Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan (c. 1162 – August 18, 1227) was one of the world most powerful military leaders ever, who joined with the Mongol tribes and started the Mongol Empire. His children and his grandchildren etc. passed down his throne and started the largest empire in the world.

Genghis Khan's grandson, Kublai Khan, was the first ever emperor of the Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368) in China. No one knows where the burial site of Genghis Khan is. He was a Mongol Emperor who was very successful in battle, killing many enemies, such as the Jin Dynasty. He was a very strong and powerful Emperor who occupied much of China and the some surrounding countries of China.

Genghis Khan was not born with the name Genghis; he was actually born with the name Temujin. After being a very successful tribe’s leader and conquering a lot of land, people referred to him as Genghis, meaning “Universe ruler”. Over the next few decades Genghis led a massive military campaign conquered vast areas killing many people, giving him a reputation in the history books as a 'brutal monster'.

Early life

Lineage

Temüjin was related on his father's side to Khabul Khan, Ambaghai and Qutula Khan who had headed the Mongol confederation. When the Chinese Jin Dynasty switched support from the Mongols to the Tatars in 1161, they destroyed Khabul Khan. Genghis's father, Yesügei (leader 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, who descended directly from Ambaghai. When the Tatars grew too powerful after 1161, the Jin switched their support from the Tatars to the Keraits.

Birth

The Onon River, Mongolia in fall, a region where Temüjin was born and grew up.

Because of the lack of records, there is very little information about the early life of Temüjin. The few sources that provide insight into this period often conflict.

Temüjin was born in 1162 in a Mongol tribe near Burkhan Khaldun mountain and the Onon and Kherlen Rivers in modern-day Mongolia, not far from the current capital Ulaanbaatar. The Secret History of the Mongols reports that Temüjin was born with a blood clot grasped in his fist, a sign that he was destined to become a great leader. He was the second-oldest son of his father Yesükhei, a minor tribal chief of the Kiyad and an ally of Ong Khan of the Kerait tribe, and the oldest son of his mother Hoelun. According to the Secret History, Temüjin was named after a Tatar chieftain whom his father had just captured. The name also suggests that they may have been descended from a family of blacksmiths (see section Name and title below).

Yesükhei's clan was called Borjigin (Боржигин), and Hoelun was from the Olkhunut, the sub-lineage of the Onggirat tribe. Like other tribes, they were nomads. Because his father was a chieftain, as were the ones before him, Temüjin was of a noble background.

No accurate portraits of Genghis exist today, and any surviving depictions are considered to be artistic interpretations. Persian historian Rashid-al-Din recorded in his "Chronicles" that the legendary "glittering" ancestor of Genghis was tall, long-bearded, red-haired, and green-eyed. Rashid al-Din also described the first meeting of Genghis and Kublai Khan, when Genghis was shocked to find that Kublai had not inherited his red hair. Also according to al-Din Genghis's Borjigid clan, had a legend involving their origins: it began as the result of an affair between Alan-ko and a stranger to her land, a glittering man who happened to have red hair and bluish-green eyes. Modern historian Paul Ratchnevsky has suggested in his Genghis biography that the "glittering man" may have been from the Kyrgyz people, who historically displayed these same characteristics. Controversies aside, the closest depiction generally accepted by most historians is the portrait currently in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan (see picture above). After his death his 3rd son Ogodei has succeeded him. He had 4 queens, and Ogodei was born from his first wife.