a close relationship with the Great Khan of the Mongols. In this new hierarchy, Genghis Khan assigned the responsibility of governing the newly-conquered people to his four sons. These comprised the four ulus , a term that did not originally mean fixed territories. Genghis Khan’s lifetime was still the age of rapid conquests and expanding domains, where frontiers were still extremely fluid.
For example, the eldest son, Jochi, received the Russian steppes but the farthest extent of his territory, ulus , was indeterminate: it extended as far west as his horses could roam. The second son, Chaghatai, was given the Transoxanian steppe and lands north of the Pamir mountains adjacent to those of his brother. Presumably, these lands would shift as Jochi marched westward. Genghis Khan had indicated that his third son, Ogodei, would succeed him as the Great Khan and on accession the Prince established his capital at Karakorum.
The youngest son, Toluy, received the ancestral lands of Mongolia. Genghis Khan envisaged that his sons would rule the empire collectively, and to underline this point, military contingents ( tama ) of the individual princes were placed in each ulus . The sense of a dominion shared by the members of the family was underlined at the assembly of chieftains, quriltais , where all decisions relating to the family or the state for the forthcoming season – campaigns, distribution of plunder, pasture lands and succession – were collectively taken. N OMADIC E MPIRES T HEMES IN W ORLD H ISTORY Genghis Khan had already fashioned a rapid courier system that connected the distant areas of his regime.
Fresh mounts and despatch riders were placed in outposts at regularly spaced distances. For the maintenance of this communication system the Mongol nomads contributed a tenth of their herd – either horses or livestock – as provisions. This was called the qubcur tax, a levy that the nomads paid willingly for the multiple benefits that it brought. The courier system ( yam ) was further refined after Genghis Khan’s death and its speed and reliability surprised travellers.
It enabled the Great Khans