Jebe and Subutai: The Kalka River, 1223

After running Khwarezm-Shah Muhammad to his death and bringing havoc through the Caucasus, Mongol generals Jebe Noyan and Subutai Ba'atar returned to the Eurasian steppe, where they have their first encounter with a European army. The battle of the Kalka River, 1223, was the first engagement between Mongols and Russians (alongside Cuman-Qipchaqs), a prelude to the later Mongol conquest of Russia and invasion of Europe.
Alongside the battle, we also have a look at the matter of a Venetian-Mongol alliance, and the death of Jebe Noyan.
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Jebe and Subutai: Pursuit of the Shah and the Caucasus: • Jebe and Subutai: Purs...
PRIMARY SOURCES:
The Chronicle of Novgorod 1016-1471. Translated by Robert Michell and Nevill Forbes. Camden Third Series: London, 1914.
faculty.washing... See pages 65-66.
Chronicle of Novgorod in Russian: litopys.org.ua/...
Galician-Volnyian Chronicle in Russian: litopys.org.ua/...
Ibn al-Athir discusses the Kalka episode, as does the Galician-Volnyian Chronicle, but I was unable to access either in this research.
SECONDARY SOURCES:
Balard, Michel. “The Greeks of Crimea under Genoese Rule in the XIVth and XVth Centuries.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 49, (1995): 23-32.
Buell, Paul. “Sübȫtei Ba’atur (1176-1248)” in In the Service of the Khan: Eminent Personalities of the Early Mongol-Yüan Period
(1200-1300). Edited by Igor de Rachewiltz, Hok-lam Chan, Hsiao Ch’i-ch’ing and Peter W. Geier, 13-26. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 1993.
Cosmo, Nicola di. “Black Sea Emporia and the Mongol EMpire: A Reassessment of the Pax Mongolica.” Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 53 no. ½ (2010): 83-108.
Jackson, Peter. Review of The Devil’s Horsemen: The Mongol Invasion of Europe by James Chambers. The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland no. 1 (1990): 175-176
Kovács, Szilvia. “Bortz, a Cuman Chief in the 13th Century.” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 58 no. 3 (2005): 255-266.
Martin, Janet. “The Land of Darkness and the Golden Horde. The Fur Trade under the Mongols XIII-XIVth Centuries.” Cahiers du Monde russe et soviétique 19 no. 4 (1978): 401-421.
Peacock, A.C.S. “The Saliūq Campaign against the Crimea and the Expansionist Policy of the Early Reign of ‘Alā’ al-Dīn Kayqybād.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 16 no. 2 (2006): 133-149.
Pow, Stephen. “The Last Campaign and Death of Jebe Noyan.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 27 no.1 (2017): 31-51.
Robbert, Louise Buenger. “Rialto Businessmen and Constantinople, 1204-1261.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 49 (1995): 43-58.
Sinor, Denis. “The Mongols in the West.” Journal of Asian History 33 no. 1 (1999): 1-44.
Slater, Eric. “Caffa: Early Western Expansion in the Late Medieval World, 1261-1475.” Review (Fernand Braudel Center) 29 no. 3 (2006): 271-283
Uzelac, Aleksandar. “Latin Empire of Constantinople, the Jochids and Crimea in the mid-Thirteenth Century.” Golden Horde Review no. 3 (2015): 62-
Zimonyi, István. “The Volga Bulghars between Wind and Water (1220-1236).” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 46 no. ⅔ (1992/3): 347-355.
Zimonyi, István. “The Mongol Campaigns against Eastern Europe.” in Medieval Nomads in Eastern Europe, ed. V. Spinei. (2014): 325-352.
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[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Today, we look at one of the most famous victories of the Mongols: the Kalka River, 1223. Alongside is a healthy dose of historiography, relating to the notion of a Mongol-Venetian alliance dating to this episode, and the death of Jebe Noyan. And you better watch that Mongol-Venetian segment, because somehow that took the longest part to research out of all this. Next time we look at the Volga Bulghar encounter. There are some primary sources I am still hoping to track down and look through, and I want to discuss historigraphy, and why that battle is so often forgotten, so I decided to do it separately from this. Part 1: Jebe and Subutai: Pursuit of the Shah and the Caucasus: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h17Ze4iVmK6cgpI Translations of the Chronicle of Novgorod: faculty.washington.edu/dwaugh/rus/texts/MF1914.pdf see pages 64-66. A little dated (it is from 1914, and in their introduction they refer to white people as 'better races extending civilization across Siberia' or something like that. Classy!) Patreon: www.patreon.com/jackmeister

