Genghis Khan life story. WITH

Genghis Khan (Mong. Genghis Khan), own name - Temujin, Temuchin, Temujin (Mong. Temujin) (c. 1155 or 1162 - August 25, 1227). The founder and first great khan of the Mongol Empire, who united the scattered Mongol tribes, the commander who organized the conquest campaigns of the Mongols in China, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Eastern Europe. Founder of the largest continental empire in human history. After his death in 1227, the heirs of the empire were his direct descendants from the first wife of Borte in the male line, the so-called Genghisides.

According to the "Secret Tale", the ancestor of Genghis Khan was Borte-Chino, who intermarried with Goa-Maral and settled in Khentei (central-eastern Mongolia) near Mount Burkhan-Khaldun. According to Rashid ad-Din, this event took place in the middle of the VIII century. From Borte-Chino in 2-9 generations were born Bata-Tsagaan, Tamachi, Horichar, Uujim Buural, Sali-Khajau, Eke Nyuden, Sim-Sochi, Kharchu.

Borzhigidai-Mergen was born in the 10th generation, he married Mongolzhin-goa. From them, in the 11th generation, the family tree was continued by Torokoljin-bagatur, who married Borochin-goa, Dobun-Mergen and Duva-Sohor were born from them. Dobun-Mergen's wife was Alan-goa, the daughter of Khorilardai-Mergen from his one of the three wives Barguzhin-Goa. Thus, the foremother of Genghis Khan is from the Hori-Tumats, one of the Buryat branches.

The three younger sons of Alan-goa, who were born after the death of her husband, were considered the ancestors of the Mongols-niruns ("actually the Mongols"). From the fifth, youngest, son of Alan-goa, Bodonchar, the Borjigins originated.

Temujin was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River in the family of Yesugei-Bagatur from the Borjigin clan. and his wife Hoelun from the Olkhonut clan, whom Yesugei recaptured from the Merkit Eke-Chiledu. The boy was named after the Tatar leader Temujin-Uge, captured by Yesugei, whom Yesugei defeated on the eve of the birth of his son.

The year of Temujin's birth remains unclear, as the main sources indicate different dates. According to the only lifetime source of Genghis Khan, Men-da bei-lu (1221) and according to the calculations of Rashid ad-Din, made by him on the basis of original documents from the archives of the Mongol khans, Temujin was born in 1155.

The "History of the Yuan Dynasty" does not give an exact date of birth, but only calls the life span of Genghis Khan as "66 years" (taking into account the conditional year of intrauterine life, taken into account in the Chinese and Mongolian traditions of calculating life expectancy, and taking into account the fact that "accrual" the next year of life happened simultaneously for all Mongols with the celebration of the Eastern New Year, that is, in reality, more likely about 69 years old), which, when counted from the known date of his death, gives 1162 as the date of birth.

However, this date is not supported by earlier authentic documents from the Mongol-Chinese office of the 13th century. A number of scientists (for example, P. Pelliot or G. V. Vernadsky) indicate the year 1167, but this date remains the hypothesis most vulnerable to criticism. The newborn, as they say, squeezed a blood clot in his palm, which foreshadowed him the glorious future of the ruler of the world.

When his son was 9 years old, Yesugei-bagatur betrothed him to Borte, an 11-year-old girl from the Ungirat clan. Leaving his son in the bride's family until the age of majority, in order to get to know each other better, he went home. According to the "Secret Tale", on the way back, Yesugei lingered at the Tatars' parking lot, where he was poisoned. Upon returning to his native ulus, he fell ill and died three days later.

After the death of Temujin's father, his adherents left the widows (Yesugei had 2 wives) and Yesugei's children (Temujin and his brothers Khasar, Khachiun, Temuge and from his second wife - Bekter and Belgutai): the head of the Taichiut clan drove the family out of their homes, stealing all her cattle. For several years, widows with children lived in complete poverty, wandering in the steppes, eating roots, game and fish. Even in summer, the family lived from hand to mouth, making provisions for the winter.

The leader of the Taichiuts, Targutai-Kiriltukh (a distant relative of Temujin), who declared himself the ruler of the lands once occupied by Yesugei, fearing the revenge of his growing rival, began to pursue Temujin. Once an armed detachment attacked the camp of Yesugei's family. Temujin managed to escape, but he was overtaken and captured. They put a block on him - two wooden boards with a hole for the neck, which were pulled together. The block was a painful punishment: the person himself did not have the opportunity to eat, drink, or even drive away the fly that sat on his face.

One night, he found a way to slip away and hide in a small lake, plunging into the water with the stock and sticking out of the water with one nostril. The Taichiuts searched for him in this place, but could not find him. He was noticed by a laborer from the Suldus Sorgan-Shira tribe, who was among them, but who did not betray Temujin. He several times passed by the escaped prisoner, reassuring him and for others pretending to be looking for him. When the night search was over, Temujin got out of the water and went to the dwelling of Sorgan-Shir, hoping that he, having saved once, would help again.

However, Sorgan-Shira did not want to shelter him and was about to drive Temujin away, when suddenly the sons of Sorgan interceded for the fugitive, who was then hidden in a cart with wool. When the opportunity arose to send Temujin home, Sorgan-Shira put him on a mare, provided him with weapons and escorted him on his way (later Chilaun, the son of Sorgan-Shira, became one of the four nukers of Genghis Khan).

After some time, Temujin found his family. The Borjigins immediately migrated to another place, and the Taichiuts could not find them. At the age of 11, Temujin made friends with his peer of noble origin from the Jadaran tribe (jajirat) - Jamukha who later became the leader of this tribe. With him in his childhood, Temujin twice became a sworn brother (anda).

A few years later, Temujin married his betrothed Borte(By this time, Boorchu appeared in the service of Temujin, who also entered the four close nukers). Borte's dowry was a luxurious sable coat. Temujin soon went to the most powerful of the then steppe leaders - Tooril, the khan of the Kereit tribe.

Tooril was the sworn brother (anda) of Temujin's father, and he managed to enlist the support of the leader of the Kereites, recalling this friendship and offering a sable fur coat to Borte. Upon Temujin's return from Togoril Khan, an old Mongol gave him his son Jelme, who became one of his generals, into his service.

With the support of Tooril Khan, Temujin's forces began to gradually grow. Nukers began to flock to him. He raided his neighbors, multiplying his possessions and herds. He differed from other conquerors in that during the battles he tried to keep alive as many people from the enemy’s ulus as possible in order to further attract them to his service.

The first serious opponents of Temujin were the Merkits, who acted in alliance with the Taichiuts. In the absence of Temujin, they attacked the camp of the Borjigins and taken prisoner Borte(according to the assumption, she was already pregnant and was expecting the first son of Jochi) and the second wife of Yesugei - Sochikhel, the mother of Belgutai.

In 1184 (according to rough estimates, based on the date of birth of Ogedei), Temujin, with the help of Tooril Khan and his Kereites, as well as Jamukha from the Jajirat clan (invited by Temujin at the insistence of Tooril Khan), defeated the Merkits in the first battle in his life in the interfluve the confluence of the Chikoi and Khilok rivers with the Selenga in what is now Buryatia and returned Borte. Belgutai's mother, Sochikhel, refused to go back.

After the victory, Tooril Khan went to his horde, and Temujin and Jamukha remained to live together in the same horde, where they again entered into an alliance of brotherhood, exchanging golden belts and horses. After some time (from half a year to a year and a half), they dispersed, while many noyons and nukers of Jamukha joined Temujin (which was one of the reasons for Jamukha's dislike for Temujin).

Having separated, Temujin set about organizing his ulus, creating a horde control apparatus. The first two nukers, Boorchu and Jelme, were appointed senior in the khan's headquarters, Subedei-bagatur, the future famous commander of Genghis Khan, received the command post. In the same period, Temujin had a second son, Chagatai (the exact date of his birth is not known) and a third son, Ogedei (October 1186). Temujin created his first small ulus in 1186(1189/90 are also likely) and had 3 tumens (30,000 men) troops.

Jamukha was looking for an open quarrel with his anda. The reason was the death of Jamukha's younger brother Taychar during his attempt to steal a herd of horses from Temujin's possessions. Under the pretext of revenge, Jamukha with his army moved to Temujin in 3 darkness. The battle took place near the Gulegu Mountains, between the sources of the Sengur River and the upper course of the Onon. In this first big battle (according to the main source "The Secret History of the Mongols") Temujin was defeated.

The first major military enterprise of Temujin after the defeat from Jamukha was the war against the Tatars together with Tooril Khan. The Tatars at that time hardly repulsed the attacks of the Jin troops who entered their possession. The combined troops of Tooril Khan and Temujin, having joined the Jin troops, moved against the Tatars. The battle took place in 1196. They inflicted a number of strong blows on the Tatars and captured rich booty.

The government of the Jurchen Jin, as a reward for the defeat of the Tatars, awarded high titles to the steppe leaders. Temujin received the title of "Jauthuri"(military commissar), and Tooril - "Van" (prince), from that time he became known as Van-khan. Temujin became a vassal of Wang Khan, in whom Jin saw the most powerful of the rulers of Eastern Mongolia.

In 1197-1198. Van Khan, without Temujin, made a campaign against the Merkits, plundered and gave nothing to his named "son" and vassal Temujin. This marked the beginning of a new cooling.

After 1198, when the Jin ruined the Kungirats and other tribes, the influence of the Jin in Eastern Mongolia began to weaken, which allowed Temujin to take possession of the eastern regions of Mongolia.

At this time, Inanch Khan dies and the Naiman state splits into two uluses, headed by Buyruk Khan in Altai and Taian Khan on the Black Irtysh.

In 1199, Temujin, together with Wang Khan and Jamukha, attacked Buyruk Khan with their combined forces and he was defeated. Upon returning home, the Naiman detachment blocked the way. It was decided to fight in the morning, but at night Wang Khan and Jamukha fled, leaving Temujin alone in the hope that the Naimans would finish him off. But by morning, Temujin found out about this and retreated without engaging in battle. The Naimans began to pursue not Temujin, but Wang Khan. The Kereites entered into a heavy battle with the Naimans, and, in the evidence of death, Wan Khan sends messengers to Temujin with a request for help. Temujin sent his nukers, among whom Boorchu, Mukhali, Borokhul and Chilaun distinguished themselves in battle.

For his salvation, Wang Khan bequeathed his ulus to Temujin after his death.

In 1200, Wang Khan and Timuchin made a joint campaign against the Taichiuts. The Merkits came to the aid of the Taichiuts. In this battle, Temujin was wounded by an arrow, after which Jelme nursed him all the following night. By morning, the Taichiuts had fled, leaving many people behind. Among them was Sorgan-Shira, who once saved Timuchin, and the well-aimed shooter Dzhirgoadai, who confessed that it was he who shot Timuchin. He was accepted into the army of Timuchin and received the nickname Jebe (arrowhead). A chase was organized for the Taichiuts. Many were killed, some surrendered to the service. This was the first major victory won by Temujin.

In 1201, some Mongol forces (including Tatars, Taichiuts, Merkits, Oirats and other tribes) decided to unite in the fight against the Timuchin. They took an oath of allegiance to Jamukha and elevated him to the throne with the title of gurkhan. Upon learning of this, Timuchin contacted Wang Khan, who immediately raised an army and came to him.

