Genghis Khan (Temujin) is the greatest conqueror in the history of mankind, founder and great khan of the Mongol state.

The fate of Temujin, or Temujin, was rather difficult. He came from a noble Mongolian family who roamed with their herds along the banks of the Onon River (the territory of modern Mongolia). Born around 1155

When he was 9 years old, during the steppe civil strife, his father, Yesugeybahadur, was killed (poisoned). The family, having lost their defender and almost all their livestock, had a chance to flee from their nomads. They barely survived the harsh winter in the wooded area.

Trouble never ceased to haunt Temujin - new enemies from the Taijiut tribe attacked the orphaned family and took the little Mongol prisoner, putting on a wooden slave collar.

The boy showed the firmness of his character, tempered by the adversities of childhood. Having broken the collar, Temujin was able to escape and return to his native tribe, which could not protect his family several years ago. The teenager became a zealous warrior: few of his relatives knew how to control a steppe horse so deftly and shoot a bow accurately, throw a lasso at full gallop and cut with a saber.

But the warriors of his tribe were struck by something else in Temujin - imperiousness, the desire to subjugate others. From those who stood under his banner, the young Mongolian commander demanded complete and unquestioning submission to his will. Disobedience was punishable only by death. He was as ruthless to the disobedient as to his blood enemies among the Mongols. Temujin was soon able to take revenge on all the offenders of his family.

He was not yet 20 years old when he began to unite the Mongol clans around him, gathering a small detachment of soldiers under his command. This was a very difficult matter, because the Mongol tribes constantly waged armed struggle among themselves, raiding neighboring nomad camps with the aim of taking possession of their herds and capturing people into slavery.

The steppe clans, and then the entire tribes of the Mongols, Temujin united around himself by force, and sometimes with the help of diplomacy. He married the daughter of one of the powerful neighbors, hoping for the support of his father-in-law's warriors in difficult times. But so far the young steppe leader had few allies and his own warriors, and he had to suffer failures.

The hostile Merkit tribe once made a successful raid on Temujin's camp and was able to kidnap his wife. This was a great insult to the dignity of the Mongol commander. He redoubled his efforts to rally the nomadic tribes around him, and in just a year he commanded a significant cavalry army. With him, the future Genghis Khan inflicted a complete defeat on the numerous tribe of the Merkits, exterminating most of it and capturing their herds, freeing his wife, who knew the fate of the captive.

The military successes of Temujin in the war against the Merkits attracted other Mongol tribes under his banner. Now they meekly gave their soldiers to the military leader. His army was growing all the time, and the territories of the vast Mongolian steppe were expanding, where now the nomads were subject to his rule.

Temujin constantly waged wars with the Mongol tribes, who refused to recognize his supreme power. At the same time, he was distinguished by perseverance and cruelty. So, he almost completely exterminated the tribe of Tatars (this name in Europe was already called the Mongols, although as such the Tatars were destroyed by Genghis Khan in an internecine war).

Temujin was well versed in the tactics of war in the steppes. He unexpectedly attacked neighboring nomadic tribes and inevitably won. The survivors were offered the right to choose: either become his ally, or perish.

The leader Temujin fought his first big battle in 1193 in the Mongolian steppes near Germany. At the head of 6,000 soldiers, he defeated the 10,000-strong army of his father-in-law Ung Khan, who began to contradict his son-in-law. The Khan army was commanded by the commander Sanguk, who, apparently, was very confident in the superiority of the tribal army entrusted to him. And therefore, he did not bother about reconnaissance or military outposts. Temujin caught the enemy off guard in a mountain gorge and inflicted heavy damage on him.

By 1206, Temujin had become the strongest ruler in the steppes north of the Great Wall of China. That year is remarkable in his life in that at the kurultai (congress) of Mongolian feudal lords he was proclaimed a “great khan” over all Mongolian tribes with the title “Genghis Khan” (from the Turkic “tengiz” - ocean, sea).

Under the name of Genghis Khan Temujin entered world history. For the steppe Mongols, his title sounded like "general ruler", "real ruler", "precious ruler".

The first thing the great khan took care of was the Mongol army. Genghis Khan demanded that the leaders of the tribes, who recognized his supremacy, maintain permanent military detachments to protect the lands of the Mongols with their nomads and for campaigns against neighbors. The former slave no longer had open enemies among the Mongol tribes, and he began to prepare for wars of conquest.

To establish personal power and suppress any discontent in the country, Genghis Khan created a horse guard of 10,000 people. The best warriors from the Mongol tribes were recruited into it, and they enjoyed great privileges in the army of Genghis Khan. The guardsmen were his bodyguards. Of these, the ruler of the Mongol state appointed military leaders to the troops.

The army of Genghis Khan was built according to the decimal system: tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens (they consisted of 10,000 soldiers). These military units were not only accounting units. A hundred and a thousand could perform independent combat missions. Tumen acted in the war already at the tactical level.

The command of the Mongolian army was also built according to the decimal system: foreman, centurion, thousand's man, temnik. For the highest positions - temniks - Genghis Khan appointed his sons and representatives of the tribal nobility from among those military leaders who by deed proved to him their loyalty and experience in military affairs. In the army of the Mongols, the strictest discipline was maintained along the entire command hierarchical ladder. Any violation was severely punished.

The main branch of the army in Genghis Khan's army was the heavily armed cavalry of the Mongols proper. Her main weapons were a sword or saber, a pike and a bow with arrows. Initially, the Mongols protected their chest and head in battle with strong leather bibs and helmets. Over time, they acquired good protective equipment in the form of a variety of metal armor. Each Mongol warrior had at least two well-trained horses for the campaign and a large supply of arrows and arrowheads for them.

Light cavalry, and these were usually horse archers, consisted of warriors of the conquered steppe tribes. It was they who began the battles, bombarding the enemy with clouds of arrows and causing confusion in his ranks. After that, the heavily armed cavalry of the Mongols themselves went on the attack in a dense mass. Their attack looked more like a ramming blow than a dashing raid of Mongol horsemen.

Genghis Khan went down in military history as a great strategist and tactician of that time. For his commanders-temniks and other military leaders, he developed the rules for the conduct of war and the organization of all military service. These rules were strictly enforced under the conditions of strict centralization of military and state administration.

