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Kheshig (Mongolian: Хишигтэн; also Khishig, Keshik, Khishigten; "mugay", "blessed") were the imperial guard and shock troops for Mongol Royal family in the Mongol Empire, particularly for rulers like Genghis Khan and his wife Börte. Their primary purpose was to act as bodyguards for the emperors and other important nobles. They were divided into two subgroups: the day guard (Torguud) and the night guard (Khevtuul). They were distinct from the regular army and would not go to battle with them, instead staying back on guard duty. Their supreme commander was called the Cherbi.
Because the Mongol Empire spanned most of Eurasia, its impacts on Mongol controlled-areas led to the creation of imperial guards like the Keshik. Kheshig was the term used for the palace guards of the Mughal emperors in India, and also for the matchlocks and sabres, which were changed weekly from Akbar the Great's armoury for the royal use. The in Persia who watched the King's person at night were also called Keshikchi.Henry Hoyle Howorth History of the Mongols: From the 9th to the 19th Century, p.399
At first, this consisted of seventy day guards (torguud or tunghaut) and eighty night guards (khevtuul).Stephen G. Haw Marco Polo's China, p.166 During the reign of Genghis, it seems to have been divided into four groups, commanded by the four generals Muqali, Chormaqan, Bo'orchu and Borokhula. Members of the kheshig outranked almost any other military officers in the Mongol Empire. As it was exceptionally well paid, the vocation was popular, and the numbers of Kheshig skyrocketed to the extent that they were only generally on duty for three days in succession. In light of this, the word kheshig refers favor or blessing in the Mongolian language. Membership in the kheshig was regarded as a supreme honor and was an alternative to the necessity of hostage-taking for noblemen.George Lane Daily life in the Mongol empire, p.97 the guard comprised 1000 men in the early days. By the middle of Genghis Khan's reign, they had expanded to a tumen (10,000 men) commanded by Nayagha, an uncle of Bayan of the Baarin.Richard A. Gabriel The great armies of antiquity, p.337
The Kheshig was originally consisted of Mongols. As the empire expanded rapidly, Genghis Khan's successors recruited Iran, Georgians, Armenians, Alans, Koreans, Italian and Russians units. The New Encyclopædia Britannica, p.111David M. Farquhar The Government of China Under Mongolian Rule: A Reference Guide p.272Otto Harrassowitz Archivum Eurasiae medii aeivi i.e.., p.36 Since the kheshig was personal appanage of a monarch, his successors did not inherit them. Instead, the kheshigs of deceased Emperors took care of their lords' families and assisted households. However, Güyük Khan took most of his father Ögedei's old kheshig.
For his bodyguards, Kublai Khan retained the traditional kheshig. Kublai created a new Imperial guard force, the suwei, of which half were Chinese and the other half ethnically-mixed. By the 1300s, even the kheshig was flooded with Han Chinese. The suwei were initially 6500 strong, but by the end of the dynasty, it had become 100,000 strong. They were divided into wei or guards, each recruited from a particular ethnicity. Most wei were Chinese, while a few were Mongols, Koreans, Tungusic peoples, Kipchaks and Europeans/Middle Easterners, including Alans and even one unit of Russians. The Keshig was converted into an administrative organisation instead.
The Kheshgi, an imperial dynasty of Pashtuns origin that played important roles throughout Mughal Era, are believed to be descendants of the Kheshig who originated in the surrounding areas of Zamand and Keshik in Iran.
The modern Mongolian Khishigten are also believed to be their descendants, who now inhabit Heshigten Banner within Inner Mongolia in China.
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