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have chosen to use 1162 for this report since that seemed to be the most agreed upon.
Very little is known of Temujin until he was around age 13 when his father declared that his son was to find a fiancée and get married. After several days of travel Temujin and Yesugei came across a tribe of Mongols that were very hospitable and welcoming. Temujin was not there long when
he noticed a certain girl that would be destined to become his wife. Bortei the daughter of the chieftain of that tribe was to become his wife. She was 14 years of age.
Now with a wife for his son Yesugei decided to head for home and leave his son with his new fiancee. However on his was back to his home tribe he encountered a group of Tatars which just happened to be the arch enemy of nearly every Mongol. Yesugei was murdered and very quickly word came to Temujin that his father was dead, he declared that one day revenge against the Tatars would be his. Temujin left his fiancée and headed back to his tribe where he intended to declare himself leader of that tribe, keeping in mind that he is only 13 years old. The members of the tribe laughed at him and rejected Temujin as chieftain, they also abandoned him and his family to the brutal Mongolian plains.
Temujin also vowed revenge against his clan for doing
this to him and his family. Life was very hard on the Mongolians plains so when it was discovered that people within his clan were stealing food from each other he killed the thief, who happened to be his brother. News of his ferocity began to spread around the lands. He was known as a stern leader that would kill his own brother to keep order.
Another act of bravery on his part would soon take place. On a hunting trip he was ambushed by an enemy tribe and taken prisoner. While prisoner he killed his guard and escaped. The enemy tribe tried to find him but his excellent survival skills kept him alive until he could meet up with his own tribe. This act of courage spread his name even farther to all parts of the Mongolian plains.
Not long after that another raid by strangers left them with only one horse and very little food. Temujin took chase but could not catch them. During his chase he met up with Bogurchi, a son of a rich man, who would become his blood brother and one of his most trusted allies. Bogurchi
helped Temujin chase the raiders and eventually they retrieved the stolen horses but the thieves were able to get away. Again word spread across the land of Temujin's great courage, in many cases it was exaggerated into almost God like proportions.
The time had finally come to marry Bortei, almost four years later and as a wedding present her father gave him a very rare black sable. This gift proved to be one of the most important assets ever given to Temujin. Temujin used it to persuade Togrul, his fathers sworn brother, to join
him in his revenge against the Tatars and other Mongol enemies. Togrul agreed to join him and get back all of Temujin's fathers followers.
Temujin was now at the ripe old age of 17 and already his road to glory had begun.
The word of Temujin and Togrul spread far and wide. They requested that all Mongols join together and defeat their enemies. Thousands of people came from a far. They brought their weapons, food, and families. Temujin now had thousands of people under his command. Groups of soldiers were divided in a very strategic manner. They were divided up
into tens, hundreds, thousands, and ten thousands. Each soldier carried his own food which usually consisted of powdered yak milk and dried milk. It
was even said that when food was scarce the soldiers would open up a vein of their horse and drink its blood.
It was now the year 1183 and the Mongols that gathered declared Temujin their great Khan and gave him the name Genghis. The name Genghis, or Chingis, is also widely debated by historians as to its meaning. Some say it means "precious warrior", where others give it the meaning of "spirit of light", either way it meant power for Genghis and an empire to command. One of the most amazing things that Genghis Khan and the Mongols did was that he created a written code of laws for the Mongols, it was called the Yassa. The Yassa was the Mongols version of the Ten Commandments and it was followed very strictly. Unfortunately the entire Yassa has not been found but part of it can be seen by clicking here.
Despite Temujin being declared Khan the Mongol people were still not completely united into one entity. It would not be until 1206 that Genghis would be named the Khan of Khans or King of Kings by the Mongol people. For it would be that year when almost all Mongol people were under one ruler.
Before Genghis was made Khans of Khans he still had not defeated Keraits, or the Naimans. The Keraits were led by a boyhood friend of Genghis's called Jamuga. Genghis did offer Jamuga the change to surrender however he declined and several great battles would result. The first major defeat of Jamuga and his army would come in 1201 in a battle that nearly destroyed all of Jamuga's forces. There next major battle and destruction of Jamuga's army would come in 1203 at the battle of Mount Jeje'er. This would be the end of Jamuga who asked to be put to death without his blood being spilled. Genghis honored his old friend his wish and so Jumanga was beaten and suffocated between two felt blankets, all without spilling his blood just as Genghis had promised.
