Genghis Khan Biography

Genghis Khan was born on August 18, 1227, and his birth name was Temüjin. He was the founder and the first great Khan emperor of the Mongol Empire, which, as time passed, became the largest contiguous empire in the history of this planet. 

Genghis Khan rose from humble beginnings and went on to establish the largest land empire in history. He played a very important role in uniting the nomadic tribes of the Mongolian plateau, and he also conquered big lands of Central Asia and China. After he established the Mongol Empire, he was named by his followers and admirers Genghis Khan, which translates to as the ‘oceanic, universal ruler. The Mongol invasions, led by Genghis Khan, conquered most of Eurasia, reaching as far west as Poland in Europe and the Levant in the Middle East. Campaigns against the Qara Khitai, Khwarezmia, Western Xia, and Jin empires and invasions into Medieval Georgia, Kievan Rus', and Volga Bulgaria were launched during his lifetime.

Even after his death, Genghis Khan's descendants expanded his empire even further and went as far as Poland, Vietnam, Syria, and Korea. The Mongols ruled over a territory about the size of Africa at its peak, controlling between 11 and 12 million contiguous square miles. During Genghis Khan's conquests, many people were murdered, but he also provided religious freedom to his subjects, banned torture, fostered commerce, and established the first worldwide mail system. During a military expedition against the Chinese state of Xi Xia, Genghis Khan died in 1227. His ultimate resting site has yet to be discovered.

In this article, we will learn about Genghis Khan's history, his children, his rule, early life, death, and a few of the most important questions related to Gengis Khan.

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All about Genghis Khan

• Genghis Khan's real name or birth name is Temujin Khan, and he was born in Mongolia around 1162. Genghis Khan got married early at the age of 16, and as time passed by, he had many wives to his name. 

• Genghis Khan began creating a massive army when he was 20 years old, with the goal of destroying different tribes in Northeast Asia and uniting them under his authority. He was successful in accomplishing his goal until the British Empire, the Mongol Empire was the world's greatest empire, and it lasted far beyond his death in 1227.

• Many modern and old sources describe Genghis Khan's conquest as wholesome destruction on an indescribable scale. He destroyed many empires and caused great demographic changes, and there was a drastic decline of the population as a result of the mass famine and extermination of his opponents and their supporters. Many have estimated that during his time, almost 4 million people lost their lives as a result of Genghis Khan's conquest. By the end of Genghis Khan’s life, The Mongol Empire occupied a large portion of Central Asia and China, and it is believed that in total, the Mongol Empire was as large as present-day Africa. Because of his exceptional and extraordinary military successes, Genghis Khan is often considered to be the greatest conqueror of all time. 

• Before his death, Genghis Khan's son Gedei Khan was declared as the successor. His dominion was afterward divided into Khanates by his descendants. After conquering the Western Xia, Genghis Khan died in 1227. His corpse was buried at an undisclosed place in Mongolia per his wish. By conquering or forming vassal kingdoms in all of modern-day China, Korea, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and large sections of Eastern Europe and Southwest Asia, his descendants stretched the Mongol Empire throughout much of Eurasia. Many of these invasions were re-enactments of previous large-scale massacres of indigenous communities. As a result, in local history, Genghis Khan and his kingdom had a dreadful image.

The Early Life of Genghis Khan 

• Genghis Khan was born in north-central Mongolia around 1162. Genghis Khan’s real name is Temujin Khan, which was named after his father Yesukhei, who was a Tatar Chieftain. The young Genghis Khan was also a member of the Borjigin tribe and a descendant of the Kabul Khan, who is known to briefly unite the Mongols against the Chin Dynasty of Northern China in the early 1100s. 

• Temujin was born with a blood clot in his hand, a sign in Mongol tradition that he was destined to become a leader, according to the "Secret History of the Mongols." Hoelun, his mother, taught him the harsh realities of life in a tumultuous Mongol tribal community and the need of forming alliances.

