(; ;
classic Mongolian:
(
see below for alternative spellings); ca.
1162[1]–
August 18,
1227) was a
Mongol ''
Khan'' (ruler) and posthumously ''
Khagan'' (emperor
[2]) of the
Mongol Empire, an empire he founded in
1206. Born with the name 'Temüjin' () into the
Borjigin clan, he united the Central Asian tribes and founded the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), the
largest contiguous and second largest overall empire in world history.
Genghis Khan is a
legendary and highly regarded figure in
Mongolia, where he is seen as the father of the
Mongol nation. On the other hand, he and his successors are responsible for wars of military aggression, conquest, ruthless destruction, and the death of tens of millions of people. As a result, in many areas of southwestern
Asia, the
Middle East, and
Europe, he is seen as a ruthless and bloodthirsty conqueror.
[3]
Before becoming a ''
Khan'', Temüjin united many of the
nomadic tribes of
north-east Asia and
Central Asia under a new
social identity as the "Mongols." Starting with the invasion of
western Xia and
Jin Dynasty in
northern China and consolidating through numerous conquests including the
Khwarezmid Empire in
Persia, Mongol rule across the
Eurasian landmass radically altered the
demography and
geopolitics of these areas. The Mongol Empire ended up ruling, or at least briefly conquering and/or invading large parts of East Asia, Central Asia, Northern Asia, Middle East and Eastern Europe and attacking places as far as
Central Europe and
Southeast Asia.
Genghis Khan died in 1227 by uncertain reasons. His sons and grandsons controlled the empire after his death and it grew and endured for over 150 years.
Early life
Birth
There is very little factual information about the earlier life of Temüjin and the few sources providing insight into this period do not know nor agree on some basic facts.
Temüjin was born around
1162 in a Mongol tribe near
Khentii Province near the
Burhan Haldun mountain range, not far from the current capital of
Mongolia,
Ulaanbaatar, near the
Onon and the
Kherlen Rivers.
The Secret History of the Mongols states that Temüjin was born with a blood clot in his fist, an indication in the traditional Mongolian folklore that he was destined to become a great leader. Temüjin was the eldest son of
Yesükhei, a minor tribal chief of the
Kiyad and a
nöker (vassal) of
Ong Khan of the
Kerait tribe,
[4] and was, again according to the Secret History, named after a Tartar chieftain that his father had just captured. The name also suggests that they may have descended from a family of blacksmiths (see section
Name and title below).
Yesükhei's clan was called
Borjigin (Боржигин), and Temüjin's mother,
Hoelun, was from the
Olkhunut tribe of the
Mongol confederation. Like other tribes, they were
nomads.
Because his father was a chieftain, as were his predecessors, Temüjin was of a royal or noble background. This relative higher social standing made it easier for him to ask help from others.
Family and lineage
Main articles: Family tree of Genghis Khan
Temüjin was related on his father's side to
Qabul Khan,
Ambaghai and
Qutula Khan who had headed the
Mongol confederation under the
Jin Dynasty until the Jin switched support to the
Tatars in 1161 and destroyed Qabul Khan.
[5] Genghis' father,
Yesükhei (leader of the
Borjigin and nephew to Ambaghai and Qutula Khan) emerged as the head of the ruling clan of the Mongols, but this position was contested by the rival
Tayichi’ud clan, who descended directly from
Ambaghai. When the Tatars, in turn, grew too powerful after 1161, the Jin moved their support from the Tatars to the Kerait.
Childhood and personal life
Temüjin had three brothers, Khasar (or
Qasar), Khajiun, and
Temüge, and one sister, Temülen (or Temülin), as well as two half-brothers,
Bekhter and
Belgutei.
Temüjin's first wife
Börte had four sons,
Jochi (1185–1226),
Chagatai (?—1241),
Ögedei (?—1241), and
Tolui (1190–1232). Genghis Khan also had many other children with his other wives, but they were excluded from the succession, and records on what daughters he may have had are nonexistent. The paternity of Genghis Khan's eldest son,
Jochi, remains unclear to this day and was a serious point of contention in his lifetime. Soon after Börte's marriage to Temüjin, she was kidnapped by the
Merkits and reportedly given to one of their men as a wife. Though she was rescued, she gave birth to Jochi nine months later, clouding the issue of his parentage.
According to traditional historical accounts, this uncertainty over Jochi's true father was voiced most strongly by Chagatai. In
The Secret History of the Mongols, just before the invasion of the
Khwarezmid Empire by Genghis Khan, Chagatai declares before his father and brothers that he would never accept Jochi as Genghis Khan's successor. In response to this tension
[6] and possibly for other reasons, it was Ögedei who was appointed as successor and who ruled as Khagan after Genghis Khan's death. Jochi died in 1226, during his father's lifetime.
[7]
According to our sources, Temüjin's early life was difficult. When he was only 9, as part of the marriage arrangement, his father Yesükhei delivered Temüjin to the family of his future wife
Börte, members of the
Onggirat tribe. He was to live there in service to Deisechen, the head of the household, until he reached the
marriageable age of 12. He grew up in a tough political climate because of habitual tribal warfare, thievery, raids and revenges between the confederations and also from foreign forces and influences. None of the confederations were under a single political control, except the Chinese dynasties to the south.
While heading home, his father was poisoned when having a meal with the neighbouring
Tatars, who are portrayed as having long been enemies of the Mongols. Thus, Temüjin had to return home and make the claim to the position of clan's chief. But his father's clan refused to be led by a boy and soon abandoned him and his family including his mother
Hoelun leaving them without protection.
For the next several years, Temüjin and his family lived in poverty, surviving primarily on wild fruits,
marmots and other small game hunted by Temüjin and his brothers. In one of these hunting incidents, 13 year old Temüjin murdered his half-brother
Bekhter over a dispute over hunting spoils.
[8] This incident cemented his position as head of the household. His mother, Hoelun, taught him many lessons about survival in the harsh landscape and even grimmer political climate of Mongolia, especially the need for
alliances with others, a lesson which would shape his understanding in his later years.
In another incident in 1182 he was captured in a raid by his father's former allies, the
Ta'yichiut, and was held captive. The Ta'yichiut enslaved Temüjin (reportedly with a
cangue), but he escaped with help from a sympathetic watcher, the father of
Chilaun (who would later became general of Genghis Khan), by escaping from the
ger that he was held and by hiding in crevice in a river. Around this time
Jelme and
Bo'orchu, two of Genghis Khan's future generals joined him. Along with his brothers, they provided the manpower needed for early expansion and diplomacy. Also around this time the name of Temüjin became relatively widespread for his bravery and outgoing attitude especially after his escape from the Ta'yichiut.
As previously arranged by his father, Temüjin married
Börte of the
Konkirat tribe around when he was 16 in order to forge tribal alliances with her tribe. However, Borte was later kidnapped in one of the raids by the
Merkit tribe, and Temüjin rescued her with the help of his friend and future rival,
Jamuqa, and his protector,
Ong Khan of the
Kerait tribe. Borte would be his only empress, although he followed tradition by taking several
morganatic wives. Temüjin became
blood brother (''anda'') with
Jamuqa, and thus the two made a vow to be faithful to each other for eternity.
Uniting the confederations
The
Central Asian plateau (north of
China) around the time of Temüjin was divided into several
tribes or
confederations, among them
Naimans,
Merkits,
Uyghurs,
Tatars,
Mongols,
Keraits that were all prominent in their own right and often unfriendly toward each other as evidenced by random raids, revenges, and plundering.
Temüjin began his slow ascent to power by offering himself as an ally (or, according to others sources, a
vassal) to his father's ''anda'' (sworn brother or
blood brother)
Toghrul, who was Khan of the
Kerait, and is better known by the Chinese title Ong Khan (or "
Wang Khan"), which the
Jin Empire granted him in 1197. This relationship was first reinforced when Börte was captured by the Merkits; it was to Toghrul that Temüjin turned for support. In response, Toghrul offered his vassal 20,000 of his Kerait warriors and suggested that he also involve his childhood friend Jamuqa, who had himself become Khan (ruler) of his own tribe, the Jadaran.
[9] Although the campaign was successful and led to the recapture of Börte and utter defeat of the Merkits, it also paved the way for the split between the childhood friends, Temüjin and Jamuqa.
