Genghis Khan is remembered as being one of the fiercest military leaders who ever lived. In his lifetime, he conquered all of the Mongolian tribes and ruled them under one nation, and began to take over territory in both Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. While most people remember the great Khan, very few people know about his great-granddaughter Khutulun. She was considered to be one of the greatest warriors in the Mongol army, and she remained an undefeated wrestling champion going up against all male opponents. She declared that she would never get married, unless a man could defeat her in wrestling, and thus began a long line of suitors willing to take on the warrior princess.
Becoming a Warrior Princess
The Mongolians took their fighting to the next level. They were trained to be stronger than any other army in the world, because it was the Khan’s goal to take over the entire world. Their society began training their young boys on horseback riding and archery at just 2 years old. After a couple generations, the Mongols were unstoppable war machines.
In the year 1260, Kublai Khan became the new ruler of the Mongolian Empire. However, his brother and cousins would be jealous of his rule, and challenge his right to call himself the Khan. His cousin was a man named Kaidu, who was in charge of a territory called The House of Ögedei. Kaidu got married, and his wives gave birth to a few sons, but his favorite child by far was his fierce little daughter, Khutulun.
As a young girl, Khutulun would play with her brothers, and she did not want to wear dresses or do girly things. She wanted to get in there with the boys. Their father, Kaidu, treated Khutulun as an equal to her brothers, and encouraged her to embrace her tomboy nature.
When she grew up, Khutulun was an even better fighter than her brothers. As a woman, she would have weighed less than a man, so her horse could gallop at faster speeds than anyone else on the battlefield. She was an ace archer, and she was as strong as a male bodybuilder. Her signature move was to gallop across the battlefield on horseback, pick up an enemy soldier with just one arm, and carry him back to her dad. This terrified the enemy, and it helped them win more than one battle over the years.