Genghis Khan, is a name that today continues to provoke terror in some areas of the East. historical figure who managed to unify the ethnic Mongol peoples who lived scattered throughout North Asia, concentrating them under a single empire. A warrior who managed to expand the borders of the Mongol Empire, from Eastern Europe to the Pacific, from Siberia to the region of Mesopotamia and Indochina. Genghis Khan: Warrior and Conquerora man as loved as hated, an unscrupulous warrior, let’s learn more about his life, his battles, his conquests and his death.
Genghis Khan: Warrior and Conqueror | Biography (1167-1227)
Temujin, Genghis Khan or Genghis Khanare three of the names by which this figure born in the cheetah city (currently belonging to Russia) in the year 1167, deceased in Gansu (Chinese) in 1227.
His father Yesugei, was a member of a royal clan called Borjigin, a clan that had dominated part of Eastern Mongolia, kingdom disappeared by the Tartar incursion in the mid-twelfth century. Yesugei, died when Temujin was a child, he was only 9 years old, a fact that plunged his family into absolute misery, having to face a day to day where the important thing was to survive.
Over time, the young Temujin, managed to find refuge in the Kerait tribe, in Ulan Bator, where they quickly became aware of the warrior qualities that young Temujin had. With the help of Toghril Beg, chief of the tribe, and some childhood friends like the young Jamuka, Temujin managed to gather a large and fearsome army capable of defeating both the tribes of northern Mongolia and the Tartar armies.
A brave and cunning man, which would quickly gain the support of the noble class. His fame preceded him and the nobility decided to make him the great Chiefsomething that provoked the wrath of his former allies, who had helped him so much when he came seeking refuge.
But Temujin, without hesitation, faced them. The confrontation ended with the death of both Toghril, like his great friend Jamuka. The next order he issued was to disperse the Kerait tribe, among the rest of the tribes of Mongol origin.
In the year 1206, In a ceremony held on the banks of the Onon River, a great assembly composed of the Mongol Princes, Temujin was named Genghis Khan or Genghis Khan, name with which he would go down in history.
Owner and lord of the steppe, and after having unified the Mongol tribes and the Turko-Mongolian tribes from the Gobi desert area, he formed an extraordinary army, with a decimal combat system, an army that would be invincible and with which he could dominate the world.
But if something elevated the figure of Genghis Khan, it was the conquest of China, first conquering the western part, subduing kingdoms such as the Tangut on the Yellow River. Once the western part was conquered, he set out to dominate and control Manchuria. After Manchuria would come Cambaluc (Peking) in 1215then the rest of the North China.
Between 1219 and 1221, he fought against the Chas Corasmia, where he seized cities of the entity of Bukhara, Samarkand, Tifilis and Sudak. He fought against the Ukrainian princes on the banks of the Kalka River, while his son Tului did the same and invaded Jhorezmthe largest Muslim power in Central Asia.
In 1227, while preparing a raid on the kingdom of Hsi Hsia, Genghis Khan died. It is paradoxical that after multiple battles from which he always emerged victorious, bloody contests, etc., it was a fall from a horse what gave him the terrible wounds that would end his life on August 18, 1227.
Genghis Khan: Warrior and Conqueror | The Mongols
In northwestern China, in an area comprised between Lake Baikal and the Altai massif, inhabited by a series of tribes of transhumant shepherds, who traveled with their carts and tents after the herds, while other groups dedicated themselves to hunting in the taiga. the mongolian people they often had harsh confrontations with other groups, in most cases, due to the dispute over hunting and pasture lands.
Other times the Mongol incursions had another character, it was not uncommon abduction of women from other tribes, which caused harsh clashes, there is no doubt that the war character of these peoples favored constant disputes to the detriment of a desired stability.
Socially, the Mongolian people lived in a stratified society. The ruling minority was the aristocracy, who were above the warrior class, were in charge of choosing the chief of the tribe. Depending on the situation of the tribe, exceptionally, a Great Khan could be appointed, who would become the supreme chief of the Mongol people.
As warriors, the Mongols were and are great riders, but also they handled the bow with great skill. The Mongol army was a skillful army, indefatigable but above all very cruel. A people that had kept away from other civilizations, with a very rudimentary religious system, based on shamanism, where the elements of nature, such as the sky, water, fire and earth, were venerated with both human and animal offerings and sacrifices.
Genghis Khan: Warrior and Conqueror | The Creation of an Empire
a territory rsurrounded by small hostile tribes Like the Kara-Jitan, the Uyghurs, the Jurchen, etc. All these tribes ended up being part of the Mongol Empire. Subdued by the great Khan, Genghis who starting from a small territorybut with a great disposition, Between the years 1198 and 1206, he managed to subdue the different Mongol tribes, existing throughout the North Asian area, and proclaim himself chief and supreme ruler.
Genghis Khan was in charge of stabilizing his new and incipient empire, secure their authority, and then launch an expansionist policy towards nearby kingdoms and states. A policy that did not seek money or spoils of war, simply Genghis Khan wanted achieve a great empire, an empire that was able to face any threat and win, he wanted what he got, the Great Mongol Empire.
His first incursions were towards the east, where he annexed the Tangut kingdom of Si-Hía, as well as the northern part of China. After these victories, he began his campaign against the Kara-Jitan, kingdom located in East Turkestan.
Once the entire Asian steppe area was controlled, the armies of Genghis Khan had no rivals. To a well armed and trained army, mastering the art of riding and with great skill in the bow, the Mongol army was practically invincible, to all this we have to add the military contingents of the regions, kingdoms and tribes annexed to the empire .
Not only was the territory controlled by Genghis Khan expanding, but at the same speed his armies were becoming more numerous and powerful.
The foreign policy carried out by Genghis Khan was to have good relations with the Sultanates disposed to the south of his empire. The Turkish sultanates and the empire of Genghis Khan maintained good political, mercantile and commercial relations. These relations remained so during the first years, but a very unpleasant event changed this relationship.
A Mongolian caravan was attacked and all its members were killed, the culprits had been the Turks of Kahrezm. This fact provoked the wrath of Genghis Khan, who did not hesitate to raze the cities and crops of Transoxiana, Iran and even Afghanistan. Their inhabitants were cruelly killed, the cities destroyed, the trade source of wealth for these cities was destroyed.
The madness had been unleashed, Genghis Khan would not hesitate to reach the Caspian Sea, coming to georgia and southern Russia, looting everything in their path, destroying cities and murdering their inhabitants. After all these bloody battles, Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia, where he prepared himself for what would be his last campaign.
This was against the kingdom Tangut of Si-Hía, a kingdom that had risen up against, different revolts followed one another that were always suffocated, but for Genghis Khanit would be his last fighta horseback riding accidentor, left him seriously injured dying shortly after the accident.
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