The main opponents of the
Mongol confederation (traditionally the "Mongols")
circa 1200 were the
Naimans to the west, the Merkits to the north,
Tanguts to the south, the
Jin and
Tatars to the east. By 1190, Temüjin, his followers and advisors united the smaller Mongol confederation only. As an incentive for absolute obedience and following his rule of law, the
Yassa code, Temüjin promised civilians and soldiers a wealth from future possible war spoils.
Toghrul's (Wang Khan) son
Senggum was jealous of Temüjin's growing power and his affinity with his father and because of that he allegedly planned to assassinate Temüjin. Toghrul, though allegedly saved on multiple occasions by Temüjin, gave in to his son
[10] and adopted an obstinate attitude towards collaboration with Temüjin thereafter. Temüjin learned of Senggum's intentions and eventually defeated him and his loyalists. One of the later ruptures between Toghrul and Temüjin was Toghrul's refusal to give his daughter in marriage to
Jochi, the eldest son of Temüjin, which signified disrespect in the Mongolian culture. This act probably led to the split between both factions and a prelude to war. Toghrul allied himself with
Jamuqa, Temüjin's
blood brother, or ''anda'' that already opposed Temüjin's forces; however the internal dispute between Toghrul and Jamuqa, plus the desertion of a number of their allies to Temüjin, led to Toghrul's defeat. In the meantime Jamuqa managed to escape. This defeat was a catalyst for the fall and eventual dissemination of the
Kerait tribe.
Genghis Khan
The next direct threat to Temüjin was the
Naimans (Naiman Mongols), with whom Jamuqa and his followers took
refuge. The Naimans did not surrender, although enough sectors again voluntarily sided with Temüjin. In 1201, a
kurultai elected
Jamuqa as
Gur Khan, universal ruler, a title used by the rulers of the
Kara-Khitan Khanate. Jamuqa's assumption of this title was the final breach with Temüjin, and Jamuqa formed a coalition of tribes to oppose him. Before the conflict, however, several generals abandoned Jamuqa, including
Subutai, Jelme's well-known younger brother. After several battles, Jamuqa was finally turned over to Temüjin by his own men in 1206.
According to the ''Secret History'', Temüjin generously offered his friendship again to Jamuqa and asked him to turn to his side. Jamuqa refused and asked for a noble death as in custom, that is, without spilling blood, which was granted by breaking his back. The rest of the
Merkit clan that sided with the
Naimans were defeated by
Subutai, a member of Temüjin's personal guard who would later become one of the successful
commanders of Genghis Khan. The Naimans' defeat left Genghis Khan as the sole ruler of the Mongol plains, which means all the prominent confederations fell and/or united under Temüjin's Mongol confederation.
As a result by
1206 Temüjin had managed to unite the
Merkits,
Naimans,
Mongols,
Uyghurs,
Keraits,
Tatars and disparate other smaller tribes under his rule. It was a monumental feat for the "Mongols" (as they became known collectively), who had a long history of internecine dispute, economic hardship, and pressure from Chinese dynasties and empires. At a ''
Kurultai'', a council of Mongol chiefs, he was acknowledged as "
Khan" of the consolidated tribes and took the new title ''Genghis
Khan.'' The title
Khagan was not conferred on Genghis until after his death, when his son and successor, Ögedei took the title for himself and extended it posthumously to his father (as he was also to be posthumously declared the founder of the Yuan Dynasty). This unification of all confederations by Genghis Khan established peace between previously warring tribes and a single political and military force under Genghis Khan.
Expansion and military campaigns
Conquest of the Western Xia Dynasty
Main articles: Mongol Nation
During the
1206 political rise for Genghis Khan, the
Mongol nation or
Mongol Empire created by Genghis Khan and his allies was neighboured to the west by the
Tanguts'
Western Xia Dynasty. To its east and south was the
Jin Dynasty, founded by the
Manchurian
Jurchens, who ruled northern
China as well as being the traditional overlord of the Mongolian tribes for centuries.
Temüjin organised his people, army, and his state to prepare for war with Western Xia, or Xi Xia, which was closer to the Mongolian lands. He correctly believed that the Jin Dynasty had a young ruler who would not come to the aid of Xi Xia: when the Tanguts requested help from the Jin Dynasty, they were refused.
[11] On the other hand, the Jurchens had also probably grown uncomfortable with the newly unified Mongols, whom they traditionally fought against and had uncomfortable relationships with. It may be that some trade routes ran through Mongol territory, and they might have feared the Mongols eventually would restrict the supply of goods coming from the
Silk Road. Genghis Khan and his supporters were also eager to take
revenge against the Jurchen for their long subjugation of the Mongols by stirring up conflicts between Mongol tribes and also possibly for material gains and plunder. For instance, the Jurchen had executed some Mongol Khans in the past. Genghis Khan also probably wanted to keep his troop agile and with purpose and, in the meantime, keep himself in power. Genghis Khan led his army against Western Xia and conquered it, despite initial difficulties in capturing its well-defended cities. By 1209, Western Xia acknowledged Genghis as overlord.
Defeat of the Jin Dynasty
Main articles: Jin Dynasty, 1115–1234,
Yuan Dynasty
After the conquest of Western Xia, in 1211 Genghis Khan planned again to conquer the
Jin Dynasty, Western Xia's southern neighbour. The commander of the Jin Dynasty army made a tactical mistake in not attacking the Mongols at the first opportunity. Instead, the Jin commander sent a messenger, Ming-Tan, to the Mongol side, who promptly defected and told the Mongols that the Jin army was waiting on the other side of the pass. At this engagement fought at
Badger Pass the Mongols massacred thousands of Jin troops. In 1215 Genghis besieged, captured, and sacked the Jin capital of Yanjing (later known as
Beijing). This forced the Jin Emperor
Xuanzong to move his
capital south to
Kaifeng. These two main conquests were the subjugation of the Western Xia and Jin dynasties.
Conquest of the Kara-Khitan Khanate
Meanwhile,
Kuchlug, the deposed
Khaj of the
Naiman confederation that Temüjin defeated or united, had fled west and usurped the
khanate of
Kara-Khitan (also known as 'Kara Kitay'). Genghis Khan decided to conquer the Kara-Khitan khanate and defeat
Kuchlug possibly to take him out of power. By this time the Mongol army was exhausted from ten years of continuous campaigning in China against the
Western Xia and
Jin Dynasty. Therefore, Genghis sent only two
tumen (20,000 soldiers) against Kuchlug, under his younger general,
Jebe, known as "The Arrow".
The strategy of the Mongols was to incite internal revolt in Kuchlug's supporters, leaving the Khara-Khitan khanate more vulnurable to Mongol conquest. As a result Kuchlug's army was defeated in west of
Kashgar; however Kuchlug fled again, but was hunted down by Jebe's army and executed. By 1218 as a result of defeat of Kara-Khitan khanate, the Mongol Empire and its control extended as far west as
Lake Balkhash, which bordered the
Khwarezmia (Khwarezmid Empire), a
Muslim state that reached the
Caspian Sea to the west and
Persian Gulf and the
Arabian Sea to the south. These Genghis Khan's invasions probably got the attention of
Khwarezmid Empire among others.
Invasion of Khwarezmid Empire
Main articles: Mongol invasion of Central Asia
When Kara-Khitan khanate was defeated by Genghis Khan, it was bordered with the Khwarezmid Empire that was governed by
Shah Ala ad-Din Muhammad. Genghis Khan saw the potential advantage in Khwarezmia (as it is also referenced) as a commercial trading partner, and sent a 500-man
caravan to establish trade ties with the empire. However, Inalchuq, the governor of the Khwarezmian city of
Otrar, attacked the caravan that came from Mongolia, claiming that the caravan was a conspiracy against Khwarezmia. He probably feared the Mongols after their victory over Western Xia, Jin Dynasty and the latest Kara-Kitan khanate. The situation became more complicated as the governor later refused to make repayments for the looting of the caravan and murder of its members. Genghis Khan then sent again a second group of ambassadors to meet the Shah himself. The Shah had all the men shaved and all but one
beheaded. This was seen as an affront and insult to Genghis Khan. Outraged Genghis Khan planned one of his largest campaigns by organising together around 200,000 soldiers (20
tumens), his most capable generals and some of his sons to attack the
Khwarezmian Dynasty for their actions.
