Listen to this articleOne of the greatest conquerors who occupied a substantial portion of Asia and Europe
Overview
Chinese Name: 成吉思汗
English Name: Genghis Khan
Other Names: Great Khan of the Mongol Empire 大蒙古国可汗, Temujin 铁木真
Born: 1162
Died: 25 August, 1227
Achievements:
Unify Mobei and establish great Mongolia 统一漠北，建立大蒙古国
Conquer the Jin Dynasty and perish Western Xia 征服金朝，灭亡西夏
Main Works:
Create the Yassa 颁布《大扎撒》
Brief Biography of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan 成吉思汗, the great Mongolian Khan, an outstanding strategist and politician in the world history, was born in the upper reaches of the Wo Nan River 斡难河 (now the E Nen River 鄂嫩河) in Mobei 漠北 in the 32nd year of Shaoxing 绍兴 in the Song Dynasty 宋朝 (the 2nd year of Dading大定 in the Jin Dynasty 金朝, 1162). His father was Yesugei 也速该, the leader of the Qiyan 乞颜 tribe in Mongolia.
In the sixth year of Qiandao 乾道 of the Song Dynasty (the 10th year of Dading大定 of the Jin Dynasty, 1170), Genghis Khan was nine years old. His father Yesugei died of poisoning at that time, and his followers defected. Genghis Khan’s mother and brothers were in trouble. So he took refuge in Tuoli (the adoptive brother of Yesugei), the leader of the Kelie 克烈, and respected him as his father, indicating his subordinates. From then on, he began to gather the old followers.
In the 16th year of Chunxi 淳熙 of the Song Dynasty (the 29th year of Dading大定 of Jin Dynasty, 1189), Genghis Khan was elected as the Khan of the Qiyan tribe of Mongolia. He established his own escort organization and formed a powerful team subordinate to himself.
In the fourth year of Jiatai 嘉泰 of the Song Dynasty (the fourth year of Taihe 泰和 of the Jin Dynasty, 1204), after a series of wars, Genghis Khan basically unified the Mongolian Plateau 蒙古高原.
In the second year of Kaixi 开禧 of the Song Dynasty (the sixth year of Taihe 泰和 of Jin Dynasty,1206), a gathering was held at the source of the Wo Nan River 斡难河. Genghis Khan became the Emperor (Khan) and established great Mongolia.
In the third year of Baoqing 宝庆 of the Song Dynasty (the fourth year of Zhengda 正大 of the Jin Dynasty, 1227), on the eve of the surrender of Western Xia 西夏, Genghis Khan died of illness at the age of 66. Before his death, he decided on the strategy of “uniting the Song Dynasty to exterminate the Jin Dynasty” and he was buried in Qinian valley 起辇谷 of Kente mountain 肯特山.
In the second year of the Zhiyuan 至元 of the Yuan Dynasty 元朝, the Emperor Shizu of Yuan 元世祖 accorded him the temple name 庙号 Taizu 太祖 and the posthumous name 谥号 Emperor Fatian Qiyun Shengwu 法天启运圣武皇帝.
Personal Life and Major Contributions
Establish great Mongolia
After Genghis Khan unified the tribes of the Mongolian Plateau 蒙古高原, in 1206, Mongolian nobles were gathered at the source of the Wo Nan River 斡难河, and the kings and ministers honored Temujin as “Genghis Khan 成吉思汗” and established the great Mongolia 大蒙古国.
After Genghis Khan ascended the throne, he implemented the thousand household system 千户制 of military and political integration 军政合一, expanded the guard army and established a guard army belonging to the Great Khan, and created the Yassa 大扎撒.
Set up an army to attack Western Xia and Jin Dynasty
After the founding of Mongolia, Genghis Khan began to launch large-scale wars of conquest. Genghis Khan aimed at Western Xia 西夏 and Jin Dynasty 金朝 and adopted the strategy of “weak first and then strong 先弱后强” to attack Western Xia, which was economically prosperous and occupied the strategic hub.
Since the first year of Kaixi 开禧 of the Song Dynasty (the fifth year of Taihe 泰和 of Jin Dynasty, 1205), Genghis Khan launched a series of predatory attacks on the Western Xia border. In the third year of Baoqing 宝庆 of the Song Dynasty (the fourth year of Zhengda 正大 of the Jin Dynasty, 1227), Genghis Khan led his army to launch a large-scale war to destroy Xia. Emperor Li Qian 夏末帝李晛 surrendered and Western Xia was destroyed.
Before the founding of Mongolia, Genghis Khan knew about political corruption, lax military equipment, and serious internal contradictions in the Jin Dynasty.
In the fourth year of Jiading 嘉定 of the Song Dynasty (the third year of Da’an 大安 of the Jin Dynasty, 1211), Genghis Khan personally led a large army to attack Jin in order to avenge his ancestors. For a long time, the war between Mongolian and Jin was mainly manifested in the struggle between the local tyrants and the armed forces of both sides for the city and the land, forming a sawing state. After Genghis Khan died, his son Muqali 木华黎 continued his campaign and conquered Hebei 河北, Shandong 山东, and other places of the Jin Dynasty. After the death of Muqali, his son Bolu 孛鲁 inherited his position and continued to invade the Heshuo 河朔 region.
Create the Yassa
Before Genghis Khan unified Mongolia, the Mongolian people had no written language, so there could be no written law. There are many ancient rules among the Mongols, which include various social habits and codes of conduct formed in the long historical process.
In the face of the collapse of social order caused by the attacks and mergers of various aristocrats, Genghis Khan issued a series of decrees before and after the founding of great Mongolia.
In the 12th year of Jiading 嘉定 of the Song Dynasty (the 3rd year of Xingding 兴定 of the Jin Dynasty, 1219), the decree and system were redefined, and it was ordered to write them all on paper and compile them as Yassa 大扎撒.
Yassa is the code of great Mongolia and the first written code with the widest application in the world.
