In order to suppress the traditional causes of tribal warfare, he abolished inherited aristocratic titles.After uniting the nomadic tribes of the Mongolian plateau, he conquered huge chunks of central Asia and China.His descendants expanded the empire even further, advancing to such far-off places as Poland, Vietnam, Syria and Korea.At their peak, the Mongols controlled between 11 and 12 million contiguous square miles, an area about the size of Africa.
Many people were slaughtered in the course of Genghis Khans invasions, but he also granted religious freedom to his subjects, abolished torture, encouraged trade and created the first international postal system. Genghis Khan died in 1227 during a military campaign against the Chinese kingdom of Xi Xia. ![]() Legend holds that he came into the world clutching a blood clot in his right hand. His mother had been kidnapped by his father and forced into marriage. At that time, dozens of nomadic tribes on the central Asian steppe were constantly fighting and stealing from each other, and life for Temujin was violent and unpredictable. Before he turned 10, his father was poisoned to death by an enemy clan. Temujins own clan then deserted him, his mother and his six siblings in order to avoid having to feed them. Did you know Mongol leader Genghis Khan never allowed anyone to paint his portrait, sculpt his image or engrave his likeness on a coin. Shortly thereafter, Temujin killed his older half-brother and took over as head of the poverty-stricken household. At one point, he was captured and enslaved by the clan that had abandoned him, but he was eventually able to escape. In 1178 Temujin married Borte, with whom he would have four sons and an unknown number of daughters. He launched a daring rescue of Borte after she too was kidnapped, and he soon began making alliances, building a reputation as a warrior and attracting a growing number of followers. Most of what we know about Genghis Khans childhood comes from The Secret History of the Mongols, the oldest known work of Mongolian history and literature, which was written soon after his death. ![]() He ordered that all looting wait until after a complete victory had been won, and he organized his warriors into units of 10 without regard to kin. Though Temujin was an animist, his followers included Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. By 1205 he had vanquished all rivals, including his former best friend Jamuka. The following year, he called a meeting of representatives from every part of the territory and established a nation similar in size to modern Mongolia. ![]() Genghis Khan Establishes an Empire Having united the steppe tribes, Genghis Khan ruled over some 1 million people.
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