• Temujin's father sent him to live with the family of his future bride, Borte, when he was nine years old. Yesukhei met members of the opposing Tatar tribe on his way home, who invited him to a reconciliation banquet, where he was poisoned for prior sins against the Tatars. Temujin came home after learning of his father's death to take over as clan leader. The clan, on the other hand, refused to acknowledge the young boy's leadership and exiled his younger siblings and half-brothers to the status of near-refugees. The family was under a lot of strain, and Temujin quarrelled with and murdered his half-brother, Bekhter, and then confirmed his position as the head of his family. 

• Temujin married Borte at the age of 16, solidifying the Konkirat-Temujin relationship. Borte was kidnapped by the Merkit tribe and handed to a chieftain as a wife not long after. Temujin was able to save her, and she gave birth to her first son, Jochi, not long after. Temujin recognised Jochi as his own, despite Borte's imprisonment with the Konkirat tribe casting doubt on his parentage. Temujin had four sons with Borte and many more with various women, as was Mongolian custom. Only his male offspring with Borte, however, were eligible for family succession.

Journey to Conquer the World 

• When Genghis Khan was only 20 years old, he was captured in a raid by a few former allies, the Taichi'uts, and was temporarily enslaved by them. He somehow escaped from them and then joined his brothers and several other people who he could trust to form a fighting unit. Temujin was not taken seriously by everyone at that time as he was a youngster, so he had to show everyone that he is the one whom they should fear. Temujin began his slow yet steady ascend to power by building a large army of more than twenty thousand men. With that amount of men under his wings, he went on and destroyed traditional divisions among the various tribes and then united the Mongols under his rule. 

• Temujin has been known in the past for his excellent military tactics and his ability to completely shatter the enemy ruler mentally. Through his military tactics and merciless brutality, Temujin was able to avenge his father’s murder by completely destroying the Tatar army, and he also ordered his soldiers to kill every Tatar male who was more than three feet tall. Temujin's Mongols then used a series of huge cavalry attacks to destroy the Taichi'ut, including boiling all of the Taichi's chiefs alive. Temujin had also conquered the strong Naiman tribe by 1206, relinquishing sovereignty of central and eastern Mongolia to him.

• The early success of the Mongol army was solely due to Temujin’s ability to think about the opponent’s move and form a military tactic that would completely decimate the enemy. He, at one time, had eighty thousand soldiers in his army and all the soldiers were well equipped with swords, shields, and armour that could save them while battling. His soldiers trusted him as he used to take care of them by carrying loads of food while they were battling and also making sure that they were safe. In return for their safety, he asked them to fight for his name and expand the Mongol empire. In their attacks, the Mongols were merciless. Their hands were free to shoot arrows because they could control a galloping horse with only their legs. A well-organized supply system of oxcarts bringing food for soldiers and beasts alike, as well as military supplies, shamans for spiritual and medical help, and bureaucrats to record the plunder, trailed the entire army.

• Following Temujin's triumphs against opposing Mongol tribes, other tribal leaders consented to peace and conferred the title "Genghis Khan," which means "universal ruler," on him. The title was significant not only politically but also spiritually. Genghis Khan was designated the representative of Mongke Koko Tengri, the Mongols' ultimate god, by the chief shaman. It was considered that his destiny was to govern the globe after this declaration of celestial status. There was religious tolerance from the beginning in the Mongol empire, and everyone was allowed to follow their own religion, but defying Genghis Khan was equal to defying the will of God. 

Genghis Khan - The Conqueror 

• Genghis Khan made the most of his heavenly status right away. While spiritual inspiration drove his troops, the Mongols were most likely influenced by environmental factors as well. As the population expanded, food and resources became limited. He led his forces against the kingdom of Xi Xia in 1207 and forced it to submit after two years. Genghis Khan's forces attacked the Jin Dynasty in northern China in 1211, drawn not by the aesthetic and scientific marvels of the big cities but by the seemingly endless rice fields and easy pickings of wealth.

