Genghis Khan

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Genghis Khan

Image:Mongol1.jpg
Birth name:	Borjigin Temüjin
Family name:	Borjigin
Title:	Khan of Mongol Empire
Birth:	c. 1162
Place of birth:	Hentiy, Mongolia
Death:	August 18, 1227
Dates of reign:	1206 –August 18, 1227
Succeeded by:	Ögedei Khan
Marriage:	Börte Ujin
Children:	Borjigin Jochi, son Borjigin Chagatai, son Borjigin Ögedei, son Borjigin Tolui, son

Genghis Khan ▶(?) (c. 1162¹–August 18, 1227) (Cyrillic: Чингис Хаан), (also spelled as Chingis Khan, Jenghis Khan, etc.), (pronounced /ʧiŋɡis xaːn/), born as Temüjin (Тэмүүжин), was a Great Khan (Emperor) and hugely successful military leader who united the Mongol tribes and founded of the Mongol Empire (1206–1368), the largest contiguous empire in world history, he also is remembered for the legacy of destruction which followed his conquests.

In modern Mongolia Genghis is regarded as a national icon, for his historical role in uniting the Mongol tribes by giving them a common identity.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Early life 2.1 Birth 3 Family and heirs 4 Uniting the Mongol tribes 5 Name and Title 6 Military campaigns 6.1 China 6.2 Central Asia 6.3 Middle East 6.4 Europe and Caucasus 6.5 Destruction and effects on civilians 7 Mongol Empire 7.1 Politics and economics 7.2 Military 8 Death and burial 9 Personality 10 Legacy 10.1 Outside Mongolia 10.2 In Mongolia 10.3 In popular culture 11 Short timeline 12 See also 13 Notes 14 External links 15 References 15.1 Primary Sources 15.2 Further reading

Overview

Born in Mongolia in the 12th century, Temüjin united the Mongol tribes of Central Asia, forging a powerful empire that became the nucleus of what was to become the largest contiguous empire in world history.

Though often outnumbered in battles, he used superior military intelligence, endurance, tactics, and the mobility of his armies to defeat opponents, rapidly conquering more territory than any other single ruler. After unifying the Mongol tribes, he conquered the territories of the Naiman, Merkit, Tatar, and Kerait, and he led very successful and sometimes brutal campaigns against the Western Xia in northern China and the Khwarezmid Empire in western Asia. It should be noted however, that Genghis Khan was not all bloodshed and forming alliances was one of the contributing factors to his success.

His conquests, and his strategy of inducing fear by slaughtering the entire populations of resisting cities such as Merv and Herat, led to millions of deaths and, in the longer term, resulted in the large-scale depopulation of the areas of Asia that he had conquered [1].

The Mongols under Genghis and his successors ruled most of Eurasia, including Central Asia, North Asia, Eastern Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe, but defeated 3 times in Vietnam. They also successfully fought campaigns in Poland and Hungary. Genghis' successors continued to rule and expand the Mongol Empire he founded, after his death. Even after the unified empire dissolved a century and a half later, separate Khanates existed for centuries afterwards.

Genghis' descendants included Kublai Khan, and Timur claimed descent from Genghis, although it is unlikely that Timur was related. Genghis' family ruled the Mongols until the 17th century, when the last Khan of his house was conquered by the Manchu.

Early life

Birth

Little is known about his early years, but Temujin was born sometime between 1155 and 1167 in Hentiy, Mongolia. His birthplace was most likely the mountainous area of Burhan Haldun. He was the second son of Yesükhei, a tribal chief of the Kiyad. Yesükhei's clan was called Borjigin (Боржигин). His mother was named Hoelun and was of the Olkunut tribe. Temüjin was named after one of the more powerful chiefs of a rival tribe which his father, Yesükhei, had recently defeated. The name "Temujin" translates into English as "Smith" or "Blacksmith", although there is no evidence that Temujin had smithing as an occupation. Like any nomad of the time he was familiar, at least partially, with the working of iron and steel for horse-shoeing and weaponry.

