Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan's used brutal measures against those who would resist him in order to inflict fear. For example, he held that heresy should be punished by death, in ST II:II 11:3, an opinion now repudiated by the Catholic Church, but for many years held and practiced. In the West and the Middle East, the perception of Genghis Khan is strongly negative due to the destruction his forces caused, though there have been recent efforts by Western historians to explore the positive aspects of Genghis Khan's conquest. Some of Thomas's ethical conclusions are at odds with the majority view in the contemporary West. However, Genghis Khan's legacy is perceived very differently in Mongolia from the rest of the world. ("Bibliography", 1990). Near-contemporary Middle-Eastern accounts by Juvayni and Rashid al-Din have survived, along with the anonymous Uighur / Chinese document known as The Secret History of the Mongols, which presents Genghis Khan from the Mongol point of view. Category (3): Thirteen commentaries on Aristotle, and numerous philosophical opuscula of which fourteen are classed as genuine.

In Europe however, it is his image as bloodthirsty conqueror that dominates, and in the Middle East there are mixed feelings about Genghis Khan compared to Alexander the Great as there were similar destruction, but many Mongol armies and their families assimilated to the local culture. Also: Expositio in librum beati Dionysii de divinis nominibus; Expositiones primoe et secundoe decretalis; In Boethii libros de hebdomadibus Proeclaroe quoestiones super librum Boethii de trinitate. Today Genghis Khan's image is that of a ruthless and powerful conquerer in most of the world, known for his willpower and political persuasiveness, as also for fostering meritocracy among the nomads and the the Yasa code which formed the basis of the Empire. Category (2):. The chronicler Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani left a description of Genghis Khan, written when the subject was about 60 years of age:. Numerous other works have been attributed to him. He was ruthless to enemies, yet very generous and loyal to friends and some defeated foes who had surrendered according to his understanding of the rules of war in his culture. Category (1) includes:.

Temujin was a very capable leader. The writings of Thomas may be classified as:. Even his eldest son was the target of a planned military campaign just before Genghis died. Thomas Aquinas's Summa Theologica. Some he executed in secret, through deception. At the Council of Trent only two books were placed on the Altar, the Bible and St. He turned on some allies, like Jamuqa, and defeated them in open battle. In 1319, the Roman Catholic Church began investigations preliminary to Aquinas's canonization; on July 18, 1323, he was pronounced a saint by Pope John XXII at Avignon.

Genghis Khan murdered his own brother by shooting him in the back. In the Divine Comedy Dante sees the glorified spirit of Aquinas in the Heaven of the Sun, with the other great exemplars of religious wisdom. This is reflected in the fate of many of his closest allies and relatives. He was placed on a level with the saints Paul and Augustine, receiving the title doctor angelicus (Angelic Doctor). It is hard to work out what his personality was like, but he consistently displayed a sense that people were about to betray him. Aquinas had made a remarkable impression on all who knew him. He was physically timid and even the Secret History makes fun of his cowardice. He died at the monastery of Fossanova, one mile from Sonnino, on March 7, 1274.

He seemed to be a quick study, adopting new technologies and ideas that he encountered, although he never learned a foreign language or showed much interest in the cultures of other people. He wished to end his days in a monastery and not being able to reach a house of the Dominicans he was taken to the Cistercians. His military strategies showed a deep interest in gathering good intelligence and understanding the motivations of his rivals. On the way he stopped at the castle of a niece and there became seriously ill. He apparently valued honesty and loyalty highly, even an enemy soldier's loyalty to his leader, although not a civilian populations' loyalty to their own government. Early in 1274 the Pope directed him to attend the Second Council of Lyons and, though far from well, he undertook the journey. According to quotations attributed to him in his later years, he urged future leaders to follow the Yasa teachings, and refrain from surrounding themselves with wealth and pleasure. On the other hand, the consciousness of the insufficiency of his works in view of the revelation which he believed he had received was a cause of dissatisfaction for him.

