Kökejin Khatun

Kökejin Khatun (also called Bairam-Egechi, d. 1300/1) was a Mongolian empress dowager. A powerful political player, she is credited with securing the throne for her son Temür.

Early life Kökejin came from the Khunggirad tribe. She was selected as a wife for the crown prince Chingkim by his father, Kublai Khan, who had rejected several candidates before Kökejin was suggested by one of his ministers. According to the fourteenth-century History of Yuan, Kublai had first come across her while he was out on a hunting trip and was impressed by her virtue when she asked him to wait for her parents to return before she could offer him mare's milk to drink.

She became Chingkim's principal wife, taking the title Bairam-Egechi. According to the History of Yuan, Kublai appreciated Kökejin’s filial piety, especially towards her mother-in-law Chabi. Chingkim died in 1285. Along with her supporters, including the general Bayan of the Baarin, Kökejin managed to gain control of the government and have Temür pronounced khan at a council (qurultai) in April 1294.

According to the contemporary historian Rashid al-Din, Kökejin settled the matter at the council by suggesting that her sons Kammala and Temür recite the maxims of Chinggis Khan. This inclined the spectators in favour of Temür, who recited them fluently.

Kökejin continued to be influential during Temür's rein. He gave her the title of empress dowager and appointed her a household retinue. and commissioned the printing of Tibetan Buddhist texts.

She received the posthumous title Huiren yusheng huanghou.