Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan conquered more territory than any other conqueror, and his successors established the largest contiguous empire in history. Even today his legacy continues in Asia, for without Genghis Khan there would not be a Mongolia. By the end of his life he held three times the amount of land the Romans did. He was born in 1162 and died in 1227 (aged 65).
He lived a harsh life in poverty but was able to unit all the Mongol tribes into one. He is remembered as being a fierce leader with strict discipline. He was the man who brought law and order into Mongolian society. He gained the trust of all tribes; he was generous and would share the spoils of war, protect women and children, when other tribes would run and leave the women and children if they were going to be defeated, and a good strategist.
Rise to Power
Temujin was born in 1162 as the son of the chief of the Yakka Mongols. His father was poisoned when he was 10. Temujin was next in line to become chief. As he became chief the tribe turned its back on him and deserted him. He then lived harsh and lonely life, digging roots for food and only owning 7 sheep. He lived this way for three years until he talked from a former member of his tribe. He explained his military and political beliefs. They liked his ideas and more and more people began to listen to him. He used these audiences to form alliances and the alliances into armies. Temujin used strict discipline and tough training to mould a superior army. Temujin next wrote the first Mongol code of laws called Yasa. These laws indicated that he must chose his officers by rank and achievement, not there family connections. This law also stated that all commandos must stay loyal to their leader or ruler. From then on Temujin had a goal to leave the world better than he found it. Temujin built up his armies taking people from all the tribes that he conquered using his army. He overtook neighbouring tribes until he had all of Mongolia. His next purpose was to take over china. To do so he had to conquer the three main empires of china. First the smallest, Xi Xia and then Jin.
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Conquest
Conquest of China
Genghis Khan was undefeated in battle and in war. After he conquered Mongolia, Genghis wanted all of China. He did so by conquering the two main empires that made up China. First Xi Xia and then Jin. When he first attacked Xi Xia, he caught them of guard and conquered it easily by defeating only two armies of 50 people each, he then took over all of Xi Xia. He next headed for the Jin Empire.
The Jin empire conquest was harder in the fact it they had more troops and mountains protecting them. Although the commander of the Jin dynasty made an error and did not attack the Mongols at the first opportunity. Instead the Jin commander sent a messenger, telling the Mongols that they should not attack as there were thousands of troops waiting on the other side of the pass through the mountains. Genghis Khan pushed on. He fought at Badger Pass and slaughter thousands of Jin troops by out man overing them. In 1215 Genghis Khan attacked the capital of the Jin empire know as Yanjing(later known as Beijing).
This forced Xuanzong the emperor to move his capital south to Kaifeng, he abandoned the Northern half of his kingdom to the Mongols. Genghis never ceased his attack and Kaifeng was defeated and china fell to Genghis Khan.
The Conquest of the Khwarezmain
In the early 1200’s the Khwaresmain dynasty was governed by Shah ala ad-din Muhammad. Genghis Khan saw the potential advantage in Khwarezmain as a good trading partner using the silk road, he sent forth 500 man-caravan to establish an official trade with the empire. However on the way there they were ambushed by Inalchuq, the governor of Khwarezmain city of Otrar. All of the men were killed. The governor claimed that there were spies in the caravans and they needed to be stopped. Genghis khan then sent three ambassadors to talk to the governor. When they arrived there heads were shaved and 1 of them beheaded and then sent them back to Genghis khan. At that moment Genghis khan gathered his largest invasion yet of 200,000 troops and planned his attack on Khwarezmain.
The Essay on Genghis Khan Empire Great Armies
Genghis Khan's original name was Temujin. He was born in 1167 near lake Baikal in Russia, born the son of Yesukai. His father was a tribal chief. At the age of 13 he succeeded his father as tribal chief. In his early reign though he had trouble with many of his subjects revolting bu the soon proved his military and political worth by successfully suppressing and conquering not only his revolting ...
Genghis khan marched his troops over the Shan Mountains into the area controlled by the Khwarezmain Empire. He then divided his troops into the divisions. After gaining some intelligence from his sources he sent his first division Northeast of Khwarezmain. His second division around the mountains to met up with the first division on the other side. The third division followed Genghis Khan and went North West. The Khwarezmain Empire decided to split its army up into each city which was its fatal flaw. Each one of Genghis divisions destroyed each city it passed. The army quickly seized the town of Otrar that Inalchuq was in. He was killed by one of Genghis commanders in the battle.
Genghis then had to take out the major powers of the empire; he then set his sights on the capital Samarkand. His divisions regrouped with each other and laid waste to Samarkand. He destroyed entire towns and vast hectors of farmland. He burnt the royal buildings to the ground. The Khwarezmain Empire had come to an end.
Genghis Khan now owned a vast amount of land and controlled endless amounts of territory.
Genghis khan’s death
When Genghis khan died in 1227 it is believed that he died from wounds in battle. When he died he had amassed massive amounts of land. Each one of his sons and generals received part of his lands. 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.
When he died 200 of his most loyal soldiers were sent out to bury Genghis Khan at a secret burial ground. Any one these soldiers met was slaughtered to keep this a secret. When they buried the great Khan in his final resting place and returned to the Mongolians they were all killed to prevent the revealing of his resting place.
The Term Paper on Genghis Khan 3
Genghis Khan (/ˈɡɛŋɡɪs ˈkɑːn/ or /ˈdʒɛŋɡɪs ˈkɑːn/, Mongol: [tʃiŋɡɪs xaːŋ] Chingis/Chinghis Khan; 1162? – August 1227), born Temujin, was the founder and Great Khan (emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his demise. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of northeast Asia. After founding the Mongol Empire and being proclaimed &# ...
The Genghis Khan Mausoleum, constructed many years after his death, is his memorial, but not his burial site.
References
Websites:
http://www.angelfire.com/mo/QBranch/index.html
http://www.angelfire.com/ny/genghiskhan/page3.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol-Jin_War
Books:
World book- G*8-2005 addition
Genghis khan and the Mongols – Andrew Langley
Movies:
Mongol – by Sergei Bodrov’s
Source evaluation:
Wikipedia: had a lot of useful information but was hard to read, a bit too complicated and all over the place. Hard to tell which information was fake or real.
Movie: Mongol- was helpful in clearing up parts about his rise to power. The movie ended just as he became Genghis khan, told about early
World book- Only had a small amount of information, but this was important information which was needed, was helpful in the end.