In 1202, Temujin independently opposed the Tatars. Before this campaign, he gave an order according to which, under the threat of the death penalty, it was strictly forbidden to seize booty during the battle and pursue the enemy without an order: the commanders had to divide the captured property among the soldiers only at the end of the battle. The fierce battle was won, and at the council gathered by Temujin after the battle, it was decided to destroy all the Tatars, except for children below the cart wheel, as revenge for the Mongols' ancestors they had killed (in particular, for Temujin's father).

In the spring of 1203, at Khalakhaldzhin-Elet, a battle took place between Temujin’s troops and the combined forces of Jamukha and Wang Khan (although Wang Khan did not want a war with Temujin, but he was persuaded by his son Nilha-Sangum, who hated Temujin because Wang Khan gave to him preference over his son and thought to transfer the Kereit throne to him, and Jamukha, who claimed that Temujin was uniting with the Naiman Tayan Khan).

In this battle, the ulus of Temujin suffered heavy losses. But the son of Van Khan was wounded, because of which the Kereites left the battlefield. To gain time, Temujin began to send diplomatic messages, the purpose of which was to separate both Jamukha and Wang Khan, and Wang Khan and his son. At the same time, a number of tribes that did not join either side formed a coalition against both Wang Khan and Temujin. Upon learning of this, Wang Khan attacked first and defeated them, after which he began to feast. When this was reported to Temujin, it was decided to attack with lightning speed and take the enemy by surprise. Not even making overnight stops Temujin's army overtook the Kereites and utterly defeated them in the fall of 1203. The Kereit ulus ceased to exist. Wang Khan and his son managed to escape, but ran into the guard of the Naimans, and Wang Khan died. Nilha-Sangum was able to escape but was later killed by the Uighurs.

With the fall of the Kereites in 1204, Jamukha with the remaining army joined the Naimans in the hope of Temujin's death at the hands of Tayan Khan, or vice versa. Tayan Khan saw in Temujin the only rival in the struggle for power in the Mongolian steppes. Learning about what the Naimans think about the attack, Temujin decided to go on a campaign against Tayan Khan. But before the campaign, he began the reorganization of the management of the army and the ulus. At the beginning of the summer of 1204, Temujin's army - about 45,000 horsemen - set out on a campaign against the Naimans. Tayan Khan's army initially retreated in order to lure Temujin's army into a trap, but then, at the insistence of Tayan Khan's son, Kuchluk, entered the battle. The Naimans were defeated, only Kuchluk with a small detachment managed to escape to the Altai to his uncle Buyuruk. Tayan Khan died, and Jamukha fled even before the start of a fierce battle, realizing that the Naimans could not win. In battles with the Naimans, Khubilai, Jebe, Jelme and Subedei especially distinguished themselves.

Temujin, building on his success, opposed the Merkits, and the Merkit people fell. Tokhtoa-beki, the ruler of the Merkits, fled to the Altai, where he united with Kuchluk. In the spring of 1205, Temujin's army attacked Tokhtoa-beki and Kuchluk in the area of ​​the Bukhtarma River. Tokhtoa-beki died, and his army and most of the Naimans of Kuchluk, pursued by the Mongols, drowned while crossing the Irtysh. Kuchluk with his people fled to the Kara-Kitay (southwest of Lake Balkhash). There, Kuchluk managed to gather scattered detachments of Naiman and Kerait, enter the location of the gurkhan and become a rather significant political figure. The sons of Tokhtoa-beki fled to the Kypchaks, taking with them the severed head of their father. Subedei was sent to pursue them.

After the defeat of the Naimans, most of the Mongols of Jamukha went over to the side of Temujin. At the end of 1205, Jamukha himself was handed over to Temujin alive by his own nukers, hoping by this to save their lives and curry favor, for which they were executed by Temujin as traitors.

Temujin offered his friend complete forgiveness and the renewal of the old friendship, but Jamukha refused, saying: "just as there is room in the sky for only one sun, so in Mongolia there should be only one ruler."

He asked only for a dignified death (no bloodshed). His wish was granted - Temujin's warriors broke Jamukha's backbone. Rashid al-Din attributed the execution of Jamukha to Elchidai Noyon, who cut Jamukha to pieces.

In the spring of 1206, at the head of the Onon River at kurultai, Temujin was proclaimed a great khan over all the tribes and received the title "Kagan", taking the name Genghis (Chingiz is literally "lord of the water" or, more precisely, "lord of the boundless like the sea"). Mongolia has changed: scattered and warring Mongolian nomadic tribes united into a single state.

Mongol Empire in 1207

The new law came into force Yasa Genghis Khan. In Yasa, the main place was occupied by articles on mutual assistance in a campaign and the prohibition of deceiving a trusted person. Those who violated these regulations were executed, and the enemy of the Mongols, who remained loyal to their ruler, was spared and accepted into their army. Loyalty and courage were considered good, while cowardice and betrayal were considered evil.

Genghis Khan divided the entire population into tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens (ten thousand), thereby mixing tribes and clans and appointing specially selected people from his entourage and nukers as commanders over them. All adult and healthy men were considered warriors who ran their household in peacetime and took up arms in wartime.

The armed forces of Genghis Khan, formed in this way, amounted to approximately 95 thousand soldiers.

Separate hundreds, thousands and tumens, together with the territory for nomadism, were given into the possession of one or another noyon. The Great Khan, the owner of all the land in the state, distributed the land and arats into the possession of the noyons, on the condition that they would regularly perform certain duties for this.

Military service was the most important duty. Each noyon was obliged, at the first request of the overlord, to put the prescribed number of soldiers in the field. Noyon in his inheritance could exploit the labor of arats, distributing his cattle to them for grazing or involving them directly in work on his farm. Small noyons served as large ones.

Under Genghis Khan, the enslavement of arats was legalized, unauthorized transition from one dozen, hundreds, thousands or tumens to others was prohibited. This prohibition meant the formal attachment of the arats to the land of the noyons - for disobedience, the arat was threatened with the death penalty.

An armed detachment of personal bodyguards, called keshik, enjoyed exclusive privileges and was intended to fight against the internal enemies of the khan. Keshiktens were selected from the Noyon youth and were under the personal command of the khan himself, being essentially the khan's guard. At first, there were 150 keshiktens in the detachment. In addition, a special detachment was created, which was supposed to always be in the forefront and be the first to engage in battle with the enemy. He was called a detachment of heroes.

Genghis Khan created a network of communication lines, large-scale courier communications for military and administrative purposes, organized intelligence, including economic intelligence.

Genghis Khan divided the country into two "wings". At the head of the right wing he placed Boorcha, at the head of the left - Mukhali, two of his most faithful and experienced companions. The position and titles of senior and senior military leaders - centurions, thousands and temniks - he made hereditary in the family of those who, with their faithful service, helped him seize the khan's throne.

In 1207-1211, the Mongols conquered the land of the forest tribes, that is, they subjugated almost all the main tribes and peoples of Siberia, imposing tribute on them.

Before the conquest of China, Genghis Khan decided to secure the border by capturing in 1207 the Tangut state Xi-Xia, which was located between his possessions and the state of Jin. Having captured several fortified cities, in the summer of 1208 Genghis Khan withdrew to Longjin, waiting out the unbearable heat that fell that year.

He captured the fortress and the passage in the Great Wall of China and in 1213 invaded directly the Chinese state of Jin passing as far as Nianxi in Hanshu province. Genghis Khan led his troops deep into the continent and established his power over the province of Liaodong, the center of the empire. Several Chinese commanders went over to his side. The garrisons surrendered without a fight.

Having established his position along the entire Great Wall of China, in the fall of 1213, Genghis Khan sent three armies to different parts of the Jin Empire. One of them, under the command of the three sons of Genghis Khan - Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedei, headed south. The other, led by the brothers and commanders of Genghis Khan, moved east to the sea.

Genghis Khan himself and his youngest son Tolui at the head of the main forces set out in a southeasterly direction. The first army advanced all the way to Honan and, after capturing twenty-eight cities, joined Genghis Khan on the Great Western Road. The army under the command of the brothers and generals of Genghis Khan captured the province of Liao-si, and Genghis Khan himself ended his triumphal campaign only after he reached the sea rocky cape in the province of Shandong.

In the spring of 1214, he returned to Mongolia and made peace with the Chinese emperor, leaving Beijing to him. However, the leader of the Mongols did not have time to leave the Great Wall of China, as the Chinese emperor moved his court further away, to Kaifeng. This move was perceived by Genghis Khan as a manifestation of hostility, and he again brought troops into the empire, now doomed to death. The war continued.

The Jurchen troops in China, having replenished at the expense of the natives, fought the Mongols until 1235 on their own initiative, but were defeated and exterminated by Genghis Khan's successor Ogedei.

Following China, Genghis Khan prepared for a campaign in Central Asia. He was especially attracted by the flourishing cities of Semirechye. He decided to carry out his plan through the valley of the Ili River, where rich cities were located and they were ruled by an old enemy of Genghis Khan - Khan of the Naimans Kuchluk.

While Genghis Khan was conquering more and more new cities and provinces of China, the fugitive Naiman Khan Kuchluk asked the gurkhan who had given him shelter to help gather the remnants of the army defeated at the Irtysh. Having got a rather strong army under his hand, Kuchluk entered into an alliance against his overlord with the Shah of Khorezm Muhammad, who had previously paid tribute to the Kara-Kitays. After a short but decisive military campaign, the allies were left with a big win, and the gurkhan was forced to give up power in favor of an uninvited guest.

In 1213, the gurkhan Zhilugu died, and the Naiman khan became the sovereign ruler of Semirechye. Sairam, Tashkent, the northern part of Ferghana passed under his authority. Having become an implacable opponent of Khorezm, Kuchluk began to persecute Muslims in his possessions, which aroused the hatred of the settled population of Zhetysu. The ruler of Koilyk (in the valley of the Ili River) Arslan Khan, and then the ruler of Almalyk (to the north-west of modern Kulja) Buzar moved away from the Naimans and declared themselves subjects of Genghis Khan.

In 1218, Jebe detachments, together with the troops of the rulers of Koilyk and Almalyk, invaded the lands of the Karakitays. The Mongols conquered Semirechye and East Turkestan owned by Kuchluk. In the very first battle, Jebe defeated the Naimans. The Mongols allowed Muslims to public worship, which was previously prohibited by the Naimans, which contributed to the transition of the entire settled population to the side of the Mongols. Kuchluk, unable to organize resistance, fled to Afghanistan, where he was caught and killed. The inhabitants of Balasagun opened the gates to the Mongols, for which the city received the name Gobalyk - "good city".

The road to Khorezm was opened before Genghis Khan.

After the capture of Samarkand (spring of 1220), Genghis Khan sent troops to capture the Khorezmshah Muhammad, who fled after the Amu Darya. The tumens of Jebe and Subedei passed through Northern Iran and invaded the South Caucasus, bringing cities into submission by negotiations or force and collecting tribute. Having learned about the death of the Khorezmshah, the noyons continued their march to the west. Through the Derbent passage, they penetrated into the North Caucasus, defeated the Alans, and then the Polovtsians.

