Genghis Khan: He turned scattered tribes of nomads into conquering warriors. (World History).

In 1200, Beijing, the capital of China's Jin Empire, was one of the most elegant and sophisticated cities in the world. But in 1215, invaders from Mongolia stormed the city gates. The Mongol horsemen slaughtered everyone in sight. The streets, said one horrified observer; were greasy with human fat.

Such scenes were repeated across Asia and Europe as this force of fighters came--seemingly out of nowhere--to destroy and conquer. Soon, these warriors from the north controlled the largest empire the world had ever seen.

Humble Beginnings

To create such an empire would be an amazing achievement for any people. What made it even more remarkable was that until the 1100s, the Mongols were nomads (wanderers) in a harsh, remote land. Small tribes of Mongols lived in felt tents called yurts, moving with their sheep, from one grazing ground to another.

The Mongols might have remained a group of wandering tribes if not for the forceful personality of a single man: Temujin (TEHM yoo jihn).

As a young boy, Temujin was timid, afraid of dogs. Then, when he was about 13, enemies poisoned his father, a tribal chief, and he fled to the wilderness with his mother and four brothers. Isolation and bitterness soon turned Temujin's heart to stone. When a half-brother grabbed a fish he had caught, Temujin slayed him with arrows.

After living on roots, berries, and field mice for years, Temujin was allowed to return to his tribe as its ruler. He began to conquer other tribes and, by 1206, had organized all of the Mongol tribes into one. An assembly of tribal chiefs declared him Genghis Khan (JEHNG gihs KAHN), or "Universal Ruler."

Now it was time, he said, to bring together the "people of the felt tent." Their first goal: Conquer China.

Time of Conquests

After capturing Beijing, Genghis Khan looked to conquer other lands. The Mongols rode west toward central Asia and eastern Europe, rampaging (rushing wildly) and subduing native peoples to create a vast empire (see map). When met with resistance, the Mongols would slaughter the populations of entire cities.

But Genghis Khan also inspired artistic and cultural growth, and introduced liberal reforms. The Mongols had no written language, so he created one. He also established a system of laws called the Yasa.

By the time he died, in 1227, the Mongol Empire stretched from China to the Caspian Sea. His legacy was, in the words of one writer, "as terrifying as genocide [mass murder] and as dreadful as the plague."

The mantle of destruction passed to his son Ogedei. In 1240, Ogedei swept into Russia with his troops. When the city of Kiev (KEE-ehf) refused to surrender, Ogedei burned the former capital to the ground and killed all of its inhabitants.

In 1241, knights from across Europe met in Poland to fight the Mongol warriors. The knights bristled with full suits of heavy armor, confident that they could make short work of the Mongols. But the swift Mongol horsemen outmaneuvered them, and hundreds of knights were slaughtered.

The Mongols then moved west. They defeated Hungary, invaded Croatia, and got within 60 miles of Venice, Italy. Luckily for the Europeans, Ogedei's death, in 1241, caused the Mongols to retreat.

Nonetheless, terrified Europeans flocked to churches to pray: "From the fury of the Tatars [Mongols], oh Lord, deliver us." Some Europeans said that Asia was populated by dog-headed creatures; others thought of the Tatars as monsters, or "the devil's horsemen."

The Mongols were simply disciplined, lightly armed soldiers who could run circles around their opponents and shoot hundreds of arrows while riding at full gallop. They changed to fresh horses by leaping from one moving horse to another and were trained to ride dozens of miles a day.

Sometimes they sneaked behind enemy lines for surprise attacks. Once, they even changed the course of a river and attacked a city across its now-dry riverbed.

The Mongols were feared everywhere. This made people submit (give in) rather than fight. The Mongol Empire grew rich on the taxes it collected from lands near and far.

A New Dynasty

In 1279, Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, conquered all of China and founded the Yuan dynasty (ruling family).

During his reign, the arts flourished, and people could practice whatever religion they chose. China was so safe, said one observer, that a maiden could walk through the empire with a gold nugget on her head and not fear danger.

Many outsiders visited--notably the Italian explorer Marco Polo, who supposedly stayed in China during Khan's reign. He wrote with admiration about this advanced society.

Why Did The Empire Fail?

Still, after Kublai Khan's death, the Mongol Empire broke up into four smaller empires. Khan's four sons could not agree on a successor so they split the empire four ways.

At its height, the Mongol Empire controlled nearly a third of the Earth's land surface. It changed the world, opening up possibilities for trade and travel. The empire brought Europe and Asia closer together, and roused Europe out of the complacent view that it was the center of the world.

But the vastness of the empire eventually led to its downfall. The Mongols could not control all the lands they conquered, and captive peoples rebelled. After 1400, the empire gradually lost its power.

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RELATED ARTICLE: Your Turn

Word Match

1. nomad     A. rush wildly
2. gampage   B. ruling family
3. genocide  C. wanderer
4. submit    D. mass murder
5. dynasty   E. give in

(Answers)

1. C

2. A

3. D

4. E

5. B

Think About It

What were the benefits--and drawbacks--of such a large empire?