Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan (c.1167-1227) was the founder and emperor of the Mongol Empire during the 13th century.

He was a military genius who created the largest and greatest land empire in history. His birth name was actually Temujin not Genghis Khan, he got his name in 1206.

He was not just a warrior and conqueror, but a skilful administrator and ruler.

He conquered empires from the Black Sea to the Pacific and organized them into states of some permanence, on which his successors were able to build.

He was a wise ruler and created laws that promoted education and religious tolerance.

he invaded continents to stretch his empire. Stretching across Eurasia from Poland to Korea and from Vienna and the Arctic circle in Russia. He took Attila the Huns empire when he died in 453. Well, atedius took it, but wasn't more better when Genghis Khan was in charge) . Attila lost to the Goth warriors (in 451) and not really the Romans stepped in with the Goth warriors. This was called the battle of Chalons. But what happened that the Visigoth king, Theodoric I, survivors from the Huns, discovered bodies littering large tracts in the plain. One of them was the Visigoth king was killed in the counter attack but Aetius didn't crown victory. But Genghis Khan wanted it to grow. in 1195 when Temujin (Genghis Khan's real name) got the Mongol tribes into a federation and assumed the title Genghis Khan. Because Genghis Khans army was composed of entirely of cavalry, he had the most mobile army of his time. his largest group of men grouping, "Turmens", of 10,000 men. His men the bulk made up of heavy

cavalry warriors who carried a lance and sword and wore a leather armor.

Light cavalry were archers who just wore a leather helment.By 1215, he conquered China. In 1222 he was deep into Russia,and by 1226, he ruled from Poland from Korea. he died in 1227.

Attila died in 453. Genghis Khan (Temüjin) was born in c.1162.
he went around asia killing and pillaging people in their small villages he was one of the mightiest conquerers of all time

The Mongol empire made contributions in almost every area of humankind's accomplishments. They fostered religious tolerance, made progress in engineering , agriculture and law.

LAW:

This was one of the strong points of Mongol contribution. Being simple tribesmen from the steppes they had a sense of humanity and humility-not usually found in the civilized peoples of the time. Rutheless as almost no other people in history in warfare-once peace was established they introduced to vast areas of Asia and Eastern Europe the best laws these regions have ever had. For instance Ghenghis Khan introduced the law of religious tolerance. All religions were to be tolerated and free to practice so long as they did not harm society or the empire. When the Muslim citizens of the Persian city of Bokhara persecuted the local Christians in defience of Ghenghi's religous tolerance edict he said "the dead have risen from the grave, we must go and put them back where they belong". Meaning he had spared them when they surrendered and now they were defying his laws. He marched back his army and slaughtered the Muslims. This kind of tolerance had not been seen on the earth a whole lot since the Pax Romana-a thousand years before. They kept peace with their law of sucsession. One, the will of the great khan-the Khagan was very important and they had a Kuralti (an election council) when the Khan died to have a vote upon the sucsession. Only decendents of Ghengis Khan's and his first wife's, Borta, in the line of their four sons: JUJI, JAGHATAI, OGHATAI and TULI: were elibable to run for the office. Although there were minor civil wars from time to time, through this law they kept peace throughout a large proportion of the world. They had other laws, for instance, it was death to steal a horse, people were protected in their persons and property and no sacking of a city that surrendered. If you immidiatley surrendered, your safety was guaranteed by the great khan himself. For instance when Ghenghis Khan's son-in-law(he had one daughter) sacked a city which had surrendered, he was demoted from the command of a touman(10,000) to the ranks. These laws ensured a peace and stability for centuries throughout all this territory(approximately 25,000,000 square kilometres). For instance their laws protected the all important silk road. The great trading route of Asia for milenia. This was important because it increased the goods and knowledge going on to Europe and precipitated the spirit of change which after the fall of Constantinopal (Thursday 29th May 1453) brang the Renaissance to Europe and hence the comming of the modern world. Their laws were amonst the most just in history.