In the spring of 1223, the Mongols defeated the combined forces of the Russians and the Polovtsians on the Kalka., but when retreating to the east, they were defeated in the Volga Bulgaria. The remnants of the Mongol troops in 1224 returned to Genghis Khan, who was in Central Asia.

Upon his return from Central Asia, Genghis Khan again led his army through Western China. According to Rashid-ad-din, in the autumn of 1225, having migrated to the borders of Xi Xia, while hunting, Genghis Khan fell off his horse and was badly hurt. By evening, Genghis Khan developed a strong fever. As a result, in the morning a council was assembled, at which the question was "to postpone or not the war with the Tanguts."

The council was not attended by the eldest son of Genghis Khan Jochi, to whom there was already a strong distrust, due to his constant deviations from his father's orders. Genghis Khan ordered the army to march against Jochi and put an end to him, but the campaign did not take place, as the news of his death came. Genghis Khan fell ill throughout the winter of 1225-1226.

In the spring of 1226, Genghis Khan again led the army, and the Mongols crossed the Xi-Xia border in the lower reaches of the Edzin-Gol River. The Tanguts and some of the allied tribes were defeated and lost several tens of thousands of dead. Genghis Khan gave the civilian population to the flow and plunder to the army. This was the beginning of the last war of Genghis Khan. In December, the Mongols crossed the Huang He and reached the eastern regions of Xi-Xia. Near Lingzhou, a 100,000-strong Tangut army clashed with the Mongols. The Tangut army was completely defeated. The way to the capital of the Tangut kingdom was now open.

In the winter of 1226-1227. The final siege of Zhongxing began. In the spring and summer of 1227, the Tangut state was destroyed and the capital was doomed. The fall of the capital of the Tangut kingdom is directly related to the death of Genghis Khan, who died under its walls. According to Rashid ad-din, he died before the fall of the Tangut capital. According to Yuan-shih, Genghis Khan died when the inhabitants of the capital began to surrender. The "Secret Tale" tells that Genghis Khan received the Tangut ruler with gifts, but, feeling unwell, ordered to kill him. And then he ordered to take the capital and put an end to the Tangut state, after which he died. Sources name different causes of death - a sudden illness, a disease from the unhealthy climate of the Tangut state, a consequence of a fall from a horse. It is established with certainty that he died in the early autumn (or late summer) of 1227 on the territory of the Tangut state immediately after the fall of the capital Zhongxing (the modern city of Yinchuan) and the destruction of the Tangut state.

There is a version that Genghis Khan was stabbed to death by a young wife at night, whom he took by force from her husband. Fearing for what she had done, she drowned herself in the river that very night.

According to the will, Genghis Khan's successor was his third son Ogedei.

Where Genghis Khan was buried is still not exactly established, the sources give different places and methods of burial. According to the chronicler of the 17th century Sagan Setsen, "his true corpse, as some say, was buried on Burkhan-Khaldun. Others say that they buried him on the northern slope of Altai Khan, or on the southern slope of Kentei Khan, or in the area, called Yehe-Utek.

The main sources by which we can judge the life and personality of Genghis Khan were compiled after his death (especially important among them are "Secret Story"). From these sources we obtain information both about Genghis' appearance (tall stature, strong build, broad forehead, long beard) and about his character traits. Coming from a people who apparently did not have a written language and developed state institutions before him, Genghis Khan was deprived of a book education. With the talents of the commander, he combined organizational skills, inflexible will and self-control. Generosity and affability he possessed to a sufficient degree to retain the affection of his companions. Without denying himself the joys of life, he remained a stranger to excesses incompatible with the activities of the ruler and commander, and lived to an advanced age, retaining his mental abilities in full force.

Descendants of Genghis Khan - Genghisides:

Temujin and his first wife Borte had four sons: Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedei, Tolui. Only they and their descendants inherited the highest power in the state.

Temujin and Borte also had daughters: Khodzhin-begi, the wife of Butu-gurgen from the Ikires clan; Tsetseihen (Chichigan), wife of Inalchi, the youngest son of the head of the Oirats Khudukh-beki; Alangaa (Alagay, Alakha), who married the Ongut noyon Buyanbald (in 1219, when Genghis Khan went to war with Khorezm, he entrusted state affairs to her in his absence, therefore she is also called Toru zasagchi gunji (princess ruler); Temulen, wife Shiku-gurgen, son of Alchi-noyon from the Ungirats, the tribe of her mother Borte; Alduun (Altalun), who married Zavtar-setsen, noyon of the Khongirads.

Temujin and his second wife Khulan-khatun, daughter of Dair-usun, had sons Kulhan (Khulugen, Kulkan) and Kharachar; and from the Tatar Yesugen (Esukat), the daughter of Charu-noyon, the sons Chakhur (Dzhaur) and Harkhad.

The sons of Genghis Khan continued the work of their father and ruled the Mongols, as well as the conquered lands, based on the Great Yasa of Genghis Khan until the 20s of the XX century. The Manchurian emperors who ruled Mongolia and China from the 16th to the 19th century were descendants of Genghis Khan through the female line, as they married Mongol princesses from Genghis Khan's family. The first prime minister of Mongolia of the 20th century, Sain-Noyon-khan Namnansuren (1911-1919), as well as the rulers of Inner Mongolia (until 1954), were direct descendants of Genghis Khan.

The summary genealogy of Genghis Khan was conducted until the 20th century. In 1918, the religious head of Mongolia, Bogdo-gegen, issued an order to preserve the Urgiin bichig (family list) of Mongolian princes. This monument is kept in the museum and is called "Shastra of the State of Mongolia"(Mongol Ulsyn Shastir). Today, many direct descendants of Genghis Khan live in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia (PRC), as well as in other countries.

According to legend, the clan of Genghis goes back to the Mongol tribe, descending from a woman named Alan-Goa, who, after the death of her husband, Dobun-Bayan, became pregnant from a ray of light. Three sons came from her: those who belong to the family of these sons are called nirun. The meaning of this word is loins, that is, the indication of the purity of the loins confirms the origin of these sons from supernatural light. In the sixth generation from Alan-Goa, Kabul Khan was a direct descendant. From the grandson of the last Yesugei-bahadur came those who received the name Kiyat-burjigin. The word kiyan in Mongolian means "a large stream flowing from the mountains to the lowlands, stormy, fast and strong."

Kiyat is the plural of Kiyan: they also named those who are closer to the beginning of the genus. The children of Yesugei-Bahadur were nicknamed Kiyat-Burjigins because they were both Kiyat and Burjigins. Burjigin in Turkic means a person with blue eyes. The color of his skin falls into yellow. The courage of the Burjigins has become proverbial.

Yesugei-bahadur's son Genghis Khan was born in 1162 (according to other, more dubious data, in 1155). But already from his youth, he learned to understand people and find the right people. Bogorchin-noyon and Boragul-noyon, who were next to him even during the years of defeat, when he thought about looking for food, were so much appreciated by him that he once said: “Let there be no grief and there is no need for Bogorchi to die! there will be grief and it is not good for Boragul to die!" Sorkan-Shira from the Taijiut tribe, who captured Genghis Khan, who contributed to the escape from captivity, subsequently received full honor and respect for his person, for children and supporters. Genghis Khan dedicated almost poetic lines to his son Sorkin - Shire Jiladkan-bahadur, referring to his courage:

"I did not see a footman who would fight and get the head of the recalcitrant in his hands! I did not see (a person) like this hero!"

There was a certain Sorkak, the named father of Genghis. At a time when Genghis was not yet a sovereign, he said: many people strive for power, but in the end Temujin will become the head and the kingdom will be established behind him, by the unanimity of the tribes, for he has the abilities and dignity for this, and on his forehead there are obvious . The signs of heavenly omnipotence and royal prowess are obvious. The words turned out to be prophetic. Extreme delicacy characterizes Chingiz's attitude towards his first and beloved wife Borte. He did not allow anyone to doubt her chastity after a year of her captivity. From the relationship of personal allegiance, a model of vassalage was formed, which he subsequently elevated to a system. The personal qualities of Genghis Khan, for all their originality, fit into the age-old characters and age-old motives that politicians have lived and still live to this day: the desire to inspire the indisputability of their leadership, the path (sometimes difficult) of advancing to the top of power through treachery and devotion, through hatred and love, through betrayal and friendship, the ability to assess situations and make decisions that bring success.

The succession line from Genghis Khan was carried over the centuries by his direct and indirect descendants - Genghisides in the vast Asian region. There is a certain identity of family traits in the activities of Genghisides in general, and those who came forward as leaders of the consolidation and formation of a single Kazakh statehood. From the first-born Genghis Khan Jochi in the sixteenth generation, we have the famous Ablai, his grandson Kenesary. The grandson of the latter Azimkhan (1867-1937) was highly respected by the people. He participated in the government of Alash-Orda as a hydro-reclamation specialist and contributed to the familiarization of the Kazakhs with agriculture, was repressed as an "enemy of the people."

In the life of Genghis Khan, two main ones can be distinguished. stage: this is the period of unification of all Mongolian tribes into a single state and the period of conquests and the creation of a great empire. The border between them is marked symbolically. His original name was Tengrin Ogyugsen Temuchin. At the kurultai in 1206, he was proclaimed the Divine Genghis Khan, his full name in Mongolian became Delkyan ezen Sutu Bogda Genghis Khan, that is, the Lord of the World, sent down by God Genghis Khan.

For a long time, European historiography was dominated by the tradition of depicting Genghis Khan as a bloodthirsty despot and barbarian. Indeed, he was not educated and was illiterate. But the very fact that he and his heirs created an empire that united 4/5 of the Old World, from the mouths of the Danube, the borders of Hungary, Poland, Veliky Novgorod to the Pacific Ocean, and from the Arctic Ocean to the Adriatic Sea, the Arabian Desert, the Himalayas and the mountains of India, testifies at least about him as a brilliant commander and prudent administrator, and not just a conqueror-destroyer and terrorist.

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As a conqueror, he has no equal in world history. As a commander, he was characterized by boldness in strategic plans, deep foresight in political and diplomatic calculations. Intelligence, including economic intelligence, the organization of courier communications on a large scale for military and administrative purposes - these are his personal discoveries. In the reassessment of the personality of Genghis Khan, a significant role was played by the movement called the Eurasian. In relation to Genghis Khan, the Eurasians abandoned the concept of the "Tatar-Mongol yoke", which is associated with the ideas of Russia-Eurasia as a special historical and cultural region, equally dissimilar to Western Europe, the Middle East or China, Russia as the heir to the Mongol empire of the XIII-XIV centuries . The second idea of ​​the Eurasianists is the explanation of the reasons for the sharp rise in the activity of the Mongol tribes in Transbaikalia under the leadership of Genghis Khan with a specific sign - passionarity. A person endowed with passionarity is obsessed with an irresistible desire for activity for the sake of an abstract ideal, a distant goal, for the achievement of which the passionary sacrifices not only the lives of those around him, but also his own. There are periods of a sharp increase in the number of passionaries in the ethnic group in comparison with the inhabitants. According to the terminology of Genghis Khan, there are "people of long will", for whom honor and dignity are more valuable than anything, well-being and even life itself. They are opposed by those who value security and well-being above their personal dignity and honor.

