Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan & The Mongol EmpireGenghis Khan & The Mongol Empire
By Brent Monroe Pergram
The Mongol Empire extended ultimately from Korea in Asia to the borders of Hungary in Europe, and within its vast area of military conquest was the whole of China under a brief period of Mongol domination known as the Yuan Dynasty.
But to grasp the significance of the extraordinary growth of this nomadic people, it is necessary to look at Genghis Khan (1167-1227), whose genius for leadership and power united the independent tribes under one leader, making the Mongol Empire possible.(Morton,p.115)
Genghis Khan was born under the name Temuchin, meaning timber or iron, which his cradle was made of. Temuchin born in 1167 in Onan River Valley of Mongolia. He grew up on the steppe lands of Mongolia, learning to hunt and ride a horse at a young age. His father was killed on the way back from arranging the marriage of Temuchin to Borte. Temuchin was only 8 years old at the time, when his father was poisoned by a group of Tatars, getting revenge for a costly raid against them earlier. Temuchin\\\'s fathers death, which happened in 1175 or 1176, lead to his family\\\'s loss of support with relatives isolating Temuchins family. His mother and her four sons, and a few retainers were abandoned to fend for themselves. They lost their herds of animals and
the economic support of their kinsmen, forcing them to fish, eat roots and mice to survive. Temuchin and his brothers grew to early adulthood in extreme poverty. It was during this time that Temuchin showed his ruthlessness by killing his half-brother Begter over not sharing a fish that had been caught. When Temuchin claimed his wife-to-be Borte, who had been promised to him years earlier, he gained a wife of great intelligence and character, as a major asset in his rise to power. It also re-established ties to an old ally ending several rough years of isolation for his family.
Temuchin\\\'s benefactor was Toghrul, leader of the Kereits, who made him his heir. Temuchin and Toghrul, launched
a joint attack on the Tatars in 1196.
In the spring of 1196 the combined forces of Mongols and Jurchens of the Chin Dynasty of China administered a major defeat to the Tatar tribes. Victory gave Temuchin the opportunity to plunder the booty of his enemies, taking weapons, horses and food to
increase his power and prestige. In 1197 his tribe defeated the Jurkin, who had reneged on their pledge to join the attack on the Tatars. He executed their leaders, and made dependents of the survivors. He taught all the lesson of loyalty to him and to honor promises made to him, but in extermination the Jurkin ruling class, Temuchin had rid himself of the only Mongolian noble line senior to his own.
Temuchin had continued military successes,...
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