[@rembrandttip4861]

Hey, I was wondering if someone had already gone ahead and translated the article by mister Timokhin (and Tishin?) you referenced in this video into English for you. Love the vids btw.

[@animatr0nic]

This theory on Jebe Noyan's death is very interesting, however, it doesn't really correspond to his character. You have to keep in mind that Jebe was not just a general and tactician, but also a warrior with years of combat experience and totally fearless one at that, undaunted against the worst odds. Remember how he did not cower before Chingis Khan, when he was captured. Jebe just doesn't sound like a guy who would hide in the grave like some coward, choosing that over the chance of fighting through the day.

[@waqqas800]

Just getting off of work, and I can't wait to watch this video 😁

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

I hope it lives up to the wait!

[@ElBandito]

4:10 Killing the envoys is a big no-no. They shoulda learned from the Khwarezmians. :D

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

The 13th century was not a good time for envoys, but if you were big on revenge I'm sure it was a lot of fun.

[@kaybevang536]

Volga Bulgars got whipped out in the 1240s and where overshadowed by Batu Khans victory along with Subutai

[@anlyasinoguz6373]

i had not heard of that mongol and venetian relation is fantasy and death of jebe noyan until you said that. researchers usually gloss over death of jebe noyan quickly. And so i would be astonished about that topic. i am very happy for i have learned it and i'm very very surprised. Unfortunately, i can't usually hear of new researches. thank you very much jack.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

That is always one of my intentions with these videos, to spread new arguments and challenge popular myths online. Due to difficultly accessing both the primary sources and current academic work, so lots of old or wrong information can spread quickly. For the Mongols and Venice, I had always had my doubts on that (as I said in the video, how could the Mongols give Venice a monopoly on trade when they wouldn't control that coastline for another 20 years?) but I saw it repeated so often it was hard to challenge it. I was also very lucky to be able to e-mail with the author of that article on Jebe, who generously provided me with some other useful materials. I hope to be able to work in those new arguments as often as I can in my future videos.

[@jiahaowang736]

Another fantastic video! And thank you for the insight into the end of Jebe’s life. I had always wondered what had happened to him. Fascinating video and research, thank you so much!

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Thank you! An interesting thing pointed out by Stephen Pow in his article is that it is popular to say that Jebe died of illness sometime on the return to Mongolia. There is no source describing this, yet still it is repeated often on the internet. But for a long time these are things that I just accepted as well, since they are repeated so much it makes you think 'well this has to be true!' But as always, actually investigating the sources provides a light through the fog of myth.

[@jiahaowang736]

That is something I have heard/read of often as well! That Jebe had died of illness after the battle of the Kalka river en route back to Mongolia. But if he had died of illness...such as the case of Muqali, then wouldn’t there be much more fanfare/description of his last days...? Which of course leads right in to your wonderful video! If he had died in battle, and not in victorious battle, then the historical sources of the era would have tried to hide that fact and draw as little attention to his passing as possible.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