The network of communication lines he created, which opened unprecedented access for government and private needs, ensured trade and cultural exchange within the empire. Genghis Khan wanted to bring trade such conveniences that it would be possible throughout his empire to wear gold on his head like ordinary vessels, without fear of robbery and harassment.

His attention to personnel policy is evidenced by the facts of respect for the bearers of technology and culture, concern for the education of his children, and the involvement of a descendant of the Khitan house, Elyu Chucai, in the service. This philosopher and astrologer was in charge of administration, finance, and the office of the empire. Marco Polo, among the noble features of Genghis Khan, notes that he did not violate property rights in the conquered countries.

The most important component of the spiritual heritage of Genghis Khan is the code of laws compiled by him, perfect for his time, the so-called Yases. He elevated the written law to a cult, was supporters of a firm rule of law.

In addition to strict adherence to the law, Genghis Khan considered religiosity to be the most important basis of statehood.

Genghis Khan died in 1227 and was buried in the area Purkash-Kaldun (now this place is not identified). According to legend, once in this area, under the shade of a green tree, Genghis Khan, having experienced "some kind of inner joy," said to those close to him: "The place of our last home should be here."

V.I.Vernadsky came up with the idea that the legacy of Genghis Khan has "tremendous world-historical significance", thanks to which "peoples of different, often very high cultures, got the opportunity to influence each other."

Emphasizing the originality of Genghis Khan's personal qualities, one should not, in contrast to the tradition that portrayed him as a cruel conqueror, embellish the political appearance of Temujin, but perceive him in all the multidimensionality of his features, both positive and negative. Like any conqueror, he fought, therefore, destroyed, destroyed, ruined, plundered, but at the same time attracted the defeated to his side, tried in a number of cases to show economy, prudence, concern for the future and the strength of his conquests.

Genghisism is a concept that Kazakhstani researcher V.P. Yudin considered necessary to introduce into historical science. It meant not only that certain practical traditions, including the traditions of the inheritance of military art, continued to operate for a long time on the large territory conquered by him and his descendants. What is meant is something else, namely, an ideology, and, moreover, so powerful that it could consolidate on a large scale and for a long time what can be called the geopolitical legacy of Genghis Khan.

V.P. Yudin calls this ideology a worldview, ideology, philosophy, the sanction of the social system and the structure of social institutions, a political and legal system, a cultural doctrine, the basis of education, a means of regulating behavior in society.

About the Great Shaker of the Universe!
yadik 20.09.2006 04:25:20

The article correctly noted that a more extraordinary person did not exist!

Delkhen Ezyn Suuta Bogdo Genghis Khan
08.10.2012 06:41:55

The man of the millennium, and this title was given on behalf of humanity, and became one of his last titles. For me, it is a Symbol of the superiority of the power of the human Soul over all earthly trials and obstacles, an impulse of the soul for the good of all people, although some people did not understand and do not understand what is more important to them.

Genghis Khan (Temujin) is the greatest conqueror in the history of mankind, the founder and great khan of the Mongol state.

The fate of Temujin, or Temujin, was rather difficult. He was from a noble Mongolian family, who roamed with their herds along the banks of the Onon River (the territory of modern Mongolia). Born around 1155

When he was 9 years old, during the steppe civil strife, his father Yesugeybahadur was killed (poisoned). The family, having lost their protector and almost all their livestock, had to flee from the nomads. They endured the harsh winter in the wooded area with great difficulty.

Troubles did not cease to haunt Temujin - new enemies from the Taijiut tribe attacked the orphaned family and took the little Mongol into captivity, putting on him a wooden slave collar.

The boy showed the firmness of his character, hardened by the hardships of childhood. Having broken the collar, Temujin was able to escape and return to his native tribe, which could not protect his family a few years ago. The teenager became a zealous warrior: few of his relatives knew how to control the steppe horse so deftly and shoot accurately from a bow, throw a lasso at full gallop and cut with a saber.

But the warriors of his tribe were struck by something else in Temujin - imperiousness, the desire to subjugate others. From those who fell under his banner, the young Mongol commander demanded complete and unquestioning obedience to his will. Disobedience was punishable only by death. To the disobedient, he was as ruthless as to his natural enemies among the Mongols. Temujin was soon able to take revenge on all the offenders of his family.

He was not yet 20 years old, when he began to unite the Mongol clans around him, gathering a small detachment of warriors under his command. It was a very difficult matter, because the Mongol tribes constantly waged armed struggle among themselves, raiding neighboring pastures in order to take possession of their herds and capture people as slaves.

Steppe clans, and then entire tribes of the Mongols, Temujin united around him by force, and sometimes with the help of diplomacy. He married the daughter of one of the powerful neighbors, hoping for the support of his father-in-law's warriors in difficult times. But so far, the young steppe leader had few allies and his own soldiers, and he had to fail.

The Merkit tribe, hostile to him, once made a successful raid on Temujin's camp and was able to kidnap his wife. This was a great insult to the dignity of the Mongol commander. He redoubled his efforts to gather nomadic families around him, and in just a year he was already in command of a significant cavalry army. With him, the future Genghis Khan inflicted a complete defeat on the numerous Merkit tribe, exterminating most of it and capturing their herds, freeing his wife, who knew the fate of the captive.

Temujin's military successes in the war against the Merkits attracted other Mongol tribes under his banner. Now they resignedly gave their soldiers to the military leader. His army grew all the time, and the territories of the vast Mongolian steppe expanded, where now the nomads were subject to his authority.

Temujin was constantly at war with the Mongol tribes who refused to recognize his supreme power. At the same time, he was distinguished by perseverance and cruelty. So, he almost completely exterminated the tribe of Tatars (the Mongols were already called by this name in Europe, although as such the Tatars were destroyed by Genghis Khan in an internecine war).

Temujin was remarkably versed in the tactics of war in the steppes. He unexpectedly attacked neighboring nomadic tribes and inevitably won. He offered the survivors the right to choose: either become his ally, or die.

The leader Temujin fought his first big battle in 1193 in the Mongolian steppes near Germany. At the head of 6,000 warriors, he defeated the 10,000-strong army of his father-in-law Ung Khan, who began to argue with his son-in-law. The Khan's army was commanded by the commander Sanguk, who, apparently, was very confident in the superiority of the tribal army entrusted to him. And therefore he did not worry about either intelligence or military guards. Temujin took the enemy by surprise in a mountain gorge and inflicted heavy damage on him.

By 1206, Temujin had become the strongest ruler in the steppes north of the Great Wall of China. That year is remarkable in his life in that at the kurultai (congress) of the Mongol feudal lords, he was proclaimed the “Great Khan” over all the Mongol tribes with the title “Genghis Khan” (from the Turkic “tengiz” - ocean, sea).

Under the name of Genghis Khan, Temujin entered world history. For the Mongols of the steppes, his title sounded like "universal ruler", "real ruler", "precious ruler".

The first thing the great khan took care of was the Mongol army. Genghis Khan demanded from the leaders of the tribes who recognized his supremacy to maintain permanent military detachments to protect the lands of the Mongols with their nomad camps and for campaigns against their neighbors. The former slave no longer had open enemies among the Mongol tribes, and he began to prepare for wars of conquest.

To assert personal power and suppress any discontent in the country, Genghis Khan created a horse guard of 10,000 people. The best warriors were recruited from the Mongol tribes, and they enjoyed great privileges in the army of Genghis Khan. The guards were his bodyguards. From among them, the ruler of the Mongolian state appointed military leaders to the troops.

The army of Genghis Khan was built according to the decimal system: tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens (they consisted of 10,000 soldiers). These military units were not only accounting units. A hundred and a thousand could perform independent combat missions. Tumen acted in the war already at the tactical level.

According to the decimal system, the command of the Mongolian army was also built: ten's manager, centurion, thousand's manager, temnik. Genghis Khan appointed his sons and representatives of the tribal nobility to the highest positions - temniks - from among those military leaders who, by deed, proved to him their devotion and experience in military affairs. In the army of the Mongols, the strictest discipline was maintained along the entire command hierarchical ladder. Any violation was severely punished.

The main branch of the army in the army of Genghis Khan was the heavily armed cavalry of the Mongols proper. Her main weapons were a sword or saber, a pike and a bow with arrows. Initially, the Mongols protected their chest and head in battle with strong leather breastplates and helmets. Over time, they developed good protective equipment in the form of a variety of metal armor. Each Mongol warrior had at least two well-trained horses for the campaign and a large supply of arrows and arrowheads for them.

Light cavalry, and these were usually horse archers, consisted of warriors from conquered steppe tribes. It was they who started the battles, bombarding the enemy with clouds of arrows and bringing confusion into his ranks. After that, the heavily armed cavalry of the Mongols themselves went on the attack in a dense mass. Their attack was more like a ramming blow than a dashing raid by the Mongol cavalry.

Genghis Khan went down in military history as a great strategist and tactician of that time. For his temnik commanders and other military leaders, he developed the rules for conducting war and organizing the entire military service. These rules, in the conditions of strict centralization of military and state administration, were strictly enforced.

Genghis Khan's strategy and tactics were characterized by: careful close and long-range reconnaissance, a surprise attack on any enemy, even noticeably inferior to him in strength, the desire to dismember the enemy forces in order to destroy them in parts later. Ambushes and luring the enemy in them were widely and skillfully used. Genghis Khan and his commanders skillfully maneuvered large masses of cavalry on the battlefield. The pursuit of the fleeing enemy was carried out not with the aim of capturing more military booty, but with the aim of destroying it.

At the very beginning of his conquests, Genghis Khan did not always gather a general Mongol cavalry army. Scouts and spies brought him information about a new enemy, about the number, location and routes of movement of his troops. This made it possible for Genghis Khan to determine the number of troops needed to defeat the enemy and quickly respond to all his offensive actions.

But the greatness of the military art of Genghis Khan was also in something else: he was able to quickly respond to the actions of the opposite side, changing his tactics depending on the circumstances. Thus, having encountered strong fortresses in China for the first time, Genghis Khan began to use various types of throwing and siege machines of the same Chinese in the war. They were taken disassembled for the army and quickly assembled during the siege of a new city. When he needed mechanics or doctors, who were not among the Mongols, Genghis Khan ordered them from other countries or took them prisoner. In the latter case, military specialists became khan's slaves, who were kept in very good conditions.

Until the last days of his life, Genghis Khan sought to maximize his truly vast possessions. Therefore, every time the Mongol army went farther and farther from the steppes of Mongolia.

First, the great conqueror of the Middle Ages decided to annex other nomadic peoples to his state. 1207 - he conquered vast areas north of the Selenga River and in the upper reaches of the Yenisei. The military forces (cavalry) of the conquered tribes were included in the general Mongol army.

Then it was the turn of the large Uighur state in East Turkestan. 1209 - a huge army of the Great Khan invaded its territory and, capturing cities and flowering oases one after another, won a complete victory over the Uighurs. After this invasion, only heaps of ruins remained from many trading cities and villages of farmers.