As he aged, he seemed to become increasingly aware of the consequences of numerous victories and expansion of the Mongol Empire, including the possibility that succeeding generations might choose to live a sedentary lifestyle. Because of the keen grasp he had of his materials, in his writings Thomas does not, like Duns Scotus, make the reader his associate in the search for truth, but teaches it authoritatively. Genghis Khan appeared to fully embrace the Mongol people's nomadic way of life and did not act to change their customs or beliefs. The ideas he developed by such strenuous absorption he was able to express for others systematically, clearly and simply. It is not entirely clear what Genghis Khan was truly like, but his personality and character were doubtless molded by the many hardships he faced when he was young and during the time that it took to unify the Mongol nation. When absorbed in thought, he often forgot his surroundings. Other tales state that his grave was stampeded over by many horses, over which trees were then planted. His associates were specially impressed by his power of memory.

In folklore, it is said that a river was diverted over his grave to make it impossible to find. His tastes were simple. However, skeptics of this discovery see in the find evidence of a Mongol palace, and in accordance with Mongol tradition it is unlikely that Gengis Khan would be buried anywhere near one of his palaces. In argument he maintained self-control and won over opponents by his personality and great learning. As of October 6, 2004, there has been an alleged discovery of "Genghis Khan's palace" that makes a discovery of his burial site possible. His manners showed his breeding; he is described as refined, affable, and lovable. The Genghis Khan Mausoleum is his memorial, but not his burial site. Contemporaries described Thomas as a big man, corpulent and dark-complexioned, with a large head and receding hairline.

According to (probably apocryphal) legend, the funeral escort killed anyone and anything that strayed across their path to his burial, so as not to reveal where he was finally laid to rest. When asked why he had stopped writing, Aquinas replied, "I cannot go on...All that I have written seems to me like so much straw compared to what I have seen and what has been revealed to me." He died on March 7, 1274. After he died, his body was returned to Mongolia and presumably to his birthplace in Hentiy aymag, where many assume he is buried somewhere close to the Onon river. Aquinas had a mystical experience while celebrating Mass on December 6, 1273, after which he stopped writing, leaving his great work, the Summa Theologica, unfinished. It is alleged that Genghis Khan asked to be buried without markings. In 1272 the provincial chapter at Florence empowered him to found a new studium generale at such place as he should choose, and he selected Naples. There are persistent folktales that a Tangut princess, to avenge her people and prevent her rape, castrated him with a hidden knife and he never recovered. In 1269-71 he was again active in Paris.

The Galician-Volhynian Chronicle alleges he was killed by the Tanguts, but as of today the truth is unclear. At the solicitation of Pope Urban IV (therefore not before the latter part of 1261), he took up his residence in Rome. Many assume he fell off his horse, due to old age and physical wearing down; some contemporary observers even cited prophecies from his opponents. In 1259 he was present at an important chapter of his order at Valenciennes. The reason for his death is uncertain. Ultimately, however, he received the degree and entered upon his office of teaching in 1257; he taught in Paris for several years and there wrote some of his works and began others. In his last campaign leading the Mongol fight against the Tangut Empire, Genghis Khan died on August 18, 1227. In 1252 Aquinas went to Paris for the master's degree, but met with some difficulty owing to attacks on the mendicant orders by the professoriate of the University.

Timur based much of his early legitimacy on claiming descent from Genghis Khan. This long association of Thomas with the great philosopher theologian was the most important influence in his development; it made him a comprehensive scholar and won him permanently for the Aristotelian method. It holds the record for the largest continuous landmass controlled by any empire in history depending on how you define the Mongol Empire. For several years longer he remained with the famous philosopher of scholasticism, presumably teaching. According to some sources, the empire encompassed almost 50% of the world population and included the most advanced and populous nations of that time; China and many of the main contemporary states of the Islamic world in Iraq, Persia, and Asia Minor. He accompanied Albertus to the University of Paris in 1245, remained there with his teacher for three years, and followed Albertus back to Cologne in 1248. Control of much of this region, especially in Siberia, was nominal or non-existent. Finally the family yielded and the Dominicans sent Thomas to Cologne to study under Albertus Magnus; he arrived probably in late 1244.

At its height, the Mongolian Empire stretched from Southeast Asia to Europe, covering 35 million square kilometers (13.8 million square miles), little less than the British Empire with its 36 million square kilometers (14.1 million square miles). According to his earliest biographers, the family even brought a prostitute to tempt him, but he drove her away. The European expansion came to a halt when a number high-ranking leaders had to return to Mongolia to participate in the khuriltai for the election of the next Great Khan. This change of heart did not please the family; on the way to Rome, Thomas was seized by his brothers and brought back to his parents at the castle of San Giovanni, where he was held a captive for a year or two to make him relinquish his purpose. The Mongols eventually briefly overran Poland and Hungary under Batu Khan's rule, and (with varying degrees of success) Syria, and Vietnam. However, after studying at the University of Naples, Thomas joined the Dominican order, which along with the Franciscan order represented a revolutionary challenge to the well-established clerical systems of early medieval Europe. Genghis Khan's successors expanded the empire even further, into south China, Russia, Iraq, Korea, and Tibet. In his fifth year he was sent for his early education to the monastery.