The
Mongol army under command of Genghis Khan, generals and son(s) crossed the
Tien Shan mountains by entering the area controlled by the
Khwarezmid Empire. After compiling intelligence from many sources Genghis Khan carefully prepared his army, which was divided into three groups. His son
Jochi led the first division into the northeast of Khwarezmia. The second division under
Jebe marched secretly to the southeast part of Khwarzemia to form, with the first division, a
pincer attack on
Samarkand. The third division under Genghis Khan and
Tolui marched to the northwest and attacked Khwarzemia from that direction.
The Shah's army was split by diverse internal disquisitions and by the Shah's decision to divide his army into small groups concentrated in various cities — this fragmentation was decisive in Khwarezmia's defeats. Tired and exhausted from the journey, the Mongols still won their first victory against the Khwarezmian army. The Mongol army quickly seized the town of
Otrar, relying on superior strategy and tactics. Once he had conquered the city, Genghis Khan executed many of the inhabitants and executed Inalchuq by pouring molten
silver into his ears and eyes, as retribution for his actions. Also the Shah's fearful attitude towards the Mongol army also did not help his army. Near the end of the battle the Shah fled rather than surrender. Genghis Khan charged
Subutai and Jebe with hunting him down, giving them two years and 20,000 men. The Shah died under mysterious circumstances on a small island within his empire.
According to stories, Genghis Khan diverted a river of Ala ad-Din Muhammad II of Khwarezm's birthplace, erasing it from the map. The Mongols' conquest was relatively brutal like their other battles by killing of both civilians and soldiers, plundering, pillaging, raping and possibly
arson. However after the capital
Samarkand fell, the capital was moved to
Bukhara by the remaining men and Genghis Khan was dedicated to completely destroy the remnants of the Khwarezmid Empire by sending his army and two generals to destroy them. The
heir Shah
Jalal Al-Din and a brilliant strategist, who was supported enough by the town, battled the Mongols several times with his father's armies. However, internal disputes once again split his forces apart, and Khwarezmid Empire was forced again to flee Bukhara after a devastating defeat. This essentially was the complete defeat of the Khwarezmid Empire at the hands of Genghis Khan.
In the meantime, Genghis Khan selected his third son
Ögedei as his successor before his army was set out, and specified that subsequent Khans should be his direct descendants. Genghis Khan also left
Muqali, one of his most trusted generals, as the supreme commander of all Mongol forces in Jin China while he was out battling the Khwarezmid Empire to the west.
Attacks on Georgia and Volga Bulgaria
Georgia at the eve of reconnaissance by Subutai and Jebe generals
,
Mongol invasion of Volga Bulgaria
After the complete defeat of the Khwarezmid Empire in 1220, the Mongol army was split into two component forces (armies). Genghis Khan led a division on a raid through
Afghanistan,
Pakistan and northern
India, while another contingent marched through the
Caucasus and into
Russia. As Genghis Khan gathered his forces in
Persia and
Armenia to return to the Mongolian steppes, the second force of 20,000 troops (two tumen), commanded by generals
Jebe and
Subutai, pushed deep into
Armenia and
Azerbaijan. The Mongols destroyed
Georgia, sacked the
Genoese trade-fortress of
Caffa in
Crimea, and overwintered near the
Black Sea. Heading home, Subutai's forces attacked the
Kipchaks and were intercepted by the allied but poorly coordinated troops of
Mstislav the Bold of
Halych and
Mstislav III of Kiev, along with about 80,000
Kievan Rus' to stop their actions.
Subutai sent emissaries to the
Slavic princes calling for a separate peace, but the emissaries were executed. At the
Battle of Kalka River in 1223, Subutai's forces defeated the larger Kievan force, while losing the
battle of Samara Bend against the neighboring Volga Bulgars.
[12].
The Mongols learned from captives of the abundant green pastures beyond the Bulgar territory, allowing for the planning for conquest of
Hungary and Europe. The Russian princes then sued for peace.
Subutai agreed but was in no mood to pardon the princes. As was customary in Mongol society for nobility, the Russian princes were given a bloodless death. Subutai had a large wooden platform constructed on which he ate his meals along with his other generals. Six Russian princes, including
Mstislav of Kiev, were put under this platform and crushed to death.
Genghis Khan recalled Subutai back to Mongolia soon afterwards, and Jebe died on the road back to Samarkand. Subutai and Jebe's famous cavalry expedition, in which they encircled the entire Caspian Sea defeating every single army in their path remains unparalleled to this day, and word of the Mongol triumphs began to trickle to other nations, particularly Europe.
These two campaigns are generally regarded as reconnaissance campaigns that tried to get the feel of the political and cultural elements of the regions. In 1225 both divisions returned to Mongolia. These invasions ultimately added
Transoxiana and
Persia to an already formidable empire while destroying any resistance along the way.
Under Genghis Khan's grandson Batu and
Golden Horde, the Mongols returned to definitively conquer Volga Bulgaria and the Kievan Rus in 1237-1240.
Second war with the Western Xia and Jin Dynasty coalition
Main articles: Jin Dynasty, 1115–1234,
Yuan Dynasty
While most Mongol forces under Genghis Khan and his generals were out on campaign against the Khwarezmid Empire, the previously defeated or surrendered Western Xia and Jin Dynasty formed a coalition to resist the Mongols. Also the
vassal emperor of the Tanguts (
Western Xia) had refused to take part in the war against the
Khwarezmid Empire. Because of this Genghis Khan again prepared for war against both Western Xia and Jin Dynasty. In 1226, Genghis Khan began to attack the
Tanguts. In February, he took
Heisui,
Ganzhou and
Suzhou, and in the autumn he took
Xiliang-fu. One of the Tangut generals challenged the Mongols to a battle near
Helanshan (''Helan'' means "great horse" in the northern dialect, ''shan'' means "mountain"). The Tangut armies were soundly defeated. In November, Genghis laid
siege to the Tangut city
Lingzhou, and crossed the
Yellow River and defeated the Tangut relief army. Genghis Khan reportedly saw a line of five stars arranged in the sky, and interpreted it as an omen of his victory. In 1227, Genghis Khan attacked and destroyed the Tangut capital of Ning Hia, and continued to advance, seizing
Lintiao-fu in February,
Xining province and
Xindu-fu in March, and
Deshun province in April. At Deshun, the Tangut general Ma Jianlong put up a fierce resistance for several days and personally led charges against the invaders outside the city gate. Ma Jianlong later died from wounds received from arrows in battle. Genghis Khan, after conquering Deshun, went to
Liupanshan (
Qingshui County,
Gansu Province) to escape the severe summer. The new Tangut emperor quickly surrendered to the Mongols. The Tanguts officially surrendered in 1227, after having ruled for 187 years, beginning in 1038. Not happy with their betrayal and resistance, Genghis Khan ordered the imperial family to be executed. By this time Genghis Khan was not a young man anymore and his advancing age had led him to make preparations for his death.
In general the
Mongol Empire campaigned six times against the
Tanguts in 1202, 1207, 1209–1210, 1211–1213, 1214–1219 and 1225–1226 and this was one of them.
Death and burial
Main articles: Tomb of Genghis Khan
Mongol Empire in 1227 at Genghis Khan's death
On
August 18,
1227, during his last campaign against the coalition of Jin Dynasty and
Western Xia, Genghis Khan died. The reason for his death is uncertain. The speculations for his death are that he fell off his horse, due to old age and physical fatigue; some contemporary observers cited prophecies from his opponents. The
Galician-Volhynian Chronicle alleges he was killed by the
Tanguts. There are persistent
folktales that a Tangut princess, to avenge her people and prevent her
rape,
castrated him with a knife hidden inside her and that he never recovered.
Genghis Khan asked to be buried without markings. After he died, his body was returned to
Mongolia and presumably to his birthplace in
Khentii Aimag, where many assume he is buried somewhere close to the
Onon River and the
Burkhan Khaldun mountain (part of the Kentii mountain range). According to legend, the funeral escort killed anyone and anything across their path to conceal where he was finally buried. The
Genghis Khan Mausoleum is his memorial, but not his burial site.
