The Yenisei Kyrgyz have no khan in the sources of 1200.
They have princes, inal, who claim the blood of the old khagans, and in 1207 three of them come to Jochi's camp with white gyrfalcons, white geldings and black sables: Yedi Inal, Aldier and Olebek-tegin. We cannot say who held these offices on 1 January 1200 or whether they had the same names; the names are of 1207 and later. The Kyrgyz heart is the Minusinsk basin; the senior prince's camp is not known.
Who he is
- Name
- Not known for 1200. The Secret History names Yedi Inal (1207); the 'Edi, Inal' of the Russian summary of Rashid is the same name
- Title
- Inal (prince of the old khagans' line); title khan or kagan not shown for 1200
- Since
- not known
- Born
- not known
- Family
- The Ajo line of the Kyrgyz khagans is claimed by the inals (Russian summaries)
- Confidence
- low
Russian summary of Rashid's account of 1207 (zolord.ru); Zoriktuev on SH 239-240; Wikipedia on the Kyrgyz.
Overlord
None shown; a Qara Khitai or Naiman tribute claim is not pinned.
What it holds
- Kyrgyz tribes of the Minusinsk basin
- Fur tribute and gift-giving to neighbours (the 1207 gifts of falcons, geldings and sable show the Kyrgyz way)
- A camp or wooden-walled seat, site not known
Allies and rivals
Neighbour of the Oirat and the forest peoples; the Naiman lie beyond the Altai.
How things stand that morning
At peace in the winter camps of the Minusinsk basin; not pinned.
Wealth
Furs, iron, horses; farming on the Abakan.
Military
Mounted warriors under the princes; no number.
Threats
- Naiman or Merkit pressure from the south-east
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 1207Yedi Inal, Aldier and Olebek-tegin submit to Jochi.Depends on: Temujin's mastery of Mongolia. Stopped by: A Naiman or Merkit revival.
Where the sources disagree
- The brief's 'khan of the Yenisei Kyrgyz' is an inference; the sources of 1207 say inal.
Evidence: Names come from one passage of the Secret History and its Persian parallel, seven years after the date.
On the map: No map part; the Kyrgyz realm record carries the polygons.
Primary sources for The Yenisei Kyrgyz
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Secret History of the Mongols (1228 or 1240 (the colophon's Year of the Rat is disputed), with later additions; the surviving Chinese transcription and gloss were made under the Ming in the 1380s). The only Mongol account of Temujin's rise, written within living memory. Read online
- Compendium of Chronicles, Rashid al-Din Fadl Allah Hamadani (1300 to 1311, at Tabriz). The official Ilkhanid history, compiled from Mongol oral tradition and the lost Altan Debter. Read online
- Compendium of Chronicles: the Turkic and Mongol tribes and the life of Chinggis Khan, Rashid al-Din Hamadani (about 1300 to 1311, in the Ilkhanate). The fullest description of who held what on the steppe around 1200, written a century later from Mongol court records (the Altan Debter) and from informants such as Bolad Chingsang. Read online
- History of the Yuan, Song Lian (宋濂) and the Ming history office (1369 to 1370). Juan 1, the annals of Taizu (Chinggis Khan), gives a dated outline of Temujin's early wars drawn from the same lost Altan Debter as the Shengwu qinzheng lu: the Tatar war with the Jin in 1196, the Merkit and Naiman campaigns, the Tayichi'ut war, Jamuqa's coalition of 1201 and the Tatar and Kereyit wars of 1202 and 1203. Read online
Sources and studies
- Fate of the Yenisei Kyrgyz (zolord.ru), summarising Rashid al-Din on 1207
- B. R. Zoriktuev, on the Mongol campaign to the Yenisei in 1207, Tuva.Asia
- Wikipedia, 'Yenisei Kyrgyz'
- Wikipedia, 'Kyrgyz Khaganate'
- Russian Wikipedia, 'Eniseiskie kyrgyzy'
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.