The destruction of settlements on the occupied lands, the wholesale extermination of recalcitrant tribes and fortified cities that tried to defend themselves with weapons in their hands were characteristic features of the conquests of Genghis Khan. The strategy of intimidation made it possible for him to successfully solve military problems and keep the conquered peoples in obedience.

1211 - Genghis Khan's cavalry attacked northern China. The Great Wall of China - the most grandiose defensive structure in the history of human civilization - did not become an obstacle for the conquerors. The Mongolian cavalry defeated the troops of a new enemy that stood in its way. 1215 - the city of Beijing (Yanjing) was captured by cunning, which the Mongols subjected to a long siege.

In northern China, the Mongols destroyed about 90 cities, the population of which resisted the army of the great Mongol Khan. In this campaign, Genghis Khan adopted the engineering military equipment of the Chinese into service with his cavalry troops - various throwing machines and battering rams. Chinese engineers trained the Mongols to use them and deliver them to the besieged cities and fortresses.

1218 - The Mongols, continuing their conquests, captured the Korean Peninsula.

After campaigns in Northern China and Korea, Genghis Khan turned his attention further to the west - towards the sunset. 1218 - The Mongol army invaded Central Asia and captured Khorezm. This time, Genghis Khan found a plausible pretext for the invasion - several Mongol merchants were killed in the border city of Khorezm. And therefore it was necessary to punish the country where the Mongols were treated "badly."

With the advent of the enemy on the borders of Khorezm, Khorezmshah Muhammad, at the head of a large army (figures up to 200,000 people are called), set out on a campaign. A great battle took place at Karaku, which was distinguished by such persistence that by the evening there was no winner on the battlefield. With the onset of darkness, the commanders took their armies to their camps.

The next day, Khorezmshah Mohammed refused to continue the battle due to heavy losses, which amounted to almost half of the troops he had gathered. Genghis Khan, for his part, also suffered heavy losses, retreated. But it was a military trick of the great commander.

The conquest of the huge Central Asian state of Khorezm continued. 1219 - the Mongol army of 200,000 people under the command of the sons of Genghis Khan, Oktay and Zagatai, besieged the city of Otrar (the territory of modern Uzbekistan). The city was defended by a 60,000-strong garrison under the command of the brave Khorezm commander Gazer Khan.

The siege of Otrar with frequent attacks was carried out for four months. During this time, the number of its defenders was reduced by three times. In the camp of the besieged, famine and disease began, since it was especially bad with drinking water. In the end, the Mongols broke into the city, but they could not take possession of the fortress citadel. Gazer Khan with the remnants of his soldiers was able to hold out in it for another month. By order of the Great Khan, Otrar was destroyed, most of the inhabitants were killed, and some - artisans and young people - were taken into slavery.

1220, March - the Mongol army, led by the great Mongol Khan himself, laid siege to one of the largest Central Asian cities - Bukhara. The 20,000-strong army of the Khorezmshah stood in it, which, together with its commander, fled when the Mongols approached. The townspeople, not having the strength to fight, opened the fortress gates to the conquerors. Only the local ruler decided to defend himself, hiding in the fortress, which was set on fire and destroyed by the Mongols.

1220, June - the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, besieged another major Khorezm city - Samarkand. The city was defended by a garrison of 110,000 (the figure is greatly inflated) under the command of the governor Alub Khan. His warriors made frequent sorties outside the city walls, preventing the enemy from conducting siege work. However, there were citizens who, wanting to save their property and life, opened the gates of Samarkand to the Mongols.

The army of the great khan broke into the city, and on its streets and squares heated battles began with the defenders of Samarkand. But the forces were unequal, and besides, Genghis Khan brought more and more detachments into battle to replace those who were tired of fighting. Seeing that he could not hold Samarkand, Alub Khan, at the head of 1000 horsemen, was able to escape from the city and break through the blockade ring of the invaders. The surviving 30,000 Khorezmian soldiers were killed by the Mongols.

The conquerors also met stubborn resistance during the siege of the city of Khujand (modern Tajikistan). It was defended by a garrison led by one of the best Khwarezmian commanders, the fearless Timur-Melik. When he realized that the garrison was no longer able to repel attacks, he boarded ships with part of the soldiers and sailed down the Jaksart River, pursued along the coast by the Mongol cavalry. However, after a fierce battle, Timur-Melik was able to break away from his pursuers. After his departure, the city of Khojent surrendered to the mercy of the winner the next day.

The army of Genghis Khan continued to capture the Khwarezmian cities one after another: Merv, Urgench ... 1221 - they besieged the city of Bamiyan and, after many months of struggle, took it by storm. Genghis Khan, whose beloved grandson was killed during the siege, ordered that neither women nor children be spared. Therefore, the city with the entire population was completely destroyed.

After the fall of Khorezm and the conquest of Central Asia, Genghis Khan made a campaign in North-Western India, capturing this large territory as well. But he did not go further to the south of Hindustan: he was always attracted by unknown countries at sunset.

The Great Khan, as usual, thoroughly worked out the route of a new campaign and sent far to the west his best commanders Jebe and Subedei at the head of their tumens and auxiliary troops of the conquered peoples. Their path passed through Iran, Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus. So the Mongols ended up on the southern approaches to Russia, in the Don steppes.

In those days, Polovtsian towers roamed in the Wild Field, which had long lost their military strength. The Mongols defeated the Polovtsy without much difficulty, and they fled to the borderlands of Russian lands. 1223 - the generals Jebe and Subedei defeated the united army of several Russian princes and Polovtsian khans in the battle on the Kalka River. After the victory, the vanguard of the Mongol army turned back.

In 1226-1227, Genghis Khan made a trip to the country of the Tangut Xi-Xia. He instructed one of his sons to continue the conquest of Chinese lands. The anti-Mongol uprising that began in the conquered Northern China caused great concern to the great khan.

Genghis Khan died during his last campaign against the Tanguts, in 1227. The Mongols gave him a magnificent funeral and, having destroyed all the participants in these sad celebrations, were able to keep the location of Genghis Khan's grave a complete secret to this day ...

THE LEGENDARY PEOPLE OF MONGOLIA

Genghis Khan
(1162-1227)

Genghis Khan (Mong. Genghis Khan own name - Temujin, Temuchin, Mong. Temujin). May 3, 1162 - August 18, 1227) - Mongol Khan, founder of the Mongolian state (since 1206), organizer of aggressive campaigns in Asia and Eastern Europe, great reformer and unifier of Mongolia. The direct descendants of Genghis Khan in the male line are Genghisides.

The only historical portrait of Genghis Khan from the series of official portraits of rulers was drawn during the reign of Kublai Khan in the 13th century. (beginning of reign from 1260), a few decades after his death (Genghis Khan died in 1227). The portrait of Genghis Khan is kept in the Beijing History Museum. The portrait depicts a face with Asian features, with blue eyes and a gray beard.

early years

The ancestor of all Mongols according to the "Secret Tale" is Alan-Goa, in the eighth generation from Genghis Khan, who, according to legend, conceived children from a sunbeam in a yurt. Genghis Khan's grandfather, Khabul Khan, was a wealthy leader of all the Mongol tribes, successfully waged wars with neighboring tribes. Temuchin's father was Yesugei Baatur, the grandson of Khabul Khan, the leader of most of the Mongol tribes, in which there were 40 thousand yurts. This tribe was the complete owner of the fertile valleys between the rivers Kerulen and Onon. Yesugei-baatur also successfully fought and fought, subjugating the Tatars and many neighboring tribes. From the contents of the "Secret Tale" it is clear that the father of Genghis Khan was the famous Khan of the Mongols.

It is difficult to name the exact date of birth of Genghis Khan. According to the Persian historian Rashid-ad-din, the date of birth is 1155, modern Mongolian historians adhere to the date - 1162. He was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River (near Lake Baikal) in the family of one of the Mongol leaders of the Taichiut tribe Yesugei-bagatura ("bagatur" - hero) from the Borjigin clan, and his wife Hoelun from the Onhirat tribe. It was named after the Tatar leader Temuchin, whom Yesugei defeated on the eve of the birth of his son. At the age of 9, Yesugei-bagatur betrothed a son to a 10-year-old girl from the Khungirat family. Leaving his son in the bride's family until the age of majority, in order to get to know each other better, he went home. On the way back, Yesugei lingered at the Tatars' parking lot, where he was poisoned. When he returned to his native ulus, he became ill, and a few days later he died.

The elders of the Mongol tribes refused to obey the too young and inexperienced Temuchin and left with their tribes for another patron. So young Temujin was surrounded by only a few representatives of his kind: his mother, younger brothers and sisters. All their remaining property included only eight horses and a tribal "bunchuk" - a white banner depicting a bird of prey - a gyrfalcon and with nine yak tails, symbolizing four large and five small yurts of his family. For several years, widows with children lived in complete poverty, wandering in the steppes, eating roots, game and fish. Even in summer, the family lived from hand to mouth, making provisions for the winter.

The leader of the Taichiuts, Targultai (a distant relative of Temujin), who declared himself the ruler of the lands once occupied by Yesugei, fearing the revenge of a growing rival, began to pursue Temujin. One day an armed detachment attacked the camp of Yesugei's family. Temujin managed to escape, but he was overtaken and taken prisoner. They put a block on him - two wooden boards with a hole for the neck, which were pulled together. The block was a painful punishment: the person himself did not have the opportunity to eat, drink, or even drive away the fly that sat on his face. Nevertheless, he found a way to slip away and hide in a small lake, plunging into the water with the block and sticking out of the water only his nostrils. The Taichiuts looked for him in this place, but could not find him; but he was noticed by one Selduz, who was among them, and decided to save him. He pulled young Temujin out of the water, freed him from the block and led him to his dwelling, where he hid him in a cart with wool. After the departure of the Taichiuts, the Selduz put Temuchin on a mare, provided him with weapons and sent him home.

After some time, Temujin found his family. The Borjigins immediately migrated to another place, and the Taichiuts could no longer find them. Then Temujin married his betrothed Borte. Borte's dowry was a luxurious sable coat. Temujin soon went to the most powerful of the then steppe leaders - Togoril, Khan of the Keraites. Togoril was once a friend of Temuchin's father, and he managed to enlist the support of the leader of the Keraites, recalling this friendship and bringing a luxurious gift - a sable fur coat Borte.

The beginning of the conquests

With the help of Khan Togoril, Temujin's forces began to gradually grow. Nukers began to flock to him; he raided his neighbors, multiplying his possessions and herds.

The first serious opponents of Temujin were the Merkits, who acted in alliance with the Taichiuts. In the absence of Temujin, they attacked the camp of the Borjigins and captured Borte and Yesugei's second wife, Sochikhel. Temujin, with the help of Khan Togoril and the Keraites, as well as his anda (named brother) Jamukha from the Jajirat clan, defeated the Merkits. At the same time, while trying to drive away the herd from the possessions of Temujin, Jamukha's brother was killed. Under the pretext of revenge, Jamukha with his army moved to Temujin. But not having achieved success in defeating the enemy, the leader of the Jajirats retreated.