GOVERNMENT:

The Mongols, in contrast to their method and policy of waging war, had one of the best governments in history. In an age of intolerance, not caring about the population and general neglect the Mongol Empire was a shining example to be held up to all of history. They made sure that of the vast loot they had captured that infrastrucure was built(by foreign craftsmana and artisans), stocked up supplies as to help the poor in bad times, had charity relief and a law and order the likes not seen in the rest of the Middle Ages. They gave people opportunities that no one in from the 4th of September 476 A.D. till approaching modern times gave. For instance many of their generals were not of Mongol tribes. Many of their officials were not of even the steppe peoples. For instance Ghenghi's high chancellor was a decendent of Khittan Tartars who had taken over two thirds of China centuries before and had been replaced by the Kin Tartars. Ham Lin was a man so well respected that even in Mongol politics no one dared touch him and only after he died they investigated him out of politics and found he had only left his humble clothes, some utensals and some literature. He was the person who said to Ghenghis Khan "an empire can be built from the top of a horse, but it cannot be ruled from the top of a horse".Jebe was of another steppe peoples. One day in the early days he was siting on a rock on a road waiting for Ghengis Khan to go by there. When Ghenghis came he asked to join him as his tribes star was falling while Ghenghi's was rising. Ghenghis accepted him as he accepte any who would join him, no matter who or what you were. Jebe became the most brilliant of Ghenghi's orlocks(Marshals). Ghenghi's youngest son married a nestorian christian and thus Mangu and Khublai's mother was a christian. They had tolerance. Good government they also had. As well as a stable society and care for the people. Humane Khagans they also had. And humble ones too. For instance when Ghenghi's third son and sucsessor-Oghatai was brang tons of loot from the campaign, he said "just put it there out in the open field, so that anyone who wants to can come and take what he needs". Also he cancelled all debts to the imperial treasury. He would go through the markets. He noticed once that they were continuously closed when they should have been opened. He learnt that it was because his officials had closed them so not to disturb him as he walked by. He immidiatley ordered them open when they liked. Once he was walking in a market when he came upon a candy seller. He wanted some candy. He sent his onterouge back with a silver bakish(a silver ingot of value) to buy some candy. They returned with the candy and the change. He then sent them back with the change and nine more bakish to give to the candy seller saying"in all this man's life, when will he meet a customer like me, he therefore should be left to enjoy his good fortune". With such as these it is no wonder that with government the Mongol Empire gave all of history a shining example of how to conduct youself when you have such awesome power. Such shining example can be seen in the strength of law, order, social cohesion and damm good government in this: It was said WITH ACCURACY that a virgin with a bag of gold on her head could walk from one end of the Mongol Empire-with both intact.

SCIENCE:

The Mongols weren't great scientists as such. They mostly kept the present scientific infrastructure and maintaned it. However they encourage, and paid for, education and research. They encourage people of scientific and practical skills as well as artistic. They spend vast amounts of money subsitising science as well as the arts. Inventers were encouraged to come to Kharakorum and later Peiking, Tabriz and other cities. They were paid handsomely. Contary to the popular myth about the Mongol Empire it was an age of the encouragement of science and the aviability of passage of knowledge, as well as goods, in their keeping open and the maintance-both material and legal of the major trade routes. They kept the Chinese canals in good order. Two notable examples of their contributions stand out. One, was the postal service staffed by bow riders who were bound in their clothing, tough, excellent horseman, supported by many many horses and serviced by stations on the postal routes. The riders would ride fast with changing horses at minor stations every 25 miles and staying at major ones every 100 miles. Meals and lodgings would be provided for them. Fresh riders would also take over. A letter could cross the length of the empire(stretching from the pacific ocean to eastern Europe) in less then three weeks. It took months to deliver a letter over much shorter distances over the rest of the Middle Ages. The other contribution was that although they did not invent paper money(the Chinese did) they made it respectable and started it out on the road it is today. Orginally it was reinvented by Khublai Khan and he backed the currency up with silver bakish. In 1295 the Ill Khan Gaikhatu decided he would solve his financial problems with the introduction of paper money. But this time it was not backed up by anything. All the governors obeyed except his cousin Ghazan Khan who when seeing the printing presses(of the old Chinese type) ordered them smashed and thrown away. Fortunatley for Persia and it's territories Gaikhatu soon died and was sucseeded by Ghazan who had the rest of the printing presses destoryed and the paper money burnt. Returning silver and gold for the paper. Also the modern wine Sharaz was invented by the Mongols. It also was the originator of the Klingon blood wine you see in the Star Trek series. They did however also develope military science. Their Mangonels(large balista) could thrown rocks up to 300 yards. They developed rockets invented by the Chinese and they put to use a bit gunpowder well before Europe. They had tubes with fired at short range melted fat, powered by gunpowder. One and a quarter centuries before Agincourt Ghazan Khan had massed strong bows not unlike the longbow used with devestating effect in a battle with the Mamlooks of Egypt. The Mongols might not have invented as much as many many other peoples but they did keep the sciences alive and spread them about the earth. They helped uplift and keep science alive in the Middle Ages.

ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE:

The most, except for the infransture, the Mongols contributed to engineering was military engineering. They became very good at sieges employing such as battering rams, fortifications, wall sapping and the practice of mining to undermine the walls and the pouring of wine onto fire to weaken and crack walls. They employed a lot of Chinese and Persian engineers and improved the machines of war which had fallen down a bit since Rome. Their encouragement of gunpowder and rocketry precipitated their use elsewhere. As far as architecture was concerned they used other to build and did invent the piles of skulls (of Tamerlaine). Their capital Kharakorum was unique in that it didn't have a wall, but a mound with a six foot fence on it all round it. Unlike any other city. They also built huge pavilions at Kharakorum but also had a quite open plan-so people could have room to move. Nothing like other peoples, but they did have something. Their main concern with architecture was that they destoyed a hell of a lot of it. And their main concern of science was the science of destruction. However, their medical sciences, borrowed, thought of or developed were the most advanced in the middle ages. They introduced the idea of silk shirts. If an arrow hits a silk shirt the arrow and the shirt goes in. Consequently all you have to do is to very carefully pull out both the arrow and the shirt. Less casualties, less fatalities. At a time when the rest had to perform complicated operations and Western Europe especially , had to saw off the arrow tail and keep the rest in there so not as to have the patient bleed to death. To be later removed. They had a hospital system that has been only equalled or even approached by three. The Greco-Roman system, the knights of the Hospitillar order of St. John and modern times-since the invention of penicillan. Not bad for a nomadic empire.

I have noticed there is a resurgence of interest in the Mongols. They are a people who have been long overlooked and underestimated. There have been many myths about them and most of the myths of their cruelty were true. They were greater butchers than Hitler and Stalin combined. They were about the cruelest of warriors. However, they never rejected anyone who wanted to join them and they never sanctioned the sacking of any who surrended - especially immediately. They weren't racists and they weren't ideological fanatics. They weren't madmen. They were normal human beings who were brought up in a tough primitive and cruel environment. Sure they have their vices. But also they had many many virtues. And these so far have, for the most part and in most quarters been overlooked. They were not just a race of primitive nomads. They might have fought in that way but most advanced. But they were advance empire far beyond anything in the medieval age, than most ancient empires and more than right up to modern times. For instance they opportunity to people who had it very rarely in history. For instance in one campaign in Russia they approached a town. Their envoy was a woman. Because she was qualified for the job. The woman approached the town and gave them the Mongol's terms. They laughed and ignored her because she was a woman. To have a woman as an envoy to an army in those days was considered lunacy and a joke. They really should have had a more open mind. Needless to say - the town was levelled. They had an advanced system of intelligence that even very few, if any, modern twenty first century powers could compete with. For instance every thing that was of importance that happened in Europe, including royal scandals (and the names and doings involved) and any important information was known to the Mongols. In fact every important document issued in the medieval world of their empire's time was in very very quickly. A copy of a document issued in Rome would be in Kharakorum before it would be in London. The major contributions of the Mongol Empire? The two very major ones was how to run a vast powerful empire and how to behave with such immense and awesome power. Intangibles, yes, but examples to all history. Examples that will live long after the prose/writing, the law, the government, the science, the engineering/architecture have crumble to dust. Hope this helps.

The Mongols also indirectly influenced the Renaissance. Banditry was rife in what is now Russia and prevented land access between Europe and China. When the Mongols conquered Russia, they made the roads safer for explorers and traders for centuries. These people were in turn attracted by tales of immense wealth. Marco Polo wrote in his travels that he had met Kublai Khan in Xanadu. The reopening of the silk road and a renewed interest in exploration led to the aquisition of new technologies from China. The crossbow for example had been invented more than 1000 years before it was adopted into European armies. Another example would be explosives like gunpowder.

The Mongols didn't invent the catapult, the Romans did circa 1000 years earlier. Bow arrows were present in Europe much, much before the Mongols. The Egyptians, Etruscan and ancient Romans used that before Christ was born. Mongols invaded north Europe only after the end of the Western Roman Empire