The Mongolian, or at least sources from the Mongol Empire where information was taken from the Mongols, almost never discuss the deaths of commanders, or in any detail at least. The Mongols, which may surprise many people, did not like to talk about death it seems: Tolui's and possibly Jochi's names after their deaths became taboo and were referred to by titles instead, for Chinggis himself the Secret History of the Mongols says only that 'he ascended to heaven,' on his death, and Subutai's death is only recorded in the Yuan Shih, compiled during the early Ming Dynasty. So probably no matter his death, the Mongols would probbaly not be spreading much about it. Yet, as for our sources who worked for the Mongols (say, Juvaini and Rashid al-Din), Jebe's descendants continued to be of importance where they worked. While Juvaini was writing, the commander Baiju controlled western Mongol operations in Iran and the Middle East for a few years, and he was said to be related to Jebe. So Juvaini's silence then, is a matter of respect if Stephen Pow's theory is true: his relatives wouldn't want to hear about the embarrassing circumstances of his death. Of course, Pow's theory isn't ironclad, and if Jebe had died of a heart attack or brain aneurysm somewhere north of the Caspian Sea, the Mongols would not have had much to say on it. The difference with Mukhali, is that there was no way to hide information about his death, as it greatly impacted the entirety of northeastern Asia: the Tangut withdraw their support of the Mongols afterwards and enter into peace talks with the Jin Dynasty, which gained a few more years of life. Jebe's death, somewhere on the Eurasian steppe in territory the Mongols didn't know fighting enemies they had never heard of many hundreds of kilometres from Mongol controlled territory, would be much less apparent. The equivalent, we might think of, of a sword fight directly in front of the White House in Washington D.C., vs one in northern Canada. You'll hear about the former, while the latter almost certainly not unless you're local in the area.

[@podcastmachine8617]

Just want to say that I appreciate the videos you make. Great video.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Many thanks my friend, I am warmed by such comments. I hope to produce many more to your liking!

[@wahnfriedvonmannteufel1574]

Excellent again! Hope that your series will become a book when its finished. It will be the best thing on the subject since Ratchnevsky's Ghengis Khan book!

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Maybe one day, though Ratchnevsky's work will for a long time still be the 'gold standard' for biographies on Chinggis. I know I certainly got some mileage from it!

[@0RayJones]

"Mstislav the bold, living up to his name, was among the first to flee..." lol That's funny Jackmeister. Keep up the good work!

[@jiahaowang736]

Thank you for the clarification! And taking the time to do so! Those are very important points you bring up delving into the cultural mindset of Mongol historiography. Thank you again. Love the knife fight scenario in northern Canada bit. I live in Alberta so it’s fitting and funny as hell. Lol

[@Geopoliticus]

Excellent!

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Thank you!

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Originally, I was going to write that Kurgans could look like hills or Clancy Brown, but I figured this wasn't the place for Highlander references.

[@bogdanbogdanoff5164]

I don't get the reference. Great material though

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

@@bogdanbogdanoff5164 a movie from 1986, where Clancy Brown plays a villian called 'the Kurgan,' and is what will probably show up if you try to look on google images for 'kurgans.' I personally enjoy a good reference to old cinema, but my audience is pretty international and putting in those sorts of references won't work for lots of people, and probably is a good sign I've watched too many movies anyways.

[@col.billkilgore4341]

Great vídeo! 👍

[@reviewTomCat]

I want to add one more important thing in this event and battle in the army of the Rus, there was enmity between the princes, so at the decisive moment of the battle when the Mongols began to defeat part of the allied army During the battle, one of the princes calmly watched his neighbors die and did not interfere... But then he probably realized that the Mongols would do the same to him... And he rushed to help, but it was too late... and that's not all, long before the battle some princes refused to take part in the battle and did not bring their troops... Historians explain the reason for the refusal by the fact that Rus' in the early Middle Ages was mired in small internecine wars and therefore some smaller princes harbored a grudge and did not come,.. even when there was a common enemy,...

[@archmeasterjackimer6217]

Subetai actually lost a battle, I don't believe IT!!!!! get that video out quickly jackmeister

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

He also suffered some defeats against the Jurchen Jin in the final years of that war. In fact, a victory over Subutai is likely the final victory of the Jin Dynasty! I hope to discuss all in good time.

[@Communist1986]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory Samara Bend- if it ever happened- doesn't seem to be a disaster of a battle though. The Mongols managed to defeat some people on the way back to Mongolia according to Wikipedia, if that is true, their army was largely intact. So either the battle never happened or it was a minor loss.

[@neniAAinen]

Small note: at the time of Kalka there would be no real russian infantry outside of baggage train. While popular portrayal likes to imagine Rus armies as infantry-cored, fun fact is what for significant part of the medieval it didn't even exist, disappearing from chronicles from 11th century all the way down to the late 13th, and wasn't at the core for centuries still. Novgorod and Lithuanian and Galician principalities are outside of this equation, of course.