On his deathbed in 1227, Genghis Khan outlined to his youngest son, Tolui, the plans that later would be used by his successors to complete the destruction of the Jin Empire. Landulf's brother, Sinibald, was abbot of the original Benedictine monastery at Monte Cassino, and the family intended Thomas to follow his uncle into that position; this would have been a normal career-path for a younger son of the nobility. This left Ögedei, third oldest, who was well liked by most people and so was made Great Khan. He was probably born early in 1225 at his father Count Landulf's castle of Roccasecca in the kingdom of Naples. Chagatai was a hot-head and disliked by his brothers. He was born into a family of the south Italian nobility and was through his mother Countess Theadora of Theate related to the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Holy Roman emperors. The eldest son Jochi was dead and there were questions about his parentage. The life of Thomas Aquinas offers many interesting insights into the world of the High Middle Ages.

The office of Great Khan was a matter of dispute. . Tolui, the youngest, was given the Mongol homeland as per Mongol custom. Thomas University in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Aquinas College in Stockport, England, Aquinas College in Perth, Western Australia, and the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, the Philippines. Chagatai was the next-eldest son of Genghis and so was given Central Asia. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, the University of Saint Thomas, Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California St. The most distant lands conquered by the Mongols, then southern Ruthenia, were divided among his grandsons Batu, leader of the Blue Horde, and Orda, leader of the White Horde. Louis, Missouri, St.

At his death, Genghis Khan divided the lands of his empire amongst his sons or their children. Thomas in Houston, Texas, Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. He also divided his armies into a number of smaller groups, taking advantage of the superb mobility of his mounted archers to attack their enemies on several fronts at once. Institutions of learning named for him are the University of St. He refused to divide his troops into different ethnic enclaves, creating a sense of unity, while he punished even small infractions against discipline severely. He is considered by the Catholic Church to be its greatest theologian and one of the thirty-three Doctors of the Church. Genghis developed a well organized army. He gave birth to the Thomistic school of philosophy, which was long the primary philosophical approach of the Roman Catholic Church.

Genghis Khan's armies were generally able to best their enemies in the 12th and 13th century because of their superior strategy, mobility, and military intelligence. Saint Thomas Aquinas (1225 – March 7, 1274) was an Italian Catholic philosopher and theologian in the scholastic tradition. Genghis Khan made advances in military disciplines, such as mobility, psychological warfare, intelligence, military autonomy, and tactics. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. Main article: Military advances of Genghis Khan. 38-40. He brought tutors with him to teach his children and himself to read and write. 2, pp.

Temüjin was illiterate when he was young but learned to read Taoist sermons later in his life. In The Jewish Encyclopedia, v. Taxes were also heavy, and conquered people were used as forced labor. Toy, Crawford Howell and Broydé, Isaac (1906), "Aquinas, Thomas". Generally, it is thought that the Mongol Empire was also friendly to outside trade along the Silk Road, although the Mongol's conquests led to a collapse of many of the ancient trading cities of Central Asia. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. The Mongols was ruled by the code of Yasa created by Genghis Khan of which no complete copy survives today. 422-427.

He instituted a meritocracy among the Mongols and allied nomadic people. 11, pp. The Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan was tolerant of the beliefs of the people it had conquered, provided that they did not resist, and often let conquered nations keep local rulers and worship their own religions. In Samuel Macauley Jackson (Ed.), The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, v. Main article: Organization of state under Genghis Khan. "Thomas Aquinas" (1908). Main article: Mongol Empire. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica.

How many of these deaths were attributable directly to Genghis Khan and his forces is unclear, as are the numbers. 987-988. Before the Mongol invasion, China had at least 100 million inhabitants; after the complete conquest in 1279, the census in 1300 showed it to have roughly 60 million people. 2, pp. China suffered a drastic decline in population. Adler (Ed.), Great Books of the Western World, 2nd ed., v. According to the works of Iranian historian Rashid al-Din, Mongols killed over 70,000 people in Merv and more than a million in Nishapur. In Mortimer J.

