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Genghis Khan As A Hero

Decent Essays

Almost everyone in the world has heard the name Genghis Khan, but how they view his legacy varies greatly depending on what part of the world they live in. In Europe and the Americas the name Genghis Khan is synonymous with barbarism, cruelty, murder and destruction, but in much of Asia he is viewed as a hero, a unifier and a military genius. Even his date of birth is a subject of some debate. Whatever perspective you choose to take, the one thing that is undeniable, is the fact that a boy named Temujin, the son of a Mongol chieftain, would change the face of an entire continent.
Genghis Khan was born sometime between 1155 and 1167 as Temujin Borjigin of the clan Kiyat (Quezzaire). His father was an important leader in the clan named Yesugei who at the time of his birth was at war with a neighboring group of nomadic tribes called the Tartars. Temujin was named after a Tartar chief whom his father had recently slain in a raid (Hartog 13). At the age of 9, Temujin was sent to live with his mother’s tribe where where he would choose his future bride. Upon his return from delivering his son, Yesugei died and Temujin was sent back to his family, but the tribal leaders denied him his father’s position as a tribal leader due to his young age. The tribe shunned and abandoned Temujin and his family and they were forced to survive on their own.
During their time on their own Temujin and his family survived by hunting and fishing. It was during this time that the future leader of the

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