Temujin's first major military undertaking was the war against the Tatars, launched jointly with Togoril around 1200. The Tatars at that time hardly repulsed the attacks of the Jin troops who entered their possession. Using the favorable situation, Temuchin and Togoril inflicted a series of strong blows on the Tatars and captured rich booty. The Jin government, as a reward for the defeat of the Tatars, awarded high titles to the steppe leaders. Temujin received the title of "jautkhuri" (military commissar), and Togoril - "van" (prince), from that time he became known as Van-khan. In 1202, Temujin independently opposed the Tatars. Before this campaign, he made an attempt to reorganize and discipline the army - he issued an order according to which it was strictly forbidden to capture booty during the battle and the pursuit of the enemy: the commanders had to divide the captured property between the soldiers only at the end of the battle.

Temujin's victories caused the rallying of the forces of his opponents. A whole coalition was formed, including Tatars, Taichiuts, Merkits, Oirats and other tribes, who elected Jamukha as their khan. In the spring of 1203, a battle took place, ending in the complete defeat of the Jamukha forces. This victory further strengthened Temujin's ulus. In 1202-1203, the Keraites were headed by Van Khan's son Nilkha, who hated Temujin because Van Khan gave preference to him over his son and thought to transfer the Keraite throne to him bypassing the Nilkha. In the autumn of 1203, Wang Khan's troops were defeated. His ulus ceased to exist. Wang Khan himself died while trying to escape to the Naimans.

In 1204 Temujin defeated the Naimans. Their ruler Tayan Khan died, and his son Kuchuluk fled to the territory of the Semirechie in the country of the Karakitays (southwest of Lake Balkhash). His ally, the Merkit khan Tokhto-beki, fled with him. There Kuchuluk managed to gather disparate detachments of Naimans and Keraites, enter the location of the gurkhan and become a rather significant political figure.

Reforms of the Great Khan

At kurultai in 1206, Temujin was proclaimed a great khan over all tribes - Genghis Khan. Mongolia has changed: scattered and warring Mongolian nomadic tribes united into a single state.

At the same time, a new law was issued: Yasa. The main place in it was occupied by articles on mutual assistance in the campaign and the prohibition of deceiving a trusted person. Those who violated these regulations were executed, and the enemy of the Mongols, who remained faithful to his khan, was spared and accepted into his army. "Good" was considered loyalty and courage, and "evil" - cowardice and betrayal.

After Temujin became the all-Mongol ruler, his policy began to reflect the interests of the noyonism even more clearly. The noyons needed such internal and external measures that would help consolidate their dominance and increase their income. New wars of conquest, robbery of rich countries were supposed to ensure the expansion of the sphere of feudal exploitation and the strengthening of the class positions of the noyons.

The administrative system created under Genghis Khan was adapted to the implementation of these goals. He divided the entire population into tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens (ten thousand), thereby mixing tribes and clans and appointing specially selected people from his entourage and nukers as commanders over them. All adult and healthy men were considered warriors who ran their household in peacetime and took up arms in wartime. Such an organization provided Genghis Khan with the opportunity to increase his armed forces to about 95 thousand soldiers.

Separate hundreds, thousands and tumens, together with the territory for nomadism, were given into the possession of one or another noyon. The Great Khan, considering himself the owner of all the land in the state, distributed the land and arats into the possession of the noyons, on the condition that they would regularly perform certain duties for this. Military service was the most important duty. Each noyon was obliged, at the first request of the overlord, to put the prescribed number of soldiers in the field. Noyon in his inheritance could exploit the labor of arats, distributing his cattle to them for grazing or involving them directly in work on his farm. Small noyons served as large ones.

Under Genghis Khan, the enslavement of arats was legalized, unauthorized transition from one dozen, hundreds, thousands or tumens to others was prohibited. This prohibition already meant the formal attachment of the arats to the land of the noyons - for migration from the possessions, the arat was threatened with the death penalty.

A specially formed armed detachment of personal bodyguards, the so-called keshik, enjoyed exclusive privileges and was intended mainly to fight against the internal enemies of the khan. Keshiktens were selected from the Noyon youth and were under the personal command of the khan himself, being essentially the khan's guard. At first, there were 150 keshiktens in the detachment. In addition, a special detachment was created, which was supposed to always be in the forefront and be the first to engage in battle with the enemy. He was called a detachment of heroes.

Genghis Khan elevated the written law to a cult, was supporters of a firm rule of law. He created a network of communication lines in his empire, courier communications on a large scale for military and administrative purposes, organized intelligence, including economic intelligence.

Genghis Khan divided the country into two "wings". At the head of the right wing he placed Boorcha, at the head of the left - Mukhali, two of his most faithful and experienced companions. The position and titles of senior and senior military leaders - centurions, thousands and temniks - he made hereditary in the family of those who, with their faithful service, helped him seize the khan's throne.

Conquest of Northern China

In 1207-1211, the Mongols conquered the land of the Yakuts [source?], Kirghiz and Uighurs, that is, they subjugated almost all the main tribes and peoples of Siberia, imposing tribute on them. In 1209, Genghis Khan conquered Central Asia and turned his gaze to the south.

Before the conquest of China, Genghis Khan decided to secure the eastern border, capturing in 1207 the state of the Xi-Xia Tanguts, who had previously conquered Northern China from the dynasty of the Chinese emperors Song and created their own state, which was located between his possessions and the state of Jin. Having captured several fortified cities, in the summer of 1208 the "True Sovereign" withdrew to Longjin, waiting out the unbearable heat that fell that year. Meanwhile, news reaches him that his old enemies Tokhta-beki and Kuchluk are preparing for a new war with him. Preventing their invasion and carefully preparing, Genghis Khan defeated them utterly in a battle on the banks of the Irtysh. Tokhta-beki was among the dead, and Kuchluk fled and found shelter with the Karakitays.

Satisfied with the victory, Temujin again sends his troops against Xi-Xia. After defeating an army of Chinese Tatars, he captured a fortress and a passage in the Great Wall of China and in 1213 invaded the Chinese Empire itself, the State of Jin, and marched as far as Nianxi in Hanshu Province. With increasing persistence, Genghis Khan led his troops, covering the road with corpses, deep into the continent and established his power even over the province of Liaodong, the central province of the empire. Several Chinese commanders, seeing that the Mongol conqueror was gaining invariable victories, ran over to his side. The garrisons surrendered without a fight.

Having established his position along the entire Great Wall of China, in the autumn of 1213 Temujin sent three armies to different parts of the Chinese Empire. One of them, under the command of the three sons of Genghis Khan - Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedei, headed south. The other, led by the brothers and commanders of Temujin, moved east to the sea. Genghis Khan himself and his youngest son Tolui at the head of the main forces set out in a southeasterly direction. The first army advanced all the way to Honan and, after capturing twenty-eight cities, joined Genghis Khan on the Great Western Road. The army under the command of the brothers and commanders of Temujin captured the province of Liao-si, and Genghis Khan himself ended his triumphal campaign only after he reached the sea rocky cape in the province of Shandong. But either fearing civil strife, or due to other reasons, he decides to return to Mongolia in the spring of 1214 and concludes peace with the Chinese emperor, leaving Beijing to him. However, the leader of the Mongols did not have time to leave the Great Wall of China, as the Chinese emperor moved his court further away, to Kaifeng. This move was perceived by Temujin as a manifestation of hostility, and he again brought troops into the empire, now doomed to death. The war continued.

The Jurchen troops in China, having replenished at the expense of the natives, fought the Mongols until 1235 on their own initiative, but were defeated and exterminated by Genghis Khan's successor Ogedei.

Fight against the Kara-Khitan Khanate

Following China, Genghis Khan was preparing for a campaign in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. He was especially attracted by the flourishing cities of South Kazakhstan and Zhetysu. He decided to carry out his plan through the valley of the Ili River, where rich cities were located and they were ruled by an old enemy of Genghis Khan - Khan of the Naimans Kuchluk.

While Genghis Khan was conquering more and more new cities and provinces of China, the fugitive Naiman Khan Kuchluk asked the gurkhan who had given him shelter to help gather the remnants of the army defeated at the Irtysh. Having got a rather strong army under his hand, Kuchluk entered into an alliance against his overlord with the Shah of Khorezm Muhammad, who had previously paid tribute to the Kara-Kitays. After a short but decisive military campaign, the allies were left with a big win, and the gurkhan was forced to give up power in favor of an uninvited guest. In 1213, the gurkhan Zhilugu died, and the Naiman khan became the sovereign ruler of Semirechye. Sairam, Tashkent, the northern part of Ferghana passed under his authority. Having become an implacable opponent of Khorezm, Kuchluk began to persecute Muslims in his possessions, which aroused the hatred of the settled population of Zhetysu. The ruler of Koilyk (in the valley of the Ili River) Arslan Khan, and then the ruler of Almalyk (to the north-west of modern Kulja) Buzar moved away from the Naimans and declared themselves subjects of Genghis Khan.

In 1218, Jebe detachments, together with the troops of the rulers of Koilyk and Almalyk, invaded the lands of the Karakitays. The Mongols conquered Semirechye and East Turkestan, which were owned by Kuchluk. In the very first battle, Jebe defeated the Naimans. The Mongols allowed Muslims to public worship, which was previously prohibited by the Naimans, which contributed to the transition of the entire settled population to the side of the Mongols. Kuchluk, unable to organize resistance, fled to Afghanistan, where he was caught and killed. The inhabitants of Balasagun opened the gates to the Mongols, for which the city received the name Gobalyk - "good city". The road to Khorezm was opened before Genghis Khan.

Conquest of Central Asia

After the conquest of China and Khorezm, the supreme ruler of the Mongol clan leaders, Genghis Khan, sent a strong cavalry corps under the command of Jebe and Subedei to reconnoiter the "western lands". They marched along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, then, after the devastation of Northern Iran, penetrated into Transcaucasia, defeated the Georgian army (1222) and, moving north along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, met in the North Caucasus the united army of the Polovtsy, Lezgins, Circassians and Alans. There was a fight that did not have decisive consequences. Then the conquerors made a split in the ranks of the enemy. They gave the Polovtsy gifts and promised not to touch them. The latter began to disperse to their nomad camps. Taking advantage of this, the Mongols easily defeated the Alans, Lezgins and Circassians, and then defeated the Polovtsy in parts. At the beginning of 1223, the Mongols invaded the Crimea, took the city of Surozh (Sudak) and again moved to the Polovtsian steppes.

The Polovtsy fled to Russia. Departing from the Mongol army, Khan Kotyan, through his ambassadors, asked not to refuse him the help of his son-in-law Mstislav the Udaly, as well as Mstislav III Romanovich, the ruling Grand Duke of Kiev. At the beginning of 1223, a large princely congress was convened in Kiev, where an agreement was reached that the armed forces of the princes of Kiev, Galicia, Chernigov, Seversk, Smolensk and Volyn principalities, united, should support the Polovtsians. The Dnieper, near the island of Khortitsa, was appointed as a gathering place for the Russian united rati. Here the envoys from the Mongol camp were met, offering the Russian military leaders to break the alliance with the Polovtsy and return to Russia. Taking into account the experience of the Polovtsy (who in 1222 went to persuade the Mongols to break their alliance with the Alans, after which Jebe defeated the Alans and attacked the Polovtsy), Mstislav executed the envoys. In the battle on the Kalka River, the troops of Daniil of Galicia, Mstislav the Udaly and Khan Kotyan, without notifying the rest of the princes, decided to "crack down" on the Mongols on their own, crossed to the eastern bank, where on May 31, 1223 they were completely defeated while passively contemplating this bloody battle from the side of the main Russian forces led by Mstislav III, located on the elevated opposite bank of the Kalka.