Over much of Central Asia Indo-European Persian-speakers were replaced by Turkic speakers. "Bibliography of Additional Readings" (1990). Genghis Khan's conquests were characterized by wholesale destruction on unprecedented scale and radically changed the demographic situation in Asia. Commentary on the Logic of Aristotle. There were also mass slaughters even where there was no resistance, especially in Northern China, and the vast majority of the populations so killed had long histories of accepting nomadic rulers. First Treatise on Univerals. Genghis Khan preferred to offer opponents the chance to submit to his rule without a fight, but was merciless if he encountered any resistance by totally exterminating the entire population of the resisting cities. Catena aurea.

At the Battle of Kalka River in 1223, the Mongols defeated the larger Russian force, capturing and killing 6 princes, Mstislav of Kiev among them. De Natura Verbi Intellectus. Batu Khan sent emmisarries to the Slavic princes calling for separate peace but the emmisarries were executed. De Natura Materiae et Dimensionibus Interminalis. While he was heading home, Batu assaulted the Kipchaks and was intercepted by the allied troops of Mstislav the Bold of Halych and Mstislav III of Kiev, along with a force of Kievan Rus numbering around 80,000. Two Precepts of Charity, 1273. Batu destroyed Georgian crusaders, sacked the Genoese trade-fortress of Kaffa in Crimea, and stayed the winter near the Black Sea. De Mixtione Elementorum ad Magistrum Philippe, 1273.

While he was gathering his forces in Persia and Armenia, a detached force of 40,000 troops of Batu Khan commanded by Subutai pushed deep into Armenia and Azerbaijan. Compendium of Theology, 1273. These invasions ultimately added Transoxiana and Persia to an already formidable empire. De Substantiis Separatis, 1272-1273. In 1225 both divisions returned to Mongolia. The Unicity of the Intellect, 1270. Neither campaign added territory to the empire, but they pillaged settlements and defeated any armies they met that did not acknowledge Genghis Khan as the rightful leader of the world. De Aeternitate Mundi Contra Murmurantes, 1270.

Genghis Khan led a division on a raid through Afghanistan and northern India, while another contingent, led by his general Subedei, marched through the Caucasus and Russia. Contra Pestiferam Doctrinam Retrahentium Homines a Religionis Ingressu, 1270. The Mongol armies then split into two component forces. De Perfectione Vitae Spiritualis, 1269. In the end, the Shah killed himself rather than surrender when he was cornered and by 1220, the Khwarizmian Empire was eradicated. On Spiritual Creatures, 1266-1269. However, he was outmaneuvered by the much swifter Mongol army and driven into extended retreat. Summa Theologica, 1265-1272.

The leader of Khwarizm, Shah Muhammad II, prepared to battle with them. On Kingship: To the King of Cyprus, 1265-1266. The Mongol army methodically marched through and sacked Khwarizm's main cities (Bukhara, Samarkand, and Balkh). Summa contra Gentiles, 1258-1264. At this point (1219), Genghis decided to extend Mongol control into the Muslim world. Super Boethium de Hebdomadibus, 1258. Once he had conquered the city, he killed many of the inhabitants and executed the governor by pouring molten silver into his ears and eyes as retribution for the insult. On the Trinity of Boethius, 1257-1258.

The Mongol army quickly seized the town, relying on superior strategy and tactics. Contra Impugnantes Dei Cultum et Religionem, 1257. The governor of the province had the emissaries executed, and Genghis Khan retaliated with an invasion force of 20 tumen (200,000 troops). On the Power of God, 1265-1267. In 1218, Genghis sent emissaries to an eastern province of Khwarizm with the intention of discussing possible trade with the Khwarizmian Empire. Concerning the Teacher. Genghis Khan did not, as a general rule, trust his relatives and so did not allow them to command significant numbers of soldiers. On Truth (De Veritate), 1256-1259

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These generals were purely choosen on meritocracy as none of them were from direct line of Genghis Khan. Disputed Questions, 1256-1272

. It should be noted that very talented military generals and military strategists of Genghis Khan like Subutai and Jebe played considerable role in the practicalities of the war and hands-on approaches. The Principles of Nature, 1255. By 1218, the Mongol Empire extended as far west as Lake Balkhash and adjoined Khwarizm, a Muslim state that reached to the Caspian Sea in the west and to the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea in the south. On Being and Essence (De Ente et Essentia), 1254-1256. Kuchlug's forces were defeated west of Kashgar; he was captured and executed and Kara-Khitan was annexed by Genghis Khan. De Propositionibus Modalibus, 1244-1245.