Genghis Khan's strategy and tactics were characterized by: careful conduct of close and long-range reconnaissance, a surprise attack on any enemy, even noticeably inferior to him in strength, the desire to dismember the enemy forces in order to destroy them in parts afterwards. They widely and skillfully used ambushes and luring the enemy into them. Genghis Khan and his generals skillfully maneuvered large masses of cavalry on the battlefield. The pursuit of the fleeing enemy was conducted not with the aim of seizing more military booty, but with the aim of destroying it.

At the very beginning of his conquests, Genghis Khan did not always assemble an all-Mongolian cavalry army. Scouts and spies provided him with information about the new enemy, about the number, deployment and routes of movement of his troops. This made it possible for Genghis Khan to determine the number of troops needed to defeat the enemy and quickly respond to all his offensive actions.

But the greatness of Genghis Khan's military leadership was also in something else: he knew how to react swiftly to the actions of the opposing side, changing his tactics depending on the circumstances. So, faced for the first time with strong fortresses in China, Genghis Khan began to crush various types of throwing and siege machines of the same Chinese in the war. They were taken for the army disassembled and quickly assembled during the siege of a new city. When he needed mechanics or doctors who were not among the Mongols, Genghis Khan discharged them from other countries or took them prisoner. In the latter case, military specialists became khan's slaves, who were kept in very good conditions.

Until the last days of his life, Genghis Khan strove to maximize his truly enormous possessions. Therefore, each time the Mongol army went further and further from the steppes of Mongolia.

At first, the great conqueror of the Middle Ages decided to annex other nomadic peoples to his power. 1207 - he conquered vast areas north of the Selenga River and in the upper reaches of the Yenisei. The military forces (cavalry) of the conquered tribes were included in the all-Mongolian army.

Then it was the turn of the big Uyghur state in East Turkestan. 1209 - a huge army of the great khan invaded his territory and, seizing cities and blooming oases one after another, won a complete victory over the Uighurs. After this invasion, only heaps of ruins remained from many trading cities and villages of farmers.

The destruction of settlements in the occupied lands, the total extermination of recalcitrant tribes and fortified cities that tried to defend themselves with weapons in their hands were characteristic features of Genghis Khan's conquests. The strategy of intimidation made it possible for him to successfully solve military problems and keep the conquered peoples in obedience.

1211 - Genghis Khan's cavalry army attacked North China. The Great Wall of China - the most grandiose defensive structure in the history of human civilization - did not become an obstacle for the conquerors. The Mongol cavalry defeated the troops of the new enemy who stood in its way. 1215 - the city of Beijing (Yanjing) was captured by cunning, which the Mongols subjected to a long siege.

In Northern China, the Mongols destroyed about 90 cities, the population of which put up resistance to the army of the great Mongol khan. In this campaign, Genghis Khan adopted the engineering combat equipment of the Chinese - various throwing machines and battering rams - into the armament of his mounted troops. Chinese engineers trained the Mongols to use them and deliver them to besieged cities and fortresses.

1218 - Mongols, continuing their conquests, captured the Korean Peninsula.

After campaigns in North China and Korea, Genghis Khan turned his attention further west - towards the sunset. 1218 - Mongolian army invaded Central Asia and captured Khorezm. This time, Genghis Khan found a plausible excuse for the invasion - several Mongolian merchants were killed in the border town of Khorezm. And so it was necessary to punish the country where the Mongols were treated “badly”.

With the appearance of the enemy on the borders of Khorezm, Khorezmshah Muhammad, at the head of a large army (numbers up to 200,000 people are called), set out on a campaign. A great battle took place at Karaku, which was distinguished by such persistence that by evening there was no winner on the battlefield. With the onset of darkness, the generals took their armies to the marching camps.

On the next day, Khorezmshah Muhammad refused to continue the battle due to heavy losses, which amounted to almost half of the army he had assembled. Genghis Khan, for his part, also suffered heavy losses, retreated. But this was a military trick of the great commander.

The conquest of the huge Central Asian state of Khorezm continued. 1219 - Mongolian army of 200,000 people under the command of the sons of Genghis Khan, Oktay and Zagatay, laid siege to the city of Otrar (the territory of modern Uzbekistan). The city was defended by a 60,000-strong garrison under the command of the brave Khorezm commander Gazer Khan.

The siege of Otrar with frequent attacks was carried out for four months. During this time, the number of its defenders was reduced by three times. In the camp of the besieged, hunger and disease began, since it was especially bad with drinking water. In the end, the Mongols broke into the city, but could not take possession of the fortress citadel. Gazer Khan with the remnants of his warriors was able to hold out in it for another month. By order of the great khan, Otrar was destroyed, most of the inhabitants were killed, and some - artisans and young people - were taken into slavery.

1220, March - the Mongol army led by the great Mongol khan himself laid siege to one of the largest Central Asian cities - Bukhara. In it stood a 20,000-strong army of the Khorezmshah, which, together with its commander, fled when the Mongols approached. The townspeople, not having the strength to fight, opened the fortress gates to the conquerors. Only the local ruler decided to defend himself by hiding in a fortress that was set on fire and destroyed by the Mongols.

1220, June - Mongols led by Genghis Khan laid siege to another large Khorezm city - Samarkand. The city was defended by a 110-thousandth (the figure is greatly overstated) garrison under the command of the governor Alub Khan. His soldiers made frequent forays beyond the city walls, preventing the enemy from carrying out siege work. However, there were townspeople who, wishing to save their property and lives, opened the gates of Samarkand to the Mongols.

The army of the great khan rushed into the city, and hot battles with the defenders of Samarkand began on its streets and squares. But the forces were unequal, and besides, Genghis Khan introduced more and more troops into battle to replace those who were tired of fighting. Seeing that he could not hold Samarkand, Alub Khan, at the head of 1000 horsemen, was able to escape from the city and break through the blockade ring of the invaders. The surviving 30,000 Khorezm soldiers were killed by the Mongols.

The conquerors also met staunch resistance during the siege of the city of Khojent (modern Tajikistan). It was defended by a garrison headed by one of the best Khorezm commanders - the fearless Timur-Melik. When he realized that the garrison was no longer able to repel the attacks, he and some of the soldiers plunged onto ships and sailed down the Yaksart River, pursued along the coast by the Mongol cavalry. However, after a fierce battle, Timur-Melik was able to break away from his pursuers. After his departure, the city of Khujand surrendered the next day at the mercy of the winner.

