“All we know from the text that in 1242 or so, Batu Khan met a woman of the great beauty and married her in a few months after that. After that marriage, he dismissed all concubines. Batu was in love with his bride for the rest of his life. Well, he died soon after she did. She was Jewish, Khazar and of the royal family. We do not know much about her, but she lived with him in the Golden Horde. Somewhere in the 1250s. Then, she went to visit her relatives in Central Asia and died from an unknown sickness. Now, we think that he maybe died of grief and the loneliness. We know that he died in 1255. All that corresponds to what we know quite well. A very tragic story, I may add. We are still working on the dig and the diary. We may find more. Now, that we know this, we should revisit the burials of women of that period. We may find more about here. If she was royal and married to Batu Khan, there should be something somewhere. We just have not linked it yet. We did not know, and now, we have the missing pieces. What a headache. It should be fun for our scientists, but how do we tell them? What about the international, scientific community? We would become the laughing stock. Maybe we should talk to the Israelis? They could find it interesting and help us. Oh, we just went with the Russians on the anti-Semitic spree, and the Israelis were not happy. That was stupid, but we needed the Russians. Another big mistake. We always lose with Russians. Everything related to Russia is a big and costly mistake. We need to think it over and find the excuse to flip and get closer to the Jews. It always works better. They are close to Americans, and the British, and that would work for us very well. That could be very helpful.” The Prime Minister had some more kumis, just to calm the nerves down. It was a sensitive situation, and the President went for the Bourbon. Even at this hour, it was appropriate considering the situation. Time was just irrelevant when it came to stress, and this was stressful. They all were drinking something by now. They were not the drinking bunch but the circumstances, despite the early morning, called for it and they followed the call. That was a very unexpected turn of events. What a mess.
“What do we know about her? Him? Them? What about their life together? Did we know anything about that before this new document? Subutai was a part of all that. Did he mention anything like that anywhere, at any time? How involved was he? Did they have children?” Everyone looked at the Prime Minister like he was a member of that family and knew all relatives. However, it seemed that he knew more on the subject than the rest of them. Everyone, but the President, were briefed before this meeting but the Prime Minister either understood it better or knew more. It was always like that.
“We don’t know much about her. Almost nothing. Not yet, but we know they had children. The known surviving descendants of Batu Khan were from her. We do not know of any children before her. Most likely, he had some girls, and that is why it was not listed anywhere. Considering the size of our nation and the number of years passed, we are all related in one way or another and, therefore, she was one of our ancestors. Of most of us. It sounds as we all Jews to some degree due to her participation. No, we are not full-blooded Jews, but who knows what happened after that. There could be more Jews in our bloodlines. Don’t forget the Khazars and how close all khans were to them. Most likely every khan had a Khazar wife or two and so did the average Mongols. It looks like the Jews were the integrated part of the Mongolian nation for centuries, and we all carry their genes. Of course, some of us have more of it and some less, but we have it, and this document confirms and guarantees it. We have Jewish blood.”
The President noticed some heads going up and down in total agreement. He also noticed that they had a drink or two already and it was still too early for that. It was too early for anything. He rarely drank before five in the evening, but kumis did not count. It was just milk, well, fermented, but still, milk. One could drink milk for breakfast. They all were knowledgeable people and clearly understood the consequences of this discovery. This was very serious. No one wanted to be a Jew, not willingly. It was like a widely expressed but so unpopular opinion. Well, the Christians and the Christian monks did an outstanding job of it. They made the Jews the evil shifting the blame of their own evilness. They were spinning the fairytale into a new religion, so the scapegoat was needed to support the tale. That’s where the Jews were made to play the role of a villain. Now, if you were a Jew, no one wanted to join you, and everyone had something against you. After all, you were evil. No one knows why, but that was a millennia-old notion. Oh, God, what have we done? What have we done? We are the Mongols and not the Jews. We have been that way for as long if not longer than the Jews were Jews. The President caught himself, almost saying that. Was he turning into a Jew already? That was scary. He may need another drink.
“But, we know something? What?”
“Well, there is a theory. Only a theory yet. You may remember back in the early seventies the Russians were digging somewhere around the Karakorum and found a burial of a woman. It was a very rich burial, and the Russians thought that it was a burial of a Bedouin Chieftain wife or a daughter. Yet, it was too rich and at the same time well hidden from the simple people. It did not really fit the pattern, but still, the theory was accepted. The Afghans claimed the find and the exquisite jewelry and decorations were moved to Kabul and being kept there. The Afghans did their best to protect this treasure; the gold and the precious stones survived the Taliban. Do you recall how they were hiding it together with the paintings and some artifacts behind the false wall in the National Museum? They actually fooled the Taliban. It was the national treasure, and some people risked their lives to guard it. Well, some people died. There was a story of the false wall and a secret room with no entrance constructed in the museum basically overnight and the most important artifacts hidden behind it. They put the precious stuff in and sealed the wall. No one knew it but a few trusted people that guarded it with their lives. There were numerous paintings and some historically and culturally important stuff. All behind the false wall. The Taliban had no idea. That’s how the Afghans protected whatever they could protect and save. Good people. Brave people. Gutsy move. Very heroic. Being arrogant and not well educated, the Muslim fanatics never knew about missing it and many other things. They did not even know that those things existed. Taliban and the Mullahs were not really into art, science or even the museum going. Fortunate for the world, they were and still are uneducated idiots. That’s the religious fanatism for you. Do you recall that story? I was fascinated by it.”
“So, do you think she was the one? Was there anything in that jewelry to support that?” The President looked tired and uncertain. He was unshaven, restless, and wanted to go to sleep and maybe to eat something light. He sized the sandwiches on the side table and turned away. No, he could not eat, not now. Food was nauseating him. Just an hour ago, he was so well groomed and upbeat. What had happened to change him so much? Whatever happened to the President happened to the other people in the room as well. Something dark was laying on their shoulders so heavily. They all looked tired, used up, beaten down and somewhat older now. It was not easy to digest that information. No one there wanted to be a Jew. Why should they? It was so hard to accept. In Mongolia… It was like in the children game of the Cowboys and Indians — no one wanted to be an Indian. The Indians were going to lose anyway and who wanted to be a loser. Be a cowboy and win! That’s the ticket. The cavalry would save soon enough you if you were in trouble. That’s what they did. They would come in the end. They waited for you to get in trouble and then, they came and killed everyone around but you. So, everyone pretended that Indians just left or were coming soon. That worked and well. Then, no one had to be the one. Why was it? Was there a real reason for that or just a perception? How did the Jews get into it? Batu Khan, the conqueror of Europe and Subutai — a warlord known for his thirst for blood, actually was not what we thought they were. In truth, they were just the neighborhood Jews.