Based on legends and later writers, Genghis' early life was difficult. His father delivered him to his future wife's family when he was only nine. He was supposed to live there until he reached the marriageable age of 14. Shortly thereafter, his father was murdered by the neighboring Tartars while returning home. This gave Temüjin a claim to be the clan's chief, though his clan refused to be led by a boy and soon abandoned him and his family. For the next few years, he and his family lived the life of impoverished nomads, surviving primarily on marmots and other small game.

In one incident, Temüjin reportedly murdered his half-brother over a dispute about sharing hunting spoils. Despite being reproached by his mother he never expressed any remorse over the killing. In another, he was captured in a raid by his former tribe and held captive with a wooden collar around his neck. He escaped with help from a sympathetic captor. His mother, Hoelun, taught him many lessons on survival in the harsh political climate of Mongolia, especially the need for alliances with others, a lesson which would shape his understanding in his later years.

Around the age of 16, Temüjin married Börte of the Konkirat tribe. Later she was kidnapped in a raid by the Merkit tribe, and Temüjin called on his friend and later rival, Jamuka, and his protector, Wang Khan of the Kerait tribe, for aid and rescued her. Temüjin became blood brothers with Jamuka and thus the two made a vow to be faithful to each other for eternity.

Börte's first child, Jochi, was born about nine months after she was freed from the Merkit, leading to questions about the child's paternity -- although Genghis fiercely contended that Jochi was his son.

There were two people in his life who Genghis Khan held in fear and awe, his mother, and his wife Borte^{Citation needed}. Women were powerful figures among the Mongols, and he regularly consulted with them even on military matters.^{Citation needed}

Family and heirs

Main article: Family tree of Genghis Khan

Genghis was related through his father to Qabul Khan, Ambaghai and Qutula Khan who had headed the Mongol confederation under Jin patronage until the Jin switched their support to the Tatars in 1161 and destroyed Qutula Khan. Genghis' father, Yesugei, khan 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, which 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.

Genghis' empress was Borte, his childhood friend in whose family's care his father left Temujin when he was 9; she bore him four sons:

• Jochi (1185–1227) (paternity contested-see above)
• Chagatai (—1241)
• Ögedei (—1241)
• Tolui (1190–1232)

All four sons participated in Genghis' campaigns, and eventually became Khans of different Khanates after Genghis died, but it was Ögedei who was proclaimed the Great Khan and inherited Genghis' mantle.

Genghis had many other empresses and concubines. More than 500 women were spread out into four camps. Borte was the leader of the first camp. These four camps also served as Genghis' court.

Uniting the Mongol tribes

Temüjin began his slow ascent to power by allying himself with his father's anda (sworn brother or blood brother) Toghril, khan of the Kerait and better known by the Chinese title Wang Khan which the Jin Empire granted him in 1197. It is claimed that Temüjin was adopted as Wang Khan's heir after successful campaigns against the Tatars (1202). This led to jealousy on the part of Wang's former heir, Senggum, who planned to assassinate Temüjin. Temüjin learned of Senggum's intentions, eventually defeated him and his loyalists, and succeeded to the title of Wang Khan.

In 1201, a Khuriltai 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 Jamuka formed a coalition of tribes to oppose him.

Jamuqa was less successful in coalition-building because, unlike Temüjin, he maintained traditional divisions between tribes in his forces, and he assigned commands by hereditary rank rather than merit. In particular, Jamuqa did not recruit shepherds who lacked tribal status in the Mongol tradition. This allowed Temüjin to recover from a series of military defeats inflicted by Jamuqa and to emerge victorious.

Jamuqa was eventually betrayed to Temüjin by his followers and executed in 1206. The Secret History of the Mongols states that Jamuqa insisted that he be executed even when Temüjin offered renewal of their brotherhood. Temüjin executed Jamuqa's betrayers, officially on the principle that betrayal merits the harshest punishment.