The army of Genghis Khan continued to seize the Khorezm cities one after another: Merv, Urgench ... 1221 - they laid siege to the city of Bamiyan and, after many months of struggle, took it by storm. Genghis Khan, whose beloved grandson was killed during the siege, ordered not to spare either women or children. Therefore, the city with its entire population was completely destroyed.

After the fall of Khorezm and the conquest of Central Asia, Genghis Khan made a campaign in Northwest India, capturing this large territory. But he did not go further to the south of Hindustan: he was always attracted by unknown countries at sunset.

The Great Khan, as usual, thoroughly worked out the route of a new campaign and sent his best commanders Jebe and Subedei far to the west at the head of their tumens and auxiliary troops of the conquered peoples. Their path passed through Iran, Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus. So the Mongols found themselves on the southern approaches to Russia, in the Don steppes.

In those days, the Polovtsian vezhi, who had long lost their military strength, roamed in the Wild Field. The Mongols defeated the Polovtsians without much difficulty, and they fled to the borderlands of the Russian lands. 1223 - commanders Jebe and Subedey defeated the united army of several Russian princes and Polovtsian khans in a battle on the Kalka River. After the victory won, the vanguard of the Mongolian army turned back.

In 1226-1227, Genghis Khan made a trip to the land of the Tanguts Si-Xia. He instructed one of his sons to continue the conquest of Chinese lands. The anti-Mongol uprising that began in the conquered North China caused great alarm in the great khan.

Genghis Khan died during his last campaign against the Tanguts, in 1227 the Mongols arranged a magnificent funeral for him and, having destroyed all the participants in these sad celebrations, were able to keep the location of Genghis Khan's grave in complete secrecy to this day ...

Genghis Khan (Mong. Genghis Khaan proper name - Temujin, Temuchin, Mong. Temuuzhin). May 3, 1162 - August 18, 1227) - Mongol Khan, founder of the Mongol state (from 1206), organizer of conquest campaigns in Asia and Eastern Europe, great reformer and unifier of Mongolia. The direct descendants of Genghis Khan in the male line are Chingizids.

The only historical portrait of Genghis Khan from a series of official portraits of rulers was painted during the reign of Kubilai Khan in the 13th century. (beginning of reign in 1260), several decades after his death (Genghis Khan died in 1227). The portrait of Genghis Khan is kept in the Beijing History Museum. The portrait depicts a face with Asian features, blue eyes and a gray beard.
early years

According to the "Secret Legend", the ancestor of all Mongols is Alan-Goa, in the eighth generation from Genghis Khan, who, according to legend, conceived children from a sunbeam in a yurt. Genghis Khan's grandfather, Khabul Khan, was a rich leader of all Mongol tribes, successfully waging wars with neighboring tribes. Temuchin's father was Yesugei-baatur, the grandson of Khabul-khan, the leader of most of the Mongol tribes, in which there were 40 thousand yurts. This tribe was the complete master of the fertile valleys between the rivers Kerulen and Onon. Yesugei-baatur also successfully fought and fought, subjugating the Tatars and many neighboring tribes. From the content of the "Secret Legend" it is clear that Genghis Khan's father was a famous khan of the Mongols.

It is difficult to name the exact date of Genghis Khan's birth. According to the Persian historian Rashid-ad-din - the date of birth is 1155, modern Mongolian historians adhere to the date - 1162. He was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River (near Lake Baikal) in the family of one of the Mongol leaders of the Taichiut tribe Yesugei-bagatura ("bagatur" - a hero) from the Borjigin clan, and his wife Hoelun from the Onhirat tribe. It was named after the Tatar leader Temuchin, whom Yesugei defeated on the eve of the birth of his son. At the age of 9, Yesugei-Bagatur married a son to a 10-year-old girl from the Hungirat clan. Leaving his son in the bride's family until he comes of age, to get to know each other better, he went home. On the way back, Yesugei lingered at the Tatars' camp, where he was poisoned. When he returned to his native ulus, he felt bad, and a few days later he died.

The elders of the Mongol tribes refused to obey the too young and inexperienced Temuchin and went with their tribes to another patron. So young Temuchin remained surrounded by only a few representatives of his family: mother, younger brothers and sisters. All their remaining property included only eight horses and a generic "bunchuk" - a white banner depicting a bird of prey - a gyrfalcon and with nine yak tails, symbolizing four large and five small yurts of his kind. For several years widows with children lived in complete poverty, wandered in the steppes, feeding on roots, game and fish. Even in the summer, the family lived from hand to mouth, making provisions for the winter.

The leader of the Taichiuts, Targultai (a distant relative of Temuchin), who declared himself the ruler of the lands once occupied by Yesugei, fearing revenge from a growing rival, began to pursue Temuchin. Once an armed detachment attacked the camp of the Yesugei family. Temuchin managed to escape, but he was overtaken and taken prisoner. A block was put on it - two wooden boards with a hole for the neck, which were pulled together. The block was a painful punishment: a person himself had no opportunity to eat or drink, or even drive away a fly that landed on his face. He found a way to escape and hide in a small lake, plunging into the water with the block and sticking out only his nostrils from the water. The Taichiuts searched for him in this place, but could not find him; but he was noticed by one of the Selduz, who was among them, and decided to save him. He pulled young Temuchin out of the water, freed him from the block and took him to his dwelling, where he hid him in a wagon with wool. After the Taichiuts left, the Selduz put Temuchin on a mare, supplied him with weapons and sent him home.

After a while Temuchin found his family. The Borjigins immediately migrated to another place, and the Taichiuts could no longer find them. Then Temuchin married his betrothed Borte. Borte's dowry was a luxurious sable fur coat. Temuchin soon went to the most powerful of the then steppe leaders - Togoril, the Khan of the Kerait. Togoril was once a friend of Temuchin's father, and he managed to enlist the support of the leader of the Kerait, recalling this friendship and presenting a luxurious gift - Borte's sable fur coat.
The beginning of the conquests

With the help of Khan Togoril, Temuchin's forces began to grow gradually. Nukers began to flock to him; he raided his neighbors, multiplying his holdings and herds.

