Character Relationship Map: The Conqueror

Characters

• Temujin (played by John Wayne) — protagonist

  Temujin is the Mongol chief and the central protagonist. He falls in love with Bortai, takes her from a caravan, and pursues alliances and wars to strengthen his people. After defeating Kumlek and exp...

• Bortai (played by Susan Hayward) — protagonist

  Bortai is Kumlek's daughter and Temujin's unwilling captive and love interest. Taken during the caravan attack, she resists Temujin but later frees him from captivity and helps him escape. She is reun...

• Jamuga (played by Pedro Armendáriz) — supporting

  Jamuga is Temujin's blood brother and a trusted Mongol companion whose loyalty is repeatedly tested. He warns Temujin against taking Bortai, helps him after the ambush, and is falsely suspected of bet...

• Hunlun (played by Agnes Moorehead) — supporting

  Hunlun is Temujin's mother. At the Mongol camp, she angrily discovers that Bortai is the daughter of Kumlek, whom she identifies as her husband's murderer. Despite this hostility, Temujin keeps Bortai...

• Wang Khan (played by Thomas Gomez) — supporting

  Wang Khan is the ruler of the walled city of Urga and a potential ally of Temujin. He consults the Shaman before accepting Temujin's proposed alliance, then joins the campaign against the Tartars. Nea...

• Kasar (played by William Conrad) — supporting

  Kasar is a Mongol warrior who accompanies Jamuga to Wang Khan's palace to report that Temujin's forces will arrive by the next full moon. The Shaman imprisons the pair in their room; Jamuga escapes th...

• Shaman (played by John Hoyt) — supporting

  The Shaman is Wang Khan's spiritual adviser and a major political conspirator. He initially supports Temujin's proposal through a supposed spiritual judgment, but later schemes against Jamuga and Kasa...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Jamuga → Wang Khan (Professional Military Envoy) — Jamuga serves as a trusted intermediary between Temujin and Wang Khan.

  Jamuga travels with Kasar to Wang Khan's palace and informs him that Temujin's forces will meet his army by the next full moon.

• Wang Khan → Shaman (Professional Spiritual Advisor) — The Shaman holds advisory influence within Wang Khan's court.

  Wang Khan consults the Shaman about Temujin's proposal, and the Shaman later advises Temujin to seize Urga.

• Hunlun → Temujin (Family Mother) — Hunlun is Temujin's mother and voices the family's historical grievance.

  Hunlun is identified as Temujin's mother and angrily reacts when she learns that Bortai is the daughter of the man who killed her husband.

• Temujin → Bortai (Romantic Captive Lover) — Their romance develops through captivity, coercion, hostility, and eventual reunion.

  Temujin says he intends to take Bortai for himself because he has fallen in love with her. He later keeps her at the Mongol camp and ultimately reunit...

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Temujin → Kasar (Alliance Military Ally) — Kasar supports Temujin's campaign through loyal military service.

  Kasar is a Mongol warrior who accompanies Jamuga in carrying Temujin's military message to Wang Khan.

• Jamuga → Kasar (Alliance Mission Partner) — They cooperate as messengers during the military preparations.

  Jamuga accompanies Kasar to Wang Khan's palace to report that Temujin's forces will meet Wang Khan by the next full moon.

• Jamuga → Bortai (Alliance Rescue Ally) — Bortai's intervention enables Jamuga to continue helping Temujin.

  Jamuga surrenders to the Tartar leader, and Bortai frees him so he can find Temujin.

• Temujin → Shaman (Conflict Mortal Enemy) — Their conflict culminates in Temujin's revenge killing of the Shaman.

  After Wang Khan reveals the Shaman's scheme and dies, Temujin kills the Shaman in revenge.

• Temujin → Wang Khan (Alliance Military Ally) — A strategic alliance joins Temujin's forces with Wang Khan's army.

  Temujin proposes an alliance with Wang Khan and presents a plan involving an attack on Urga. Wang Khan later allows Temujin to lead his army against t...

• Bortai → Hunlun (Conflict Adversarial In-Law) — Their relationship is shaped by inherited vengeance and family resentment.

  Hunlun angrily learns that Bortai is the daughter of her husband's murderer, creating immediate hostility toward Bortai at the Mongol camp.

• Temujin → Jamuga (Alliance Blood Brother) — A close brother-like alliance that becomes strained by suspicion and political conflict.

  The plot explicitly calls Temujin and Jamuga blood brothers. They initially act together during the caravan attack and later repeatedly attempt to sup...

Story Analysis

Temujin's personal ambition, fractured brotherhood, and military victories culminate in the founding of the Mongol Empire.

Plot Progression

1. A Desire That Starts War — Temujin captures Bortai after stopping her caravan and declares his love for her. His personal choice creates hostility with her family and raises the threat of war.
2. Captivity and Hidden Alliances — Bortai remains at the Mongol camp despite Hunlun's anger and her own resistance. Temujin survives a night attack and begins planning an alliance with Wang Khan.
3. Betrayal in the Mountains — Temujin travels toward Wang Khan's forces but is ambushed and injured. Bortai frees him after Jamuga's surrender, yet Temujin is captured again and begins to doubt his blood brother.
4. The Shaman's Treachery — Temujin returns to find Jamuga leading the Mongols, while Jamuga and Kasar carry a military message to Wang Khan. The Shaman imprisons them, kills Kasar, and ultimately murders Wang Khan.
5. Birth of an Empire — Temujin kills the Shaman and unites the armies against the Tartars. After victory and reunion with Bortai, Jamuga names Temujin Genghis Khan before requesting his own execution.