The last of the rogue Mongol clans was finally defeated in 1204 and they were the Naimans.
As stated before it was 1206 when Genghis is declared Khan of Khans and king of all people who lived in felt tents. With all of the Mongol tribes united and under his control he could now concentrate his forces on outside empires so that his own could be expanded.
Genghis did not wait long after he had united all the tribes and in 1207 he began his crusade to conquer the lands in which modern China is today. In that time China was divided into three separate empires. They were the Qin, also called the Chin, and Tangut to the North and the Sung Empire in the South. In a very quick campaign the Mongols had subdued the Tangut's in 1209 and then after a build up of their forces they began a campaign against the Qin Empire in 1211. Genghis continued his armies wrath of destruction in the Qin Empire until 1215 when modern Beijing was conquered and most of the Qin Empire was under his control. Although most of northern China was under Mongol control Genghis's dream was to unite all of Chinese territory into his empire. This would be achieved but not until the reign of Kublai Khan in 1279.
With the northern part of China under his control he could now turn his attention to in yet another direction. The year was 1218 when word came that a group of Mongol merchants had been put to death by a governor within the Kwarezm Empire which encompassed modern day Afghanistan, Iran, and Turkestan. Genghis sent a message to the leader of the Kwarezm Empire, Shah Mohammed of Kwarezm, saying that the governor who put the merchants to death must be turned over to the Mongols or war would be declared on the Kwarezm Empire. The Kwarezm Empire refused the request and war was declared. Genghis led an attack force of 90,000 men from the north and he sent a general of his with 30,000 men to attack from the east. Despite Genghis's large army he was still out numbered by the Shah's army of over 400,000 men. Despite the obvious mismatch Genghis's army was victorious over the Shah's army and a full scale invasion of the Kwarezm Empire was to take place. The entire area that was under the Shah's control was now just another territory of the great Mongol Empire. In this invasion the city of Baghdad a major Muslim city was sacked by the great Mongol warriors. The Shah however was not killed in battle and Genghis decided that before total control of the area could be had the Shah must be found and killed. For this task Genghis sent 20,000 men, or two tumans, to track down and kill the Shah. However it was later learned that the Shah had died from disease.
The greatest thing for the Mongols to come out of Kwarezm was the knowledge of the weapon known as the "fire that flies" which was simply burning arrows. With each victory that Genghis achieved new methods of warfare were used to make them stronger and deadlier.
With the Kwarezm Empire wiped off the map an army of 20,000 was then sent toward Russia to steel even more territory for the ever expanding Mongol Empire. In 1223 that group of 20,000 Mongol warrior's devastated a Russian army of 80,000 marking the beginning of the conquest of the Russian principalities. The Mongols quickly fought there way through Russia and into Europe. Their armies began to destroy entire cities in Hungary, Poland, and Russia. Where ever the Mongols went they left devastation in their wake.
All was going well for the Mongol armies when suddenly the word spread of Genghis Khans death. This news rocked the empire and sent every advancing army home to mourn his death and to search for a new leader. Although his life was glorious his death was anything but that. Genghis Khan a master horse rider fell from his horse during a hunt and was severely injured. In the year of 1227 Genghis Khan was dead. He created the largest empire ever created in the life of one man. He united the Mongols in a way that they had never thought possible. Upon his death the Empire was divided between his three areas each controlled by one of his sons, the Golden Horde that was in west Asia which included Russia, the Middle East Khanate, or State, and the main area of East Asia Khanate which included the Mongol homeland. Despite these partitions the Mongol Empire was still controlled by one main Khan who happened to be the son of Genghis. He was Ogadai and he would also make many contributions to the great Mongol Empire.
The Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan was the largest empire ever created in the lifespan of one man. His legend still lives in the Mongolian steppes even today. Although his life is not entirely known and many dates are subject to change he was still a great leader, a great strategist, a man ahead of his times, and a ruthless barbarian that would destroy anything that tried to get in his way of creating the Great Mongol Empire.
With Heaven's aid I have conquered for you a huge empire. But my life was too short to achieve the conquest of the world. That is left for you.
--Genghis Khan, to his sons at the end of his life
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