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Mongolia / China: Chabi (died 1286), wife of Kublai Khan (r.1260-1294), the first Yuan Emperor Shizu. Paint and ink on silk.

Mongolia / China: Chabi (died 1286), wife of Kublai Khan (r.1260-1294), the first Yuan Emperor Shizu. Paint and ink on silk.

Khatun (Persian; Turkish: Hatun) is a female title of nobility and equivalent to male 'khan' prominently used in the First Turkish Empire and in the subsequent Mongol Empire. It is equivalent to queen or empress. Kublai first married Tegulen but she died very early. Then he married Chabi Khatun of the Khunggirat. The Song imperial family surrendered to the Yuan in 1276, making the Mongols the first non-Chinese people to conquer all of China. Three years later, Yuan marines crushed the last of the Song loyalists. The Song Empress Dowager and her grandson, Zhao Xian, were then settled in Khanbalic where they were given tax-free property. Kublai's wife Chabi took a personal interest in their well-being.Chabi was Kublai's most beloved empress. After her death in 1286, Kublai married her young cousin, Nambui, in accordance with Chabi's wish.

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