[@TheSunderingSea]

neniAAinen Well Cavalry was important, they were always a smaller component, expensive as they were. Most Russian principalities armies were made up of a core of semi-professional Militia from the cities and the Druzhina retinues of the prince and his nobles, who according to Igor’s campaigns against the Cumans had no problems fighting on foot over horseback.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

I can't recall the exact source where I read it from (so I don't put complete trust in it unless I find it again, and can find where they sourced their information) but one author explicitly put that there were Galician infantry at the Kalka battle, and several mentioned the army being made up in large of 'conscripted' (I don't know if that is the correct term for it, as I am not familiar with the Rus' method of mobilizing armies) peasants, or at least, militia. The general impression at least, is an army mostly of non-professionals in this case. That a major arm of the Rus' armies was professional cavalry is reasonable to me, as the few 'professional' units I have seen in reference to the Rus of this time are all cavalry: the druzhina, the Chernye-Klobuki, and Cuman-Qipchaq auxiliaries, with infantry I would imagine, raised as needed. Certainly in terms of fighting steppe peoples, cavalry has more often than not shown itself to be a more effective counter than infantry, and at the very least the Rus' would often employ those steppe peoples for military purposes. The timeline neiAAinen provides also supports that: the 11th-13th centuries is a time of increasing Rus' contact with steppe people and expansion into the steppe: that they would rely more and more on cavalry for that purpose is a logical conclusion, while infantry maintaining importance for sieges and garrison. But my knowledge of the Rus' outside of the Mongol interaction 'working,' rather than detailed enough to really offer much on that particular subject. For the Mongol invasion in the 1230s, which I know better than 12th century internal Rus' warfare or fighitng with the Polovsty, sieges were by far more common than field battles, and by default infantry and militia will be overrepresented in that context.

[@neniAAinen]

@@TheSunderingSea it isn't my opinion. Not a single mention of "боевые холопы" within this timeframe in primary(russian or lithuanian, concerning rus' matters) sources. For hundreds of years. Full mounted, full "professional"(if this term is even apliable) armies of Дружина. Very small armies - sure. In 15th century cavalry armies of Moscow would become very large(but very differently equipped, in almost iranian style), but still the core(поместная конница) will be fully mounted. Real infantry cored armies won't return all the way down to стрельцы, and that's later part of 16th century. Kalka is a good example, actually, for combined army managed to pursue mongols for more than a week. No infantry army would be able to do it.

[@neniAAinen]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory you can say what a poor, concripted, unarmored infantryman in a great steppe is a creature very simillar to a walking corpse(or slave, for those who are lucky). What enemy arrows won't finish, - thirst, hunger and wolves will. Ironically, btw, in this time period rus' cavalry actually fought in European fashion(with important detail of retaining their bows), with european sadle and so on. "Asian" style will come out of necessity in the first half of 15th century.

[@oslonorway547]

4:40 I did not understand this part, even though I went and read full details in the Chronicle you talked about. .... How do the Mongols bury their someone alive, then hope to return to find them still alive? Is it like he was buried in a house and stocked with food and a vent for air, and then the hill (kurgan) was camouflaged as it will be very conspicuous to a pursuing enemy? ..... What actually happened here? If you can't write to explain, perhaps you could do a short video explaining what this Mongol practice was about. Thanks!

