The History of Genghis Khan

The world had seen many great conquerors. Alexander the Great, Hannibal and Julius Caesar - all of them met with struggle on their rise to power. Among them all, Genghis Khan was perhaps the most significant.

Genghis Khan is believed to have been born in the year 1162 and named Temujin. He showed early promise as a leader and warrior. By 1206, an assembly of Mongolian chieftains proclaimed him Genghis Khan, which means Invincible King. This assembly obviously saw the great leadership qualities in Genghis Khan.

When Genghis Khan was still very young, his father, a chieftain of a Mongolian tribe, was poisoned. The tribe then abandoned Genghis and his mother. They were left alone for many years to care for themselves. Throughout these years, mother and son met numerous hardships; shortage of food and shortage of money. Though illiterate, Genghis was a very wise man. His mother told him at a very early age the importance of trust and independence.

In 1206, Genghis Khan was proclaimed the ruler of Mongolia. Genghis was a very respected leader. Like other capable leaders he knew what his people wanted. Genghis wanted to secure his position as well as keep his country safe, and, towards this end, he made alliances-and attacked anyone who posed a serious threat.

Later, Genghis Khan promoted the growth of trade between China and Europe. This allowed him to gain essential supplies such as food, weapons and other essential products and materials. Genghis also invented a system of silent communication between a horse and its rider - a system that is still in use today. Perhaps the greatest gift of Genghis Khan to his people was the Mongolian written language.

Genghis Khan was also a genius of martial strategy. He structured his army in a unique fashion. He integrated soldiers from different tribes into a single powerful fighting force. The integration served to establish diversity in his army, unite people of different caliber and prowess in warfare, and, most importantly, inspired loyalty to the Mongolian Army as a whole rather than to a specific group or groups of people.

Genghis used harsh training and strict discipline to create a superior fighting force, and ensured that every one of his soldiers was well equipped and could easily adopt to new war tactics. He inspired loyalty by a unique way of promotion.

Perhaps, Genghis was the first meritocratic military commander in history - he promoted his soldiers on the basis of achievement and not within his family. This did not only inspire great loyalty but it also raised the morale of his soldiers and made his army even more powerful. Every soldier pledged his life to Genghis and put in a hundred percent effort because all had equal chance of promotion.

Once his army was trained and ready for battle, Genghis felt it was time to flex the muscles of the Mongolian empire. Genghis took on the great task of conquering all of china and uniting it under a single ruler. Genghis began his assault on China by attacking a northwest kingdom called Xi Xia. He defeated Xi Xia with little effort and then, in 1215, moved northeast, attacking and conquering Beijing. The capital of the Qin Empire. In 12 18, for reasons unknown, he decided to cease his assault on China and swept into Central Asia. He crushed the kingdom of Khorasan, destroyed the cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, and Nishapur. By 1223, Genghis Khan and his troops had conquered had defeated and conquered Southern Russia.

Just in 17 years, Genghis Khan had created an empire that would be the biggest in history! Genghis Khan died on 18th August, 1227, and was buried in a secret location in Mongolia.