FYI - Genepil, the Queen consort of Mongolia

[huevans]

https://twitter.com/historyinmemes/status/1663732711092019203

Genepil, the Queen consort of Mongolia, resided in Mongolia. A photograph from January 1st, 1923 captures her presence. She held the title of the last queen consort, being married to Bogd Khan, the ruler of the Bogd Khaganate, until his passing on April 17th, 1924, which coincided with the abolition of the monarchy. Tragically, she fell victim to the Stalinist purges and was killed in May, 1938.

Following the demise of Queen Dondogdulam in 1923, Bogd Khan sought a new partner and selected Genepil from a group of young women aged 18 to 20, chosen by the King's advisors. Although Genepil was already married, her marriage held no significance, as it was only in name. Despite Bogd Khan being 53 years old, nearly blind, immobile, and plagued by illness, Genepil was given assurance that she would eventually be allowed to reunite with her first husband.

She spent a year living with Bogd Khan until his death on April 17, 1924, when the monarchy was abolished. Subsequently, she departed from the Mongolian court and returned to her family. It remains unclear whether she reconciled with her first husband or remarried.

In 1937, due to her association with the old regime, Genepil and her family were arrested. Tragically, she met her demise in May, 1938, when she was executed as part of the systematic destruction of Mongolian culture during the Stalinist era. This period witnessed the widespread killing of numerous individuals, including shamans and Buddhist lamas.

[Kourtchatovium104]

Her story gives ideas for interesting games but with some generic tibetan minis (what a ceremonial dress!).

[trev]

Thanks for the rabbit hole Huevans.   

That was an interesting story, so I started googling.  Unfortunately, it seems this photo is not of Genepil but comes from a 1921 issue of National Geographic. 



I make no claims to any expertise on Mongolian culture but the page I found says this. 

Wei-chieh Tsai, assistant professor of history at Shenzhen University, in southern China, said the image likely shows "a random Mongolian noblewoman, not Genepil."

Professor Christopher Atwood, from the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania, told AFP that it was unlikely that Genepil would have worn the a headdress with "horns", as seen in the image.

"[Since] the Bogd was a lama (high cleric) he could have a consort, but he couldn’t legally marry. Thus his consort could not wear the 'horns' worn by married ladies in pre-revolutionary Mongolia," said Atwood, author of Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire.

Similarly, Yingbai Fu, a PhD student in history of art and archaeology at the SOAS University of London, said there was no evidence to suggest Genepil was the woman in the photo.

"I have not found any photos of Genepil from a credible source," she said.

Here is the link discussing that picture and another supposedly showing her moments before execution, which is actually a still from a film.

https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.9ZB9X3

This extended photo was on the Twitter thread.  It looks too good quality, so I'm guessing is an AI enhanced version.  AI is probably going to make life very difficult for us amateur historians and I suspect a lot of photos 'conveniently' showing details that push someone's agenda will 'turn up' soon.