Explanation: Khutulun, a descendant of Genghis Khan (the great-granddaughter of his heir, Ogedei Khan), was famed for her beauty and her athletic prowess. She swore not to marry any man unless he could defeat her in a wrestling match. No man ever did (though I believe she eventually married).
Any man who challenged her and lost would forfeit 100 horses to her. She earned a herd of some 10,000 horses this way - a considerable amount of wealth even for a Mongol princess!
... my inner sub is giving me very bad financial advice for my herds right now...
She was also a skilled warrior, and favored by her father to become the next Khan, but he was eventually dissuaded from this by political maneuvering. Khutulun herself would become a prominent military commander under one of her brothers, who became Khan instead.
Yeah, I'd allow it. I'm certainly not going to try to win it though - you see what happened to the other guys? If she wants to chill, we can chill, but she's making the first move there. If not, no biggie.
This story always seemed so outlandish to me, that I'm still convinced it isn't actually the entire story. Like; the men were losing on purpose for some sort of political favor of sorts.
*Edit:
So I've done some sleuthing. The story is BS. The only original source of the wrestling for horses came from Marco Polo, and he made up\exagerated all sorts of stuff. She was known as a wrestler, but nothing of defeating 100 men undefeated. Also, the 100 men part was just made up at some point even later, as Marco Polo never gave mention of a number of men she'd wrestled. Only that she had a herd of 10,000 horses won from wrestling. I couldn't find a source for when the 100 men part got added on.
A hundred horses is a steep price even for a Mongol noble to lose for a nondescript favor - and the marriage of a Mongol princess is a high prize to be won.
That she was a highly accomplished warrior as well suggests that her prowess was legitimate, considering that the enemy on the battlefield was unlikely to 'play nice'.
That she was a highly accomplished warrior as well suggests that her prowess was legitimate, considering that the enemy on the battlefield was unlikely to 'play nice'.
Im sorry but the difference of raw strength makes this story bullshit. No way they didnt lose on purpose of they just lied about the outcome.
Right, and I'm sure that the men she captured on the battlefield were just really invested in proving the enemy royalty's war prowess at the expense of their own reputation and, potentially, lives.
Sometimes she would quit her father’s side, and make a dash at the host of the enemy, and seize some man thereout, as deftly as a hawk pounces on a bird, and carry him to her father; and this she did many a time.
Yeah it’s gotta be fantastical. I know some women who are incredible athletes and could defeat 99% of men… but not 100%. There’s just a reality, and especially in strength sports like wrestling, and the Mongolian style at that, where size is the winning factor and men can just get much bigger than any woman and overwhelm them.
No woman known for being beautiful is nearly as strong as a strong man. Wrestling is very much a skill, but there's a reason there's so many weight classes. I wrestled for several years. Strength can overcome skill.
The best example of this not being the case is found in renaissance art. Beautiful women were depicted as chubby by our standards because extra weight meant being wealthy. This standard changed during the Reformation when gluttony started being seen as a sin and a sign of depravity of the Catholic church. From then on, the standard of female beauty shifted towards thinness.
It doesn't matter. We're talking about the possibility of a woman existing that had 100 different men who thought they could defeat her in a wrestling match, wagering up a thousand horses each. A challenge that spanned over years. As her reputation if defeating all these dudes would spread and be known, after the first ten or twenty guys were defeated, the only challengers (if they were actually intending to win) would have been almost nothing but large and strong guys experienced in wrestling.
44 replies
Explanation: Khutulun, a descendant of Genghis Khan (the great-granddaughter of his heir, Ogedei Khan), was famed for her beauty and her athletic prowess. She swore not to marry any man unless he could defeat her in a wrestling match. No man ever did (though I believe she eventually married).
Any man who challenged her and lost would forfeit 100 horses to her. She earned a herd of some 10,000 horses this way - a considerable amount of wealth even for a Mongol princess!
... my inner sub is giving me very bad financial advice for my herds right now...