Temüjin's borders were threatened to the south by the Jin, who then ruled North China, and to the west by the Xia. Temüjin organized his people to prepare for future conflicts, especially with the Jin. The Jurchen had grown uncomfortable with the newly-unified Mongols. It may be that some trade routes ran through Mongol territory, and it is possible that they feared the Mongols eventually would restrict the supply of goods. Genghis also was eager to take revenge against the Jins for their long periods of subjugation of the Mongols. The Jins were known to stir up conflicts between Mongol tribes and even had executed some Mongol khans.

Temüjin managed to unite the tribes under a single system by 1206, using his personal charisma and strong will. It was a monumental feat for the Mongols, who had a long history of internecine dispute and economic hardship. At a Kurultai (a council of Mongol chiefs) he was acknowledged as "Khan" of the consolidated tribes. 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. This unification of all confederations by Genghis Khan established peace between previously warring tribes.

Name and Title

There are many theories for the origins of Genghis' title; this uncertainty is fueled by the fact that later members of the Mongol Empire associated the name with the Mongol word for strength, "ching", though this does not fit the etymology. One theory about the etymology suggests the name stems from a palatalised version of the Mongolian and Turkish 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 then was modified by later scribes in India or Persia to "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. See Lister and Ratchnevsky, referenced below, for further reading.

Military campaigns

China

Genghis already was about 40 years old when he became Khan and began his campaign outward. At the time of the Khuriltai in 1206, when Genghis obtained his title, the Mongols were involved in a dispute with the Tangut Empire of Western Xia, which demanded tribute from them. Genghis led the Mongols against Xi Xia, and conquered the empire despite initial difficulties in defeating its well-defended cities. By 1209, the Tangut emperor acknowledged Genghis as overlord. In 1211, Genghis set about bringing the Nuzhen (the founders of the Jin Dynasty) completely under his dominion, in order to prevent them from challenging the Mongols for territory and resources. The Mongol army crossed the Great Wall of China in 1213, and in 1215 Genghis besieged, captured, and sacked the Jin capital of Yanjing (later known as Beijing). This forced the Jin Emperor Xuan Zong to move his capital south to Kaifeng.

The Mongol Empire campaigned six times against the Tanguts (1202, 1207, 1209-1210, 1211-1213, 1214-1219 and 1225-1226). The vassal emperor of the Tanguts (Western Xia) had refused to take part in the war against the Khwarizmid Empire (see below). While Genghis was busy with the campaign in Persia, Tangut and Jin formed an alliance against the Mongols. In retaliation, Genghis prepared for war against their alliance.

In 1226, Genghis attacked the Tanguts on the pretext that the Tanguts had deceived the Mongols. 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 reportedly saw a line of five stars arranged in the sky, and interpreted it as an omen of his victory.

In 1227, Genghis attacked the Tangut capital, 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, after conquering Deshun, went to Liupanshan (Qingshui County, Gansu Province) for shelter from the severe summer.

The new Tangut emperor quickly surrendered to the Mongols. The Tanguts officially surrendered in 1227, after having ruled for 189 years, beginning in 1038. Genghis executed the emperor and his family.

By this time, his advancing age had led Genghis to make preparations for his death and to assure an orderly succession among his descendants. He selected his third son Ögedei as his successor and specified that subsequent Khans should be his direct descendants.

Central Asia

Meanwhile, Kuchlug, the deposed Khan of the Naiman tribe, had fled west and usurped the Khanate of Kara-Khitan (also known as Kara Kitay), the western allies who had decided to side with Genghis. By this time the Mongol army was exhausted from ten years of continuous campaigning in China against the Tangut and the Rurzhen. Therefore, Genghis sent only two tumen (roughly 20,000 soldiers) under a brilliant young general, Jebe (known as "The Arrow"), against Kuchlug. An internal revolt against Kuchlug was incited by Mongol agents, leaving the Naiman forces open for Jebe to overrun the country. Kuchlug's forces were defeated west of Kashgar. He was captured and executed and Kara-Khitan was annexed by Genghis. By 1218, the Mongol Empire extended as far west as Lake Balkhash and it adjoined Khwarizm, a Muslim state that reached to the Caspian Sea in the west and to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea in the south.