An internal revolt was incited by Mongol agents against Kuchlug, leaving the Naiman forces open for Jebe to overrun the country. De Fallaciis, 1244. Therefore, Genghis sent only two tumen (roughly 20,000 soldiers) under a brilliant young general, Jebe (known as "The Arrow"), against Kuchlug. Summa theologiae - his magnum opus. By this time the Mongol army was exhausted from ten years of continuous campaigning in China against the Tangut and the Rurzhen. Quaestiones quodlibetales duodecim; Summa catholicae fidei contra gentiles (1261-64);. Meanwhile, Kuchlug, the deposed Khan of the Naiman tribe, had fled west and had usurped the Khanate of Kara-Khitan (also known as Kara Kitay), the western allies that had decided to side with Genghis Khan. Quaestiones disputatae.

By this time, his advancing age had led Genghis to make preparations for his death and to assure an orderly succession among his descendants; he selected his third son Ögedei as his successor and established the method of selection of subsequent Khans, specifying that they should come from his direct descendants. In quatuor sententiarum libros. In the end, Genghis Khan had the Tangut emperor and his family executed. Officium de corpora Christi (1264). The Tanguts officially surrendered in 1227, after having ruled for 189 years, starting in 1038. reportata, on John, on Matthew, and on the epistles of Paul, including, according to one authority, Hebrews i.-x. The new Tangut emperor quickly surrendered to the Mongols. Commentaries on Canticles and Jeremiah.

Genghis Khan, after conquering Deshun, went to Liupanshan (Qingshui County, Gansu Province) for shelter from the severe summer. Catena aurea (1475)- a running commentary on the four Gospels, constructed on numerous citations from the Church Fathers. Ma Jianlong later died from wounds received from arrows in battle. Commentaries on Job (1261-65), Psalms i - li, and Isaiah. At Deshun, the Tangut general Ma Jianlong put up a fierce resistance for several days and personally led charges against the invaders outside of the city gate. In 1227, the Genghis Khan attacked the Tanguts' capital, and continued to advance, seizing Lintiao-fu in February, Xining province and Xindu-fu in March, and Deshun province in April.

Genghis reportedly saw five stars arranged in a line in the sky, which he took to be an omen of his victory. In November, the Genghis Khan laid siege to the Tangut city of Lingzhou and then crossed the Yellow River and defeated the Tangut relief army. The Tangut armies were soundly defeated. One of Tangut generals challenged the Mongols for a battle near Helanshan (Helan means "great horse" in the northern dialect, shan means "mountain").

In February, he took Heisui, Ganzhou and Suzhou and in the autumn, he took Xiliang-fu. In 1226, Genghis Khan attacked the Tanguts on the pretext that the Tanguts had deceived the Mongols and they were seeking retribution for this betrayal. In retaliation, the Genghis Khan prepared for war against their alliance. While Genghis Khan was busy with the campaign in Persia, Tangut and Jin had formed an alliance against the Mongols.

The vassal emperor of the Tanguts (Western Xia) had refused to take part in the war against the Khwarizmid Empire (see below). The Mongol Empire campaigned 6 times against the Tanguts (1202, 1207, 1209-1210, 1211-1213, 1214-1219 and 1225-1226). This forced the Jin Emperor Xuan Zong to move his capital south to Kaifeng. The Mongol army crossed the Great Wall of China in 1213, and in 1215 Genghis besieged, captured, and sacked the Jin capital of Yanjing (later known as Beijing).

In 1211, Genghis Khan set about bringing the Nuzhen (the founders of the Jin Dynasty) completely under his dominion, in order to prevent them from challenging the Mongols for territory and resources. By 1209, the Tangut emperor acknowledged Genghis Khan as overlord. Genghis Khan led the Mongols against Xi Xia, and conquered the empire despite initial difficulties in defeating its well-defended cities. At the time of the Khuriltai in 1206 that Genghis Khan got his title, Mongols were involved in a dispute with the Tangut Empire of Western Xia, which demanded tribute from the Mongols.