The first serious opponents of Temuchin were the Merkits, who acted in alliance with the Taichiuts. In the absence of Temuchin, they attacked the Borjigin camp and captured Borte and Yesugei's second wife, Sochihel. Temuchin, with the help of Khan Togoril and the Kerait, as well as his Anda (named brother) Jamukha, from the Jajirat clan, defeated the Merkits. At the same time, while trying to drive away the herd from Temuchin's possessions, Jamukha's brother was killed. Under the pretext of revenge, Jamukha marched with his army against Temuchin. But not having achieved success in defeating the enemy, the leader of the Jajirat retreated.

The first large military enterprise of Temuchin was the war against the Tatars, started together with Togoril around 1200. The Tatars at that time with difficulty repulsed the attacks of the Jin troops that had entered their possession. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, Temuchin and Togoril inflicted a series of strong blows on the Tatars and seized rich booty. The Jin government conferred high titles on the steppe leaders as a reward for the defeat of the Tatars. Temuchin received the title "jautkhuri" (military commissar), and Togoril - "van" (prince), from that time he became known as Wang Khan. In 1202 Temuchin independently opposed the Tatars. Before this campaign, he made an attempt to reorganize and discipline the army - he issued an order according to which it was strictly forbidden to seize prey during the battle and pursuit of the enemy: the commanders had to divide the captured property between the soldiers only at the end of the battle.

Temuchin's victories caused the rallying of the forces of his opponents. A whole coalition was formed, including Tatars, Taichiuts, Merkits, Oirats and other tribes, which elected Jamukha as their khan. In the spring of 1203, a battle took place, which ended in a complete defeat of Jamuqa's forces. This victory further strengthened the Temuchin ulus. In 1202-1203, the Kerait was headed by the son of Wang Khan Nilkh, who hated Temuchin because Wang Khan preferred him over his son and thought to transfer the Kerait throne to him bypassing Nilkha. In the fall of 1203, Wang Khan's troops were defeated. His ulus ceased to exist. Wang Khan himself died while trying to escape to the Naimans.

In 1204 Temuchin defeated the Naimans. Their ruler Tayan Khan died, and his son Kuchuluk fled to the territory of Semirechye to the country of the Karakitais (southwest of Lake Balkhash). His ally, the Merkit khan Tohto-beki, fled with him. There Kuchuluk managed to gather scattered detachments of Naimans and Kerait, enter into a disposition to the gurkhan and become a fairly significant political figure.
Reforms of the Great Khan

At the kurultai in 1206, Temuchin was proclaimed the great khan over all the tribes - Chinggis Khan. Mongolia was transformed: the scattered and warring Mongol nomadic tribes united into a single state.

At the same time, a new law was issued: Yasa. In it, the main place was occupied by articles about mutual assistance in the campaign and the prohibition of deceiving the person who trusted. Those who violated these regulations were executed, and the enemy of the Mongols, who remained loyal to their khan, was spared and accepted into their army. "Good" was considered loyalty and courage, and "evil" - cowardice and betrayal.

After Temuchin became the all-Mongolian sovereign, his policy reflected the interests of Noyonism even more vividly. The Noyons needed such internal and external measures that would help consolidate their dominance and increase their income. New wars of conquest, plundering of rich countries were supposed to expand the sphere of feudal exploitation and strengthen the class positions of the noyons.

The administrative system created under Genghis Khan was adapted to the implementation of these goals. He divided the entire population into tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens (ten thousand), thereby mixing tribes and clans and appointing commanders over them specially selected people from close associates and nukers. All adult and healthy men were considered warriors who ran their household in peacetime, and took up arms in wartime. Such an organization provided Genghis Khan with the opportunity to increase his armed forces to about 95 thousand soldiers.

Individual hundreds, thousands and tumens, together with the territory for nomadism, were given into the possession of this or that noyon. The Great Khan, considering himself the owner of all the land in the state, distributed the land and arats in the possession of the noyons, on the condition that they would regularly fulfill certain duties for this. The most important duty was military service. Each noyon was obliged, at the first request of the overlord, to put the required number of soldiers in the field. Noyon, in his lot, could exploit the labor of the arats, distributing his livestock to them for pasture or engaging them directly to work on his farm. Small noyons served large ones.

Under Genghis Khan, the enslavement of the arats was legalized, and the unauthorized transition from one dozen, hundreds, thousands or tumen to others was prohibited. This prohibition already meant the formal attachment of the arat to the land of the noyons - the death penalty threatened to migrate from the arat's possessions.

A specially formed armed detachment of personal bodyguards, the so-called keshik, enjoyed exclusive privileges and was intended mainly to fight against the khan's internal enemies. The Keshikten were selected from the Noyon youth and were under the personal command of the khan himself, being essentially the khan's guard. Initially, the detachment consisted of 150 keshikten. In addition, a special detachment was created, which was to always be in the vanguard and be the first to engage in battle with the enemy. It was named a squad of heroes.

Genghis Khan elevated the written law to a cult, he was supporters of a solid law and order. He created a network of communication lines in his empire, courier communications on a large scale for military and administrative purposes, organized intelligence, including economic.

Genghis Khan divided the country into two "wings". He put Boorcha at the head of the right wing, and Mukhali at the head of the left wing, two of his most loyal and experienced companions. The position and titles of senior and higher military leaders - centurions, thousand and temniks - he made hereditary in the family of those who, with their faithful service, helped him to seize the khan throne.
Conquest of Northern China

In 1207-1211, the Mongols conquered the land of the Yakuts [source?], Kirghiz and Uighurs, that is, they subjugated almost all the main tribes and peoples of Siberia, imposing tribute on them. In 1209, Genghis Khan conquered Central Asia and turned his gaze to the south.

Before the conquest of China, Genghis Khan decided to secure the eastern border by capturing the Xi-Xia Tangut state in 1207, who had previously conquered Northern China from the Chinese Song dynasty and created their own state, which was located between his possessions and the Jin state. After capturing several fortified cities, in the summer of 1208, the "True Ruler" withdrew to Longjin, waiting out the unbearable heat that fell that year. Meanwhile, news reaches him that his old enemies Tokhta-beki and Kuchluk are preparing for a new war with him. Preventing their invasion and carefully preparing, Genghis Khan defeated them utterly in a battle on the banks of the Irtysh. Tokhta-beki was among the dead, and Kuchluk fled and found shelter with the Karakitais.