On
October 6,
2004, "Genghis Khan's palace" was allegedly discovered and that may make it possible to find his burial site. Folklore says that a river was diverted over his grave to make it impossible to find (the same manner of burial of Sumerian King
Gilgamesh of Uruk.) Other tales state that his grave was stampeded over by many horses, over which trees were then planted, and the permafrost also did its bit in hiding the burial site. The burial site remains undiscovered.
Genghis Khan left behind an army of more than 129,000 men; 28,000 were given to his various brothers and his sons. Tolui, his youngest son, inherited more than 100,000 men. This force contained the bulk of the elite Mongolian
cavalry. By tradition, the youngest son inherits his father's property.
Jochi,
Chagatai,
Ögedei Khan, and Kulan's son Gelejian received armies of 4,000 men each. His mother and the descendants of his three brothers received 3,000 men each.
Mongol Empire
Main articles: Mongol Empire
Politics and economics
Main articles: Organization of state under Genghis Khan
The
Mongol Empire was governed by
civilian and
military code, called the
Yassa code created by Genghis Khan.
Among nomads, the Mongol Empire did not emphasize the importance of
ethnicity and
race in the administrative realm, instead adopting an approach grounded in
meritocracy. The exception was the role of Genghis Khan and his family. The Mongol Empire was one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse empires in history, as befitted its size. Many of the empire's nomadic inhabitants considered themselves ''Mongols'' in military and civilian life, including
Turks,
Mongols, and others and included many diverse
Khans of various ethnicities as part of the Mongol Empire such as
Muhammad Khan.
There were
tax exemptions for religious figures and so to some extent teachers and
doctors. The Mongol Empire practiced
religious tolerance to a large degree because it was generally indifferent to belief. The exception was when religious groups challenged the state. For example
Ismaili Muslims that resisted the Mongols were exterminated.
It is claimed that the Mongol Empire linked together the previously fractured
Silk Road states under one system and became somewhat open to trade and cultural exchange. However, the Mongol conquests did lead to a collapse of many of the ancient trading cities of Central Asia that resisted invasion. Taxes were also heavy and conquered people were used as forced labour in those regions.
Modern Mongolian historians say that towards the end of his life, Genghis Khan attempted to create a
civil state under the Great Yassa that would have established the legal equality of all individuals, including
women [1]. However, there is no contemporary evidence of this, or of the lifting of discriminatory policies towards sedentary peoples such as the Chinese. Women played a relatively important role in Mongol Empire and in family, for example
Torogene Khatun was briefly in charge of the Mongol Empire when next male
Khagan was being chosen. Modern scholars refer to the alleged policy of encouraging trade and communication as the
Pax Mongolica (
Mongol Peace).
Genghis Khan realized that he needed people who could govern cities and states conquered by him. He also realised that such administrators could not be found among his Mongol people because they were nomads and thus had no experience governing cities. For this purpose Genghis Khan invited a
Khitan prince,
Chu'Tsai, who worked for the Jin and had been captured by Mongol army after the Jin Dynasty were defeated. Jin had captured power by displacing Khitan. Genghis told Chu'Tsai, who was a lineal descendant of Khitan rulers, that he had avenged Chu'Tsai's forefathers. Chu'Tsai responded that his father served the Jin Dynasty honestly and so did he; he did not consider his own father his enemy, so the question of revenge did not apply. Genghis Khan was very impressed by this reply. Chu'Tsai administered parts of the Mongol Empire and became a confidant of the successive Mongol Khans.
Military
Drawing of Mongol cavalry archers.
The Mongol military was one of the most feared and ruthless armies discussed by many historians, chroniclers and writers of the time. For instance, a person with firsthand experience of the Mongol army's attack said:
It is widely regarded that Mongol armies were more victorious during the time than other armies by defeating resistances that they found along the way in
Central Asia,
China,
Georgia,
Armenia,
Rus',
Baghdad,
Korea,
Syria, etc. (see
Mongol invasions) before they were defeated and stopped at the
Battle of Ayn Jalut. This doesn't mean they weren't defeated at all throughout their existence, but they won most and decisive battles during their prime time particurly against China, East Europe and Middle East. Genghis Khan is widely cited as producing a highly efficient army with remarkable discipline, organization, toughness, dedication,
loyalty and military intelligence, in comparison to their enemies. Operating in massive sweeps, extending over dozens of
miles, the Mongol army combined shock, mobility and firepower unmatched in land warfare until the modern age. Originally consisting of purely cavalry units, the Mongols learned and absorbed the war technology and strategies of the empires and kingdoms they invaded and conquered. Most notable contribution in their military campaigns was the absorption of Chinese siege warfare and engineers; prior to this the Mongols lacked skills to take walled cities. The Mongol cavalry was more used to the open-space steppe warfare. With the introduction of siege warfare and fighting ships from both
China and
Korea, the Mongol capability was enhanced greatly.
Organization and background
In contrast to most of their enemies, almost all Mongols were nomads and had experience in riding and managing horses from a very young age. Mongol military structure was based largely on
meritocracy. For example if a Khan was not fit for military command, the troops would be led by someone with more experience and victories, for example
Subutai. Genghis refused to divide his troops into different units based on
ethnicity, instead he mixed tribesmen from conquered groups, like the Tatars and Keraits, which fostered a sense of unity and loyalty by reducing the effects of the old tribal affiliations and preventing any one unit from developing a separate ethnic or national character. Discipline was strictly maintained, with severe punishments provided for even small infractions. The armies were also divided based on the traditional Inner Asian
decimal system in units of 10 (''
arban''), 100 (''
jaghun''), 1,000 (''
mingghan''), and 10,000 (''
tumen'') men.
[12] They were extremely ruthless when in battle based on others' standards (see below). These units of 10s were like a family or close-knit group, every unit of 10 had a leader who reported up to the next level, and men were not allowed to transfer from one unit to another
.
Discipline was severe: if one member of an arban deserted, all the arban were executed; if the whole arban deserted, the entire jaghun would be executed. Leaders of the tumens were mostly Mongol nobility, or those who had been granted noble status, while the leader of the 100,000 (leader of 10
tumens) was the
Khagan himself. The soldiers always took their families with them for battle, such that
Hazara people of
Afghanistan claim to be Mongol people that moved from Mongolia for campaign back in the day.
Mongols in general were very used to living through cold, harsh winters, in fact often preferring to campaign in winter in order to facilitate river crossings, and they were used to travelling great distances in very short time without difficulty, since their nomadic lifestyle already involved bi-annual migrations from summer to winter pastures. For instance, the journey from Mongolia to the Caspian sea was considered a hundred days' ride for the army.
Reenactment of Mongol military movement.
Genghis Khan expected unwavering loyalty from his generals, and granted them a great deal of autonomy in making command decisions. Muqali, a trusted general, was given command of the Mongol forces against the Jin Dynasty while Genghis Khan was fighting in
Central Asia, and
Subutai and
Jebe were allowed to pursue the Great Raid into the Caucausus and
Kievan Rus, an idea they had presented to the Khagan on their own initiative. The Mongol military also was successful in
siege warfare, cutting off resources for cities and towns by diverting certain rivers, taking enemy prisoners and driving them in front of the army, and adopting new ideas, techniques and tools from the people they conquered, particularly in employing Muslim and Chinese siege engines and engineers to aid the Mongol cavalry in capturing cities. Also one of the standard
tactics of Mongol military was the commonly practiced
feigned retreat to break enemy formations and to lure small enemy groups away from larger group and defended position for
ambush and
counterattack.
Another important aspect of the military
organization of Genghis Khan was the
communications and
supply route or ''
Yam'', adapted from previous Chinese models. Genghis Khan dedicated special attention to this in order to speed up the gathering of
military intelligence and official communications. To this end, Yam waystations were established all over the empire.
Division of the Empire into Khanates
Before his death, Genghis Khan divided his
empire among his sons
Ögedei,
Chagatai,
Tolui, and
Jochi (Jochi's death several months before Genghis Khan meant that his lands were instead split between his sons,
Batu and
Orda) into several Khanates designed as sub-territories: their
Khans were expected to follow the
Great Khan, who was, initially, Ögedei.
Following are the
Khanates in the way in which Genghis Khan assigned after his death:
★ '
Empire of the Great Khan' -
Ögedei Khan, as ''Great Khan'', took most of
Eastern Asia, including
China; this territory later to comprise the
Yuan Dynasty under
Kubilai Khan.
