The Secret History Of Genghis Khan By John Man

Some people would say the Mongols were a key development to civilization. However, the progress they made is nothing compared to their cruelty and the process they used to conquer the majority of Asia and parts of the Middle East. The Mongols were originally a small, nomadic tribe that originated from the steppes of Central Asia. The tribe placed little value on objects, considering they moved around in yurts and hardly settled. Led by Genghis Khan, they conquered land worth double the size of the Roman Empire. The Mongols were greedy, bloodthirsty barbarians who had little to no regard for human life. They went to unthinkable lengths to conquer land while destroying countless ancient cities.

The grasslands of Central Asia are known as steppes. In ancient times the only people that lived there were pastoralists. These were nomadic people who survived by herding animals who fed on grass, the only plants that grew there. The land and harsh environment taught these nomadic people to be harsh and do what was necessary The people of this land were viewed as uncivilized and barbaric by settled people.

The Mongols were very small in number relative to the peoples they conquered, and they were also nomadic. These two facts lead me to believe that the Mongols were forgotten because they were largely unable to create a distinctly new civilization. They conquered vast territories, but they did not have previous experience administering a sedentary civilization, let alone a massive empire. Furthermore, they simply did not have the numbers to create a sufficient administrative class of Mongols for the empire. As a result, the Mongols had to extensively borrow knowledge, organization, and manpower from the states they had conquered, and as time wore on, they essentially assimilated and disappeared into the cultures they had conquered. For this reason, I think it would be easier to forget their conquests, as opposed to those of a more traditional empire like that of Rome.

What if Genghis Khan did not create a strict law? If Genghis Khan did not create a law code so strict the peasants would not have eventually reformed or fought against him in favor of The New Economic Policy Lenin put forward. Communism would not have become the successful form of government Asia is under today,

Genghis Khan, or Temujin, as he was referred to in his early life, was born around 1167 into the pastoral nomadic lifestyle of the Mongols. Mongolian life was centered on several fragmented tribes that continuously fought each other, led by individual khans. “Temujin enjoyed years of successful conquest in these tribal wars” (Adler and Pouwels, 239-41). At the age of sixteen, Temujin married Borte, a woman from another tribe. “Temujin married Borte, cementing the alliance between the Konkirat tribe and his own.” ("Biography.com"). Temujin was greatly feared among the Mongols, as he was known for his ruthlessness, cunning, and his ferocity. “…by 1196 he had become powerful enough to assert personal control over all of the

The Mongol Empire was composed of nomadic warriors who marauded around Europe and Asia during the 13th and 14th centuries. At its peak, it was the largest contiguous land empire in history, stretching from China to Romania and from Siberia to India. Founded in 1206 by Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire ruled over the majority of Europe and Asia for almost 2,000 years. During this period, trade across Europe and Asia on the Silk Road was reestablished, and the Mongols led some of the most successful campaigns against other civilizations, capturing or controlling the most land in history, except for the British Empire in the 19th century. After the Mongol Empire broke apart in 1368, in part due to the Black Death, the last of the Mongol khanates, the Golden Horde, eventually fell to the Russians in 1502. The Mongol Empire was one of the most influential civilizations in history because of its size, location, and sophisticated tactics in warfare. In addition to the aforementioned reasons, the Mongol Empire was also influential in history because it hastened the change from the post-classical era to the modern era, and because of the way it united Europe and Asia.

Many of the great ancient rulers of the world are remembered for being strong warriors and military leaders. They had a profound influence in their era and on the evolution of modern times. With their many accomplishments and dedication towards their empires, the great rulers flourished with new ideas and fought with no mercy to expand their empires. From the strong military forces to the wealth made from trade, the great rulers of the past changed the lives of the people in their empire. Although the leaders were often tough and ruthless, they made important contributions in the ancient world and helped shape modern civilizations.