Satisfied with the victory, Temuchin again directed his troops against Xi-Xia. After defeating the army of the Chinese Tatars, he seized the fortress and the passage in the Great Wall of China and in 1213 invaded directly into the Chinese Empire itself, the Jin state and marched as far as Nianxi in the Hanshu province. With growing tenacity, Genghis Khan led his troops, paved the way with corpses, deep into the continent and established his rule even over the province of Liaodong, the central one in the empire. Several Chinese commanders, seeing that the Mongol conqueror was gaining invariable victories, fled to his side. The garrisons surrendered without a fight.

Having established his position along the entire Great Wall of China, in the fall of 1213 Temuchin sent three armies to different ends of the Chinese Empire. One of them, under the command of the three sons of Genghis Khan - Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedei, headed south. Another, led by the brothers and commanders of Temuchin, moved east to the sea. Genghis Khan himself and his younger son Tolui headed the main forces in a southeast direction. The first army advanced as far as Honan and, capturing twenty-eight cities, joined Genghis Khan on the Great Western Road. The army under the command of Temuchin's brothers and generals captured the Liao-si province, and Genghis Khan himself ended his triumphal campaign only after he reached the sea rocky promontory in Shandong province. But either fearing civil strife, or due to other reasons, he decides to return to Mongolia in the spring of 1214 and concludes peace with the Chinese emperor, leaving him Beijing. However, the leader of the Mongols did not have time to leave behind the Great Wall of China, as the Chinese emperor moved his court further away, to Kaifeng. This step was perceived by Temujin as a manifestation of hostility, and he again sent troops into the empire, now doomed to death. The war continued.

The Jurchen troops in China, replenished at the expense of the aborigines, fought with the Mongols until 1235 on their own initiative, but were defeated and exterminated by Genghis Khan's successor Ugedei.
Fight against the Kara-Khitan Khanate

Following China, Genghis Khan was preparing for a campaign in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. He was especially attracted by the flourishing cities of South Kazakhstan and Zhetysu. He decided to carry out his plan through the valley of the Ili River, where the rich cities were located and ruled by the old enemy of Genghis Khan, the Naiman Khan Kuchluk.

While Genghis Khan was conquering all the new cities and provinces of China, the fugitive Naiman Khan Kuchluk asked the gurkhan who gave him refuge to help collect the remnants of the army defeated at the Irtysh. Having obtained a rather strong army under his arm, Kuchluk concluded an alliance against his overlord with the Shah of Khorezm Muhammad, who had previously paid tribute to the Karakitai. After a short but decisive military campaign, the allies were left in a big win, and the gurkhan was forced to relinquish power in favor of an intruder. In 1213, the gurkhan Chzhilugu died, and the Naiman khan became the sovereign ruler of Semirechye. Sairam, Tashkent, and the northern part of Fergana came under his authority. Having become an implacable enemy of Khorezm, Kuchluk began persecuting Muslims in his possessions, which aroused the hatred of the sedentary population of Zhetysu. The ruler of Koilyk (in the valley of the Ili river) Arslan khan, and then the ruler of Almalyk (north-west of modern Kulja) Bu-zar departed from the Naimans and declared themselves subjects of Genghis Khan.

In 1218, Jebe's detachments, together with the troops of the rulers of Koilyk and Almalyk, invaded the lands of the Karakitai. The Mongols conquered Semirechye and East Turkestan, which Kuchluk possessed. In the first battle, Jebe defeated the Naimans. The Mongols allowed Muslims to worship in public, which was previously prohibited by the Naimans, which contributed to the transition of the entire sedentary population to the side of the Mongols. Kuchluk, unable to organize resistance, fled to Afghanistan, where he was caught and killed. The inhabitants of Balasagun opened the gates to the Mongols, for which the city was named Gobalyk  “a good city”. The road to Khorezm was opened before Genghis Khan.
Conquest of Central Asia

After the conquest of China and Khorezm, the supreme ruler of the Mongol clan leaders, Genghis Khan, sent a strong cavalry corps under the command of Jebe and Subedei to reconnoitre the "western lands". They passed along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, then, after the devastation of Northern Iran, penetrated into Transcaucasia, defeated the Georgian army (1222) and, moving north along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, met in the North Caucasus a united army of Polovtsians, Lezgins, Circassians and Alans. There was a battle that did not have decisive consequences. Then the conquerors split the ranks of the enemy. They presented the Polovtsians and promised not to touch them. The latter began to disperse to their nomadic camps. Taking advantage of this, the Mongols easily defeated the Alans, Lezgins and Circassians, and then defeated the Polovtsians in parts. At the beginning of 1223, the Mongols invaded the Crimea, took the city of Surozh (Sudak) and again moved to the Polovtsian steppes.

The Polovtsi fled to Russia. Leaving the Mongol army, Khan Kotyan, through his ambassadors, asked not to deny him the help of his son-in-law Mstislav the Bold, as well as Mstislav III Romanovich, the ruling Grand Duke of Kiev. At the beginning of 1223, a grand princely congress was convened in Kiev, where an agreement was reached that the armed forces of the princes of Kiev, Galicia, Chernigov, Seversky, Smolensk and Volyn principalities, having united, should support the Polovtsy. The Dnieper, near the island of Khortytsya, was designated as the assembly place for the Russian united army. Here, envoys from the Mongol camp were met, offering the Russian commanders to break the alliance with the Cumans and return to Russia. Considering the experience of the Polovtsy (who in 1222 agreed to persuade the Mongols to break their alliance with the Alans, after which Jebe defeated the Alans and attacked the Polovtsians), Mstislav executed the envoys. In the battle on the Kalka River, the troops of Daniel Galitsky, Mstislav Udaliy and Khan Kotyan, without notifying the rest of the princes, decided to independently "deal" with the Mongols, crossed to the eastern bank, where on May 31, 1223 they were completely defeated while passively contemplating this bloody battle on the part of the main Russian forces led by Mstislav III, located on the elevated opposite bank of the Kalka.