She was also a skilled warrior, and favored by her father to become the next Khan, but he was eventually dissuaded from this by political maneuvering. Khutulun herself would become a prominent military commander under one of her brothers, who became Khan instead.
Nowadays, a horse isn't seen as wealth as much as an expense.
Depends on how you look at it.
"I'm so rich, I can afford to take care of 10,000 horses."
Also depends on the horse.
A horse is a horse. (Of course, of course)
Horses can be exchanged for goods and services.
depends on the part of the world
Wasn't that part of the plot of Red Sonja and the tale of Brunhild the valkyrie?
100 horses is a fucking lot of horses. I suppose it isn't just the regular Joe doing it though.
“This is the fifth time today that you got your butt kicked!”
Yup. I’m not doing this for weird reasons…just like…regular reasons.
Lean Beef Patty o_O
1131454135/10 would lose wrestling match, but slowly
Would lose as many times as necessary
She could be my muscle mommy if she wanted to
"I'd allow her to marry me"
I accept my fate.
Taking one for the team, respectable
Yeah, I'd allow it. I'm certainly not going to try to win it though - you see what happened to the other guys? If she wants to chill, we can chill, but she's making the first move there. If not, no biggie.
You pretty much just summed up the mentality that has kept me largely single for the last 5+ years, haha
She could be your muscle mommy too... If she wanted to.
What do you guys think happens when you put all the horny peeps into jail together?
I am torn between my desire to be crushed and my desire to keep my horses
This story always seemed so outlandish to me, that I'm still convinced it isn't actually the entire story. Like; the men were losing on purpose for some sort of political favor of sorts.
*Edit: So I've done some sleuthing. The story is BS. The only original source of the wrestling for horses came from Marco Polo, and he made up\exagerated all sorts of stuff. She was known as a wrestler, but nothing of defeating 100 men undefeated. Also, the 100 men part was just made up at some point even later, as Marco Polo never gave mention of a number of men she'd wrestled. Only that she had a herd of 10,000 horses won from wrestling. I couldn't find a source for when the 100 men part got added on.
A hundred horses is a steep price even for a Mongol noble to lose for a nondescript favor - and the marriage of a Mongol princess is a high prize to be won.
That she was a highly accomplished warrior as well suggests that her prowess was legitimate, considering that the enemy on the battlefield was unlikely to 'play nice'.
Im sorry but the difference of raw strength makes this story bullshit. No way they didnt lose on purpose of they just lied about the outcome.
Right, and I'm sure that the men she captured on the battlefield were just really invested in proving the enemy royalty's war prowess at the expense of their own reputation and, potentially, lives.
"she" didn't capture men on the battlefield. She led an army. Big difference.
Yeah it’s gotta be fantastical. I know some women who are incredible athletes and could defeat 99% of men… but not 100%. There’s just a reality, and especially in strength sports like wrestling, and the Mongolian style at that, where size is the winning factor and men can just get much bigger than any woman and overwhelm them.
No woman known for being beautiful is nearly as strong as a strong man. Wrestling is very much a skill, but there's a reason there's so many weight classes. I wrestled for several years. Strength can overcome skill.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Maybe she had a bodybuilder build, and those Mongols thought that was hot af.
Or maybe she was butt ass ugly but everyone liked keeping their heads rather than insult a princess.
It's a trap to think 1) there's just one standard of beauty and 2) one objective standard spans all centuries.
The best example of this not being the case is found in renaissance art. Beautiful women were depicted as chubby by our standards because extra weight meant being wealthy. This standard changed during the Reformation when gluttony started being seen as a sin and a sign of depravity of the Catholic church. From then on, the standard of female beauty shifted towards thinness.
It doesn't matter. We're talking about the possibility of a woman existing that had 100 different men who thought they could defeat her in a wrestling match, wagering up a thousand horses each. A challenge that spanned over years. As her reputation if defeating all these dudes would spread and be known, after the first ten or twenty guys were defeated, the only challengers (if they were actually intending to win) would have been almost nothing but large and strong guys experienced in wrestling.
There just isn't any way that would happen.
Lord.
What a sentence. Back to your figures, please.