Genghis Khan was already around 40 years old when he became Khan and started his campaign outward. See Lister and Ratchnevsky, referenced below, for further reading. Chingis Khan is the spelling used by the modern Republic of Mongolia. Likely, contemporary Mongols would have pronounced the word more like "Chinggis".

"jung" in English) meaning "right", "just", or "true", would have received the Mongolian adjectival modifier -s, creating "Jenggis", which was then modified by later scribes in India or Persia to read as "Genghis". Zhèng (Chinese: 正, pron. Lake Baikal and ocean were called as tenggiz by the Mongols, however it seems like that if they had meant to call Genghis Khan tenggiz they could very well have said (and written) "Tenggiz Khan", which they did not. One theory places the etymology as stemming from a palatalised version of the Mongolian and Turkish word tenggiz, meaning "ocean," "oceanic" or "wide-spreading".

There are many theories for the origins of Genghis Khan's title; this uncertainty is fueled by the fact that later members of the Mongol Empire associated the name with the Mongol word for strength, "ching", though this does not fit the etymology. See also: Mongols before Genghis Khan. At a Kurultai (a council of Mongol chiefs) he was acknowledged as the first and only "Khan" or Khagan, the ruler of rulers or emperor. It was a monumental feat for the Mongols, who had a long history of internecine dispute and economic hardship.

Temüjin managed to unite the tribes under a single system by 1206 using his personal charisma and strong will. In any event the Mongols were raiding China's northern border. It may be that some trade routes ran through Mongol territory, and it is possible that they feared that the Mongols would eventually restrict the supply of goods. The Jurchen had grown uncomfortable with the newly unified Mongols.

Temüjin organized his people to prepare for future conflicts, especially with the Jin. His borders were threatened to the south by the Jin who then ruled North China and to the west by the Xia. Temüjin executed Jamuqa's betrayers, officially on the principle that betrayal merits the harshest punishment. The Secret History of the Mongols states that Jamuqa insisted that he be executed even when Temüjin offered renewal of their brotherhood.

Jamuqa was eventually betrayed to Temüjin by his followers and executed in 1206. This allowed Temüjin to recover from a series of military defeats inflicted by Jamuqa and to emerge victorious. In particular, Jamuqa did not recruit shepherds who lacked tribal status in the Mongol tradition. Jamuqa was less successful in coalition-building because, unlike Temüjin, he maintained traditional divisions between tribes in his forces and assigned commands by hereditary rank rather than merit.

Jamuqa's assumption of this title was the final breach with Temüjin and Jamuka formed a coalition of tribes to oppose him. In 1201, a Khuriltai elected Jamuqa as Gur Khan, universal ruler, a title used by the rulers of the Kara-Khitan Khanate. Temüjin learnt of Senggum's intentions, eventually defeated him and his loyalists and succeeded to the title of Wang Khan. This led to jealousy on the part of Senggum, Wang's former heir, who planned to assassinate Temüjin.

It is claimed that Temüjin was adopted as Wang Khan's heir after successful campaigns against the Tatars (1202). Temüjin began his slow ascent to power by allying himself with his father's anda (sworn brother or blood brother) Toghril, khan of the Kerait and better known by the Chinese title Wang Khan which the Jin Empire granted him in 1197. All four sons participated in Genghis Khan's campaigns, and eventually became Khans of different Khanates after Genghis Khan's death, but it was Ögedei who was proclaimed the Great Khan and inherited Genghis Khan's mantle. Because Jochi was born after Borte was freed from her captors, his paternity was contested.

Genghis Khan's empress was Borte, his childhood friend in whose family's care his father left Temujin when he was 9; she bore him four sons:. When the Tatars, in turn, grew too powerful after 1161, the Jin moved their support from the Tatars to the Kerait. Genghis Khan's father, Yesugei, khan of the Borjigin, and nephew to Ambaghai and Qutula Khan, emerged as the head of the ruling clan of the Mongols, but this position was contested by the rival Tayichi’ud clan, who descended directly from Ambaghai. Genghis Khan was related through his father to Qabul Khan, Ambaghai and Qutula Khan who had headed the Mongol confederation under Jin patronage until the Jin switched their support to the Tatars in 1161 and destroyed Qutula Khan.

