Early this year I saw a BBC documentary of the secret history of Ghengis Khan. His brutal actions are similar to the modern brutal practices of rebel groups in the Middle East and Africa.
He was born as Termüjin about 1162 and died August 18, 1227. He was from noble descent. His father was a tribal warrior. In his teens his father sought a bride for him. He fell in love with the girl he would later marry. He had a close friend, they became blood brothers, but later on they would fall out and Termüjin killed him after he felt betrayed by him.
As a child he killed his half-brother over some dispute of a hunt.
His father was poisoned by a rival tribe. Most of the clan left the tribe after his father’s death. As the oldest child he was to lead the tribe. He was barely 20 when his wife was abducted and he had to find a way to free her, which he did. Nine months later she bore him a child and it is not certain whether the child was his or of his enemy who captured his wife at the time. But because he loved his wife, he accepted the new born.
Termüjin took the title of Genghis Khan (emperor) of a Mongol Caliphate (i.e. Empire).
His empire was one of the largest in his time in Asia. He invaded Persia. His empire grew to a large Caliphate.
Later his son would enlarge the empire by including Poland, Hungary and a small part of Europe.
He had trouble to conquer China as he was facing a wall defending the city from introducers.
He had a large catapult built outside the wall and destroyed the wall to take over the city.
He settled in the city of Beijing. He had to govern the city, so he installed law and order.
He couldn’t read nor write, but wanted his legacy recorded.
He thought he has been sent to earth to conquer the world.
He asked a monk for his immortality, which of course the monk could not give him. So the monk said he could only prolong his life by sexual abstinence. That was too much to ask from the warrior.
He was known as a brutal warrior on horseback and a master in handling bow and arrows. He defeated and enslaved many tribes. The fights were gruesome. Many died on the battle field. His army slaughtered men, women and children and he burned their leaders alive in hot boiling water and took all their possessions.
He had about eleven wives and about ten legitimate children and countless more children by women he possessed after conquering their territories.
He uttered some quotes which can be seen as positive, but mostly his quotes were brutal like himself.
Some of his most positive quotes are:
- Remember you have no companions, but your shadow.
- An action committed in anger is an action doomed to failure.
- It is not sufficient that I succeed - all others must fail.
- A leader can never be happy until his people are happy.
- Conquering the world on horseback is easy, it is dismounting and governing that is hard.
- Violence never settles anything.
- Only a fool fights a battle he cannot win.
- A man who seeks power needs a friend who has power.
After he fell from his horse during a battle, he became ill and it is said that in his dying moment he lamented: “I have conquered for you a large empire, but my life is too short to take the whole world, that I leave to you.” He appointed his son Ögedei Khan to succeed him as Khan. Ögedei Khan doubled the Caliphate by entering Europe through Russia into Poland and Hungary. But when he approached Vienna Ögedei died and the rest of Europe was saved from the Mongols and their savage behaviours.
Ghengis Khan is famously - or better - notoriously known by books written about him, films, videos and games made about him.
BBC video 2017
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