Episode 10: Listener's Choice - Khutulun: Mongolia's Wrestler Princess

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It's here! Our first Listener's Choice Episode, just in time for the holidays!

Mongolian Princess Khutulun amassed 10,000 horses from wrestling matches in the Mongol Empire. A great great granddaughter of Genghis Khan, she was known for her ferocity and shrewd decisions on the battlefield. She accompanied her father in warfare, gaining the attention of contemporary explorers and chroniclers such as Marco Polo.

Come along with us as we explore Khutulun's authority and women's roles in the Mongol Empire through history and astrology.

Sources

Articles:

• “Chagatai Khanate” by Mark Cartwright, November 8, 2019 (https://www.worldhistory.org/Chagatai_Khanate/)
• “The Khananate of Chagatai” by Brian Parkinson (https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Courses/Mizzou_Academy/World_History_A_B/08%3A_Central_Asia/8.08%3A_The_Khanate_of_Chagatai)
• “Khutulun” by Tia Shah, Girl Museum, August 9, 2018 (https://www.girlmuseum.org/trailblazers-the-age-of-girls-khutulun/)
• “The Wrestler Princess” by Jack Weatherford, September 27, 2010 (https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/wrestler-princess)

Book:

• Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
• The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued his Empire by Jack Weatherford
• Women in Mongol Iran: The Khatuns, 1206-1335 by Bruno De Nicola

Digital Media:

• “The Tragic Fate of Khutulun: the Mongol Wrestler Princess/Mongolian Princess Documentary” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DZ3kdOO4iU&t=331s)

Primary Sources:

• Jāmiʿ al-Tawārīkh: (Compendium of Chronicles): A History of the Mongols by Rashīd al-Dīn, translated by W.M. Thackston, second edition
• Tārīḵ-e Olǰāytū (History of Öljeitü) by al-Qashani, translated by Derya Örs
• The Travels of Marco Polo recorded by Rustichello da Pisa

Websites:

• AstroPro (https://www.astropro.com/)
• AstroSeek (https://www.astro-seek.com/)

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