Genghis Khan |
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| Early Life |
Genghis Khan, born Temujin, was the son the Chief Yesukhei of a minor Borijin clan. Genghis was a nomadic Mogul which meant he lived by hunting rather than by herding. At the age of around 9 Genghis was sent to another tribe to live with his intended future wife’s family. However, his father was killed on the return journey by the Tata tribe; Genghis returned home to his mother only for the family to be cast out of the tribe and forced to survive by scavenging, the possible cause of the ruthlessness and determination he would show later in life. At the age of 16 he returned to his wife-to-be and married. Shortly after marriage his wife was kidnapped (revenge for the kidnap of Genghis’s mother shortly before her marriage to Yesukhei), Genghis then set out on his first military operation to take back his wife, which he succeeded in doing. People saw Genghis's success as proof of his abilities and started to follow him. As Genghis achieved more victories, the number who followed him rapidly increased. |
| Conquering |
| In 1206, Genghis Khan was pronounced ruler of all Mongolia. Up till this point he had slowly defeated and merged into his own all the different clans around the country. This was a new approach, previously when a tribe attacked they would either loot and leave the people or kill them. However, through Genghis’s method, his followers and army increased in size, as well as his territory. In order to ensure loyalty, Genghis would break down tribes and split the people between new groups, from which groups you could not move to another. When he conquered the Tata tribe, to avenge his father’s death, he ordered the killing of all boys under three feet tall. Once Mongolia was secured, Genghis turned towards Siberia and China and quickly conquered the area today known as Xinjiang. He then moved south, where he managed to conquer northern China and the Jurched Dynasty. This area consisten of 50 million citizens and Genghis conquered it with an army of barely 100,000. This achievement shows just how powerful a military force Genghis had built. Meanwhile Genghis was also expanding West. At first Genghis was satisfied to just establish trade relations with the Khawizm Dynasty (controlling from Afghanistan to the Black Sea), but when the diplomatic envoy was attacked and killed and his demands for the Governor responsible to be handed over were refused, he attacked, in 1221. He personally took charge of the 200,000 strong army, taking cities at a unstoppable rate killing all in his path. He soon took the Dynasty adding parts of Turkey and Russia to his, now enormous, empire. In his last military actions Genghis turned back to China. He put down the rebellious Tanguts of the Xi Xia part of China and killed the entire Tangut royal line, thus wiping out their lineage. |
| Death and Legacy |
In 1222 at 61 Genghis arranged his sons' succession. He decided to divide his kingdom between all his sons, with the third, Ogodei as the supreme head. Unfortunately, his oldest died before Genghis and so his part was given to Genghis’s grandson. One son held China, another central Asia and the other had a small part near Mongolia itself. His grandson took control of Russia. Although expansion continued as far as Vienna under Ogodei, upon his death it halted. In 25 years of military action Genghis Khan created an empire larger and with more inhabitats that the Roman Empire managed in 400 years, no empire would be larger until the height of the British Empire in the 1800s. Genghis and his Mogol empire is also deemed responsible for 30-40 million deaths. |
| Sources and Further Reading |
| In Our Time, BBC Radio 4, Melvyn Bragg: Genghis Khan: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00773mr |
| Asian History: asianhistory.about.com/od/profilesofasianleaders/p/GenghisKhanProf.htm |
| Biography: www.biography.com/articles/Genghis-Khan-9308634?part=0 |
| Image: goo.gl/AUYt4 |
| Go to Top of Page | Date Reviewed: 29/08/2011 |