Who was Genghis Khan? This feared ruler founded the largest land empire in history.

Genghis Khan (JENG-gis KON) has what you might call a nasty reputation. More than 700 years after his death, he is still remembered as a very bad guy. His image is that of a barbarian, a notorious villain. Like Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan led thousands of warriors into one battle after another, conquering lands and peoples far beyond his homeland. Both men were brilliant generals who built vast empires. Yet history often remembers Alexander as heroic, and Genghis Khan as bloodthirsty.

Who was Genghis Khan, and why does he have such a terrible reputation?

Early Struggles

According to an old saying, "History is written by the victors." That is often true, but not in Genghis Khans case. If his people wrote anything about him during his lifetime, it has been lost. The first known account of his life was written almost a century later, in The Secret History of the Mongols. That is the only record we have of Genghis Khan from the Mongols' point of view. Everything else we know about him, we learned from the people he conquered.

One lost fact is Genghis Khan's birth date. The years usually given are 1155, 1162, and 1167. In Mongolia, the land of his birth, 1162 is most commonly accepted.

There is no doubt that struggle and bloodshed formed him. Shortly before he was born, his father, Yesugei (YUH-soo-guy), killed a man from an enemy tribe. Yesugei and his wife named their first son Temujin (TEM-yoo-jin) after that vanquished rival.

Losing His Place

At the time of Temujin's birth, most Mongols were nomadic hunter-gatherers who herded sheep and horses. They traveled in clusters of tribal clans (family groups) and subclans. Many Mongols, women as well as men, were excellent horseback riders and hunters, and experts with bows and arrows. However, those skills were not just applied to hunting. Bloody clashes between clans were common. Mongols also fought with peoples of bordering lands, such as Tatar tribes to the northeast and the Chinese to the south.

Temujin's people, the Borjigin (BOR-juh-gin), formed one of the most powerful Mongol clans.

Yesugei was the khan (chief) of a Borjigin subclan. But when Temujin was about 10, Yesugei was killed by Tatars. Normally, a khan's oldest son took his place, but the people refused to follow the boy. They chose another khan and forced Temujin, along with his mother and brothers, out of the clan.

Being abandoned by one's clan was a death sentence. Rival clans and roving bandits were a constant threat, and conditions in the semiarid mountains were harsh. But Temujin managed to help keep his mother and brothers alive. Growing stronger with each battle for survival, he had a greater goal--to regain his rightful place as a Borjigin chief.

Forging an Empire

In the years that followed, Temujin fought for power. Each victory meant more people willing to accept him as their leader. At times, he allied himself with some clans to defeat others. As his power grew, Temujin overcame clan after clan, tribe after tribe--even the mighty Tatars.

Temujin always made sure that no enemy could attack him from behind. After winning a fierce battle, he and his warriors killed all remaining adults and older children. Temujin then scattered the surviving young children among his own people, so they would lose their tribal identity.

By 1206, Temujin had surpassed his boyhood goal. He had power over nearly every clan, tribe, and kingdom in Mongolia. That year, Mongol chiefs gathered at a huge meeting of khans. The khans declared Temujin Genghis Khan, meaning "Universal Ruler" or "Supreme Chief."

Genghis Khan had great physical strength, determination, and charisma (magnetic appeal). But the key to his power lay in convincing rival tribes to set aside old grudges long enough to defeat a common foe. Without an "other" as enemy, Mongols would start fighting among themselves again. He had to keep them busy.

By 1209, Genghis Khan commanded an immense fighting force. Mongol armies were organized in units of l0; 100; 1,000; and 10,000 soldiers. A tumen, or division, was 10,000 soldiers. Genghis Khan had about 10 tumens. In 1211, he led them against an old enemy, the Jin Empire of northern China. The Mongols and the Chinese had a long history of clashes and invasions.

While keeping up the attack on China, Genghis Khan defended his other borders by pushing westward. Over the next two decades, he and his generals burst across western Asia. By 1227, the year Genghis Khan died, he had conquered an area that stretched across central Asia from the Sea of Japan to the Caspian Sea (see map). His sons and grandsons made it larger still. At its height, the Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous (connected) land empire ever.

Staying Power

There is no doubt that Genghis Khan and his armies were fierce and ruthless attackers, particularly by modern standards. Yet accounts by the people he defeated are not always reliable. For instance, they often described his armies as being much larger than could have been possible.

Bloody invasions for land and power were not unusual in the history of those regions. What set Genghis Khan apart were the stunning swiftness of his horseback riders and the brilliance of his tactics. Always thinking, always learning, he adapted his style of attack as needed. A camp or small town could be taken with a sudden storm of horsemen. A large city might require a long siege.

