how many wives did genghis khan have

Genghis Khan is generally believed to have had about six main (official) wives , plus hundreds of secondary wives and concubines , with many sources estimating over 500 women in total in his harem.

Quick Scoop: So…how many wives?

Historians usually separate his relationships into two layers:

• Around six primary Mongolian wives (including his chief wife Börte).

• Hundreds of secondary wives and concubines , often taken as political tribute or war booty, with some modern estimates putting this at 500 or more.

So if you’re asking strictly, “how many wives did Genghis Khan have” in the formal sense, the common scholarly answer is six main wives.

If you include the extended harem, you’re talking about hundreds of women , not just a handful.

Why the numbers vary

• Medieval sources weren’t keeping a neat marital spreadsheet, especially for concubines.
• Some modern writers say 16–20 wives by counting a broader circle of women beyond the six prime Mongol wives.

• Popular history and documentaries often highlight the “500 wives and concubines” figure to convey the scale of his harem.

In short, six principal wives is the most cited figure, but his wider household of wives and concubines was vastly larger.

Mini FAQ

• Who was his main wife?
  Börte, from the Khongirad tribe, was his first and principal wife and the mother of his four official sons.

• Did he really have that many children?
  Genetic studies and historical estimates suggest he fathered well over a hundred children , and a famous genetic study linked about 16 million living men to a lineage probably originating with him.

TL;DR:

• Formal/primary wives: about six.

• Total wives + concubines in his harem: several hundred , often rounded to 500+.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.