★ '
Mongol homeland' (present day
Mongolia, including
Karakorum) -
Tolui Khan, being the youngest son, received a small territory near the Mongol homeland, following Mongol custom.
★ '
Chagatai Khanate' -
Chagatai Khan, Genghis Khan's second son, was given Central Asia and northern
Iran.
★ '
Blue Horde' -
Batu Khan, and '
White Horde' -
Orda Khan, both were later combined into the
Kipchak Khanate, or
Khanate of the Golden Horde, under
Toqtamysh. Genghis Khan's eldest son, Jochi, had received most of the distant
Russia and
Ruthenia. Because Jochi died before Genghis Khan, his territory was further split up between his sons.
Batu Khan launched an invasion of Russia, and later
Hungary and
Poland, and crushed several armies before being summoned back by the news of Ögedei's death.
In 1256, during the rule of Ögedei,
Hulagu Khan, son of Tolui, was charged with the conquest of the Muslim nations to the southwest of the empire. These included modern day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and the new khanate was named the '
Il-Khanate'. Since, after Tolui's death and the accession of his descendants to the office of Great Khan, his
ulus were merged with the
Yuan Dynasty, the Il-Khanate is considered, along with the Yuan Dynasty, Chagatai Khanate, and the Golden Horde, to be one of the four divisions of the Mongol Empire.
After Genghis Khan
Contrary to popular belief, Genghis Khan did not conquer all of the areas of Mongol Empire. At the time of his death, the Mongol Empire stretched from the
Caspian Sea to the
Sea of Japan. The empire's expansion continued for a generation or more after Genghis's death in 1227. Under Genghis's successor
Ögedei Khan the speed of expansion reached its peak. Mongol armies pushed into Persia, finished off the Xi Xia and the remnants of the Khwarezmids, and came into conflict with the imperial
Song Dynasty of China, starting a war that would last until 1279 and that would conclude with the Mongols gaining control of all of China.
In the late 1230s, the Mongols under
Batu Khan started the
Mongol invasions of Europe and
Russia, reducing most of their principalities to vassalage, and pressed on into Central Europe. In 1241 Mongols under
Subutai and
Batu Khan defeated the last
Polish-
German and
Hungarian armies in two days that came in for defense at the
Battle of Legnica and the
Battle of Mohi.
During the 1250s, Genghis's grandson
Hulegu Khan, operating from the Mongol base in Persia, destroyed the
Abbasid Caliphate in
Baghdad as well as the
cult of the Assassins. It was rumoured that
cult of the Assassins had sent 400 men to kill the Khagan
Mongke Khan. The Khagan made this pre-emptive strike at the heart of the Islamic kingdom to make sure that no such assassination would take place.
Hulegu Khan, the commander in chief of this campaign, along with his entire army returned to the main Mongol capital
Karakorum when he heard of Khagan
Mongke Khan's death and left behind just two
tumen of soldiers (20,000). A battle between a Mongol army and the
Mamluks ensued in modern-day
Palestine. Many in the
Mamluk army were Turks who had fought the Mongols years before as free men but were defeated and sold via Italian merchants to the Sultan of Cairo. They shared their experiences and were better prepared for Mongol tactics. The Mongol army lost the
Battle of Ayn Jalut near modern-day
Nazareth. This was the first defeat of the
Mongol Empire in which they did not return to seek battle again.
[10]
Mongol armies under
Kublai Khan attempted two unsuccessful
invasions of Japan in 1274 and 1281 and
three unsuccessful invasions of modern-day
Vietnam in 1257, 1285 and 1287 AD.
Military destruction and casualties
There are various sources about the amount of destruction Genghis Khan and his armies caused especially among the people who suffered Mongol conquests. The peoples who suffered the most during Genghis Khan's conquests, like the
Persians and the
Han Chinese usually stress the negative aspects of the Mongol conquests and some modern scholars argue that their
historians exaggerate the numbers of deaths and the extent of material destruction; however, such historians produce virtually all the documents available to modern scholars, making it difficult to establish a firm basis for any alternative view; however virtually all sources basically agree on the greater casualty and destruction caused by the Mongol forces.
Casualties
In military strategy, Genghis Khan generally preferred to offer opponents the chance to
surrender under his rule without a resistance and become
vassals by sending tribute, accepting residents and contributing troops and supply or face certain military assault.
A messenger of
Hulagu Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan) delivered a message from him about the invasion of Baghdad that
He guaranteed the populace a protection only if they abided by the rules set forth and be obedient, but his and his successor leaders' policy was widely written in historical documents as causing mass destruction, terror and deaths if they encountered a resistance. For example David Nicole states in ''The Mongol Warlords'', "terror and mass extermination of anyone opposing them was a well tested Mongol tactic." If the offer was refused the Mongol leaders would not give an alternative choice but would order massive collective slaughter of the population of resisting cities and destruction of their property.
Only the skilled engineers and artists were spared from death and maintained as slaves if they agreed to surrender. Documents written during or just after Genghis Khan's reign say that after a conquest, the Mongol soldiers looted, pillaged and raped while the Khan got the first pick of the beautiful women. Some troops who submitted were incorporated into the Mongol system in order to expand their manpower; this also allowed the Mongols to absorb new technology, manpower, knowledge and skill for use in military campaigns against other possible opponents. These techniques were sometimes used to spread terror and warning to others (see above).
There were also instances of mass slaughter even when there was no resistance, especially in Northern China where the vast majority of the population had a long history of accepting nomadic rulers. Many
ancient sources described Genghis Khan's conquests as wholesale destruction on an unprecedented scale in their certain geographical regions, and therefore probably causing great changes in the
demographics of Asia. For example, over much of Central Asia speakers of
Iranian languages were replaced by speakers of
Turkic languages. According to the works of Iranian historian
Rashid al-Din, the
Mongols killed more than 70,000 people in
Merv and more than a million in
Nishapur. China reportedly suffered a drastic decline in population during 13th and 14th centuries. Before the
Mongol invasion, Chinese dynasties reportedly had approximately 120 million inhabitants; after the conquest was completed in 1279, the 1300 census reported roughly 60 million people. Genghis was known to have killed millions of people in northern
China, but precisely how many of these deaths are directly attributable to Genghis Khan and his forces or by other causes is unclear and speculative.
[15] About half of the
Russian population died during the
Mongol invasion of Rus.
[16] The total population of
Persia may have dropped from 2,500,000 to 250,000 as a result of mass
extermination and
famine.
[17] Historians estimate that up to half of
Hungary's two million population at that time were victims of the
Mongol invasion.
[18]
Property and culture
His campaigns in
Northern China,
Central Asia and the
Middle East caused massive property destruction for those who
resisted his invasion according to the regions' historians; however, there are no exact factual numbers available at this time. For example, the cities of
Herat,
Nishapur, and
Samarkand suffered serious devastation by the armies of Genghis Khan.
[19][5] There is a noticeable lack of Chinese literature that has survived from the Jin Dynasty, due to the Mongol conquests.
Genghis Khan's practices
Simplicity
It is not entirely clear what Genghis Khan's personality was truly like, as with any historical person without an
autobiography. His quotations and historians' documents provide insight into his character. His personality and character were moulded by the many hardships he faced when he was young, and in unifying the Mongol nation, especially dealing with murder of his father at young age and therefore losing tribal protection, kidnapping of his
fiance Borte, supporting his mother throughout their abandonment, trying to find ways to unify the people and betrayals from his allies particularly Jamuqa, Toghrul, etc. Genghis Khan fully embraced the Mongol people's nomadic way of life according to his quotes and did not try to change their customs or beliefs. As he aged, he seemed to become increasingly aware of the consequences of numerous victories and expansion of the Mongol Empire, including the possibility that succeeding generations might choose to live a sedentary lifestyle. According to quotations attributed to him in his later years, he urged future leaders to follow the Yasa, and to refrain from surrounding themselves with wealth and pleasure. He was known to share his wealth with his people and awarded subjects handsomely who participated in campaigns in the book
The Secret History of the Mongols.