Talented military generals and strategists of Genghis, such as Subutai and Jebe, played considerable roles in the practicalities of the war, using hands-on approaches. These generals were purely chosen as part of a meritocracy, as none of them were from the direct family line of Genghis. Genghis did not as a general rule trust his relatives, and so he did not allow them to command significant numbers of soldiers.

Middle East

In 1218, Genghis sent emissaries to an eastern province Khwarizm to discuss possible trade with the Khwarizmian Empire. The governor of the province had the emissaries executed, and Genghis retaliated with an invasion force of 20 tumen (200,000 troops). The Mongol army quickly seized the town, relying on superior strategy and tactics. Once he had conquered the city he killed many of the inhabitants, and executed the governor by pouring molten silver into his ears and eyes, as retribution for the insult.

At this point (1219), Genghis decided to extend Mongol control into the Muslim world. The Mongol army methodically marched through and sacked Khwarizm's main cities (Bukhara, Samarkand, and Balkh). The leader of Khwarizm, Shah Muhammad II, prepared to battle with them. However he was outmaneuvered by the much swifter Mongol army and driven into extended retreat. In the end, the Shah killed himself rather than surrender, when he was cornered, and by 1220 the Khwarizmian Empire was eradicated.

The Mongol armies then split into two component forces. Genghis led a division on a raid through Afghanistan and northern India, while another contingent, led by his general Subedei, marched through the Caucasus and Russia. Neither campaign added territory to the empire, but they pillaged settlements and defeated any armies they met that did not acknowledge Genghis as the rightful leader of the world. In 1225 both divisions returned to Mongolia.

These invasions ultimately added Transoxiana and Persia to an already formidable empire.

Europe and Caucasus

While Genghis gathered his forces in Persia and Armenia, a detached force of 40,000 troops of Batu Khan commanded by Subutai pushed deep into Armenia and Azerbaijan. Batu destroyed Georgian crusaders, sacked the Genoese trade-fortress of Kaffa in Crimea, and stayed the winter near the Black Sea. Heading home, Batu assaulted the Kipchaks and was intercepted by the allied troops of Mstislav the Bold of Halych and Mstislav III of Kiev, along with about 80,000 Kievan Rus'. Batu sent emissaries to the Slavic princes calling for separate peace, but the emissaries were executed. At the Battle of Kalka River in 1223, the Mongols defeated the larger Russian force, capturing and killing six princes, including Mstislav of Kiev.

Destruction and effects on civilians

Genghis' conquests were characterized by wholesale destruction on an unprecedented scale and radically changes in the demographics of Asia. Over much of Central Asia Indo-European Persian-speakers were replaced by Turkic speakers. According to the works of Iranian historian Rashid al-Din, the Mongols killed over 70,000 people in Merv and more than a million in Nishapur. China suffered a drastic decline in population. Before the Mongol invasion, China had 80 million inhabitants; after the complete conquest in 1279, the census in 1300 showed it to have roughly 60 million people. How many of these deaths were attributable directly to Genghis and his forces is unclear.

Mongol Empire

Main article: Mongol Empire

Politics and economics

Main article: Organization of state under Genghis Khan

The Mongol Empire was tolerant of the beliefs of its people, provided that they did not resist, and often let conquered nations keep local rulers and worship their own religions. Genghis instituted a meritocracy among the Mongols and allied nomadic people. The Mongols were ruled by the code of Great Yassa created by Genghis, of which no complete copy survives today. Generally, it is thought that the Mongol Empire also was friendly to outside trade along the Silk Road, although the Mongol conquests led to a collapse of many of the ancient trading cities of Central Asia. Taxes were heavy, and conquered people were used as forced labor.

Modern Mongolian historians claim that towards the end of his life, Genghis attempted to create a civil state under the Great Yassa that would have established the legal equality of all individuals, including women [2].

Temüjin was illiterate when he was young, but he learned to read Taoist sermons later in his life. He brought tutors with him to teach his children and himself to read and write.

