"All who surrender will be spared; whoever does not surrender but opposes with struggle and dissension, shall be annihilated." Genghis Khan


Khan's Homeland
Mongolia is a landlocked Central Asian country, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. The 18th largest country in the world by area, Mongolia's current population includes 30 per cent who are nomadic or semi-nomadic Tibetan Buddhists of the Mongol ethnicity, while about one-third of the population resides in the capital city Ulaanbaatar.

Over two thousand years ago, the region was known as the Khunnu Empire, and the biggest enemy of its neighbour China; it was fear of invasion from the Khunnu in the north that led to the Chinese people building the Great Wall.

For many centuries Mongolia was divided into tribes until in the late 12th century CE, when a seemingly insignificant warlord began a long struggle to unite the Mongol tribes. He succeeded and the warlord's name was Temujin, and he was to become a legend.

Temujin - meaning 'iron worker' - was born around 1162 to a Mongol chieftain, Yesugei. When he was still young, Temujin's father was murdered by a group of Tatars, a rival power to the east. When Temujin heard how Yesugei had died, the boy vowed to revenge the death.

Wrath of Khan
Thirteen-year-old Temujin had every intention of declaring himself leader of his tribe, but was ridiculed by tribal elders and they cast him and his family out into the Mongolian wilderness.

Times were hard and Temujin's reputation grew as a stern leader amongst his nomadic group. In one instance, when he discovered his own brother stealing food from the group he killed him without hesitation. He also became known as an excellent warrior and strategist.

Before he was seventeen, he was already forming alliances with other tribes and with help from Togrul, his father's blood brother, together they began to exact revenge on the Tatars and other Mongol enemies. Word of the pair's actions spread far and wide and soon Temujin had thousands of people under his command. His road to glory had begun.

A Khan is Born
In 1183 the Mongols declared Temujin their great 'Khan' or emperor, giving him the name Genghis. This meant power for Genghis and an empire to command. Despite this however, the Mongol people were not completely united into one entity. It took several campaigns to secure his position, and Genghis defeated the last rogue Mongol clan in 1204.

Khan the Conqueror
With all of the Mongol tribes united and under his control, Genghis was named Khan of Khans or King of Kings in 1206. He could now concentrate his forces on expanding his empire.

In 1207 he began a crusade to conquer China. He part-succeeded, gaining control of Northern China and capturing Peking in 1215. Soon his mighty army moved in on the Khwarazm Empire in what is now Uzbekistan; although heavily outnumbered, the Mongols were victorious.

In 1223 a Mongolian army of 20,000 devastated an 80,000-strong Russian army and the Mongols quickly fought their way through Russia and into Europe. Their armies destroyed entire cities in Russia, Hungary and Poland leaving utter devastation in their wake. It seemed that nothing could stop Genghis Khan...

The Warlord Falls
Rather ironically, it was no battle that ended the life of this great warrior. In 1227 he fell from his horse during a hunt. Severely injured, Genghis Khan died shortly after and his body was taken back to his birthplace, northeast of Ulaanbaatar.

According to legend, anyone meeting the funeral procession was killed, so no one would know of Genghis' death. To this day, no one really knows where the ruler of the world's largest empire is actually buried.

The Legacy
At the time of his death Genghis Khan had unified the Mongol people, organized a nearly invincible army of fearless nomadic warriors, and set into motion the first stage in the conquest of an enormous territory that would be completed by his sons and grandsons.

With extraordinary speed the Mongols created the world's largest empire, stretching at its greatest reaches from Korea in the east to Hungary in the west.

The man himself is usually depicted as a monster, but he was also generous and a man of honour. He expected loyalty from everyone, including those who served his opponents; he is reputed to have put to death people from enemy tribes who betrayed their lords to him.

Similarly, the total destruction of cities by the Mongol army was not necessarily the norm; if a city bowed to his wishes, Genghis Khan was usually content to let them be, once their defenses had been pulled down. Only those who resisted faced the sword.

Despite his brilliance as a military commander, the legacy of Genghis Khan extends well beyond the battlefield. By uniting eastern and western Asia for over a century, his empire allowed an enormous amount of cultural exchange that left a lasting impact on language, art and architecture.