Honesty and loyalty
Genghis Khan seemed to value honesty and loyalty to himself highly from his subjects. Genghis Khan put some trust in his generals, such as Muqali, Jebe and Subudei, and gave them free rein in battles. He allowed them to make decisions on their own when they embarked on campaigns on their own very far from the Mongol Empire capital
Karakorum. An example of Genghis Khan's perception of loyalty is written in
The Secret History of the Mongols that one of his main military generals
Jebe had been his enemy and shot his horse. When Jebe was captured, he said he shot his horse and that he would fight for him if he spared his life or would die if that's what he wished. Genghis Khan spared Jebe's life, Jebe betrayed his former commander, and he became one of the powerful, successful generals of Genghis Khan.
Yet, accounts of Genghis Khan's life are marked by claims of a series of betrayals and conspiracies. These include rifts with his early allies such as Jamuqa (who also wanted to be a ruler of Mongol tribes) and Wang Khan (his and his father's ally), his son Jochi, and problems with the most important
Shaman who was allegedly trying break him up with brother Qasar who was serving Genghis Khan loyally. Many modern scholars doubt that all of the conspiracies existed and suggest that Genghis Khan was probably inclined towards
paranoia as a result of his experiences.
Military strategy
His
military strategies showed a deep interest in gathering good
intelligence and understanding the
motivations of his rivals as exemplified by his extensive spy network and
Yam route systems. He seemed to be a quick student, adopting new technologies and ideas that he encountered, such as
siege warfare from the
Chinese. The book ''Secret History'' makes it clear he was not physically courageous and even says he was afraid of dogs. Many
legends claim that Genghis Khan always was in the front in battles, but these may not be historically accurate.
Spirituality
Genghis Khan's religion is widely speculated to be
Shamanism, which was very likely among nomadic
Mongol-
Turkic tribes of Central Asia. Genghis Khan towards the later part of his life became interested in the ancient
Buddhism and
Taoism religion from
China. The
Taoist monk
Ch'ang Ch'un, who rejected invitations from Song and Jin leaders, travelled more than 5000 kilometres to meet Genghis Khan close to the
Afghanistan border. The first question Genghis Khan asked him was if the monk had some secret medicine that could make him immortal. The monk's negative answer disheartened Genghis Khan, and he rapidly lost interest in the monk. He also passed a decree exempting all followers of
Taoist religion from paying any taxes. Genghis Khan was by and large tolerant of the multiple religions and there are no cases of him or the Mongols engaging in
religious war against people he encountered during the conquests as long as they were obedient. However, all of his campaigns caused wanton and deliberate destruction of places of worship if they resisted.
[10]
By others
The chronicler
Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani left a description of Genghis Khan, written when Genghis Khan was in his later years:
No valid, accurate portrait of Genghis exists today, and any portraits are merely artistic interpretations of him. The actual descriptions of Genghis Khan from contemporary historians of his time were quite different than what is usually found in the portraits, however. Muslim historian
Rashid al-Din, foremost contemporary historian on Genghis Khan, recorded in his "Chronicles" that the legendary "glittering" ancestor of Genghis was tall, long-bearded, red-haired, and green-eyed. Rashid al-Din also described the first meeting of Genghis and
Kublai Khan, when Genghis was shocked to find Kublai had not inherited his red hair.
[22] Genghis's Borjigid clan, al-Din also reveals, had a legend involving their clan: it began as the result of an affair (technically an immaculate conception) between Alan-ko and a stranger to her land, a glittering man who happened to have red hair and bluish-green eyes. Modern historian
Paul Ratchnevsky has suggested in his biography of Genghis that this strange man may have been from the
Kyrgyz people who historically were noted as often displaying these very same characteristics. It is all purely speculative, however.
By himself
Perhaps a rare insight into Genghis Khan's perspective of himself was recorded in a letter to the
Taoist monk Ch'ang Ch'un. The letter was presumably not written by Genghis Khan himself, as tradition states that he was
illiterate, but rather by a Chinese person at a later point and recorded as his in the Chinese histories. A passage from the letter states:
Perceptions of Genghis Khan today
Positive perception of Genghis Khan
Negative views of Genghis Khan are very persistent with histories written by many different people from various different geographical regions often citing the cruelties and destructions brought upon by Mongol armies, but some historians are looking into positive aspects of Genghis Khan's conquests. Genghis Khan is sometimes credited with bringing the
Silk Road under one cohesive political environment. Theoretically this allowed increased
communication and trade between the
West,
Middle East and Asia by expanding the
horizon of all three areas. In more recent times some historians point out that Genghis Khan instituted certain levels of
meritocracy in his rule and was quite tolerant of many religions. For instance in much of modern-day
Turkey, Genghis Khan is looked on as a great military leader and even many male children are named after him with pride.
Genghis Khan as an icon in Mongolia
Mongolia today
Traditionally Genghis Khan had been revered for centuries among his people largely because of his association with the Mongol culture, political and military organization and the greater successes he had in warfare. He eventually became a larger-than-life figure among the Mongols. During the
Mongolian People's Republic period Genghis Khan and Mongols topic were heavily and officially suppressed by the government that probably feared nationalist sentiment in the populace. For instance in 1962, the erection of a monument at his birthplace and a conference held in his honor led to criticism from the
Soviet Union and resulted in the dismissal of Tömör-Ochir, a secretary of the ruling
Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee.
When
democracy came about in Mongolia in the early 1990s after the democratic revolution, the memory of Genghis Khan and the Mongolian traditional national identity has had a powerful revival. Genghis Khan became the central figure of that identity. He is now a source of pride for Mongolians that ties with their identity. Being the symbol of a past often enough perceived to be more powerful and nicer than the present, he now stands almost at the center of Mongolian national identity. For instance it is not uncommon for Mongolians to refer to Mongolia as "Genghis Khan's Mongolia," to themselves as "Genghis Khan's children," and to Genghis Khan as "father of the Mongols" especially among younger people. Mongolians have given his name to many products, streets, buildings, and other places. For example his face can be found on liquors as well as on the largest denominations of 500, 1000, 5000 and 10,000
Mongolian tögrög (₮). Mongolia's main
international airport in the
capital Ulaanbaatar has been renamed
Chinggis Khaan International Airport, and major statues of him have been erected before the parliament
[2] and near Ulaanbaatar. There have been repeated discussions about regulating the use of his name and image as to avoid trivialization. Mongolians see him as a central figure in the founding of the
Mongol nation and therefore basically setting up the basis for
Mongolia as a
country in one way or another.
Genghis Khan is now widely regarded as one of Mongolia's greatest, most legendary and cherished leaders. He is considered responsible for the emergence of the Mongols as a political and ethnic identity. He is also given credit for the introduction of the traditional
Mongolian script and the creation of the
Ikh Zasag, the first written Mongolian law. There is a chasm in the perception of his brutality - Mongolians often feel that the historical record, written for the most part by non-Mongolian observers, is unfairly biased against Genghis Khan, and exaggerates his barbarism and butchery while underplaying his positive role, for example in founding the
Mongol nation. He reinforced many Mongol traditions and provided stability and unity for the Mongol nation at a time of great uncertainty due to both internal and external factors.
In China
The People's Republic of China considers Genghis Khan to be a Chinese national hero. The usual rationale for this claim is that there are more ethnic Mongols living inside the PRC than outside, including Mongolia. Another point is that his grandson
Kublai Khan founded the increasingly sinicised
Yuan Dynasty that is often credited with uniting China. However, historians, especially those in the West, see mixed feelings towards Genghis Khan's legacy. Although his successors completely conquered China with military force, there has also been much artwork and literature praising him as a great military leader and political genius. In any case, they left a significant, lasting, but debatable, imprint on Chinese political and social structures for subsequent generations.
Recognitions in publications
Genghis Khan is recognized in number of large and popular publications and by other authors, which include the following:
★ Genghis Khan is ranked #29 on
Michael H. Hart's
list of the most influential people in history.
★ An article that appeared in the
Washington Post on December 31, 1995 selected Genghis Khan as "Man of the Millennium".
★ Genghis Khan was nominated for the "Top 10 Cultural Legends of the Millennium" in 1998 by Dr G. Ab Arwel, voted by the five Judges, Prof. D Owain, Mr. G. Parry,
OBE, Dr. C Campbell of
Oxford University, and Mr S Evans and Sir B. Parry of the International Museum of Culture, Luxembourg.
