Genghis Khan: Leader, Warrior, Conqueror

Christopher I. Morel

Professor Hardman

ENGL 1101

28 March 2017

Genghis Khan: Leader, Warrior, Conqueror

Genghis Khan was revered as one of the most influential and strategic leaders of all time, but now this opinion is held by a minority. While reading about Genghis Khan's life online I found intense admiration for the man, however, after digging deeper into online articles, it seemed as though many people had an opposing opinion to my own. Many articles depicted Genghis Khan as a monster: one article (by the reporters at Daily Mail) went as far as referring to him as "throat slitter supreme", and on the website known as DebatePolitics they took a poll to see whether Genghis Khan or Hitler was "more evil"- where the majority believed that Genghis Khan was worse.Even the name, “Genghis Khan", has been used as a byword for barbarity for the last 800 years. My belief is that this blatant display of animosity towards Genghis Khan comes from a place of ignorance and my intention of this research paper is to acquaint people with Genghis Khan's better qualities so that they can compose an informed opinion rather than jump to ill-conceived conclusion.

To achieve this objective, I have arranged my paper into four main sections. In the first section, I provide a description of Genghis Khan's early life as well as moments that I believe were critical in his development as a person. In the second section, I discuss his conquest of Asia- through the lens of his military prowess and political effect. In the third section, I put forward people's reasoning for their differing opinions on Genghis Khan. I then conclude with the importance of researching historical figures along with the value of drawing a fact-based opinion and my closing remarks.

EARLY LIFE

Genghis Khan, the man who thought himself a weapon of God, started off as a mere boy with the name Temujin (loosely meaning "of iron"). He was born around 1162 CE (the exact date is disputed by historians) near the border between modern Mongolia and Siberia- specifically in Del'iun-boldok on the Onon River. His father was Yesugei Baghatur, who kidnapped Hoelun to be his wife and mother to Temujin. He was one of four children.  Legend holds that he was born clutching a blood clot in his right hand. However, this would not be the last of the blood on his hands. Temujin was born into a world of war, dozens of nomadic tribes on the central Asian steppe (a steppe is an ecological zone with shrubs, grass, and very few trees- and is also known as a veld) were frequently looting from each other and trapped in an endless battle. The battlefield was a grizzly sight: bodies from both sides would be strewn across the grass with their blood feeding the soil which would consume them entirely as they decomposed-their weaponry and tactics did not allow for anything short of a bloody attrition (Temujin would come to change this, by uniting these bitter rivals ). At the age of 10, his father was poisoned by the rivaling Tatar tribe, and this would place the young Mongol as the new chief of his tribe. Although, the tribe did not recognize his leadership, so his family was forced out into the world to find a new life.

Temujin's family now lived an impoverished lifestyle in isolation, where every meal was a luxury and every calm day was a gift. It was in this time that Temujin first took the life of another man, the life of his greedy older brother - who was hoarding food for himself. This act forced Temujin to become the head his family. He eventually found himself a wife, Borte, who would bear him four sons and an unknown number of daughters- this marriage also created an alliance with his tribe and the Konkirat tribe.  However, Borte was kidnapped by the Merkit tribe and was offered to the chieftain as a wife. Temujin managed to rescue her but soon after she was with child (Jochi), this cast doubt on whether Jochi was truly Temujin's child but he accepted Jochi as his own. While Temujin did have many children with other women, only children from Borte were considered worthy to be Temujin's successors- including Jochi.

THE MONGOL CONQUEST

It was when Temujin was 20 years that he began his rise to power. He amassed an army of 20,000 men to begin to wipe out the division between tribes. First though, Temujin decided to take vengeance on the tribe that poisoned his father-the Tartar tribe- such a dishonorable tribe had no place in his unified Mongol empire. Using his superior military tactics and ruthless brutality, he brought the Tartar to their knees. At the end of the battle, Temujin ordered that every Tartar male whose height was taller than a wagon wheel (about 3 feet tall) was to be executed. While some may see this as a barbarous act, it was, in fact, strategic: he knew that the children should not be held accountable for the elders' decisions and that the children would grow to become capable warriors under Mongol teachings. This strategy was employed by the Roman conquest as well, indoctrinating the conquered enemies with Roman culture, so that they would not only become allies of Rome but see themselves as Roman. Temujin went on to fight the Taichi'ut tribe, and the Taichi'ut were eliminated with the outstanding use of quick cavalry attacks. At the end of the battle, Temujin had all of the Taichi'ut chiefs boiled alive, sending a powerful message to all those who found themselves opposing Temujin. Temujin went on to conquer his rivals and unify all those who would stand with him. These newly allied tribal leaders agreed that there should be peace among the tribes and gave Temujin a new name "Genghis Khan" (which translates as "universal ruler").  The leading shaman also declared Genghis Khan to be the supreme god of the Mongols and stated that his destiny was to rule the world.

