THE BUTCHER OF MARAGHA
The campaign of Jebe Noyan and Subutai Ba'atar in pursuit of Muhammad Khwarezm-Shah is among the most famous episodes of the Mongol conquests. Losing the Shah at the end of 1220, Jebe and Subutai spent 1221-1222 hopping across Northwestern Iran and the Caucasus, taking cities and making orphans.
During this period we have an interesting episode mentioned by the historian ibn ibn al-Athir, writing in the 1230s and living in Mosul during Jebe and Subutai's pillaging, just outside of their path. He mentions that, during the sack of Maragha in 1221, a Mongolian soldier entered a house and began killing and taking prisoners. Only when the soldier took a time to rest and removed some of their armour, did the survivors realize their captor was a woman! They then ambushed kill her. We are provided no more information on her beyond this. Most known Mongolian women who took part in battles were Chinggisid princesses, often avenging slain husbands. Most famous is the case of Chinggis Khan's daughter Temulun, who partook in the sack of Nishapur in similar time to this episode. However, no source makes a hint to any high ranking women among Jebe and Subutai's forces, and the possibility exists that this was an 'ordinary' (I.e, non-royal) Mongol woman fighting as a common soldier.
You can listen to the latest podcast episode with Kings and Generals here, discussing Jebe and Subutai's expedition:
And why not my own video on Mongol women warriors?