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

So this is how I understood the passage: hopefully it helps, but if not, please let me know! Kurgans could be very large, and I imagine this one must have been large enough that a portion of the Mongol army retreated there, and tried to resist the Russian and Qipchaqs there, but realized they would be unable to do so for very long. So they came up with a plan: they thought if they just fled, they might not be all able to escape the Qipchaq, so thought: if we hide Jebe within the Kurgan, the rest of us can run and distract the Rus and Qipchaq. Then, someone could double back once the enemy had been drawn away, and rescue him. The historian who suggested that Gemya-beg must have been Jebe argued that such a line of thinking would only occur if the captain was someone of extreme importance. I imagine that this would have been very hurriedly done: the Mongols wanted to get out of there, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision, so Jebe (or Gemya beg) was buried very very lightly, thinking that he might only be there a few hours. Obviously, the Qipchaq saw through the ruse (perhaps familiar with such tactics themselves?) and found him without too much difficulty. Now, some Kurgans had stone covers, large stones covering the actual grave, and possibly one of these was moved to let Jebe hide underneath, or the earth above those stones was dug up and Jebe placed within, which the Qipchap noticed that after the Mongols fled, and found him. I can’t, at this time, find any good photos of Qipchaq Kurgans online which could demonstrate this well though. If I can find one, or at least a good description, I can put some images together to visualize it. Historian Stephen Pow, who made the argument that Gemya-Beg = Jebe, compared it to an example from Chinggis Khan’s youth, wherein he hid in a freezing river to avoid detection by the enemy. The intention is not to stay in such a spot for long, but long enough that the enemy moves on and misses you. What I want to emphasize is that, assuming this theory is true, that I don’t think much preparation was put into hiding Jebe/Gemya-Beg: it was suddenly decided upon when they realized it would be too hard to escape. So he was likely then not hidden very well, and likely without much, if anything, for supplies. Perhaps only a light cover of dirt was thrown on him, and that is how they noticed him.

[@oslonorway547]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory Thanks a lot for the explanation. For the level of intelligence the Mongols had, it still just sounds like something children would do in a game of hide n seek, cos in a life and death situation when being pursued, it is very easy to notice a patch of soil that had recently been unearthed to hide something in the area. My best guess is, they "buried" Gemya-Beg in the little fort they had built there, by leaving some civilians behind with him among them in disguise ( _'buried,'_ being an idiom for becoming unnoticeable and indistinguishable from common folk). Anyway, if you ever find another explanation in the future, please be sure to make a quick video on it. Thanks again for the reply.

[@jacquesmesrine3244]

So pretty much the Mongols dealt massive casualties on the enemy because they chased those retreating and shot them with so many arrows? I can see why this method would lead to many deaths.

[@matthewsmith1779]

Chinggis Khan did put assign Jebe as the top general with Subutai as the sub commander.

[@mrpopo5097]

Yet subutai was chinggis most successful and greatest leader

[@janne4518]

Amazing videos and please keep making them! But please, dont put so much text on the screen and talk over it. It makes me constantly pause the video so I can read everything.

[@podcastmachine8617]

I enjoy having the long texts. Pausing isn't too bad

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

This one was a bit worse than usual, as I had some long quotes in there which I don't tend as much of. Generally, I've usually thought of the text as 'extra' or 'clarifying.': everything should be understandable just from the audio alone (so you could listen to it without watching) while the text is adding extra information and evidence to support some of the claims. I don't expect most people to read the entire quotes I put up here, but I wanted them there as proof of what I was saying, in this case.

[@waqqas800]

Jebe died during the campaign we can all agree. I have never heard of a top mongol commander on sight with the mangudai ever. Its not as if they needed him to ascertain troop strength, composition, and disposition. They did have a corp of observation from the khorezm campaign. How he died is speculative at best.

