Genghis Khan in Mongolian and Asian Histories - Term Paper Example

Gegheis Khan (Gegheis Khan) “At its height, in the late thirteenth century, Mongols ruled an empire that covered approximately nine million square miles. It was the largest contiguous landmass ruled by a single emperor in human history” (Craughwell, p.9). The man or leader behind these achievements was none other than Genghis Khan, who contributed heavily to both Mongolian and Asian histories. Even though Gegheis Khan was a mysterious figure, his life and contributions were written in golden words in Mongolian history because of the contributions he has given to his country’s society, politics and culture. He was successful in uniting many of the dispersed tribal groups and made the Mongol empire the largest during his life period. Major portions of central Asia and China were under the control of Mongolia during his tenure as the greatest Mongolian leader of all time. No other king or emperor in the history was successful in conquering major portions of Asia as did by Gegheis Khan. In fact Mongol Empire was the second largest Empire in the history of the world. Even though his life and contributions are well known to the world at present, details about his death and his burial place are still unknown to the world. This paper analyses his life, conquest and the ways or strategies through which he expanded the Mongol empire. One of the major problems associated with getting more details about Genghis Khan and his war tactics and contributions, is the fact that his history was not written by anybody during his life period. In fact the only book wrote about him was published around hundred years after his death. Thus, exact date of birth of Genghis Khan is still unknown even though different historians marked it in different years like 1155, 1162, and 1167. In Mongolia, his birth year is accepted as 1162 even though the controversies regarding his birth date still persists elsewhere. He was born in a noble clan and his father was the clan leader, respected by all the members of his clan. Shortly before he was born, his father, Yesugei, killed a man from an enemy tribe. Yesugei and his wife named their first son Temujin after that vanquished rival. At the time of Temujin's birth, most Mongols were nomadic hunter gatherers who herded sheep and horses. They travelled in clusters of tribal clans and subclans (Wilmore, p.18) Mongolians including the females were excellent horse riders and hunters. In majority of their wars, they used their horse riding expertise and hunting skills judiciously and earned many famous victories. Since ancient Mongolia was a place of different clans and ethnic groups, bloody clashes between different ethnic groups were common in there. Genghis Khan’s clan was one of the most powerful clans in Mongolia and it succeeded in uniting other clans under their wings. The inborn or inherited talents for conducting wars helped them immensely in expanding their territories. When Temujin reached his 10 years of age, his father was killed in a fight by another enemy clan. As per the existing traditions in his clan, he should have become the leader of his clan after the death of clan leader; his father. However, the he was too young to assume the clan leadership and the members of his clan had chosen another person as their leader by expelling him and his family. It was difficult for a young person like Temujin to lead a peaceful life after the expulsion from his own clan. Threats from enemy clans were always in place and Temujin struggled to save his life. Temujin was a brave boy and he was not ready to give up. He fought hard for his own survival and his family’s survival. Each battle of survival made him tougher and tougher and educated him many survival principles. He was decided to regain his lost place as his clan leader and the first fight conducted by Temujin was for his clan leadership. Slowly Temujin’s bravery and leadership skills were accepted by his clan and they made him the unquestionable leader of their clan. Immediately after assuming the leadership of his clan, he started to expand his territory. He started to defeat clan after clan and tribe after tribe. “Temujin always made sure that no enemy could attack him from behind. After winning a fierce battle, he and his warriors killed all remaining adults and older children” (Wilmore, p.18). This tactics helped him to avoid any threat from losing clans. Moreover, he never allowed the young children of losing clan to stay with their own parents. He had realised that the parents from losing clans may cultivate vengeance in the blood of their young children against him. So the dispersal of young children from losing clans helped Temujin to concentrate only in the new war fronts ahead rather than keeping an eye towards his back. Temujin was not only a charismatic leader, but also a physically strong and determined person. Those who watch him for the first time cannot take their eyes off him because of the fear and respect generated by his figure. Had it been somebody else who assumed the post of his clan leadership, Mongols would have never achieved such fame as they enjoy now. By 1209, Genghis Khan commanded an immense fighting force. Mongol armies were organized in units of 10; 100; 1,000; and 10,000 soldiers. A tumen, or division, was 10,000 soldiers. Genghis Khan had about 10 ttunens. In 1211, he led them against an old enemy, the Jin Empire of northern Ghina. The Mongols and the Ghinese had a long history of clashes and invasions. While keeping up the attack on Ghina, Genghis Khan defended his other borders by pushing westward. Over the next two decades, he and his generals burst across western Asia. By 1227, the year Genghis Khan died, he had conquered an area that stretched across central Asia—from the Sea of Japan to the Gaspian Sea (Wilmore, p.19). The exact size of his army is still unknown. Some historians believe that his army size was even bigger than the one mentioned in the above paragraph. As in the case of many other details about Genghis Khan, his army size