Conn Iggulden
London, 2011
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Airag/Black airag
Clear alcohol, distilled from mare’s milk.
Arban
Small, raiding group, usually ten men.
Bondsmen
Warriors sworn to personal service, guards to a khan.
Chuh!
Phonetic representation of the Mongol horse command for speed.
Deel
Lightly padded full-length robe with wide sleeves, tied at the waist.
Earth Mother
Earth spirit, partner to the Sky Father.
Gers
Circular homes of felt and wicker lattice, sometimes mistakenly called yurts.
Guest rights
The offer of temporary protection or truce while in a man’s home.
Gur-khan/Great Khan
Khan of khans, leader of the nation.
Jagun
Military unit of a hundred men.
Khan
Tribal leader. No ‘k’ sound in Mongolian, so pronounced: ‘Haan’.
Minghaan
Military unit of a thousand.
Nokhoi Khor!
Pronounced: ‘Ner-hoy, Hor.’ Literally: ‘Hold the Dog!’ - a greeting when approaching strangers.
Orlok
Overall commander of a Mongol army.
Quiriltai
A gathering of princes for the purpose of electing a new khan.
Shaman
Medicine man in a tribe, both a healer and one who communes with spirits.
Sky Father
Sometimes called Tengri. Mongol deity, partner to the Earth Mother.
Tuman
Unit of ten thousand.
Yam stations
Stops for fast scouts to change horses, twenty-five miles apart.
INDEX OF CHARACTERS
Ala-ud-Din Mohammed
Shah of Khwarezm. Died exhausted on an island in the Caspian Sea.
Alkhun
Senior officer of the khan’s guards in Karakorum.
Arslan
Master swordsmith who was once armourer to the Naiman tribe. Father to Jelme. Died of disease in Samarkand.
Baabgai
The bear. A Chin recruit who becomes a successful wrestler.
Baidur
Son of Chagatai. Rules his father’s khanate around modern day Afghanistan.
Barchuk
Khan of the Uighurs.
Basan
Wolf tribe. Bondsman of Yesugei in
Batu
Son to Jochi and grandson to Genghis Khan. Leads a tuman with Tsubodai and becomes a lord with vast lands in Russia.
Bayar
General to Kublai.
Bekter
Oldest son of Yesugei and Hoelun. Murdered by his brothers.
Bela IV
King of Hungary at the time Tsubodai’s tumans attacked.
Borte
Olkhun’ut tribe. Daughter to Sholoi and Shria. Becomes wife to Temujin/Genghis and has four sons: Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedai and Tolui.
Chagatai
Old storyteller in Wolf tribe.
Chagatai
Same name as storyteller. Second son of Genghis and Borte. Father to Baidur.
Chakahai
Daughter to Rai Chiang of the Xi Xia. A princess given as tribute. Second wife to Genghis.
Chen Yi
Criminal gang leader in Chin city of Baotou.
Chulgetei
General of a tuman under Tsubodai.
Conrad Von Thuringen
Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights.
Eeluk
Bondsman to Yesugei Khan. Becomes khan of the Wolves on Yesugei’s death.
Enq
Olkhun’ut tribe. Father to Koke. Brother to Hoelun. Uncle to Temujin/Genghis and his siblings.
Genghis Khan (see also Temujin)
First khan of the Mongol nation. Husband to Borte. Father to Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedai and Tolui. Dies in
Guyuk
Son of Ogedai Khan and Torogene.
Hasan
Brutalised servant in assassin fortress of Alamut.