Military

Main article: Military advances of Genghis Khan

Genghis made advances in military disciplines, such as mobility, psychological warfare, intelligence, military autonomy, and tactics.

Genghis' armies generally were able to best their enemies in the 12th and 13th century because of their superior strategy, mobility, and military intelligence. Genghis developed a well-organized army. He refused to divide his troops into different ethnic enclaves, instead creating a sense of unity, and he punished even small infractions against discipline severely. He also divided his armies into a number of smaller groups, taking advantage of the superb mobility of his mounted archers to attack their enemies on several fronts at once.

Death and burial

In his last campaign against the Tangut Empire, Genghis Khan died on August 18, 1227. The reason for his death is uncertain. Many assume 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 hidden knife and that he never recovered.

It is alleged that Genghis asked to be buried without markings. After he died, his body was returned to Mongolia and presumably to his birthplace in Hentiy aymag, where many assume he is buried somewhere close to the Onon river. According to (dubious) 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. In October 6, 2004, "Genghis Khan's palace" was allegedly discovered, and that may make it possible to find his burial site. However, skeptics find in the discovery evidence of a Mongol palace, and by Mongol tradition it is unlikely that Genghis would be buried near one of his palaces. Folklore says that a river was diverted over his grave to make it impossible to find. Other tales state that his grave was stampeded over by many horses, over which trees were then planted.

Genghis left behind an army of more than 129,000 men. 28,000 were given to his various brothers and his sons, and Tolui, his youngest son, inherited more than 100,000 men. This force contained the bulk of the elite Mongolian cavalry. This was done because by tradition, the youngest son inherits his father's property. Four of his sons, beside Tolui, received armies of 4000 men each. His mother and the descendants of his three brothers received 3000 men each.

Personality

It is not entirely clear what Genghis was truly like, but his personality and character were doubtless molded by the many hardships he faced when he was young, and in unifying the Mongol nation. Genghis appeared to fully embrace the Mongol people's nomadic way of life, 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 teachings, and to refrain from surrounding themselves with wealth and pleasure.

He apparently valued honesty and loyalty highly: even an enemy soldier's loyalty to his leader, although not a civilian populations' loyalty to their own government. His military strategies showed a deep interest in gathering good intelligence and understanding the motivations of his rivals. He seemed to be a quick study, adopting new technologies and ideas that he encountered, although he never learned a foreign language or showed much interest in the cultures of other people. He was physically timid and even the Secret History makes fun of his cowardice, though many stories and legends still claim that Genghis always was in the front in battles. He consistently displayed a sense that people were about to betray him. This is reflected in the fate of many of his closest allies and relatives: Genghis murdered his own brother by shooting him in the back.

The chronicler Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani left a description of Genghis, written when Genghis was about 60 years old:

[Genghis Khan was] a man of tall stature, of vigorous build, robust in body, the hair on his face scanty and turned white, with cat's eyes, possessed of dedicated energy, discernment, genius, and understanding, awe-striking, a butcher, just, resolute, an overthrower of enemies, intrepid, sanguinary, and cruel.

Legacy

Outside Mongolia

Today Genghis' image in most of the world is that of a ruthless and successful conquerer, known more for the damage done in his conquest than for his willpower and political persuasiveness, or for fostering meritocracy among the nomads and the Yasa code which formed the basis of the Empire.

In the West and the Middle East, the perception of Genghis is strongly negative, due to the destruction his forces caused. In Europe, it is his image as bloodthirsty conqueror that dominates. He was brutal to those who resisted him, in order to inflict fear. His campaigns in Central Asia and the Middle East caused massive destruction and loss of human life. For example, the cities of Rey and Tus, the two largest and most populous cities in Iran at the time, both centers of literature, culture, trade and commerce, were completely destroyed by order of Genghis. Nishapur, Merv and Samarkand suffered similar destructions. There have been recent efforts by Western historians to explore the positive aspects of Genghis' conquest.

In the Middle East there are mixed feelings about Genghis compared to Alexander the Great who caused similar destructions, but many Mongol armies and their families assimilated to the local culture^{Citation needed}.