is also controversial. One thing is sure, all his army members were excellent warriors who had tremendous skills in horse riding, hunting, weapon usage etc. According to Weatherford (2005), “Mongols devised and used weapons from different cultures with whom they had contact, and through this accumulation of knowledge, they created a global arsenal that could be adapted to whatever situations they encountered” (Weatherford, p.4). In other words, Mongols have had access to all types of weapons prevailing in thirteenth century. They learned many lessons from the fighting habits of enemies and tried to implement it is their war fronts. Thus it was easy for them to conduct a war at any place in the world at that time. They adapted to changing climates quickly and implemented clever war strategies based on climatic conditions. Genghis Khan initiated the conquest of China, with the reason to look for a grass place for his horses and in 1208 he had already established a strongpoint within the Great Wall, in 1213 he directed to his armies towards the South and the West and he was entered in the territory dominated by Chin and in 1215 he surrounded the Chinese capital and conquered it. In 1219, he sent his army towards the west, and invaded Jwarizm, a big Turk Empire formed by the present countries or Iraq, Iran and part of western Turquestan. In the present north of India and Pakistan, they conquered the cities of Peshawar and Lahore and their nearest zones (Genghis Khan Sword) In 1211, Genghis Khan attacked Jin dynasty. He tasted victory easily because of a tactical blunder committed by the army of Jin dynasty. Jin dynasty initially tried to establish peace with Genghis Khan instead of attacking him in the first instant itself. Genghis Khan was busy in conquering places like Western Xia at this juncture and it was difficult for him to open another war front at that time. The commander of Jin dynasty sent an emissary who disclosed the details about the Jin troops by mistake which helped Genghis Khan to kill thousands of Jin army men. Soon after conquering, China, Genghis Khan attacked Persia Georgia and Armenia and conquered both of them. Genghis Khan was not a warrior who respected any of the modern day war laws. He had his own ways to conduct wars which may not be acceptable at present. He had no mercy towards the enemy soldiers and he attacked the enemy camps even during night time. He was smarter in determining war strategies based the circumstances. “By waiting until the coldest months to desert crossing, men and horse required less water. Because of the dew formed during this season, stimulation of grass occurred in desert and the horses got enough food” (Weatherford, p.4). Genghis Khan was a clever war tactician. He never tried to conduct fight in the desert during hot seasons. He was aware of the necessities of food supply for his warriors and horses while conducting wars in the desert. So he had chosen only the cold seasons so that his troops get enough food and relaxation at in the war front. What set Genghis Khan apart were the stunning skills of his horseback riders and the brilliance of his tactics. Always thinking, always learning, he adapted his style of attack as needed. A camp or small town could be taken with a sudden storm of horsemen. A large city might require a long siege. The code of laws he put in place during his conquests ensured an orderly passage of power to his sons and grandsons (Wilmore, p.19). As in the case of his life, details about his death are also unknown or unclear even now. It is believed that soon after defeating Tangut people, he died in 1227. The exact reasons for his death are still unknown. Some historians are of the view that he fell off his horse on his way towards Egypt which caused his death. Many others are of the view that consistent fighting had spoiled his health and he died because of pneumonia. A third argument about his death is that he was killed by some of his enemies. In any case, his burial place is still unknown to the world. Nobody knows why Mongols kept his burial place a secret. Mongols had many superstitions and many historians believe that the secrecy behind his death and burial place has something to do with the superstitions. To conclude, Genghis Khan is believed to be one of the most brutal invaders of all time. He had not shown any mercy while killing his enemies and war prisoners. All the elderly male war prisoners were assassinated and younger male children prisoners were forced to stay away from their parents and clan under Genghis Khan’s kingdom. Genghis Khan never tried to conduct wars in desert during hot seasons. He used the climatic variations cleverly to fight against other countries and clans. Majority of his warriors had tremendous skills in horse riding, hunting, and fighting. Details about Genghis Khan’s heroic wars and fights are still unknown since the history of Genghis Khan was written only after hundred years from his death. The name of Genghis Khan will written on the history in golden words because of the immense leadership qualities and war strategies developed and implemented by him during his tenure as the Mongol leader. Critics may have differences in the way selected by Genghis Khan to attain glory. However, nobody can challenge or express doubt about the abilities of Genghis Khan as a fighter who succeeded in establishing world’s largest Empire of all time. Even though, Genghis Khan was a cruel leader, his war tactics, ability to learn from the mistakes and converting unfavourable conditions into favourable ones will be remembered for ever. Works Cited 1. Craughwell, Thomas J. “The Rise and Fall of the Second Largest Empire in History: How Genghis Khan's Mongols Almost Conquered the World”. 2010. Publisher: Fair Winds Press (February 1, 2010) 2. “Genghis Khan Sword”. Web. 14 October 2011. 3. Weatherford, Jack. “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World”. 2005. Publisher: Broadway (March 22, 2005) 4. Wilmore, Cathy. “Who was Genghis Khan?”. 2005. Junior Scholastic Date: February 7, 2005. EBSCOhost. Read More