Borjigin Duwa

Biography

Family and the alliance with Kaidu

Duwa was a son of Baraq, a descendant of Chagatai. After Baraq's death, succession disputes arose within the khanate. With support from Kaidu, a prince of Ögedei's line, Duwa took the throne. The two encyclopedias do not establish a consistent accession year: another account's introduction says 1282, its biography says 1272, and other accounts's newly retrieved full text gives no year. Duwa thereafter cooperated with Kaidu, concentrating his operations against Yuan forces in the Uyghur and Tian Shan regions.

War with the Yuan and campaigns to the south and west

another account records Duwa advancing on Gaochang in 1275 (Yuan Zhiyuan 12) and fighting Yuan forces around northwestern cities afterward. Both other accounts and another account say that in 1295 (Yuan Yuanzhen 1) Duwa and Kaidu used political change in the Ilkhanate to attack Khorasan, and that Duwa attacked Lahore in 1297 (Yuan Dade 1). In the winter of 1298 (Yuan Dade 2), he defeated Yuan forces on the northern frontier and captured the imperial son in law Körgüz. another account gives more detail than other accounts about troop strengths and results; events found in only one source are not enlarged into claims of lasting occupation.

In 1301 (Yuan Dade 5), Duwa and Kaidu crossed the Altai Mountains and fought the Yuan army commanded by Khaishan. other accounts connects Duwa's wound and Kaidu's fatal injuries with this campaign. another account places Duwa's wound in a subsequent battle at Urtu. Following other accounts's account, the narrative says only that Duwa was wounded during the fighting in 1301, without fixing the exact battlefield.

Peace, rivalry, and death

After Kaidu's death, Duwa supported Kaidu's son Chapar as ruler of the Ögedeid lands. In 1303 (Yuan Dade 7), they sought peace with Emperor Chengzong of Yuan. Duwa and Chapar fell into conflict in 1304 (Yuan Dade 8). Duwa turned to the Yuan for support and seized some Ögedeid lands in the west. other accounts's main text records Duwa's death in 1306 (Yuan Dade 10) and the succession of his son Könchek. other accounts's infobox and another account's biography give 1307 (Yuan Dade 11); the exact year remains disputed.

Major Activities

Campaigns across several regions

Duwa participated in Kaidu's anti Yuan alliance and fought in the Uyghur region, along the northern Yuan frontier, in Khorasan, and near the Indus. His son Qutlugh Khwaja also took part in operations toward India. These wars occurred in different years and places and should not be treated as one continuous conquest.

From Kaidu's ally to a negotiator with the Yuan

After Kaidu died in 1301 (Yuan Dade 5), Duwa initially backed Chapar but later cooperated with the Yuan to weaken him. This change of alliance is central to Duwa's later career. The sources characterize the extent of Yuan overlordship differently; this article records the peace negotiations and the actions against Chapar without claiming more.

The stages of his military and diplomatic activity were as follows: around 1275, according to one account, his troops pressed towards Huozhou and the Yuan court deployed its north-western defences accordingly; in 1295 he and Qaidu attacked Khorasan, taking advantage of the situation in the Ilkhanate; in 1297 he attacked Lahore and stationed his son Khutlugh Qocha between India and Khorasan; in 1298 he attacked the Yuan's Lingbei region and captured the imperial son-in-law Körgüz; in 1301 he and Qaidu crossed the Altai and fought the Yuan armies, in which he was wounded and Qaidu died after the battle; in 1303, according to one account, he and Chapar made peace with Emperor Chengzong; in 1304 he clashed with Chapar and sought support from the Yuan court; he died in 1306, though another account gives 1307, and Könchek succeeded him. The shift from ally of Qaidu to peacemaker with the Yuan court is the core of his later politics and reflects the changing balance between the Ögedeid and Chagatai khanates.

After his death in 1306 (another account gives 1307) his son Könchek succeeded him; his peace with the Yuan court and his conflict with Chapar together form the prelude to the turning point in relations between the Ögedeid and Chagatai khanates, and show that after Qaidu's death the north-western Mongol groups could no longer maintain a single long-term position towards the outside.

Personal Relations

• Baraq: father and an earlier ruler of the Chagatai Khanate.
• Kaidu: long standing political and military ally who supported Duwa's accession.
• Chapar: Kaidu's son, whom Duwa first supported and later opposed.
• Könchek: son and successor; Qutlugh Khwaja: son active in the Indian campaigns.
• Khaishan: Yuan prince who commanded forces fighting Kaidu and Duwa in 1301 (Yuan Dade 5).
• Temür, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan: ruler with whom Duwa sought peace late in his reign.

Historical Assessment

Both encyclopedias describe two broad phases of Duwa's rule: alliance with Kaidu against the Yuan, followed by a turn toward peace after Kaidu's death. other accounts cites the Encyclopedia of China and Liu Yingsheng's research on succession within Duwa's family; another account provides further details on the northwestern wars. Because the accession and death years conflict even within individual pages, any precise length of reign or succession chronology requires qualification.