Genghis Khan and his Army in Mongolia in 1162

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Temujin, better known as Genghis Khan, was born in northern Mongolia in 1162. After uniting the nomadic Mongolian tribes in 1206, Khan led a successful military campaign that spanned more than three decades, pillaging vast areas of land and subjugating millions of people. Though Khan and his armies are often thought of as cruel barbarians, his advanced military tactics and progressive outlook on ruling painted him in a somewhat different light.
Although he was born to a noble Mongolian family, early life for Khan was violent and unpredictable. At the age of 10, his father was poisoned and killed in an attempt to extinguish his claim to leadership. Several subsequent attempts were made on Khan’s life for this same purpose. After the death of his father, Khan’s clan deserted him, his mother, and his six siblings in order to avoid the responsibility of feeding them. Shortly after this desertion, Khan killed his older brother in order to take over as head of the ruined household.
At the age of 16, Khan married Borte of the Konkirat tribe. This marriage cemented an alliance between the Konkirat tribe and his own, marking the first step toward unity among the Mongolian tribes. However, Borte was soon kidnapped by the rival Merkit tribe, where she was given to the chieftain as a wife. Khan launched a daring rescue of his new wife, and shortly after, she gave birth to their first of four sons. Following his alliance with the Konkirat tribe, Khan forged many new alliances through both warfare and diplomacy. His growing reputation as a warrior attracted many new followers and increased the ease with which new tribes were absorbed into his own.
Much of Khan’s early success can be attributed to his brilliance as a tactici...

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... time was to use unskilled workers and otherwise disposable civilians as human shields for future assaults. The skulls of men, women, and children were stacked in large pyramidal mounds. In 1221, the Sultan and his son were captured and killed, which brought an end to the campaign in Khwarezm.
Genghis Khan died in August 1227 while further campaigning in the kingdom of Xi Xia. The cause of death is unknown, though multiple historians contend that his death was ultimately caused by complications that occurred after he fell from his horse in early 1227. He was buried in an unmarked grave near his birthplace in northern Mongolia. Before his death, he divided his massive empire among his four sons. The empire would finally fall in the early 14th century due to being simply too large to maintain, but Khan’s last ruling descendant would not die until the year 1920.

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