Samuqa of the Saljiut fighting a Jin army.
Samuqa of the Saljiut (?-1217?) is a little known Mongolian general, especially compared to the more famous Subutai and Mukhali, but is none the less an excellent example of the caliber of leadership the Mongol armies that made them such a fearsome foe. Samuqa led the Mongol siege which took the Jin capital of Zhongdu (modern Beijing) in 1215, but is most famous for a campaign in late 1216/early 1217 in which he led a Mongolian-Tangut force deep into the heart of the Jin Empire. Passing through the Ordos desert, through Shaanxi and then south of the Yellow River, into Henan province where he raided the environs of the new Jin capital of Kaifeng. Throughout his journey Samuqa was outnumbered, in unfamiliar territory and hunted by several Jin armies. Still, he succeeded in spitting in the face of the Jin emperor: his campaign demonstrated that the decimated Jurchen armies could not match the mobility of the Mongols. The Tangut component of his force, once their term was up returned to the Xi Xia Kingdom, halving Samuqa's force and the Jin caught him outside of Ping-Yang. Still, Samuqa fought his way through his foe and was able to retreat back to Mongol held Xijing (modern Datong). After his impressive operation, Samuqa simply disappears from history with no clues to his final fate. This isn't particularly uncommon in our sources of the period: the fates of numerous Mongol generals, including Chinggis Khan himself, is not discussed in the sources. The medieval Mongols had a strong taboo against discussing death, particularly of noteworthy individuals, and for Chinggis' death we are only told in the Secret History of the Mongols that Chinggis "descended into heaven." Therefore, it is not unreasonable to imagine that Samuqa died of wounds or illness sometime in mid 1217. Samuqa's campaign did not lead to any territorial changes, and it was up to Mukhali to continue the conquest of the Jin in proper as Chinggis became caught up with events in Central Asia. However, the vast distance Samuqa covered through the most populated region of (remaining!) Jin territory makes it a marvel of mounted, mobile warfare. It is difficult to imagine many contemporary generals of the other people the Mongols encountered who would be able to reproduce such a feet. For more on the campaigns of Samuqa and the Mongols against the Jin, check out my latest video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxHKwEHv79I