Things you didn't know about the Mass Murderer Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan is famous for building the biggest empire in history, at one point in history he’d conquered almost half of the world. He and his armies killed, reformed and destroyed on an amazing scale(40million people were killed during his reign).
Despite his name being synonymous with barbarity, he was a great leader who unified and commanded the warring tribes of Mongolia and advanced the economy of Central Asia. Here are some of the unknown and unpopular facts about him.
#1 One in 200 men today are direct descendants of Genghis Khan
Known to be a great conqueror he was also able to make a long-living legacy for himself by passing his genes across centuries. A recent data shows that thee are almost 20million men in Central Asia alone who are his descendants and his descendants occupy like 0.7% of the world's population.
He was also called “The Great Lover” who had many wives and many secret women under him. He also had the power to pick any women in any region he occupied/conquered. Some ruling dynasty like Mughal royal family, Yuan Dynasty and Ilkhanids of Persia were also said to be his descendants.
#2 His Grave Site is Unknown
One of the greatest mysteries surrounding Genghis Khan is how he died or the location of his graveyard. The estimated location of his burial is near the Mongolian Mountain Burkhan Khaldun but it is yet to be proved. Before his death, he ordered his tribes that his gravesite be unmarked and no one is told about the location of his burial. And his loyal soldiers carried his last wish.
According to record, everyone who participated in the funeral of Genghis Khan in any kind was killed. Soldiers killed the guy who built the tomb, The guy who dug the hole, everyone who saw him being buried and the soldiers eventually killed themselves.
#3 His Real Name Wasn’t Genghis
He was born somewhere around 1160’s and was named as Temujin meaning “Blacksmith”, he was named after a rival chief who his father had recently captured.
But that didn’t last long in the last 1206 he got his famous name “Genghis Khan” when he became the leader of the Mongols at a tribal meeting known as Kurultai.
#4 No Record Shows How He Looks Like
Despite being a national hero, a husband for 2000 and the father of Mongolia very little is known about his personal life or even his physical appearance. Anything and everything that belonged to Genghis, even his underwear was destroyed or banned during the Soviet rule.
Their various versions of how Genghis Khan might’ve looked like from being Tall and strong with long hair and bushy beard which was said by the Persian chronicler Rashid al-Din. He claims that Genghis had red hair and green eyes. But all these accounts have been considered unreliable by historians.
#5 He Was Responsible For The Death Of Around 40million People
For Genghis Khan to have captured almost half of the world he would have had to massacre many villages. His rampage was ruthless and he left back a path of reckless destruction that many say he killed an approximate of 40million people and reduced the world's population by 15%.
A record shows that he was responsible for the reduction in population in china by 10’s of millions and three fourth of modern Iran’s. It is said that he enjoyed what he was doing and he likes to advertise it as a kind of marketing to keep people afraid of what he’d do if they don’t give up.
#6 Some Of His Most Trusted Generals Were His Former Enemies
Unlike most leaders who promote an officer because of his social class or status, Khan was known to focus primarily on experience and capabilities. He had an eye for talent and would give or do anything to have that person in his team.
He was also known to appoint his enemies as his generals and a good set of example would be his commander in chief Jebe. During 1201 khan’s army fought Jebe’s army, Jebe shot an arrow at Khan which killed the horse which Khan was riding it Jebe almost killed Khan. Though Khan winning the battle and capturing Jebe he did not kill him but he gave him one chance and appointed him as a Commander in Chief in his army and named him “arrow”.
#7 Khan Was A Strategic Warlord
In almost every battle he was outnumbered by the enemies armies, but he still managed to defeat them because of his various military strategies. He was able to devise many of his enemies think that his army was larger than theirs but it was all cunning traps for them.
He also provided the resources their soldiers needed. Every soldier had at least 5 or 6 horses and the soldiers were allowed to shields themselves with prisoners of war.
So how did his empire fall apart? How did a man of such a magnitude die at the early stages of life? Keep thinking, I’ll let you know in the next article, until then bye. Peace and Love
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