Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire and
became one of the most feared conquerors of all
time.
INTRODUCTION
Mongol leader Genghis Khan (1162-1227) rose
from humble beginnings to establish the largest
land empire in history. After uniting the nomadic
tribes of the Mongolian plateau, he conquered
huge chunks of central Asia and China. His
descendents expanded the empire even further,
advancing to such far-off places as Poland,
Vietnam, Syria and Korea. At their peak, the
Mongols controlled between 11 and 12 million
contiguous square miles, an area about the size
of Africa. Many people were slaughtered in the
course of Genghis Khan’s invasions, but he also
granted religious freedom to his subjects,
abolished torture, encouraged trade and created
the first international postal system. Genghis
Khan died in 1227 during a military campaign
against the Chinese kingdom of Xi Xia. His final
resting place remains unknown.
GENGHIS KHAN: THE EARLY YEARS
Temujin, later Genghis Khan, was born around
1162 near the border between modern Mongolia
and Siberia. Legend holds that he came into the
world clutching a blood clot in his right hand. His
mother had been kidnapped by his father and
forced into marriage. At that time, dozens of
nomadic tribes on the central Asian steppe were
constantly fighting and stealing from each other,
and life for Temujin was violent and
unpredictable. Before he turned 10, his father was
poisoned to death by an enemy clan. Temujin’s
own clan then deserted him, his mother and his
six siblings in order to avoid having to feed them.
Did You Know?
Mongol leader Genghis Khan never allowed
anyone to paint his portrait, sculpt his image or
engrave his likeness on a coin. The first images of
him appeared after his death.
Shortly thereafter, Temujin killed his older half-
brother and took over as head of the poverty-
stricken household. At one point, he was captured
and enslaved by the clan that had abandoned
him, but he was eventually able to escape. In
1178 Temujin married Borte, with whom he would
have four sons and an unknown number of
daughters. He launched a daring rescue of Borte
after she too was kidnapped, and he soon began
making alliances, building a reputation as a
warrior and attracting a growing number of
followers. Most of what we know about Genghis
Khan’s childhood comes from “The Secret History
of the Mongols,” the oldest known work of
Mongolian history and literature, which was
written soon after his death.
GENGHIS KHAN UNITES THE MONGOLS
Going against custom, Temujin put competent
allies rather than relatives in key positions and
executed the leaders of enemy tribes while
incorporating the remaining members into his
clan. He ordered that all looting wait until after a
complete victory had been won, and he organized
his warriors into units of 10 without regard to kin.
Though Temujin was an animist, his followers
included Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. By
1205 he had vanquished all rivals, including his
former best friend Jamuka. The following year, he
called a meeting of representatives from every
part of the territory and established a nation
similar in size to modern Mongolia. He was also
proclaimed Chinggis Khan, which roughly
translates to “Universal Ruler,” a name that
became known in the West as Genghis Khan.
GENGHIS KHAN ESTABLISHES AN EMPIRE
Having united the steppe tribes, Genghis Khan
ruled over some 1 million people. In order to
suppress the traditional causes of tribal warfare,
he abolished inherited aristocratic titles. He also
forbade the selling and kidnapping of women,
banned the enslavement of any Mongol and made
livestock theft punishable by death. Moreover,
Genghis Khan ordered the adoption of a writing
system, conducted a regular census, granted
diplomatic immunity to foreign ambassadors and
allowed freedom of religion well before that idea
caught on elsewhere.
Genghis Khan’s first campaign outside of
Mongolia took place against the Xi Xia kingdom
of northwestern China. After a series of raids, the
Mongols launched a major initiative in 1209 that
brought them to the doorstep of Yinchuan, the Xi
Xia capital. Unlike other armies, the Mongols
traveled with no supply train other than a large
reserve of horses. The army consisted almost
entirely of cavalrymen, who were expert riders
and deadly with a bow and arrows. At Yinchuan,
the Mongols deployed a false withdrawal—one of
their signature tactics—and then initiated a siege.
Though their attempt to flood the city failed, the
Xi Xia ruler submitted and presented tribute.
The Mongols next attacked the Jin Dynasty of
northern China, whose ruler had made the mistake
of demanding Genghis Khan’s submission. From
1211 to 1214, the outnumbered Mongols ravaged
the countryside and sent refugees pouring into the
cities. Food shortages became a problem, and the
Jin army ended up killing tens of thousands of its
own peasants. In 1214 the Mongols besieged the
capital of Zhongdu (now Beijing), and the Jin ruler
agreed to hand over large amounts of silk, silver,
gold and horses. When the Jin ruler subsequently
moved his court south to the city of Kaifeng,
Genghis Khan took this as a breach of their
agreement and, with the help of Jin deserters,
sacked Zhongdu to the ground.
In 1219 Genghis Khan went to war against the
Khwarezm Empire in present-day Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and Iran. The sultan
there had agreed to a trade treaty, but when the
first caravan arrived its goods were stolen and its
merchants were killed. The sultan then murdered
some of Genghis Khan’s ambassadors. Despite
once again being outnumbered, the Mongol horde
swept through one Khwarezm city after another,
including Bukhara, Samarkand and Urgench.
Skilled workers such as carpenters and jewelers
were usually saved, while aristocrats and resisting
soldiers were killed. Unskilled workers, meanwhile,
were often used as human shields during the next
assault. No one knows with any certainty how
many people died during Genghis Khan’s wars, in
part because the Mongols propagated their
vicious image as a way of spreading terror.
GENGHIS KHAN’S DEATH AND THE
CONTINUATION OF THE EMPIRE
When Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia in 1225,
he controlled a huge swath of territory from the
Sea of Japan to the Caspian Sea. Nevertheless,
he didn’t rest for long before turning his attention
back to the Xi Xia kingdom, which had refused to
contribute troops to the Khwarezm invasion. In
early 1227 a horse threw Genghis Khan to the
ground, causing internal injuries. He pressed on
with the campaign, but his health never
recovered. He died on August 18, 1227, just
before the Xi Xia were crushed.
Genghis Khan conquered more than twice as
much land as any other person in history, bringing
Eastern and Western civilizations into contact in
the process. His descendants, including Ogodei
and Khubilai, were also prolific conquerors, taking
control of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the
rest of China, among other places. The Mongols
even invaded Japan and Java before their empire
broke apart in the 14th century. Genghis Khan’s
last ruling descendant was finally deposed in
1920.