Was Subutai actually Obese? Mongol Myths #2

Subutai (Sübe'etei)! The most famous of Mongol generals. Probably you've heard of him being so overweight that he had to be pushed around in a cart. In this video we look at the veracity of this statement, and how it aligns with the primary sources.

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SOURCES:

The Campaigns of Chinggis Khan (Shengwu Qinzheng Lu/Veritable Record). Edited and Translated by Christopher P. Atwood. (Forthcoming).

The Secret History of the Mongols: A Mongolian Epic Chronicle of the Thirteenth Century
2 Volumes. Translated by Igor de Rachewiltz, Boston: Brill, 2004.

The Secret History of the Mongols: The Life and Times of Genghis Khan. Translated by Urgunge Onon. Leiden: Brill, 1990.

Rashiduddin Fazlullah. Jami’ u’t-tawarikh: Compendium of Chronicles: A History of the Mongols. Translated by W. M. Thackston. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1998.

Pow, Stephen and Jingjing Liao. “Subutai: Sorting Fact from Fiction Surrounding the Mongol Empire’s Greatest General (with Translations of Subutai’s Two Biographies in the Yuan Shi),” Journal of Chinese Military History 7 (2018): 37-76.

MUSIC ATTRIBUTES:

#mongolempire #subutai #documentary

[TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Paragraph 199 in the Secret History of the Mongols (where Sübe'etei gets given the iron cart by Chinggis Khan) is interesting as obviously, it shows Sübe'etei as being the only one in command in Ox Year 1217. But, we know from more sources written before the Toluid revolution (see again Atwood's article, "Jochi and the Early Western Campaigns"), that in fact Jochi was in command with Sübe'etei. By the point in time, Jochi was arguably the more prominent commander between the two. Thus we might suspect the Secret History's source (or the original event) saw Chinggis providing Jochi with an iron cart (before Jochi's importance was minimized by the pro-Toluid sources from Möngke onwards, the Secret History being the first of these in 1252). Basically, just more evidence against Sübe'etei being uniquely carted around in an iron chariot.

[phuvolethanh]

In my head cannon, Sube'etei is some kinds of a martial artist with his lance - the weapon he used against the bandits, which he passed on to his grandson Aju who also used a lance to fend off an ambush, it should be noted that it is extremely hard to use a lance on horseback and requires much training.

[TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Alternative working titles for this video included "Sübe'etei: was he an absolutely thicccc Boi?" and "Subutai? More like Chub-utai." But I lacked the courage to commit to it

[fredocorleone]

I've been waiting for this and absolutely love the video thank you! and I think about Subutai's appearance and impact on battle of Mohi and he did this on a cart? unimaginable.

[SodaPrezsing]

“Big Beautiful Warrior” ha love this channel
🇲🇳🏹🎯

[AnnhilateTheNihilist]

Buddy. I’ve consulted the oracles, and your mission from this point on (phd be damned) is coverage of Amir Timur aka Tamerlane the Great. I’ve spent the last 22 months studying The Mongols and perusing every single thing on YouTube about them (and there is quite a lot) but when that naturally evolved to coverage of Timur, there is virtually nothing, meaning you can watch everything there is in one day quite easily. Naturally this gap should be filled in by someone like you, as I can already see you explaining with relish the epic battles with the Mughals, Bayezid, The Hospitalars of Smyrna etc.

[adrian-vasilebud]

Great video like always, I always wondered if Subutai would had still become the biggest general from history in matter of land mass conquered from a single person tactics and command, if Jebe wouldn't have died. I wish you a very good new year.

[Artur_M.]

Ah yes, the sexiest thing in the universe - proper critical analysis of the primary sources!

Fun fact: the Polish word for 'hero' - 'bohater' (which most likely came to our language via Ruthenian) is etymologically related to that Subutai's epithet mentioned at 2:36.

[johnwhite-qs]

Never realized mongol history is the best history

[Kameeho]

There is no shame in not knowing.

Is a good saying.

[yunusjauhari]

23:34 Nonton YouTube Lanjutin The Armchair Historian How Yugoslavia Liberated Itself In WW2 23:51 Ayah keluar kamar Turun kebawah terus masuk Kekamar 23:52 Veritasium How Electricity Actually Works 00:00 Turun kebawah kekamar Mandi 00:30 Balkan Mapping Ukraine War Update 00;38 Jackmeister Was Subutai Actually Obese

[Mohammed_Angler]

Great piece of work! How about you cover the earlier nomadic powers like the Huns, Pechenegs, Avars, early magyars etc.. I think your content is the best regarding steppe nomads on YouTube...
Btw have you read the story of Ibn Fadhlan? He did mention the nomads.

[EasternRomanHistory]

A very nice explanation. It just goes to show how important evidence is to writing history. It is always annoying when historians are sparing with their footnotes and citations. It also highlights how some popular perceptions are based on the primary sources available to read. It is why I there is great merit in translating sources otherwise known to only a few academics.

[Bhatakti_Hawas]

In India, bullock carts have iron rims on wooden wheels

[franzliszt]

I am waiting for the day that this channel and/or Kings and Generals would blow up. It's just a matter of time a Mainstream media will catch on the Mongol history with the feed from the Hollywood and Netflix. There is just too much source material and just enough murkyness to play with for the creators of the future.

[stevapalooza]

Great video but you overlooked one thing--Temujin's old enemy Tarqutai. According to the Secret History upon his capture as an older man he was too fat to ride a horse and had to be brought in on a cart. And in his case I believe it because Tarqutai literally means "fatso". I'd be willing to bet this is where the whole "too fat to ride a horse" slander started. Writers of various sources probably got mixed up over time.

[AGS]

Going back to the primary sources is great and I applaud it. However, modern academia puts an extreme focus secondary literature and preceding research, even if said research is of low quality. It should not be this way, but using the actual sources to often will get you in trouble.
I learned this the hard way with my dissertation.

[paddy]

Subutai gained his name for his ravenous hunger for his favorite sandwich. 👁👄👁

[Chillguy]

Is there any reason for the Hazaragi song in the end? Any connection between Hazaras and Mongols?

[abdulkaderkhan.ktjithu]

Please make video on chenkis khan 4 dog of wars