Real Wives of Dictators | Börte, wife of Genghis Khan

Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society

History Hit

Society, Sex, Scandal, Education, History

4.8 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 7 March 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What was life like to be married to Genghis Khan?

In this new limited series, Real Wives of Dictators, we're finding out all about the women behind, or alongside, some of histories most notorious men.

First up is Börte Üjin, the woman who built the Mongol empire alongside her husband, Genghis, in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Were they in love? What happened when she was kidnapped by a rival tribe? And what was her relationship like with the other women in Genghis' life?

Joining Kate today is historian Marie Favereau, author of The Horde: How The Mongols Changed The World, to help us find out.

This episode was edited by Tom Delargy and produced by Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Charlotte Long.

If you'd like to get in touch with the show you can contact us at [email protected].

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All music from Epidemic Sounds.

Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm your host, Kate Lister.
0:02.4	If you would like betwixt the sheets, add free and get early access, sign up to History Hit.
0:08.7	With a History Hit subscription, you can also watch hundreds of original documentaries with top history presenters.
0:16.0	And enjoy a new release every single week.
0:19.8	Sign up now by visiting history hit.com forward slash subscribe.
0:24.7	Hello, my lovely betwixters.
0:26.6	It's me, Kate Lister.
0:28.0	I am here, you are here, and we are all ready to proceed with the show.
0:31.6	But before we can do that, I have to tell you.
0:33.5	This is an adult podcast, Pokemon by adults, to other adults about adulty things
0:36.3	and an adulty way covering a range of adults and subjects, and you should be an adult podcast spoken by adults to other adults about adulty things and an adulty way you're covering a range of adults and objects and you should be an adult too.
0:38.8	Do you feel safer?
0:39.9	I'm glad you feel safer.
0:41.3	I certainly feel safer.
0:42.6	Right.
0:43.2	On with the show!
0:49.7	They say they're behind every great man.
0:52.0	There's a great woman.
0:53.8	I've never really believed that.
0:55.7	But what about evil men?
0:57.6	Are there crap and evil women behind them too?
1:00.5	And whilst it's the men in these horror stories that seem to get the most attention,
	...

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