Genghis Khan Essay, Research Paper

Genghis Khan?s original name was Temujin.

He was born in 1167 near lake Baikal in Russia, born the

son of Yesukai. His father was a tribal chief. At the age of

13 he succeeded his father as tribal chief. In his early reign

though he had trouble with many of his subjects revolting but

he soon proved his military and political worth by

successfully suppressing and conquering not only his

revolting subjects but his hostile neighbors also. By 1206 he

was the master of much of Mongolia and was named by his

people Genghis Kahn meaning precious warrior lord. In

1208 he got his foothold inside the great wall of China and in

1213 he led his armies south and west into the area and did

not stop until he reached Shantung Peninsula. In 1215 he

captured Yenking with his armies, the last Chin stronghold,

and in 1218 the Korean Peninsula fell to his powers. In

1219, for revenge of the murders of some Mongol traders

he turned his armies west, invading Khoresm, a vast Turkish

empire. Looting and massacring, they swept through

Turkistan and sacked the cities of Bukhoro and Samarqand.

The invaders also took the cities of Peshawar and Lahore

and the surrounding country side. In 1222 they marched to

Russia and took over the regions between the Volga and

Dnepr rivers, taking control almost all the way to the arctic

ocean. The reason that Khan was such a great leader was

because he kept his army excellently organized, they were

also very disciplined and maneuverable. He was also an

honorable statesman and his empire was so safe and

organized that it is said that a visitor could go from one end

of it to the other without ever feeling a sense of fear or

danger. When he died on August 18th 1227, his empire was

split up 3 ways and given to his 3 sons and gradually

dissipated. That was the end of a truly great empire.