Main article: Family tree of Genghis Khan. Börte's first child, Jochi, was born about nine months after she was freed from the Merkit, leading to questions regarding the child's paternity. Temüjin became blood brothers with Jamuqa and thus made a vow to be faithful to each other for eternity. Later she was kidnapped in a raid by the Merkit tribe, and Temüjin called on his friend and later rival, Jamuka, and his protector, Wang Khan of the Kerait tribe, for aid.

Around the age of 16, Temüjin married Börte of the Konkirat tribe. His mother, Hoelun, taught him many lessons on survival in the harsh political climate of Mongolia, especially the need for alliances with others, a lesson which would shape his understanding in his later years. He escaped with help from a sympathetic captor. In another, he was captured in a raid by his former tribe and held captive with a wooden collar around his neck.

Despite being reproached by his mother he never expressed any remorse over the killing. In one incident, Temüjin reportedly murdered his half-brother over a dispute about sharing hunting spoils. For the next few years, he and his family lived the life of impoverished nomads, surviving primarily on marmots and other small game. This gave Temüjin a claim to be the clan's chief, though his clan refused to be led by a boy and soon abandoned him and his family.

Shortly thereafter, his father was murdered by the neighboring Tatars while returning home. He was supposed to live there until he reached the marriageable age of 14. His early life was difficult: His father delivered him to his future wife's family when he was only nine. Like any nomad of the time, he was familiar, at least partially, with the working of iron and steel, for such purposes as horse-shoeing and weaponry.

The name "Temujin" translates into English as "Smith" or "Blacksmith" though there is no evidence that Temujin had smithing as an occupation. Temüjin was named after one of the more powerful chiefs of a rival tribe who his father, Yesükhei, had recently defeated. His mother was named Hoelun and was of the Olkunut tribe. Yesükhei's clan was called Borjigin (Боржигин).

He was the second son of Yesükhei, a tribal chief of the Kiyad. His birthplace was most likely the mountainous area of Burhan Haldun. There is not much known about his early years, but Temujin was born sometime between 1155 and 1167 in Hentiy, Mongolia. His family ruled the Mongols until the 17th century, when the last Khan of his house was conquered by the Manchu.

Genghis Khan's descendants included Kublai Khan, and possibly also Timur and Babur, though it is unlikely that the last were related. Genghis Khan's successors continued to rule and expand the Mongol Empire he founded after his death, and, even after the unified empire dissolved a century and a half later, separate Khanates existed for centuries afterwards. The Mongols under Genghis Khan and his successors ruled most of Eurasia, including Central Asia, North Asia, Eastern Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Central Europe, stretching from Vietnam to successful campaigns in Poland and Hungary. His conquest, and his strategy of inducing fear by slaughtering the entire populations of resisting cities such as Merv and Herat, led to millions of deaths, and, in the longer term, resulted in large-scale depopulation of the areas of Asia that he conquered [1].

After unifying the Mongol tribes, he conquered the territories of the Naiman, Merkit, Tatar, and Kerait and led very successful and sometimes brutal campaigns against Western Xia in northern China and the Khwarezmid Empire in western Asia. Though often outnumbered in battles, he used superior military intelligence, endurance, tactics and the mobility of his armies to defeat opponents, rapidly conquering more territory than any other single ruler. Born in Mongolia in the 12th century, Temüjin united the Mongol tribes of Central Asia, forging a powerful empire that became the nucleus of what was to become the largest contiguous empire in world history. .

In Mongolia, he is considered a hero for his historical role in uniting the Mongol tribes by giving them a common identity. Genghis Khan is considered as one of the most brilliant military leaders who is also remembered for his ruthless intolerance of resistance. See International Phonetic Alphabet." class="IPA" style="white-space: nowrap; font-family:'Code2000', 'Chrysanthi Unicode', 'Doulos SIL', 'Gentium', 'GentiumAlt', 'TITUS Cyberbit Basic', 'Bitstream Vera', 'Bitstream Cyberbit', 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Lucida Sans Unicode', 'Hiragino Kaku Gothic Pro'; font-family /**/:inherit; text-decoration: none">/ʧiŋɡis xaːn/,  Mongolian pronunciation^?), born as Temüjin (Тэмүүжин), was a Great Khan of Mongol Empire and military leader who united the Mongol tribes and founded the Mongol Empire. 1162¹–August 18, 1227) (Cyrillic: Чингис Хаан), (also spelled as Chingis Khan, Jenghis Khan, etc.), (pronounced