The code of laws he put in place during his conquests ensured an orderly passage of power to his sons and grandsons. Thus, Genghis Khan's empire lasted longer than that of Alexander the Great.

Who was Genghis Khan? Despite all we know about him, that remains an unanswered question. At least one fact, however, is indisputable: He built one of the greatest empires of all time.

TIME LINE

Genghis Khan and the Mongols

c. 1162 Temujin (later Genghis Khan) is born.

c. 1172 Temujin's father is killed, and his family banished from their clan.

c. 1172-1200 Temujin gains power as he battles some clans and unites others.

1206 Mongols declare Temujin Genghis Khan, "Universal Ruler." Mongolia becomes a united state.

1207-1209 Genghis Khan organizes his forces and begins to devise a code of laws.

1209-1215 Genghis Khan attacks China, getting as far south as Beijing. He also conquers land as far west as Lake Balkhash  (in modern-day Kazakhstan).

1220 Mongol troops conquer Samarkand and Bukhara.

1221-1226 Genghis Khan and his armies extend the empire to the Caspian Sea in the west, Pakistan and the Himalayas in the south, North Korea in the east, and Lake Baikal in the north.

1227 Genghis Khan dies.

1229-1264 Genghis Khan's sons and grandsons extend the empire.

1368 The rising power of China's Ming Dynasty breaks the family's control, bringing about the end of the Mongol Empire.

Your Turn

THINK ABOUT IT

What methods did Genghis Khan use to maintain and extend his power?

* OBJECTIVE

Students should understand

* Genghis Khan rose to power to unify the various nomadic tribes of Mongolia in the late 1100s, and later set out to conquer other lands and peoples across Asia.

* WORDS TO KNOW

barbarian: uncivilized, as from an outside destabilizing or conquering force * charisma: a special charm or appeal * khan: a chief of a Mongol clan or subclan

* TEACHING STRATEGY

Ask students if they have ever heard the name Genghis Khan. If so, what impression do they have of him? If they haven't heard of him, ask what the word barbarian means to them. After they have read the article, ask whether that label fits Genghis Khan or not.

* BACKGROUND

Despite his reputation as a barbarian, Genghis Khan is credited with promoting trade, creating a vast postal system, and spreading the use of a universal alphabet.

* CRITICAL THINKING

NOTING DETAILS: What was the key to Genghis Khan's success in uniting the Mongol tribes? (He encouraged some tribes to form alliances against a common enemy. When an enemy tribe was defeated, it either joined his forces or was wiped out.)

TO DISCUSS: What is meant by the adage "History is written by the victors"? How might winning or losing affect how people and events are described? (Answers will vary.)

* ACTIVITY

COMPARATIVE HISTORY: Have students read brief encyclopedia entries on Alexander the Great and Charlemagne. How did they build their empires? How long did the process take? How long did their empires last? How do those empires and the Mongol Empire compare?

STANDARDS

SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8

* Time, continuity, and change: How Genghis Khan's reputation as a bloodthirsty villain eclipses recognition of his accomplishments as founder of the Mongol Empire.

* Power, authority, and governance: How Genghis Khan grew up to become one of history's most accomplished military leaders.

RESOURCES

PRINT

* Nicolle, David, The Mongol Warlords (Book Sales, 2004). Grades 7-8.

* Taylor, Robert, Life in Genghis Khan's Mongolia (Lucent Books, 2000). Grades 5-8.

WEB SITES

* National Geographic--Genghis Khan nationalgeographic.com/genghis /index.html

* Treasures of Inner Mongolia www.pma.odmonton.ab.ca /vexhibit/genghis/intro.htm

* Decide whether each sentence is true, false, or an opinion. Rewrite a correct version of any false statement on a separate sheet of paper.

--16. Genghis Khan should be remembered as a man who achieved great things.

--17. "History is written by the victors" was first said by one of Genghis Khan's sons.

--18. Much of what is known about Genghis Khan comes from the accounts of the people he conquered.

--19. The Mongols were the first people to use rifles and cannons in warfare.

--20. Genghis Khan's empire fell to foreign invaders shortly after his death.

ANSWERS

16. Opinion

17. False; the phrase is merely "an old saying" (sometimes attributed to Winston Churchill).

18. True

19. False; the Mongols did not use rifles and cannons in battle. They were excellent horseback riders and experts with bows and arrows.

20. False; Genghis Khan's empire lasted long after his death. He created a code of laws that ensured an orderly passage of power to his sons and grandsons.