Mstislav III, fenced off with a tynom, held the defense for three days after the battle, and then went to an agreement with Jebe and Subedai to lay down arms and freely retreat to Russia, as not participating in the battle. However, he, his army and the princes who trusted him were treacherously captured by the Mongols and cruelly tortured as "traitors to their own army."

After the victory, the Mongols organized the pursuit of the remnants of the Russian army (only every tenth warrior returned from the Azov region) destroying towns and villages in the Dnieper direction, capturing civilians. However, the disciplined Mongol commanders did not have an order to stay in Russia. Soon they were recalled by Genghis Khan, who considered that the main task of the reconnaissance campaign to the west had been successfully accomplished. On the way back at the mouth of the Kama, the troops of Jebe and Subedei suffered a serious defeat from the Volga Bulgars, who refused to recognize the power of Genghis Khan over themselves. After this failure, the Mongols descended down to Saksin and, by the Caspian steppes, returned to Asia, where in 1225 they united with the main forces of the Mongol army.

The Mongol troops who remained in China enjoyed the same success as the armies in Western Asia. The Mongol Empire was expanded to include several newly conquered provinces north of the Yellow River, with the exception of one or two cities. After the death of Emperor Xuyin Tsung in 1223, the Northern Chinese Empire practically ceased to exist, and the borders of the Mongol Empire almost coincided with the borders of Central and Southern China, which was ruled by the imperial Song dynasty.
Death of Genghis Khan

Upon his return from Central Asia, Genghis Khan once again led his army through Western China. In 1225 or early 1226, Genghis undertook a campaign against the Tangut country. During this campaign, astrologers informed the leader of the Mongols that the five planets were in unfavorable correspondence. The superstitious Mongol considered himself in danger. Under the power of foreboding, the formidable conqueror went home, but on the way he fell ill and died on August 25, 1227.

Before his death, he wished that the king of the Tanguts would be executed immediately after the capture of the city, and the city itself would be destroyed to the ground. Different sources give different versions of his death: from an arrow wound in battle; from prolonged illness after falling from a horse; from a lightning strike; by the hand of a captive princess on their wedding night.

At the dying wish of Genghis Khan, his body was taken home and interred in the Burkan Kaldun area. According to the official version of the "Secret Legend", on the way to the Tangut state, he fell from his horse and was badly hurt while hunting wild horses, kulans and fell ill: Years of Dogs (1226) set out on a campaign against Tangutov. From the khansh, Yesui-khatun followed the sovereign. On the way, during a round-up of wild horses-kulans, which are found there in great numbers, Genghis Khan sat astride a brown-gray horse. On a raid of kulans, his brown-gray climbed up in order, and the sovereign fell and was badly hurt. Therefore, we made a stop in the Tsoorkhat tract. The night passed, and the next morning Yesui-Khatun told the princes and noyons: “The sovereign had a strong fever at night. It is necessary to discuss the situation. "The" Secret Legend "says that" Genghis Khan, after the final defeat of the Tanguts, returned and ascended to heaven in the year of the Pig "(1227). ...

According to the will, Genghis Khan was succeeded by his third son Ogedei. Until the capital of Xi-Xia Zhongxing was taken, the death of the great ruler was to be kept secret. The funeral procession moved from the camp of the Great Horde to the north, to the Onon River. The Secret Legend and the Golden Chronicle report that on the route of the caravan with Genghis Khan's body to the burial place, all living things were killed: people, animals, birds. In the annals it is written: "They killed every living creature that they saw, so that the news of his death would not spread to the surrounding places. In four of his main hordes they mourned and he was buried in the area that he once deigned to designate as a great reserve." ... His wives carried his body through his native encampment, and in the end he was buried in a rich tomb in the Onona Valley. During the burial, mystical rites were carried out, which were designed to protect the place where Genghis Khan was buried. The place of his burial has not yet been found. After the death of Genghis Khan, mourning lasted for two years.

According to legend, Genghis Khan was buried in a deep tomb, sitting on a golden throne, in the family cemetery "Ikh Khorig" near Mount Burkhan Khaldun, at the head of the Urgun River. He sat on the golden throne of Muhammad, brought by him from the captured Samarkand. To prevent the grave from being found and desecrated in subsequent times, after the burial of the Great Khan, a herd of horses was driven several times across the steppe, destroying all traces of the grave. According to another version, the tomb was built in the river bed, for which the river was temporarily closed, and the water was directed along a different channel. After the burial, the dam was destroyed, and the water returned to its natural course, forever hiding the burial place. Everyone who participated in the burial and could remember this place was subsequently killed, those who carried out this order were subsequently killed too. Thus, the secret of Genghis Khan's burial remains unsolved until now.

Until now, attempts to find the grave of Genghis Khan have been unsuccessful. The geographical names of the times of the Mongol Empire have completely changed over many centuries, and today no one can say with accuracy where Mount Burkhan Khaldun is. According to the version of academician G. Miller, based on the stories of the Siberian "mungols", Mount Burkhan-Khaldun in translation can mean "God's mountain", "The mountain where the deities are placed", "The mountain - God scorches or God penetrates everywhere" - "sacred mountain Chinggis and his ancestors, the mountain-deliverer, to which Chinggis, in memory of his salvation in the forests of this mountain from fierce enemies, bequeathed to sacrifice forever, was in the places of the original nomadic camps of Chinggis and his ancestors along the Onon River. "

RESULTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINGISKHAN

During the conquest of the Naimans, Genghis Khan got acquainted with the beginnings of written clerical work, some of the Naimans entered the service of Genghis Khan and were the first officials in the Mongol state and the first teachers of the Mongols. Apparently, Genghis Khan hoped to subsequently replace the Naimans with ethnic Mongols, since he ordered the noble Mongolian youths, including his sons, to learn the language and writing of the Naimans. After the spread of Mongol rule, even during the life of Genghis Khan, the Mongols also used the services of Chinese and Persian officials.

In the field of foreign policy, Genghis Khan strove to maximize the limits of the territory under his control. The strategy and tactics of Genghis Khan were characterized by careful reconnaissance, suddenness of the attack, the desire to dismember the enemy's forces, the arrangement of ambushes using special detachments to lure the enemy, the maneuvering of large masses of cavalry, etc.

