Great commanders. Genghis Khan
Temujin (Temuchin) - this is the name of Genghis Khan, given to him at birth, was born on the banks of the Onon River, in the extreme north-east of modern Mongolia. At the age of 9, the boy was left orphaned - his father, the nephew of the last Khan of the Mongols, died at the hands of the Tatars - the enemies of the Temuchin tribe who came to these lands in the second half of the 12 century, significantly pushing the Mongols. Temujin's mother was left by her husband's followers to the mercy of fate, since the leaders of the rival Mongol clan of Taijiuds desired independence. Thus, Temujin's mother raised her sons in very difficult conditions.
Temujin's coming to power
When Temujin became a teenager, he was captured by a taijiyud tribe. However, he managed to flee and enlist the support of Togoril, the ruler of a Keriit Christian tribe who roamed Central Mongolia. It was with the help of Togoril and the young leader of a small Mongolian tribe named Jamuq (named brother Temujin) that the future great khan was able to save his bride, who was abducted by the Merkit, a tribe inhabiting modern Buryatia. Temujin and Jamuqa remained friends since childhood, but then, for unknown reasons, there was a split between these brothers. Most researchers agree that the egoism and power ambitions of Jamuqi caused the cooling and even the onset of hostility between two friends, because it was during this period that the Mongolian tribes one by one recognized Temujin’s sovereign power, after some time proclaimed by Chingiz Khan, the Great Steppe ruler.
1198 year - the first exact date in the career of Genghis Khan. Genghis Khan and Togoril unite with the rulers of North China in a campaign against the Tatars.
In 1199, the allies of Genghis Khan organized a campaign against the Naimans, the most powerful tribe in western Mongolia, but the campaign was not successful.
In the 1200-1202 years, the Allies won several victories over the forces of the confederation of tribes led by former friend of Genghis Khan Jamuqah, and in 1202, Genghis Khan finally settled with the Tatars.
Now, Genghis Khan was faced with the task of defeating his enemies in Western Mongolia: the Naimans in alliance with Jamuha and the remnants of the Merkits. The Naiman were defeated in 1204, and Kuchluk, the son of their ruler, fled west to find refuge with the Karakits. Jamuqa also went on the run, but was betrayed by his own comrades-in-arms, caught and sentenced to death. Destroying his former friend and main enemy, Genghis Khan gained complete control over the whole of Mongolia. In 1206, on the kurultai of the Mongol princes, which passed at the origins of Onon, he was proclaimed the supreme ruler of the Mongolian tribes, and was now ready for the beginning of the expansion of the empire by conquering neighboring countries.
Conquest of China
Already in 1205, Genghis Khan attacked the Tangut - a people of Tibetan origin who inhabited the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Ordos. In the 1207 and 1209 years, as a result of repeated strikes in the direction of North China, the path for a massive offensive into Chinese territory was opened.
In 1211, the Mongols invaded Chinese lands and seized territories north of the Great Wall of China. In 1213, the wall was broken, and hordes of Mongol nomads poured into the Chinese lowlands. Many Chinese generals went over to the side of the Mongols, and the cities often gave up completely without a fight. In the summer of 1215, Beijing was captured and plundered, and the Tsin Emperor fled to Kaifeng on the southern bank of the Yellow River. Leaving one of his generals in China, instructing him to conduct further operations in northern China, Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia to concentrate on the Central Asian campaign.
Campaign in the West
Genghis Khan set off from Mongolia in the spring of 1219, reaching the border Otrar by the fall, and leaving sufficient forces for his siege, moved on to Bukhara, which fell already in March of 1220, and also to Samarkand, which surrendered only a month later. The besieged Otrar also fell. From Samarkand, Genghis Khan sent two of his best generals, Jebe and Subedei, in pursuit of Khorezmshah Muhammad, who met his death on one of the islands in the Caspian Sea. Continuing their way to the west, the generals of Genghis Khan invaded the Caucasus and, having broken the Alans, turned to the north, where they were faced with a clash with the combined Russian-Polovtsian army on the Kalka river. Having won the Kalka, the Mongols turned to the east, to the lands of the Volga Bulgars, which were on their way back to Central Asia, where an unpleasant defeat awaited them. In the battle of Samara Luka, Jabe and Subedey suffered a crushing defeat from the Bulgars. During the march through the territory of Bulgaria, only a small part of the huge Mongolian army remained - about 4000 people.
At this time, Genghis Khan attacked and captured Termez, and 1220-1221 spent the autumn and winter in the territory of modern Tajikistan. At the beginning of 1221, he marched to the ancient city of Balkh, which was part of the Persian province of Khorasan, and sent his youngest son, Tolui (Thule), father of the Great Khan Mengu (Munke) and Khubilai, to complete the conquest of this province. At the end of the summer of the same year, Genghis Khan undertook a campaign south through Afghanistan against Sultan Jalal al-Din, the son of Sultan Mohammed. Genghis Khan and Jalal al-Din met on the banks of the Indus. Sultan was defeated, but escaped capture, escaping by swimming across the river.
With the defeat of Jalal al-Din, Genghis Khan’s campaign in the West was almost complete, and he returned to Mongolia.
The death and burial of Genghis Khan
On the death of Genghis Khan it is only known that the great conqueror died in 1227 during the next campaign. Returning from Central Asia, Genghis Khan launched a war against the Tangut state. Historians cite various versions of his death: from being wounded by an arrow during a fight, to a long illness as a result of a fall from a horse. There is a version according to which Genghis Khan was killed by a lightning strike (this man did too much evil, and the sky punished him). It did not go without assumptions in the spirit of “look for a woman”: a number of researchers suggest that the great conqueror fell from the hand of a captive Khansha Tangut in the heat of the first wedding night.
The burial place of Genghis Khan is still unknown. According to legend, the tomb of Khan is filled to the top with innumerable riches, and Genghis Khan himself sits on a golden throne.
The legacy of Genghis Khan in the field of law and the rules of warfare
Historians argue that Mongolian society during the reign of Genghis Khan was truly democratic. Contrary to his reputation as a ruthless barbarian, established in the West, Genghis Khan carried out such an enlightened policy that no European ruler at that time carried out.
A modest slave could easily rise to the army commander if he showed sufficient military prowess.
Military booty was divided equally among all the warriors who participated in the battle, regardless of their social status.
Unlike most of the rulers of that time, Genghis Khan trusted faithful followers more than members of his own family.
The Great Khan forbade kidnapping women, probably partly due to his own experience with his wife, which he had to rescue from captivity. In addition, this practice led to wars between various groups of Mongols.
He guaranteed freedom of religion, protection of the rights of Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and Hindus. Genghis Khan himself, worshiping the sky, forbade the killing of priests, monks and mullahs.
The Great Khan also defended the immunity of envoys and ambassadors, including the enemy, regardless of what message they brought.
Unlike most of the conquered peoples, the Mongols did not practice torture of prisoners.
Finally, the laws in force in the Mongolian empire concerned the Khan himself - all Mongols were equal before the law, regardless of their material and social status, this principle was implemented very strictly.
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