The Chinese to this day have mixed feelings towards Genghis: although he conquered China, there still is much artwork and literature praising him as a "great military" leader.

Near-contemporary Middle-Eastern accounts by Juvayni and Rashid al-Din have survived, along with the anonymous Uighur / Chinese document known as The Secret History of the Mongols, which presents Genghis from the Mongol point of view. Genghis is perceived very differently outside Mongolia.

At the height of his power, Genghis is reputed to have had 500 wives and concubines, a tradition followed in successive generations. A recent genetic survey (Zerjal et al. 2003, pdf of paper) found a cluster of Y chromosome variants in 1/12 of the men in the area of the Mongolian Empire, and 1/200 of men worldwide. The age of the cluster, estimated from the mutation rate, places its origin just before the time of Genghis, and it is especially common among the Hazara people, who claim to be descended from soldiers of Genghis (a claim traditionally rejected by most scientists because it was assumed to be local folklore). From this genetic evidence it is reasoned that over 0.5% of the world's population (as the study was only able to cover direct male descendants) is descended from a male who lived in Mongolia around the time of Genghis, perhaps even Genghis himself, although there is considerable uncertainty over these numbers.

Genghis Khan was ranked #29 on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential people in history.

In Mongolia

Particularly in Central and East Asia, and certainly in Mongolia where Genghis Khan is a great military leader and spiritual leader, there is much concern about the negative bias in historical records about him, which emphasize his assaults, barbarism, and butchery. There is a feeling that his military and administrative genius is undervalued, as is his undisputed status as the conqueror of one of the largest empires in history.

In the early 1990s, when Mongolia separated from communism and the Russian bloc, Genghis became a symbol of the free nation's identity. He is viewed as a conquering general of the stature of Alexander the Great. His face appears on Mongolian bank notes and vodka labels. This is reminiscent of the late Khanate period, when he was deified throughout the empire.

While the destruction caused by his conquests is acknowledged, he is also known for his achievements as a unifying, even cosmopolitan ruler, who orchestrated the unification of the Mongols and brought them from political instability to world-wide fame, paving the way for the modern nation of Mongolia. It is not uncommon to hear in Mongolia the phrase, Genghis Khan's Mongolia.

In popular culture

Because of the speed with which Genghis Khan and the Mongols created one of the world's largest empires and considering the western historical viewpoints, they are sometimes associated with concepts such as cruelty and strong will-power characteristics, and they are referenced in cultures for centuries usually under negative terms.

Short timeline

• c. 1155-1167 - Temujin was born in Hentiy, Mongolia.
• c. 1171 - Temujin's father Yesükhei is poisoned by the Tatars, leaving him and his family in destitution
• c. 1184 - Temujin's wife Borte is kidnapped by Merkits; calls on his friend Jamuka for aid and he rescues her
• c. 1185 - First son Jochi was born, leading to doubt about his paternity later among Genghis' children, because he was born soon after Borte's rescue from the Merkits.
• 1190' - Temujin united the Mongol tribes, became a leader, and devised code of law Yassa.
• 1201 - Won victory over Jamuka, his blood brother and later rival.
• 1202 - Adopted as Wang Khan's heir after successful campaigns against Tatars.
• 1203 - Won victory over Keraits.
• 1204 - Won victory over Naimans (all these confederations were united and became the Mongols).
• 1206 - Temujin was titled Genghis Khan by his followers in Kurultai (around 40 years of age).
• 1207-1210 - Genghis led operations against the Western Xia, which comprised much of northwestern China and parts of Tibet. Western Xia ruler submitting to Genghis Khan. During this period, the Uighurs also submitted peacefully to the Mongols and became valued administrators throughout the empire.
• 1211 - After Khuriltai, Genghis led his armies against the Jin Dynasty that ruled northern China.
• 1219-1222 - Conquered Khwarezmid Empire under provocation.
• 1226 - Started the campaign against the Western Xia for coalition against the Mongols, being the second battle with the Western Xia.
• 1227 - Genghis Khan dies leading fight against Western Xia.