• The campaign against the Jin Dynasty lasted for 20 years; The Mongols were also active in the west borders against the other Muslim rulers. Initially, Genghis Khan used diplomacy to establish trade relationships with the Khwarizm Dynasty, which was a Turkish-dominated empire that included Turkestan, Persia, and Afghanistan. But as time passed, his diplomats who were following orders of Genghis Khan were also caught in Turkey, and Shah Muhammad, who was the ruler of the Khwarizm Dynasty, sent back the head of Mongol diplomat as a warning to mess with the Khwarizm Dynasty. 

• This act enraged Genghis Khan, and in the year 1219, he personally took the entire control of planning and executing a three-way attack of nearly two lakh Mongol soldiers against the Khwarizm Dynasty. Shah Muhammad and his army did not have any chance of winning, and even after they were defeated, Genghis Khan ordered to slaughter all the men and take in all the women. The Mongols did not spare anything and took control of everything, including tiny household animals and cattle, and no living creature was spared. Men's, women's, and children's skulls were heaped in huge, pyramidal mounds. The Khwarizm Dynasty came to an end in 1221 when the Shah Muhammad and subsequently his son was kidnapped and murdered, bringing the end to the Khwarizm Dynasty.

• The Pax Mongolica is the term used by scholars to characterise the time following the Khwarizm campaign. Genghis Khan's conquests eventually connected China's and Europe's key commercial hubs. Yassa was the legal code that ruled the empire. The code, which was created by Genghis Khan and was based on Mongol common law, included edicts prohibiting blood feuds, adultery, stealing, and bearing false testimony. Laws that showed Mongol concern for the environment were also incorporated, such as prohibitions on swimming in rivers and streams and instructions for each soldier following another to pick up anything dropped by the previous soldier. In most cases, breaking any of these laws resulted in death. During his rule, it has been estimated that Genghis Khan had been ordered to kill around 20 million lives.

• Following the demise of the Khwarizm Dynasty, Genghis Khan shifted his focus eastward to China. The Tanguts of Xi Xia had openly revolted against his instructions to provide men to the Khwarizm War. Genghis Khan fought opposing forces and sacked the capital of Ning Hia in a series of triumphs over Tangut towns. The fight came to an end as one Tangut official after another surrendered. However, Genghis Khan didn't get nearly enough vengeance for the Tangut treason and ordered the imperial family's death, thereby terminating the Tangut bloodline.

Genghis Khan death 

• Genghis Khan died in the year 1227, which was soon after conquering the Xi Xia. The exact cause of his death is unknown, but few historians believe that he fell off the horse while hunting and then slowly died of fatigue and injuries. Others believed that he died of lung disease.

• Genghis Khan was buried without marks, according to his tribe's customs, near his birthplace in northern Mongolia, between the Onon River and the Khentii Mountains. According to tradition, the funeral escort murdered everybody and everything they came across in order to hide the location of Genghis Khan's grave, and a river was diverted over his grave to make it hard to discover.

• Genghis Khan conferred absolute power to his son Ogedei, who ruled over most of eastern Asia, including China, before his death. The rest of the kingdom was split among his other sons such as  Chagatai was given control of central Asia and northern Iran; Tolui, the youngest, was given a tiny region near the Mongol heartland; and Jochi and his son, Batu, were given control of modern-day Russia and created the Golden Horde.

Genghis Khan History Summary 

• Genghis Khan was the Mongal ruler from 1162 to 1227, and he rose from humble beginnings and went on to establish the largest land empire in history. Temujin was Genghis Khan's real name. He conquered vast swaths of Central Asia and China after unifying the nomadic tribes of the Mongolian plains. 

• Genghis Khan’s successors stretched the empire even farther, reaching areas like Poland, Vietnam, Syria, and Korea. The Mongols ruled over a territory about the size of Africa at its peak, controlling between 11 and 12 million contiguous square miles. Many people were murdered during Genghis Khan's conquests, but he also offered his subjects religious freedom, banned torture, fostered commerce, and established the first worldwide mail system. Genghis Khan passed away in the year 1227 during a military campaign against the Chinese Kingdom of the great Xi Xia. His final resting place is a mystery.