★
National Geographic's 50 Most Important Political Leaders of All Time.
Negative perception of Genghis Khan
In
Iraq and
Iran, he is looked on as a destructive and
genocidal warlord who caused enormous damage and destruction
[3]. Similarly, in
Afghanistan and
Pakistan (along with other non-Turkic Muslim countries) he is not looked with favour though some are ambivalent. It is believed that the
Hazara of Afghanistan are descendants of a large Mongol garrison stationed therein. Nevertheless, the invasions of
Baghdad and
Samarkand caused mass murders, for example, and much of southern
Khuzestan was completely destroyed. His descendant
Hulagu Khan destroyed much of
Iran's northern part. Among the
Iranian peoples he is regarded as one of the most despised conquerors of
Iran, along with
Alexander and
Tamerlane [4] [5]. In much of
Russia,
Ukraine,
Poland and
Hungary, Genghis Khan, his descendants and the Mongols and/or Tartars are generally described as causing considerable damage and destruction. Presently Genghis Khan, his descendants, his generals and in general the Mongols are remembered for their ferocious military, toughness, ruthless and destructive conquests in much of the world in history books.
In
Imperial China, Genghis Khan and the
Yuan Dynasty were generally looked upon as barbaric oppressors especially by the official records and historians of the
Ming Dynyasty who deposed them, especially as they battled resurgent
Mongol tribes and attempted to take their capital of
Kharakhorum. Since Genghis Khan's
Mongol Empire was one of a massive empire with a Mongol elite governing at its upper echelons that subjugated conquered natives, he is indelibly linked with the threat that the Mongols had historically posed to Chinese imperial security. This conviction of both Genghis Khan and his grandson
Kublai Khan would color almost all historical accounts, barring that of
Marco Polo's writings, until Western scholars began to delve into sources besides that of the official Chinese writings.
It was not until the rise of
Communist China that more favorable treatments of him were made by scholars that admired his authoritarian ability to govern China much like the official Communist approval for the methods of the
Qin Dynasty, another Chinese dynasty that had formerly been maligned by official scholars.
Claimed descendants study
Main articles: Descent from Genghis Khan
Zerjal et al [2003]
[23]
identified a
Y-chromosomal lineage present in about 8% of the men in a large region of Asia
(about 0.5% of the men in the world). The paper suggests that the pattern of variation within the lineage is consistent with a hypothesis that it originated in Mongolia about 1,000 years ago. Such a spread would be too rapid to have occurred by
genetic drift, and must therefore be the result of
natural selection. The authors propose that the lineage is carried by likely male-line descendants of Genghis Khan, and that it has spread through social selection.
In addition to the
Khanates and other descendants, the
Mughal emperor
Babur's mother was a descendant.
Timur, the 14th century military leader, claimed descent from Genghis Khan.
Name and title
There are many theories about the origins of Temüjin's title. Since members of the Mongol Empire later associated the name with ''ching'' (
Mongolian for strength), such confusion is obvious, though it does not follow etymology.
One theory suggests the name stems from a palatalised version of the Mongolian and
Turkic word ''tenggiz'', meaning "ocean", "oceanic" or "wide-spreading". (
Lake Baikal and
ocean were called ''tenggiz'' by the Mongols. However, it seems that if they had meant to call Genghis ''tenggiz'' they could have said (and written) "Tenggiz Khan", which they did not. Zhèng (Chinese: 正, pron. "jung" in English) meaning "right", "just", or "true", would have received the Mongolian adjectival modifier ''-s'', creating "Jenggis", which in medieval romanization would be written "Genghis". It is likely that contemporary Mongols would have pronounced the word more like "Chinggis". ''Chingis Khan'' is the spelling used by the modern
Republic of Mongolia.
[6] See Lister and Ratchnevsky, referenced below, for further reading.
According to legend, Temüjin was named after one of the more powerful chiefs of a rival tribe which his father, Yesükhei, had recently defeated. The name "Temüjin" is believed to derive from the
Turkic word ''temur'', meaning iron (modern Mongolian: төмөр, ''tömör''). This name would imply skill as a blacksmith, and like any nomad of the time he was familiar, at least partially, with the working of iron for horse-shoeing and weaponry.
More likely, as no evidence has survived to indicate that Genghis Khan had any exceptional training or reputation as a blacksmith, the name indicated an implied lineage in a family once known as blacksmiths. The latter interpretation is supported by the names of Genghis Khan's siblings, Temülin and Temüge, which are derived from the same root word.
Name and spelling variations
Genghis Khan's name is spelled in variety of ways in different languages such as ,
Turkic: ''Cengiz Han'', ''Chengez Khan'', ''Chinggis Khan'', ''Chinggis Xaan'', ''Chingis Khan'', ''Jenghis Khan'', ''Chinggis Qan'', ''Djingis Kahn'' etc.). Temüjin is written in
Chinese as .
Short timeline
:
c. ''1155-1167''—Temüjin born in
Hentiy, Mongolia.
:c. ''1171''—Temüjin's father
Yesükhei poisoned by the
Tatars, leaving him and his family destitute
:c. ''1184''—Temüjin's wife
Börte kidnapped by
Merkits; calls on blood brother
Jamuqa and
Wang Khan (Ong Khan) for aid, and they rescued her.
:c. ''1185''—First son
Jochi born, leading to doubt about his paternity later among Genghis' children, because he was born shortly after
Börte's rescue from the
Merkits.
:''1190''—Temüjin unites the
Mongol tribes, becomes leader, and devises code of law
Yassa.
:''1201''—Wins victory over
Jamuqa's
Jadarans.
:''1202''—Adopted as
Ong Khan's
heir after successful campaigns against
Tatars.
:''1203''—Wins victory over
Ong Khan's
Keraits. Ong Khan himself is killed by accident.
:''1204''—Wins victory over
Naimans (all these confederations are united and become the
Mongols).
:''1206''—Jamuqa is killed. Temüjin given the title ''Genghis Khan'' by his followers in
Kurultai (around 40 years of age).
:''1207-1210''—Genghis leads operations against the Western Xia, which comprises much of northwestern China and parts of Tibet. Western Xia ruler submits to Genghis Khan. During this period, the Uyghurs also submit peacefully to the Mongols and became valued administrators throughout the empire.
:''1211''—After kurultai, Genghis leads his armies against the Jin Dynasty that ruled northern China.
:''1215''—
Beijing falls, Genghis Khan turns to west and the Khara-Kitan Khanate.
:''1219-1222''—Conquers
Khwarezmid Empire.
:''1226''—Starts the campaign against the Western Xia for forming coalition against the Mongols, being the second battle with the Western Xia.
:''1227''—Genghis Khan dies leading fight against
Western Xia. How he died is uncertain, although legend states that he was thrown off his horse in the battle, and contracted a deadly fever soon after.
Notes
1. Rashid al-Din asserts that Genghis Khan lived to the age of 72, placing his year of birth at 1155. The ''Yuanshi'' (元史, ''History of the Yuan dynasty'', not to be confused with the era name of the Han Dynasty), records his year of birth as 1165. According to Ratchnevsky, accepting a birth in 1155 would render Genghis Khan a father only at the age of 30 and would imply that at the ripe age of 72 he personally commanded the expedition against the Tanguts. Also, according to the ''Altan Tobci'', Genghis Khan's sister, Temülin, was nine years younger than he; but the Secret History relates that Temülin was an infant during the attack by the Merkits, during which Genghis Khan would have been 18, had he been born in 1155. Zhao Hong reports in his travelogue that the Mongols he questioned did not know and had never known their ages.