Mstislav III, having fenced himself with a tyn, held the defense for three days after the battle, and then went to an agreement with Jebe and Subedai on laying down arms and free withdrawal to Russia, as if he had not participated in the battle. However, he, his army and the princes who trusted him were treacherously captured by the Mongols and brutally tortured as "traitors to their own army."

After the victory, the Mongols organized the pursuit of the remnants of the Russian army (only every tenth warrior returned from the Sea of ​​\u200b\u200bAzov), destroying cities and villages in the Dnieper direction, capturing civilians. However, the disciplined Mongol commanders had no orders to linger in Russia. Soon they were recalled by Genghis Khan, who considered that the main task of the reconnaissance campaign to the west had been successfully completed. On the way back at the mouth of the Kama, the troops of Dzhebe and Subedei suffered a serious defeat from the Volga Bulgars, who refused to recognize the power of Genghis Khan over them. After this failure, the Mongols went down to Saksin and returned to Asia along the Caspian steppes, where in 1225 they joined the main forces of the Mongol army.

The Mongol troops that remained in China met with the same success as the armies in Western Asia. The Mongol Empire was expanded with a few new conquered provinces north of the Yellow River, with the exception of one or two cities. After the death of Emperor Xuin Zong in 1223, the Northern Chinese Empire practically ceased to exist, and the borders of the Mongol Empire almost coincided with the borders of Central and Southern China, ruled by the Song dynasty.

Death of Genghis Khan

Upon his return from Central Asia, Genghis Khan again led his army through Western China. In 1225 or at the beginning of 1226, Genghis undertook a campaign against the country of the Tanguts. During this campaign, the astrologers informed the Mongol leader that the five planets were in unfavorable alignment. The superstitious Mongol considered that he was in danger. Under the power of a bad feeling, the formidable conqueror went home, but on the way he fell ill and died on August 25, 1227.

Before his death, he wished that the king of the Tanguts would be executed immediately after the capture of the city, and the city itself would be destroyed to the ground. Various sources give different versions of his death: from an arrow wound in battle; from a long illness, after a fall from a horse; from a lightning strike; from the hand of a captive princess on their wedding night.

According to the dying wish of Genghis Khan, his body was taken to his homeland and interred in the area of ​​Burkan-Kaldun. According to the official version of the Secret History, on the way to the Tangut state, he fell off his horse and badly hurt himself while hunting wild horses-kulans and fell ill: Year of the Dog (1226) set out on a campaign against the Tanguts. Of the khans, Yesui-khatun followed the sovereign. On the way, during the round-up of the Arbukhay wild horses-kulans, which are found there in abundance, Genghis Khan sat astride a brown-gray horse. in the raid of kulans, his brown-gray rose to the dab, and the sovereign fell and badly hurt himself. Therefore, we made a stop in the tract Tsoorkhat. The night passed, and the next morning Yesui-Khatun said to the princes and noyons: "The sovereign had a strong fever at night. It is necessary to discuss the situation ". The "Secret Tale" says that "Genghis Khan, after the final defeat of the Tanguts, returned and ascended to heaven in the Year of the Pig" (1227). .

According to the will, Genghis Khan was succeeded by his third son Ogedei. Until the Xi-Xia Zhongxing capital was taken, the death of the great ruler was to be kept secret. The funeral procession moved from the camp of the Great Horde to the north, to the Onon River. The Secret History and the Golden Chronicle report that on the way of the caravan with the body of Genghis Khan to the burial place, all living things were killed: people, animals, birds. The annals record: "They killed every living creature that they saw, so that the news of his death would not spread to the surrounding places. In his four main hordes, they mourned and buried him in the area, which he had once deigned to designate as a great reserve" . His wives carried his body through his native camp, and in the end he was buried in a rich tomb in the Onon Valley. During the burial, mystical rites were carried out, which were designed to protect the place where Genghis Khan was buried. The place of his burial has not yet been found. After the death of Genghis Khan, mourning continued for two years.

According to legend, Genghis Khan was buried in a deep tomb, sitting on a golden throne, at the family cemetery "Ikh Khorig" near Mount Burkhan Khaldun, at the headwaters of the Urgun River. He sat on the golden throne of Muhammad, brought by him from the captured Samarkand. So that the grave would not be found and desecrated in subsequent times, after the burial of the Great Khan, a herd of thousands of horses was driven across the steppe several times, destroying all traces of the grave. According to another version, the tomb was arranged in the riverbed, for which the river was blocked for a while, and the water was directed along a different channel. After the burial, the dam was destroyed, and the water returned to its natural course, forever hiding the burial place. Everyone who participated in the burial and could remember this place was subsequently killed, those who carried out this order were subsequently killed too. Thus, the secret of Genghis Khan's burial remains unsolved until now.

Until now, attempts to find the grave of Genghis Khan have not been successful. The geographical names of the times of the Mongol Empire have completely changed over many centuries, and today no one can say exactly where Burkhan-Khaldun Mountain is located. According to the version of Academician G. Miller, based on the stories of the Siberian "Mongol", Mount Burkhan-Khaldun in translation can mean "Mountain of God", "Mountain where deities are placed", "Mountain - God scorches or God penetrates everywhere" - "sacred mountain Genghis and his ancestors, the redeeming mountain, which Genghis, in memory of his salvation in the forests of this mountain from fierce enemies, bequeathed to sacrifice forever and ever, was located in the places of the original nomads of Genghis and his ancestors along the Onon River.

RESULTS OF THE BOARD OF GENGHIS KHAN

During the conquest of the Naimans, Genghis Khan got acquainted with the beginnings of written office work, some of the Naimans entered the service of Genghis Khan and were the first officials in the Mongolian state and the first teachers of the Mongols. Apparently, Genghis Khan hoped to later replace the Naimans with ethnic Mongols, as he ordered noble Mongolian youths, including his sons, to learn the language and writing of the Naimans. After the spread of Mongol rule, even during the life of Genghis Khan, the Mongols also used the services of Chinese and Persian officials.

In the field of foreign policy, Genghis Khan sought to maximize the expansion of the territory subject to him. The strategy and tactics of Genghis Khan were characterized by thorough reconnaissance, surprise attacks, the desire to dismember the enemy forces, setting up ambushes using special detachments to lure the enemy, maneuvering large masses of cavalry, etc.

The ruler of the Mongols created the greatest empire in history, subjugating vast expanses of Eurasia from the Sea of ​​Japan to the Black in the 13th century. He and his descendants swept away the great and ancient states from the face of the earth: the state of Khorezmshahs, the Chinese Empire, the Baghdad Caliphate, most of the Russian principalities were conquered. Huge territories were placed under the control of the Yasa steppe law.

The old Mongolian code of laws "Jasak", introduced by Genghis Khan, reads: "Genghis Khan's Yasa prohibits lies, theft, adultery, orders to love your neighbor as yourself, not to cause offense, and forget them completely, to spare countries and cities that have submitted voluntarily, to free from any tax and respect the temples dedicated to God, as well as his servants. The significance of "Jasak" for the formation of statehood in the empire of Genghis Khan is noted by all historians. The introduction of a code of military and civil laws made it possible to establish a firm legal order on the vast territory of the Mongol Empire, and failure to comply with its laws was punishable by death. Yasa prescribed tolerance in matters of religion, respect for temples and clerics, forbade quarrels among the Mongols, disobedience of children to parents, theft of horses, regulated military duty, rules of conduct in battle, distribution of military booty, etc.
"Immediately kill anyone who steps on the threshold of the governor's headquarters."
"He who urinates in water or on ashes is put to death."
"Forbidden to wash the dress while wearing it, until it is completely worn out."
"Let no one leave his thousand, hundreds or ten. Otherwise, let him and the head of the unit that received him be executed."
"Respect all confessions without giving preference to any."
Genghis Khan declared shamanism, Christianity and Islam as the official religions of his empire.

Unlike other conquerors for hundreds of years before the Mongols who dominated Eurasia, only Genghis Khan managed to organize a stable state system and make Asia appear before Europe not just as an unexplored steppe and mountainous expanse, but as a consolidated civilization. It was within its borders that the Turkic revival of the Islamic world then began, with its second onslaught (after the Arabs) almost finished off Europe.

In 1220, Genghis Khan founded Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire.

The Mongols revere Genghis Khan as the greatest hero and reformer, almost like the incarnation of a deity. In European (including Russian) memory, he remained something like a pre-storm crimson cloud that appears before a terrible, all-cleansing storm.

DESCENDANTS OF GENGHIS KHAN

Temujin and his beloved wife Borte had four sons:

• a son Jochi
• a son Chagatai
• a son Ogedei
• a son Tolu th.

Only they and their descendants could claim the highest power in the state. Temujin and Borte also had daughters:

• daughter Hodgin bags, wife of Butu-gurgen from the Ikires clan;
• daughter Tsetseihen (Chichigan), wife of Inalchi, the youngest son of the head of the Oirats Khudukh-beki;
• daughter Alangaa (Alagay, Alakha), who married the Ongut noyon Buyanbald (in 1219, when Genghis Khan went to war with Khorezm, he entrusted state affairs to her in his absence, therefore she is also called Tor zasagch gunzh (ruler-princess);
• daughter Temulen, wife of Shiku-gurgen, son of Alchi-noyon from the Khongirads, the tribe of her mother Borte;
• daughter Alduun (Altalun), who married Zavtar-setsen, noyon of the Khongirads.

Temujin and his second wife Khulan-Khatun, daughter of Dair-usun, had sons

• a son Kulkhan (Khulugen, Kulkan)
• a son Harachar;

From Tatar Yesugen (Yesukat), daughter of Charu-noyon

• a son Chakhur (Jaur)
• a son Harhad.

The sons of Genghis Khan continued the work of the Golden Dynasty and ruled the Mongols, as well as the conquered lands, based on the Great Yasa of Genghis Khan until the 20s of the XX century. Even the Manchurian emperors who ruled Mongolia and China from the 16th to the 19th centuries were descendants of Genghis Khan, as for their legitimacy they married Mongol princesses from the golden family dynasty of Genghis Khan. The first prime minister of Mongolia in the 20th century, Chin Van Khanddorj (1911-1919), as well as the rulers of Inner Mongolia (until 1954), were direct descendants of Genghis Khan.

The family vault of Genghis Khan is maintained until the 20th century; in 1918, the religious head of Mongolia, Bogdo-gegen, issued an order to preserve the Urgiin bichig (family list) of Mongolian princes, called shastir. This shastir is kept in the museum and is called "Shastir of the state of Mongolia" (Mongol Ulsyn shastir). Many direct descendants of Genghis Khan from his golden family still live in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.