Genghis Khan's army was second to none and is known as the first modern army because its ranks were built on a rational structure (much like the Roman army) and, while most other armies' promotion were based on a birthright, the Mongols formed a merit based promotion. One story of this merit-based promotion was that of the Taijut soldier. Genghis Khan's horse was shot from under him, nearly killing him, so he demanded to know who had shot the arrow. Rather than being told by one of his own, the soldier came forward -prepared to face the repercussions. Instead of killing the soldier, Genghis Khan not only allowed him to join his army but placed him as an officer and named him "Jebe" (which means arrow). This officer went on to become one of his greatest field commanders. His army was highly disciplined and, due to their nomadic lifestyle, were incredibly mobile. The army could also complete elaborate operations with hardly any communication with a general; this coupled with the speed given to them by their horse archers made them a silent force of deadly efficiency.
Even before the enemy was in sight, Genghis Khan was assured of an advantage. The Mongols had a superior spy network: the Mongols were forced to learn the lay of the land, due to their nomadic movements, so they would be able to plan every assault knowing where the enemies were going to attack and where to position his men to counter any possible maneuvers. Genghis Khan was viewed as a legend of unknowable brutality and strategic might. The morale of enemy soldiers was crushed at the mere idea of warring against the monstrous Mongols. To ensure that this image remained, he didn't allow anyone to paint him or create any physical image of him- this action affirmed to his enemy that he was indeed beyond a mere man, to them, he was a harbinger of destruction.
By the end of Genghis Khan's life, the Mongol empire was vast, larger than Russia, so this allowed for increased trade of goods and culture. They had taken the Silk Road and thus connected Europe to Asia. This new availability in trade brought out increased trade between civilizations, that previously had little to no communication, spreading knowledge and unifying even those who did not fall under his ruling. When the Mongol empire collapsed this trade had died with it, but it didn't stop the desire to preserve the connection, this led to the British increasing their naval capabilities. This, of course, sparked the age of imperialism, world discovery, and, ultimately, globalization. He also gave China a new legal system, built pagodas, and it is said that Genghis Khan adopted Buddhism. The Mongol empire was also the first empire to popularize the use of a paper-based currency, establishing a new foundation for the world's economy.
Genghis Khan created a set of rules known as the "Yasa" (although there are other names for it). These rules were originally created due to the necessities of living nomadically, but as time passed and different ways of living were introduced into the Mongol empire, the rules evolved to match the needs of his civilization. The Yasa seems to be based on trust, hygiene, honesty, honor, and the importance of family. With its traits and ruthless punishments, the Yasa seems to retain order and safety in a, mostly, fair manner. There were numerous rules, here are just a few:  "He ordered women accompanying the troops to do the work and perform the duties of the men while the latter were absent fighting." (this shows the leaders understanding the capabilities of women as more than objects or servants, a far cry from other more "civilized" empires), "He ordered men to spare countries and cities which submit voluntarily." (this shows the mercy of the Mongols, they did not intend to dominate, but rather to unify), "Death to anyone who urinates into water or ashes." (while it seems like a drastic punishment, urinating in drinking water may damage your digestive system, if it is ingested often, and ashes may be used for cooking- with a similar consequence), "The children of concubines were considered as legitimate heirs, entitled to their share of the inheritance according the wishes of their father." (this may reflect Genghis Khan's own experience with Jochi, and in my view, it humanizes this legendary man as a father), " He believed the way to please God was to respect the beloved and respected sages and hermits of every tribe as an aspect of the Great All." (he absorbed many cultures and religions into his empire and allowed for all to continue without fear of maltreatment).