 Genghis Khan,
original name Temujin (1167?-1227), Mongol conqueror, whose nomad armies created
a vast empire under his control, from China to Russia. He was born near Lake
Baikal in Russia, the son of Yesukai, a Mongol chief and ruler of a large region
between the Amur River and the Great Wall of China. At the age of 13, Temujin
succeeded his father as tribal chief. His early reign was marked by successive
revolts of his subject tribes and an intense struggle to retain his leadership,
but the Mongol ruler soon demonstrated his military genius and conquered not
only his intractable subjects but his hostile neighbors as well. By 1206 Temujin
was master of almost all of Mongolia. In that year, a convocation of the
subjugated tribes proclaimed him Genghis Khan (Chinese chźng-sze, "precious
warrior"; Turkish khan, "lord"), leader of the united Mongol and Tatar tribes;
the city of Karakorum was designated his capital. The khan then began his
conquest of China. By 1208 he had established a foothold inside the Great Wall,
and in 1213 he led his armies south and west into the area dominated by the
Juchen Chin (or Kin) dynasty (1122-1234), not stopping until he reached the
Shantung
 Peninsula. In 1215 his armies captured Yenking (now Beijing), the last
Chin stronghold in northern China, and in 1218 the Korean Peninsula fell to the
Mongols. In 1219, in retaliation for the murder of some Mongol traders, Genghis
Khan turned his armies westward, invading Khoresm, a vast Turkish empire that
included modern Iraq, Iran, and part of Western Turkestan. Looting and
massacring, the Mongols swept through Turkestan and sacked the cities of Bukhoro
and Samarqand. In what are now northern India and Pakistan, the invaders
conquered the cities of Peshawar and Lahore and the surrounding countryside. In
1222 the Mongols marched into Russia and plundered the region between the Volga
and Dnepr rivers and from the Persian Gulf almost to the Arctic Ocean. The
greatness of the khan as a military leader was borne out not only by his
conquests but by the excellent organization, discipline, and maneuverability of
his armies. Moreover, the Mongol ruler was an admirable statesman; his empire
was so well organized that, so it was claimed, travelers could go from one end
of his domain to the other without fear or danger. At his death, on August 18,
1227, the Mongol Empire was divided among his three sons and gradually
dissipated. Four of his grandsons, however, became great Mongol leaders in their
own right. Genghis Khan's invasions were of great historical importance long
after his death, for the Turks, who fled before him, were driven to their own
invasion of Europe.
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