ADDITIONAL LITERATURE

Vladimirtsov B.Ya. Genghis Khan. Publishing house Z.I. Grzhebin. Berlin. Petersburg. Moscow. 1922 Cultural and historical sketch of the Mongol Empire of the XII-XIV centuries. In two parts with appendices and illustrations. 180 pages. Russian language.

The Mongol Empire and the nomadic world. Bazarov B.V., Kradin N.N. Skrynnikova T.D. Book 1. Ulan-Ude. 2004. Institute of Mongolian Studies, Buddhology and Tebetology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The Mongol Empire and the nomadic world. Bazarov B.V., Kradin N.N. Skrynnikova T.D. Book 3. Ulan-Ude. 2008. Institute of Mongolian Studies, Buddhology and Tebetology SB RAS.

On the art of war and the conquests of the Mongols. The composition of Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff M. Ivanin. St. Petersburg, Publisher: printed in a military printing house. Year of publication: 1846. Pages: 66. Language: Russian.

Secret History of the Mongols. Translation from Mongolian. 1941.

According to the historical chronicles that have come down to us, the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Genghis Khan, made incredible conquests around the world. No one before or after him has been able to compare with this ruler in the grandeur of his conquests. The years of Genghis Khan's life - 1155/1162 to 1227. As you can see, there is no exact date of birth, but the day of death is very well known - August 18th.

The years of the reign of Genghis Khan: a general description

In a short time, he managed to create a huge Mongol empire, stretching from the shores of the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Wild nomads from Central Asia, who were armed with nothing more than bows and arrows, managed to conquer civilized and much better armed empires. The conquests of Genghis Khan were accompanied by unthinkable atrocities, massacres of civilians. Cities that came across in the path of the horde of the great Mongol emperor were often leveled to the ground in case of disobedience. It also happened that, at the behest of Genghis Khan, riverbeds had to be changed, flowering gardens turned into piles of ashes, and agricultural land into pastures for the horses of his soldiers.

What is the phenomenal success of the Mongolian army? This question continues to excite historians today. In the past, the personality of Genghis Khan was endowed with supernatural abilities, and it was believed that otherworldly forces helped him in everything, with which he made a deal. But, apparently, he had a very strong character, charisma, a remarkable mind, as well as incredible cruelty, which helped him subjugate the peoples. He was also an excellent strategist and tactician. He, like the Goth Attila, was called the "scourge of God."

What did Genghis Khan look like? Biography: childhood

Few people knew that the great Mongol ruler had green eyes and red hair. Such features of appearance have nothing to do with the Mongoloid race. This suggests that mixed blood flows in his veins. There is a version that he is 50% of the European race.

The year of birth of Genghis Khan, who was named Temujin when he was born, is approximate, since it is marked differently in different sources. It is preferable to assume that he was born in 1155, on the banks of the Onon River, which flows through the territory of Mongolia. Genghis Khan's great-grandfather was called Khabul Khan. He was a noble and rich leader and ruled over all the Mongol tribes and successfully fought with his neighbors. Temujin's father was Yesugei-bagatur. Unlike his grandfather, he was the leader of not all, but most of the Mongol tribes with a total population of 40 thousand yurts. His people were full masters of the fertile valleys between Kerulen and Onon. Yesugei-bagatur was a magnificent warrior, he fought, subjugating the tribes of the Tatars.

The story of the cruel inclinations of the Khan

There is a certain tale of cruelty, the main character of which is Genghis Khan. From childhood, his biography is a chain of inhuman deeds. So, at the age of 9, having returned from hunting with a lot of booty, he killed his brother, who wanted to snatch a piece from his share. He often flew into a rage when they wanted to deal with him unfairly. After this incident, the rest of the family began to be afraid of him. Probably, it was since then that he realized that he could keep people in fear, but for this he needed to show himself cruelly and show everyone his true essence.

Youth

When Temujin was 13 years old, he lost his father, who was poisoned by the Tatars. The leaders of the Mongol tribes did not want to obey the young son of Yesugei Khan and took their peoples under the protection of another ruler. As a result, their large family, headed by the future Genghis Khan, was left completely alone, wandering through the forests and fields, eating the gifts of nature. Their property consisted of 8 horses. In addition, Temujin sacredly kept the tribal "bunchuk" - a white banner with the tails of 9 yaks, which symbolized 4 large and 5 small yurts belonging to his family. A hawk was depicted on the banner. After some time, he learned that Targutai had become his father's successor and that he wanted to find and destroy the son of the deceased Yesugei-bagatur, as he saw him as a threat to his power. Temujin was forced to hide from the persecution of the new leader of the Mongol tribes, but he was captured and taken prisoner. Nevertheless, the brave young man managed to escape from captivity, find his family and hide with her for another 4 years in the forests from his pursuers.

Marriage

When Temujin was 9 years old, his father chose a bride for him - a girl from their tribe named Borte. And at the age of 17, he, taking with him one of his friends, Belgutai, left the hiding place and went to the camp of the father of his bride, reminded him of the word given to Yesugei Khan and took the beautiful Borte as his wife. It was she who accompanied him everywhere, bore him 9 children and adorned the years of Genghis Khan's life with her presence. According to the information that has come down to us, in the future he had a giant harem, which consisted of five hundred wives and concubines, whom he brought from various campaigns. Of these, five were the main wives, but only Borte Fujin bore the title of empress and remained his most respected and eldest wife all her life.

The story of Borte's kidnapping

The annals contain information that after Temujin married Bort, she was kidnapped by the Merkits, wanting to avenge the theft of the beautiful Hoelun, Genghis Khan's mother, which his father committed 18 years ago. The Merkites kidnapped Borte and gave her to Hoelun's relatives. Temujin was furious, but he had no opportunity to attack the Merkit tribe alone and recapture his beloved. And then he turned to the Keraite Khan Toghrul - the named brother of his father - with a request to help him. To the joy of the young man, the khan decides to help him and attacks the tribe of kidnappers. Soon Borte returns to his beloved husband.

growing up

When did Genghis Khan manage to gather around him the first warriors? The biography includes information that his first adherents were from the steppe aristocracy. Christian Keraites and the Chinese government also joined him in order to fight against the Tatars who had strengthened their positions from the shores of Lake Buir-nor, and then against the former friend of Khan Chzhamukh, who became the head of the democratic movement. In 1201, the khan was defeated. However, after that, a quarrel broke out between Temujin and the Keraite Khan, since he began to support their common enemy and attracted some part of Temujin's adherents to his side. Of course, Genghis Khan (then he did not yet bear this title) could not leave the traitor unpunished and killed him. After that, he managed to master the whole of Eastern Mongolia. And when Chjamukha restored the Western Mongols, called Naimans, against Temujin, he defeated them too, and united the whole of Mongolia under his rule.

Rise to absolute power

In 1206, he proclaimed himself emperor of all Mongolia and assumed the title of Genghis Khan. From this date, his biography begins to tell about a series of great conquests, brutal and bloody reprisals against recalcitrant peoples, which led to the expansion of the country's borders to unprecedented proportions. Soon, more than 100 thousand warriors gathered under the banner of Temujin. The title of Genghis Kha-Khan meant that he was the greatest of the rulers, that is, the ruler of everyone and everything. Many years later, historians called the years of Genghis Khan's reign the bloodiest in the history of mankind, and he himself - the great "conqueror of the world" and "conqueror of the universe", "king of kings".

Taking over the whole world

Mongolia has become the most powerful military country in Central Asia. Since then, the word “Mongols” has come to mean “victorious”. The rest of the peoples who did not want to obey him were ruthlessly exterminated. They were like weeds to him. In addition, he believed that war and robbery were the best way to get rich, and he faithfully followed this principle. The conquests of Genghis Khan indeed increased the power of the country at times. His work was continued by his sons and grandsons, and as a result, the Great Mongol Empire began to include the countries of Central Asia, Northern and Southern parts of China, Afghanistan and Iran. The campaigns of Genghis Khan were directed towards Russia, Hungary, Poland, Moravia, Syria, Georgia and Armenia, the territory of Azerbaijan, which did not exist in those years as a state. The chroniclers of these countries talk about terrible barbaric plunders, beatings and rapes. Wherever the Mongol army went, the campaigns of Genghis Khan brought devastation with them.

Great Reformer

Genghis Khan, after he became the emperor of Mongolia, the first thing he carried out was a military reform. The commanders who participated in the campaigns began to receive awards, the amount of which corresponded to their merits, while before him the award was given by birthright. The soldiers in the army were divided into dozens, which united into hundreds, and those into thousands. Boys and men from fourteen to seventy years old were considered liable for military service.

A police guard was created to keep order, out of 100,000 soldiers. In addition to her, there was a guard of ten thousand personal bodyguards of the emperor "keshiktash" and his yurt. It consisted of noble warriors devoted to Genghis Khan. 1000 keshiktashevs were bagaturs - the warriors closest to the khan.

Some of the reforms of Genghis Khan, committed in the Mongol army in the 13th century, were later used by all the armies of the world even today. In addition, by order of Genghis Khan, a military charter was created, for the violation of which two types of punishments were supposed: execution and exile to the north of Mongolia. The punishment, by the way, was due to the warrior who did not provide assistance to a needy comrade.

The laws in the charter were called “Yasa”, and their keepers were the descendants of Genghis Khan. In the horde, the great kagan had two guards - day and night, and the soldiers included in them were completely devoted to him and submitted exclusively to him alone. They stood above the command staff of the Mongolian army.

Children and grandchildren of the great kagan

The clan of Genghis Khan is called Genghisides. They are direct descendants of Genghis Khan. From his first wife Borte, he had 9 children, of which four sons, that is, the successors of the family. Their names are Jochi, Ogedei, Chagatai and Tolui. Only these sons and their offspring (male) had the right to inherit the highest power in the Mongolian state and bear the clan title of Genghisides. In addition to Borte, Genghis Khan, as already noted, had about 500 wives and concubines, and each of them had children from their master. This meant that their number could exceed 1000. The most famous of the descendants of Genghis Khan was his great grandson - Khan Batu, or Batu. According to genetic studies, in the modern world, several million men are carriers of the genes of the great Mongolian Kagan. Some of the government dynasties of Asia descended from Genghis Khan, for example, the Chinese Yuan clan, Kazakh, North Caucasian, South Ukrainian, Persian and even Russian Genghisides.

• It is said that at birth, the great kagan had a blood clot in his palm, which, according to Mongolian belief, is a sign of greatness.
• Unlike many Mongols, he was tall, had green eyes and red hair, which indicated that European blood flowed in his veins.
• In the entire history of mankind, the Mongol Empire during the reign of Genghis Khan was the greatest state and had borders from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean.
• He had the biggest harem in the world.
• 8% of men of the Asian race are descendants of the great kagan.
• Genghis Khan was responsible for the death of more than forty million people.
• The grave of the great ruler of Mongolia is still unknown. There is a version that it was flooded by changing the course of the river.
• He was named after his father's enemy, Temujin-Uge, whom he defeated.
• It is believed that his eldest son was not conceived by him, but is a descendant of his wife's kidnapper.
• The Golden Horde consisted of warriors of the peoples they conquered.
• After the Persians executed his ambassador, Genghis Khan massacred 90% of the Iranian population.