Like a lot of women back in the day — and still now in a lot of places, I suppose — Toregene was just property. She even internalized the belief that she was nothing more than a gemstone — something to be offered up whenever ties were forged or deals were made, but still a thing nonetheless. First, the Naimans gave her away to the Merkits to solidify their alliance against the Mongols. Then when defeat was all but certain, the Merkits gave her and the rest of the women away to the Mongols. What about the men, you ask? They would mount one last futile and utterly foolish stand. They were certain to die, but that is a choice they got to make — a choice they were happy to deprive the women of. Oh sure, they gave the women away in order to protect them. But what is the point of protecting a gemstone?

Of course, the men probably didn’t see women as gemstones — at least, they didn’t do it on purpose — but that was and still is precisely the problem. Women like Toregene never had a choice. Despite being thrown into an arranged marriage, Toregene grew to love her husband. If you asked her what she wanted, she probably would have chosen to die with him. But she was never even given an option. Not once in her life did she ever get to decide her fate. The Merkits even kept her in the dark for the longest time, so she didn’t even get to choose how to feel about the conflict between them and the Mongols. Married off at a young age, given away to the Mongols, forced to marry Ogedei when he fell in love with her at first sight, probably forced to have his children, so on and so forth — Toregene’s life has been completely on rails.

Back in the present, Toregene didn’t have to save Sitara, but it was a choice she could make. A small part of her probably even saw this mercy as an act of defiance against her husband. And even though both she and Sitara can now choose peace instead of blind resistance, as they call it, they will instead feed off of each other’s resentment. Both women will drag each other into a mad quest for vengeance. But when you consider how they’ve been dehumanized all their lives, what choice have they got! Remain metaphorical but pretty prisoners and live the rest of their lives in relative contentment? Or finally seize their own fate even if the path before them is soaked in blood? If Toregene and Sitara want to salvage any semblance of self-determination, I think the choice is easy.

As I watched Toregene’s backstory unfold, however, I couldn’t help but wonder how much of it is true. After all, the primary reason Toregene spared Sitara’s life was because the latter’s smile reminded her of Khulan, her husband’s daughter. She didn’t just fall in love with her husband over time. The major turning point for her life with the Merkits was when she met and bonded with Khulan; the little girl brought a spark to Toregene’s life that was sorely missing up until then. But is any of this actually true? Do we even know anything about these women’s feelings and inner thoughts? Were those ever written down or recorded somewhere?

I only know the basic facts. Khulan was given away to Genghis Khan, and she was made an empress. She would eventually die on one of his campaigns. How did Khulan really feel about the khan? More importantly, does she represent the peaceful path Toregene and Sitara refuse to tread? We don’t know. Did Toregene truly love Dayir? Beats me. Hell, did she even truly hate Ogedei? This is one of the reasons why I’ve always been somewhat uncomfortable with historical pieces. How much of it is just pure fiction for the sake of good storytelling?

Stray thoughts & observations:

— Well, considering how we see Dayir commune with a golden bird, which told him exactly what would happen to the Merkits (read: assimilation), you can be certain that at least some of this story is pure fiction.

— Toregene naturally opposed the idea of giving Khulan away to the khan. On the other hand, the little girl saw it as an opportunity to save her people. Of course, she didn’t really have a choice in the matter, but I suppose she could choose to embrace her fate.