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Certainly, the theory is not without issues, on top of what you noted: 1) the Gemya-Beg (or Hamabek, as it is sometimes written) episode, when it is mentioned, is often presented as an intentional holding action, a sacrifice by that contingent. Considering that the Rus' needed boats to cross the Dnieper, we might wonder how quick that passage over the river may have been. Not an issue if Gemya-Beg is going to sacrifice himself to slow down the Rus', but we might wonder what exactly Jebe was doing if he was personally present spying on them and allowed himself to be caught after watching the Rus' cross the river. (jebe, one of Chinggis Khan's top general, would not have been sacrificed in such a holding action!) Pow didn't offer a counterargument to that presentation of a holding action either. 2)the article relies on the argument of 'silence from the other sources indicates shame/controversy over Jebe's death.' The Mongolian sources generally do not ever provide information, or even mention, the deaths of commanders. For Chinggis Khan himself, the Secret History of the Mongols only says for his death "that he ascended to heaven." The Mongols did not like talking about death, and we know for Tolui and possibly Jochi as well that their names became taboo after their demise, using titles instead. For Subutai, we only know his date of birth and death (of old age!) from the Yuan Shih, compiled by the Ming Dynasty! So silence is not indicative of anything in particular. If Jebe had been killed by a heart attack, the Russians/Qipchaqs or by falling off his horse and being trampled by his own men, the Mongol imperial sources would be almost certainly quiet about each way. 3) had Jebe was killed shortly before Kalka, then we must ask why ibn al-Athir, a contemporary who mentions that campaign as well as Subutai's defeat by the Volga Bulghars and hated the Mongols would not repeat with glee that one of Chinggis Khan's top generals was killed so ignominiously. As I noted in the video, at least one historian, Dmitri Timokhin, has written an article to counter Pow's assertions, having found it unconvincing, but I was unable to translate it for this video. Since it is a very recent article, there has not been much written incorporating or arguing against it yet, but I did see that historian Timothy May found it convincing. Personally, I find Pow's evidence and argument strong, if not quite ironclad, but as a historian I will keep my mind open to new research and argument.

[@kinhsenpai3675]

It doesn't really make sense how a group of Nomadic Turkic Tribes could be defeated by a smaller army of mongols plus Both Turkic groups were part of the Khazar Khanate which takes play in the Caucasus

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

In regards to the Cuman-Qipchaqs and Alans vs the Mongols just after they left the Caucasus? For that one, it was a case of divide and conquer: the Mongols bribed the Cuman-Qipchaqs to abandon the Alans, and defeat them separately. Even though the Cumans had their most powerful Khans present, they were surprised to be betrayed by the Mongols. One thing though, is that probably most Cumans fled rather than be killed. When Koten Khan fled to Hungary, he had between 20-40,000 Cumans with him. So his losses after that first battle and then Kalka must not have been very high. (I don't think Koten reached Hungary thought until around 1239, so it may have been that he got more followers in the year in between).

[@kinhsenpai3675]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory oh Never mind

[@kinhsenpai3675]

It was suppose to be written Kipchak But i dont know why you wrote Qipchaqs instead No criticism tho

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

@@kinhsenpai3675 in lots of academic writing in english, Qipchaq is used, and I try to stick to it for consistency. But Qipchaq, Kipchak, Kypchak are all used. In some really older work even Kibchak or Kifchak are used, but you won't see them anymore.

[@r3dum877]

1:10 may be Kotyan or another word would be more correct for his name. But "Koten" in Kipchak root languages sounds like.. "ass". really.. no kidding

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

Really?! Interesting! Koten is probably the most common transliteration of his name in English, though Kotjan/Kotyen and variations of are not uncommon. Is it the spelling or my pronunciation which is sounding like 'ass?'

[@r3dum877]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory spelling and pronouncing Koten (köten).. Means this body part. But as I hear your pronouncing of his name, I hear it like Kotyan. I'm not native English speaking person. We stucked up to the most groundbreaking issue of history science 😂 kazakh viewers will be burst out laughing at the 1:10 in a transliteration from Cyrillic writing КОТЯН, his name would transliterated as Kotyan

[@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory]

I suppose that is the danger of working with languages which are not ones own! Hopefully then, it is some humour for them, but still clear who I am referring to! I also speak (not perfectly) German, and this reminds of an old joke: that when talking to the German police, it is important to know the difference between "nicht schiessen!" (don't shoot!) and "nicht scheissen!" (don't shit!). Not very obvious when you do not know the language, but very noticeable when you are familiar!

[@r3dum877]

@@TheJackmeisterMongolHistory 😂 it reminds me about place in Austria which in German wrote as a.. "f*cking" maps.app.goo.gl/TbFUZ a lot of such fun happening in a car industry.. I couldn't imagine how Spanish speaking people reacting when they see "Pajero" SUVs. One big car company named their electric vehicle as a "Etron", seems they will not be successful in France.. Cause who would buy a car with a badge "turd" 😂 and some selling troubles Hyundai will get in Portugal with a car named as KONA.. Even Jeremy Clarkson wasn't dare to translate it in his car show 😂