← Explore on the interactive map

Rise of the Naiman Tribe (1180s)

Type Event Region Asia Time 1181–1190

In the 1180s, the Naiman rose under Tayang Khan to become one of the steppe's strongest tribal alliances, holding key Silk Road routes until destroye…

Timeline

  1. 1181–1184West of the Khangai Mountains · westernThe Naiman were originally a Turkic nomadic tribe of the western Mongolian Plateau. In the early 1180s, under Tayang Khan and his father Küchügüz Khan, they gradually absorbed neighboring small tribes, controlling the fertile pastures from the Altai to Kobdo, with rapid growth in population and herds.
  2. 1185–1188Western Mongolian Plateau · Mongolian PlateauNaiman power expanded to the borders of the Kereit, Merkits, and the Jin dynasty frontier. Tayang Khan styled himself with a 'Gür Khan'-like title, welcomed exiled nobles and artisans, and held key nodes on trade routes to the Western Regions, becoming the strongest tribal alliance on the western Mongolian Plateau of the 1180s.
  3. 1189–1190Onon–Orkhon river basins · Khentii ProvinceBy around 1190, the Naiman faced off east-west against the rising Temüjin (Genghis Khan) and Jamukha's alliance. The Naiman sheltered remnants of defeated tribes and intervened in Kereit internal disputes, becoming the last powerful opponent Temüjin had to face in unifying Mongolia.

Sources