The ruler of the Mongols created the greatest empire in history, which in the 13th century conquered the vast expanses of Eurasia from the Sea of ​​Japan to the Black Sea. He and his descendants swept away the great and ancient states: the state of the Khorezmshahs, the Chinese Empire, the Baghdad Caliphate, conquered most of the Russian principalities. Vast territories were placed under the control of the Yasa steppe law.

The old Mongolian code of laws "Jasak", introduced by Genghis Khan, reads: "Genghis Khan's Yasa prohibits lying, theft, adultery, prescribes to love one's neighbor as oneself, not to inflict insults, and to forget them completely, to spare the countries and cities that voluntarily submitted, to liberate from everyone tax and respect the temples dedicated to God, as well as his servants. " The importance of "Jasak" for the formation of statehood in the empire of Genghis Khan is noted by all historians. The introduction of a code of military and civil laws made it possible to establish a solid law and order on the vast territory of the Mongol Empire, non-observance of its laws was punishable by death. Yasa prescribed tolerance in matters of religion, respect for temples and clergy, forbade quarrels among the Mongols, disobedience of children to parents, stealing horses, regulated military duty, rules of conduct in battle, distribution of war booty, etc.
"Immediately kill whoever stepped on the threshold of the governor's rate."
"Anyone who urinates in water or ashes is put to death."
"The prohibition to wash the dress while wearing it, until it is completely worn out."
"Let no one leave his thousand, hundreds or ten. Otherwise, he himself and the chief of the unit who received him will be executed."
"Respect all confessions, giving preference to none."
Genghis Khan declared shamanism, Christianity and Islam as the official religions of his empire.

Unlike other conquerors for hundreds of years before the Mongols ruled over Eurasia, only Genghis Khan managed to organize a stable state system and make Asia appear before Europe not just an unexplored steppe and mountainous space, but a consolidated civilization. It was within its borders that the Turkic revival of the Islamic world began, which with its second onslaught (after the Arabs) almost finished off Europe.

In 1220, Genghis Khan founded Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire.

The Mongols revere Genghis Khan as the greatest hero and reformer, almost as the embodiment of a deity. In European (including Russian) memory, he remained something like a pre-thunderous crimson cloud that appears before a terrible, all cleansing storm.

DESCENDANTS OF CHINGISKHAN

Temujin and his beloved wife Borte had four sons:

Jochi's son
son Chagatai
son of Ogedei
son of Tolui.

Only they and their descendants could claim the highest power in the state. Temujin and Borte also had daughters:

daughter of Khojin-bags, wife of Butu-gurgen from the Ikirez clan;

daughter Tsetseikhen (Chichigan), wife of Inalchi, the youngest son of the head of the Oirats, Khuduha-beki;

the daughter of Alangaa (Alagai, Alakha), who married the Noyon of the Onguts Buyanbald (in 1219, when Genghis Khan went to war with Khorezm, he entrusted her with state affairs in his absence, therefore she is also called Tөr zasagch gunzh (ruler-princess);

daughter Temulen, wife of Shiku-gurgen, son of Alchi-noyon from the Khongirads, the tribe of her mother Borte;

daughter Alduun (Altalun), who married Zavtar-setsen, noyon khongirads.

Temuzhin and his second wife, Merkitka Khulan-Khatun, the daughter of Dair-usun, had sons
son of Kulkhan (Khulugen, Kulkan)
son Kharachar;

From the Tatar woman Yesugen (Yesukat), daughter of Charu-noyon
son Chakhur (Jaur)
son of Kharhad.

The sons of Genghis Khan continued the work of the Golden Dynasty and ruled the Mongols, as well as the conquered lands, based on the Great Yasa of Genghis Khan until the 20s of the XX century. Even the Manchu emperors, who ruled Mongolia and China from the 16th to the 19th centuries, were descendants of Genghis Khan, since for their legitimacy they married Mongol princesses from the golden family dynasty of Genghis Khan. The first Prime Minister of Mongolia of the 20th century, Chin Van Handdorj (1911-1919), as well as the rulers of Inner Mongolia (until 1954) were the direct descendants of Genghis Khan.

The family vault of Genghis Khan was maintained until the 20th century; in 1918, the religious head of Mongolia, Bogdo-gegen, issued an order to preserve the Urgiin bichig (family list) of Mongolian princes, called shastir. This shastir is kept in the museum and is called "Shastir of the state of Mongolia" (Mongol Ulsyn shastir). Many direct descendants of Genghis Khan from his golden surname still live in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.

ADDITIONAL LITERATURE

Army of the Mongol Empire. S. Turnbull, A. McBride. Military-historical series "Soldier".
Bichurin Nikita, Giovanni del Plano Carpini. History of the Mongols.
Vladimirtsov B.Ya. Genghis Khan. Publishing house ZI Grzhebin. Berlin. Petersburg. Moscow. 1922 Cultural and historical sketch of the Mongol Empire of the XII-XIV centuries. In two parts with attachments and illustrations. 180 pages. Russian language.
B.Ya. Vladimirtsov The social system of the Mongols. Mongolian nomadic feudalism. 1934. Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
State system of the Mongol Empire in the XIII century. Trepavlov V.V. 1993.
The life of Temujin, who thought to conquer the world. Kychanov E.I. 1995. Publishing company "Eastern Literature". Russian language. Number of pages: 275.
The Golden Age of the Mongol Empire. Life and era. Rossaby M. Publisher: Eurasia. Year: 2009. Language: Russian.
History of the Mongols. Laktionov A. 2011.
On the question of the opening of the Karakorum. Shilovsky M.V.
Mongolia in the XII-XIV centuries. Chuluuny Dalai. Based on Mongolian and Chinese sources, as well as a wide range of literature, the author of the book describes in detail the economy, political and socio-economic institutions, the state of culture of the Mongolian people in the period from 1260 to 1388. Moscow. 1983 Publishing house "Science". The main editorial office of oriental literature. Russian language. Authorized translation from Mongolian by P. Nikhlai. Pages: 233.
Mongol Empire and the nomadic world. Bazarov B.V., Kradin N.N. Skrynnikova T.D. Book 1. Ulan-Ude. 2004. Institute of Mongolian Studies, Buddhology and Tebetology SB RAS.
Mongol Empire and the nomadic world. Bazarov B.V., Kradin N.N. Skrynnikova T.D. Book 3. Ulan-Ude. 2008. Institute of Mongolian Studies, Buddhology and Tebetology SB RAS.
On the art of war and the conquests of the Mongols. Composition by Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff M. Ivanin. St. Petersburg, Publisher: printed in a military printing house. Year of publication: 1846. Pages: 66. Language: Russian.
The secret legend of the Mongols. Translated from Mongolian. 1941.

