress Chabi with the distinctive tall Bogtag Malgai (Богтаг малгайг) crown~ called 罟罟冠 Gǔgǔ Hat in Chinese. It is also known as boqta, boghta, botta, boghtagh or boqtaq. The gugu hat was one of the hallmark headdress of Mongol women in the 13th and 14th century. She wears a crimson silk 大袖袍 Dà xiù páo, or "Great Sleeve Gown." Mongolian women retained a great degree of freedom in the Mongol Empire and the Yuan dynasty, and they often accompanied their husbands in hunts and were relied on for their advices in political matters.






Empress Chabi: wise, benevolent, and graceful, Chabi was both astute in sizing up Kublai's enemies as well as spearheading the Yuan effort to ingratiating itself to its newly conquered Song Chinese subjects. Like Ghengis' wife Börte, Chabi offered decisive advices to Kublai in matters both foreign and domestic. With her aid, Kublai was able to repel some of his most dangerous challengers- In 1259 she personally warned Kublai that his younger brother Ariq Böke was gathering strength against him. Her efforts aided in subjugating the frontiers of the empire, and amalgamate Han populace of southern China into Yuan strength. She died in 1281, her grandson Temür became king and was crowned as the "Holy and Radiant Queen" (昭睿顺圣皇后-Rao Rui Sheng Huanghu). Her portrait was placed in the shrine of Kublai Khan in the temple of ancestors.

Bogtag Malgai- Gugu Hat

Empress Budashiri of Yuan and Khatun of the Mongols (woman on left.) wife of Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür. Mongolian women retained a great degree of freedom in the Mongol Empire and the Yuan dynasty, and they often accompanied their husbands in hunts and were relied on for their advices in political matters. Empress Budashiri herself served as the Regent of the empire after the death of her husband.

Vajrabhairava Mandala- created during the Yuan dynasty. Note the previous depiction of Empress Budashiri on the bottom right corner.


Bogtag Malgai (Богтаг малгайг) crown~  also known as boqta, boghta, botta, boghtagh or boqtaq or gugu hat. The gugu hat was one of the hallmark headdress of Mongol women in the 13th and 14th century. In traditional steppe culture, tall hats symbolizing great status had existed as far back as Scythian and Saka times. The Gugu hat was made with wires made of iron and with bamboo strips; they were shaped in the form of a large flask. 


It had the shape of long cylindrical shaft which became more spread out at the top. It could be as tall as one foot high. It could be covered with silk or felt fabric. It could be made of red silk or brocade, blue-green brocade, black felt. It could also be decorated with precious stones, such as pearls, gold filigrees, large pieces of jewelries in the middle of the hat, and small tuft of quills such as peacock feathers.


Yuan Mongol noblewomen often redraw their eyebrows into very narrow lines and often prefer very little make up on the rest of their faces


After Chabi's death in 1281, Kublai married Chabi's young cousin, Nambui, presumably in accordance with Chabi's wish. Kublai then overindulged in alcohol and the traditional meat-rich Mongol diet, which may have contributed to his gout. Later the Greak Khan sank into depression due to the loss of his crown prince Jingim, his poor health and advancing age.

Art by Jack Huang


Young Kublai: In terms of Mongol cultural identity, the creation of the distinctive Mongol hat with a wide brim has been traditionally attributed to Empress Chabi. According to tradition  Kublai Khan was delighted with the hat invented by Empress Chabi that he decreed for this type of hat to be popularized.

Art by Ts.Battur



Interior framework of a Bogtag Malgai (Богтаг малгайг,) it had the shape of long cylindrical shaft which became more spread out at the top. It could be as tall as one foot high. It could be covered with silk or felt fabric. 

Part of the divided greater Mongol Empire and covering over 11,000,000 km2 (or 4,200,000 sq mi,) territorially, the Yuan dynasty was one of the largest Chinese dynasties, second only to the Qing. To legitimize his rule Kublai claimed both the mantle of a Chinese Emperor as well as the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire. An ethnically diverse dynasty, Kublai and his descendants employed many talented Central Asians, Nepalese, Uighurs, and Northern Han in the administration of the immense empire. 

YUAN EMPRESSES/ KHATUNS 





CENTRAL ASIA- ILKHANATE


Women wearing bogtag, Illustration of Rashid-ad-Din's Gami' at-tawarih, 1st quarter of 14th century AD. Variations below, including rendered in Persian miniaturist style.





BONUS: WIDOWS


William of Rubruck mentioned that Mongol widows would display their bereaved status by shaving the top of their head.



Art by Ts.Battur




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Comments

Der said…
Have you heard this nonsense from White Supremacists saying Genghis Khan was a White Caucasian man and that his Mongol clan were all Aryan? But all these portraits of Genghis Khan's children and grandchildren show they look East Asian to me, typical North East Asian characteristics.
Dragon's Armory said…
The most I can say is that according to one account the Khan was reported to have reddish hair and greenish eyes. But his features were Asians' Kublai and much of the Yuan portraits amply showed that. I try not to argue with Supremacists of any kind because that position alone precludes...well, logic. People might be chauvinists, sure, I mean when food, clothing, or hedonistic indulgences and historical monuments and soft power etc are involved, sure, I think most people are some what chauvinists about this and that of their own kind.

But supremacists are impossible to be argued with. You'd literally run into some Azov supporter online from Nordic countries who says Ukrainian have been fighting Persians since ancient times, "because according to this and that word from Summerian text~~~ they were *actually Ukrainians* " I mean when you are facing with that level of delusion it's better to create a wide distance. Or in very genetic focused groups that obsesses over this Linear Pottery Germanic long house and say their long houses and pottery is superior to literal Mesopotamian cities and writing etc. Never mind anything where Yamnaya is mentioned. All of a sudden all of the Viking Larper obsessions' is all transferred to them and they were seen as some sort of Ayran Hyborian super civilization that vanished. Again, faded rough pottery > temple complexes, writing, first literature, advanced irrigation, grand monuments, and not only some of the first professional armies but also of them depicted on exquisite artifacts that survived some 5000+ years.

I mean these guys obviously missed Funny Moustache Man (of all people)'s rant about exactly this issue:

”Why do we call the whole world's attention to the fact that we have no past? It's bad enough that the Romans were erecting great buildings when our forefathers were still living in mud huts; now Himmler is starting to dig up these villages of mud huts and enthusing over every potsherd and stone ax he finds. All we prove by that is that we were still throwing stone hatchets and crouching around open fires when Greece and Rome had already reached the highest stage of culture. We really should do our best to keep quiet about this past. Instead Himmler makes a great fuss about it all. The present-day Romans must be having a laugh at these revelations.”