Baljuna Covenant.
The Baljuna Covenant was an oath sworn in mid-1203 by Temüjin—the future Genghis Khan (depicted)—and the Baljunatu, a small group of companions. Temüjin, khan of the Mongols, had steadily risen in power through the late 12th century in the service of Toghrul, the khan of the Kereit tribe. However, Temüjin was betrayed by Toghrul in early 1203 and subsequently suffered a decisive defeat. He retreated to Baljuna, an unidentified body of water in south-eastern Mongolia, and amidst deprivations swore an oath of mutual fidelity with his companions. Not only did the Covenant promote Temüjin's ideals of social equality, but the oath-takers were themselves ethnically and culturally diverse—among their number were Tengrists like Temüjin, Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists. Three years later in 1206, Temüjin entitled himself Genghis Khan at a kurultai and honoured the Baljunatu with the highest distinctions of his new Mongol Empire.