See also

• Babur
• History of Mongolia
• House of Taimur
• Hulegu
• Khwarezmid Empire
• Kublai Khan
• Mongka Khan
• Timur

Notes

Note 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 1162. However, the Record of Successive Generations of Buddha (Lidai Fozu Tongzai) records the Genghis Khan died at the age of 60. 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 tobchi, Genghis Khan's sister, Temulin, was nine years younger than he; but the Secret History relates that Temulin 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 and had never known their ages.

External links

• Amazon.com: Books: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
• Genghis Khan and the Mongols
• Genghis Khan Movie Mongol at IMDb
• 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 Temujin'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, rashid-ad-din-juwayni ‘Ala’ al-Din ‘Ata Malik Juvayni)
• iExplore.com: The search for the missing tomb of Genghis Khan

References

• Weatherford, Jack. Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (New York : Crown, 2004) ISBN: 0609610627.
• Kennedy, Hugh. Mongols, Huns & Vikings (London : Cassell, 2002) ISBN: 0304352926.
• "Genghis Khan and the Mongols". Genghis Khan and the Mongols. URL accessed on June 30, 2005.
• Man, John. Genghis Khan : Life, Death and Resurrection (London; New York : Bantam Press, 2004) ISBN 0593050444.
• Lister, R. P. Genghis Khan (Lanham, Md. : Cooper Square Press, 2000 [c1969]) ISBN 0815410522.
• "Mongol Arms". Mongol Arms. URL accessed on June 24, 2003.
• Zerjal, Tatiana, with Yali Xue, Giorgio Bertorelle, R. Spencer Wells, Weidong Bao, Suling Zhu, Raheel Qamar, Qasim Ayub, Aisha Mohyuddin, Songbin Fu, Pu Li, Nadira Yuldasheva, Ruslan Ruzibakiev, Jiujin Xu, Qunfang Shu, Ruofu Du, Huanming Yang, Matthew E. Hurles, Elizabeth Robinson, Tudevdagva GerelsaiGenghis Khan, Bumbein Dashnyam, S. Qasim Mehdi, and Chris Tyler-Smith. "The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols", in The American Journal of Human Genetics 72:718-721 (2003).
• Heirs to Discord: The Supratribal Aspirations of Jamuqa, Toghrul, and Temüjin
• 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 0631167854.

Primary Sources

• Juvaynī, Alā al-Dīn Atā Malik, 1226-1283. Genghis Khan: The History of the World-Conqueror [Tarīkh-i jahāngushā. English] (Seattle : UWashington Press, 1997) tr. John Andrew Boyle, ISBN: 0295976543.
• The Secret History of the Mongols (Leiden; Boston : Brill, 2004) tr. Igor De Rachewiltz, Brill's Inner Asian Library. v.7, ISBN: 9004131590.
• A Compendium of Chronicles: Rashid al-Din's Illustrated History of the World [Jami al-Tawarikh] (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1995) The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Vol. XXVII, ed. Sheila S. Blair, ISBN: 019727627X.
• Tabib, Rashid al-Din. The Successors of Genghis Khan (New York : Columbia University Press, 1971) tr. from the Persian by John Andrew Boyle, [extracts from Jami’ Al-Tawarikh], UNESCO collection of representative works: Persian heritage series, ISBN 0231033516.

Further reading

• Cable, Mildred and Francesca French. The Gobi Desert (London : Landsborough Publications, 1943).
• Man, John. Gobi : Tracking the Desert (London : Weidenfield & Nicolson, 1997) hardbound; (London : Weidenfield & Nicolson, 1998) paperbound, ISBN 0753801612; (New Haven : Yale, 1999) hardbound.
• Stewart, Stanley. In the Empire of Genghis Khan: A Journey among Nomads (London : Harper Collins, 2001) ISBN 0-00-653027-3.
• History Channel's bio on Genghis Khan

Preceded by: None

Khan of Mongol Empire 1206–1227

Followed by: Ögedei Khan