The Secret History of the Mongol Queens opens by introducing us to the dynamics of this mysterious empire. Genghis Khan was a superior leader who developed an empire with the help of his daughters, giving them notable power. Weather ford states in his book “Genghis Khan created the nation and inspired it but the queens gave it life.” This statement pretty much sums up the book. Khan’s four daughters were made to become generals and administrators while being sent out to maintain order and protect along the borders of his empire. Along with the daughters, Genghis Khan had his daughter in laws along with Queen Manduhai, who was one of the most powerful women in Mongol history.

In his book All the Shah’s Men, Stephen Kinzer tells the story behind the coup that took place in Iran in 1953 and how US-Iranian relations were impacted as a result. To give a full picture of the events that transpired before the coup, Kinzer goes above and beyond and recounts the history of Persia going back to the founding of the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC, giving the reader an excellent overview of the long history of the region. He then goes on to recount the root causes and events that led up to the coup and then covers the coup itself. Kinzer then devotes the last 40 pages going over the events that happened after the coup and the consequences that both nations have suffered for it. Kinzer’s point of view on this subject was obvious

In the mid-twelfth century the Mongols were just one of many peoples in the eastern grasslands, neither particularly numerous nor especially advanced . The Mongols were nomadic in nature and there was frequent fighting between tribes. Therefore the Mongols were not so much a formidable foe at the time, but more of a nuisance. Chinggis Khan (known as Tourmajin before his rise to power) would inevitably rise from a tumultuous childhood, to defeat any foe and any opposition to his power. Going against custom, Chinngis would employ competent fighters and instill them in key positions, to his advantage. Typically he would execute enemy tribe leaders, while assimilating the remaining members into his clan. At a

The bubonic plague epidemic of the 1300s led to the destruction of the Mongol Empire by separating many areas in Eurasia from each other and wiping out millions of people. As a result, trade and communication vanished from the Mongol Empire, and it only worsened the political turmoil that was already present in the empire. Even after the destruction of the empire Genghis Khan had formed, many other empires were influenced by the Mongols and tried to incorporate many aspects of the Mongol Empire into their own. The empires that modeled after the Mongol Empire contributed to the image of Genghis Khan and the Mongols. Timur, a ruler in central Asia, and Montesquieu, a French philosopher, changed the image of Genghis Khan and the Mongols into one of subhuman barbarians for modern Europeans. Timur’s inhumane practices during his reign made Genghis Khan appear cruel. Furthermore, Montesquieu’s criticisms toward the Asians and Mongols created a growing negative stereotype. The modern Asians were interested in restoring a more positive image of Genghis Khan and the Mongols because these perceptions made themselves come off as savages, and the Europeans deployed conquests in Asia since they perceived the Asians to be enemies. Thus, the Asians decided to counter the harmful reputation they had accumulated by looking into the history of the Mongol Empire as a way to improve their own reputation.

Genghis Khan elevated the status of women in the Mongol society by strategically betrothing his daughters in marriages to kings that provided

Timur had demonstrated his royal character and authenticity in Mongol victory domains that were before settled by Genghis Khan. Timur's descendants shaped Timur's personality to characterize their suitability as rulers through traditions of Timurid regions; it was a legitimate concern to keep their entitlement to lead, through the control of Timurid historiography, classified Timur's majestic personality and for the dynastic line. Particularly, it would be Timur's heredity like the way it was with Genghis Khan, serve to build up and affirm political authenticity in Central

The overall state of Mongol culture at this time was nomadic and most of the day was spent travelling and grazing cattle. The Mongol economic system at the time was a customs based model where the children assumed the occupations of their parents. Since Temüjin’s father was a chieftain, he was considered of noble blood which gave him

In this film, Bodrov takes on a huge challenge to captures a man’s rise to power and a large overview of Genghis Khan’s life in a two-hour film. Even though the movie is intense, it does not seem hurried and it has mythical add ins to give it a more “capturing” movie scene.