2. Conferred posthumously by his son Ögedei Khan when he took the new title
3. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/history/history.htm
4. Morgan, David, The Mongols (Peoples of Europe), 1990, p.58.
5. Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy, , Paul, Ratchnevsky, Blackwell Publishing, , ISBN 0-631-16785-4
6. Ratchnevsky, Paul. Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy, 1991, p. 126.
7. . Some scholars, notably Ratchnevsky, have commented on the possibility that Jochi was secretly poisoned by order of Genghis Khan. Rashid al-Din reports that the great Khan sent for his sons in the spring of 1223, and while his brothers heeded the order, Jochi remained in Khorasan. Juzjani suggests that the disagreement arose from a quarrel between Jochi and his brothers in the siege of Urgench, which Jochi attempted to protect from destruction as it belonged to territory allocated to him as a fief. He concludes his story with the clearly apocryphal statement by Jochi: "Genghis Khan is mad to have massacred so many people and laid waste so many lands. I would be doing a service if I killed my father when he is hunting, made an alliance with Sultan Muhammad, brought this land to life and gave assistance and support to the Muslims." Juzjani claims that it was in response to hearing of these plans that Genghis Khan ordered his son secretly poisoned; however, as Sultan Muhammad was already dead in 1223, the accuracy of this story is questionable. (Ratchnevsky, p. 136-7)
8. http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/fall99/kong/Index1.htm
9. Grousset, Rene. Conqueror of the World: The Life of Chingis-khan (New York: The Viking Press, 1944) SBN 670-00343-3.
10. Man, John. Genghis Khan : Life, Death and Resurrection (London; New York : Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0-593-05044-4.
11. Man, John. Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection (London; New York: Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0-593-05044-4.
12. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World, , Leo, De Hartog, I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 1988,
13. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World, , Leo, De Hartog, I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 1988,
14. Man, John. Genghis Khan : Life, Death and Resurrection (London; New York : Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0-593-05044-4.
15. Ping-ti Ho, "An Estimate of the Total Population of Sung-Chin China", in ''Études Song'', Series 1, No 1, (1970) pp. 33-53.
16. History of Russia, Early Slavs history, Kievan Rus, Mongol invasion
17. Battuta's Travels: Part Three - Persia and Iraq
18. Welcome to Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to History
19. The Mongols (Peoples of Europe), , David, Morgan, Blackwell Publishing, , ISBN 0-631-17563-6
20. Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy, , Paul, Ratchnevsky, Blackwell Publishing, , ISBN 0-631-16785-4
21. Man, John. Genghis Khan : Life, Death and Resurrection (London; New York : Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0-593-05044-4.
22. http://www.republicanchina.org/Mongols.html
23. Zerjal et. al, (2003) The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols. ''American Journal of Human Genetics'' '72'(3):717-721 (PubMed)
External links
★
Book Review of Genghis Khan by Leo De Hartog
★
Genghis Khan and Successors.
★
Genghis Khan and the Mongols
★ Welcome to
The Realm of the Mongols
★ Parts of this biography were taken from the
Area Handbook series at the Library of Congress
★
Coverage of Temüjin's Earlier Years
★
Estimates of Mongol warfare casualties
★
Genghis Khan on the Web (directory of some 250 resources)
★
Mongol Arms
★
LeaderValues
★
‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Ata Malik Juvayni (A History of the World-Conqueror Ghengis Genghis Khan,
Ata al-Mulk Juvayni and
Rashid al-Din Hamadani)
★ iExplore.com:
The search for the missing tomb of Genghis Khan
★
BBC Radio 4 programme "
In Our Time", topic was
"Genghis Khan", 1 February 2007. With Peter Jackson, Professor of Medieval History at
Keele University, Naomi Standen, Lecturer in Chinese History at
Newcastle University, and George Lane, Lecturer in History at the
School of Oriental and African Studies and presented by
Melvyn Bragg.
References
1. Rashid al-Din asserts that Genghis Khan lived to the age of 72, placing his year of birth at 1155. The ''Yuanshi'' (元史, ''History of the Yuan dynasty'', not to be confused with the era name of the Han Dynasty), records his year of birth as 1165. According to Ratchnevsky, accepting a birth in 1155 would render Genghis Khan a father only at the age of 30 and would imply that at the ripe age of 72 he personally commanded the expedition against the Tanguts. Also, according to the ''Altan Tobci'', Genghis Khan's sister, Temülin, was nine years younger than he; but the Secret History relates that Temülin was an infant during the attack by the Merkits, during which Genghis Khan would have been 18, had he been born in 1155. Zhao Hong reports in his travelogue that the Mongols he questioned did not know and had never known their ages.
2. Conferred posthumously by his son Ögedei Khan when he took the new title
3. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/mongols/history/history.htm
4. Morgan, David, The Mongols (Peoples of Europe), 1990, p.58.
5. Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy, , Paul, Ratchnevsky, Blackwell Publishing, , ISBN 0-631-16785-4
6. Ratchnevsky, Paul. Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy, 1991, p. 126.
7. . Some scholars, notably Ratchnevsky, have commented on the possibility that Jochi was secretly poisoned by order of Genghis Khan. Rashid al-Din reports that the great Khan sent for his sons in the spring of 1223, and while his brothers heeded the order, Jochi remained in Khorasan. Juzjani suggests that the disagreement arose from a quarrel between Jochi and his brothers in the siege of Urgench, which Jochi attempted to protect from destruction as it belonged to territory allocated to him as a fief. He concludes his story with the clearly apocryphal statement by Jochi: "Genghis Khan is mad to have massacred so many people and laid waste so many lands. I would be doing a service if I killed my father when he is hunting, made an alliance with Sultan Muhammad, brought this land to life and gave assistance and support to the Muslims." Juzjani claims that it was in response to hearing of these plans that Genghis Khan ordered his son secretly poisoned; however, as Sultan Muhammad was already dead in 1223, the accuracy of this story is questionable. (Ratchnevsky, p. 136-7)
8. http://www.csuchico.edu/~cheinz/syllabi/fall99/kong/Index1.htm
9. Grousset, Rene. Conqueror of the World: The Life of Chingis-khan (New York: The Viking Press, 1944) SBN 670-00343-3.
10. Man, John. Genghis Khan : Life, Death and Resurrection (London; New York : Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0-593-05044-4.
11. Man, John. Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection (London; New York: Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0-593-05044-4.
12. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World, , Leo, De Hartog, I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 1988,
13. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World, , Leo, De Hartog, I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 1988,
14. Man, John. Genghis Khan : Life, Death and Resurrection (London; New York : Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0-593-05044-4.
15. Ping-ti Ho, "An Estimate of the Total Population of Sung-Chin China", in ''Études Song'', Series 1, No 1, (1970) pp. 33-53.
16. History of Russia, Early Slavs history, Kievan Rus, Mongol invasion
17. Battuta's Travels: Part Three - Persia and Iraq
18. Welcome to Encyclopædia Britannica's Guide to History
19. The Mongols (Peoples of Europe), , David, Morgan, Blackwell Publishing, , ISBN 0-631-17563-6
20. Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy, , Paul, Ratchnevsky, Blackwell Publishing, , ISBN 0-631-16785-4
21. Man, John. Genghis Khan : Life, Death and Resurrection (London; New York : Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0-593-05044-4.
22. http://www.republicanchina.org/Mongols.html
23. Zerjal et. al, (2003) The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols. ''American Journal of Human Genetics'' '72'(3):717-721 (PubMed)
★ Brent, Peter. ''The Mongol Empire: Genghis Khan: His Triumph and his Legacy''. Book Club Associates, London. 1976.
★ Weatherford, Jack. ''Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World'' (New York : Crown, 2004) ISBN 0-609-61062-7.
★ Kennedy, Hugh. ''Mongols, Huns & Vikings'' (London : Cassell, 2002) ISBN 0-304-35292-6.
★
Genghis Khan and the Mongols
★ Man, John. ''Genghis Khan : Life, Death and Resurrection'' (London; New York : Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0-593-05044-4.
★ Lister, R. P. ''Genghis Khan'' (Lanham, Md. : Cooper Square Press, 2000 [c1969]) ISBN 0-8154-1052-2.
★ Eric Jameson professeur of ancient Asian rulers at Harvard
★
Mongol Arms
★
★ Ratchnevsky, Paul. ''Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy'' [''Čingis-Khan: sein Leben und Wirken''] (Oxford, UK ; Cambridge, Mass., USA : B. Blackwell, 1992, c1991) tr. & ed. Thomas Nivison Haining, ISBN 0-631-16785-4.
★
Mediæval Researches from Eastern Asiatic Sources, Bretschneider, Emilii, , , K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co, , ISBN 81-215-1003-1
★ History of the Mongol Conquests, JJ Saunders, U. Pennsylvania Press, 1972
★ Genocide: A Critical Bibliographic Review edited by Israel W Charney, 1994
★ Final Solutions: Mass Killing and Genocide in the Twentieth Century by Benjamin A Valentino
★
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