LEGENDARY PEOPLE OF MONGOLIA

CHINGISKHAN
(1162-1227)

Genghis Khan (Mong. Genghis Khaan proper name - Temujin, Temuchin, Mong. Temuuzhin). May 3, 1162 - August 18, 1227) - Mongol Khan, founder of the Mongol state (from 1206), organizer of conquest campaigns in Asia and Eastern Europe, great reformer and unifier of Mongolia. The direct descendants of Genghis Khan in the male line are Chingizids.

The only historical portrait of Genghis Khan from a series of official portraits of rulers was painted during the reign of Kubilai Khan in the 13th century. (beginning of reign in 1260), several decades after his death (Genghis Khan died in 1227). The portrait of Genghis Khan is kept in the Beijing History Museum. The portrait depicts a face with Asian features, blue eyes and a gray beard.

early years

According to the "Secret Legend", the ancestor of all Mongols is Alan-Goa, in the eighth generation from Genghis Khan, who, according to legend, conceived children from a sunbeam in a yurt. Genghis Khan's grandfather, Khabul Khan, was a rich leader of all Mongol tribes, successfully waging wars with neighboring tribes. Temuchin's father was Yesugei-baatur, the grandson of Khabul-khan, the leader of most of the Mongol tribes, in which there were 40 thousand yurts. This tribe was the complete master of the fertile valleys between the rivers Kerulen and Onon. Yesugei-baatur also successfully fought and fought, subjugating the Tatars and many neighboring tribes. From the content of the "Secret Legend" it is clear that Genghis Khan's father was a famous khan of the Mongols.

It is difficult to name the exact date of Genghis Khan's birth. According to the Persian historian Rashid-ad-din - the date of birth is 1155, modern Mongolian historians adhere to the date - 1162. He was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River (near Lake Baikal) in the family of one of the Mongol leaders of the Taichiut tribe Yesugei-bagatura ("bagatur" - a hero) from the Borjigin clan, and his wife Hoelun from the Onhirat tribe. It was named after the Tatar leader Temuchin, whom Yesugei defeated on the eve of the birth of his son. At the age of 9, Yesugei-Bagatur married a son to a 10-year-old girl from the Hungirat clan. Leaving his son in the bride's family until he comes of age, to get to know each other better, he went home. On the way back, Yesugei lingered at the Tatars' camp, where he was poisoned. When he returned to his native ulus, he felt bad, and a few days later he died.

The elders of the Mongol tribes refused to obey the too young and inexperienced Temuchin and went with their tribes to another patron. So young Temuchin remained surrounded by only a few representatives of his family: mother, younger brothers and sisters. All their remaining property included only eight horses and a generic "bunchuk" - a white banner depicting a bird of prey - a gyrfalcon and with nine yak tails, symbolizing four large and five small yurts of his kind. For several years widows with children lived in complete poverty, wandered in the steppes, feeding on roots, game and fish. Even in the summer, the family lived from hand to mouth, making provisions for the winter.

The leader of the Taichiuts, Targultai (a distant relative of Temuchin), who declared himself the ruler of the lands once occupied by Yesugei, fearing revenge from a growing rival, began to pursue Temuchin. Once an armed detachment attacked the camp of the Yesugei family. Temuchin managed to escape, but he was overtaken and taken prisoner. A block was put on it - two wooden boards with a hole for the neck, which were pulled together. The block was a painful punishment: a person himself had no opportunity to eat or drink, or even drive away a fly that landed on his face. He found a way to escape and hide in a small lake, plunging into the water with the block and sticking out only his nostrils from the water. The Taichiuts searched for him in this place, but could not find him; but he was noticed by one of the Selduz, who was among them, and decided to save him. He pulled young Temuchin out of the water, freed him from the block and took him to his dwelling, where he hid him in a wagon with wool. After the Taichiuts left, the Selduz put Temuchin on a mare, supplied him with weapons and sent him home.

After a while Temuchin found his family. The Borjigins immediately migrated to another place, and the Taichiuts could no longer find them. Then Temuchin married his betrothed Borte. Borte's dowry was a luxurious sable fur coat. Temuchin soon went to the most powerful of the then steppe leaders - Togoril, the Khan of the Kerait. Togoril was once a friend of Temuchin's father, and he managed to enlist the support of the leader of the Kerait, recalling this friendship and presenting a luxurious gift - Borte's sable fur coat.

The beginning of the conquests

With the help of Khan Togoril, Temuchin's forces began to grow gradually. Nukers began to flock to him; he raided his neighbors, multiplying his holdings and herds.

The first serious opponents of Temuchin were the Merkits, who acted in alliance with the Taichiuts. In the absence of Temuchin, they attacked the Borjigin camp and captured Borte and Yesugei's second wife, Sochihel. Temuchin, with the help of Khan Togoril and the Kerait, as well as his Anda (named brother) Jamukha, from the Jajirat clan, defeated the Merkits. At the same time, while trying to drive away the herd from Temuchin's possessions, Jamukha's brother was killed. Under the pretext of revenge, Jamukha marched with his army against Temuchin. But not having achieved success in defeating the enemy, the leader of the Jajirat retreated.

The first large military enterprise of Temuchin was the war against the Tatars, started together with Togoril around 1200. The Tatars at that time with difficulty repulsed the attacks of the Jin troops that had entered their possession. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, Temuchin and Togoril inflicted a series of strong blows on the Tatars and seized rich booty. The Jin government conferred high titles on the steppe leaders as a reward for the defeat of the Tatars. Temuchin received the title "jautkhuri" (military commissar), and Togoril - "van" (prince), from that time he became known as Wang Khan. In 1202 Temuchin independently opposed the Tatars. Before this campaign, he made an attempt to reorganize and discipline the army - he issued an order according to which it was strictly forbidden to seize prey during the battle and pursuit of the enemy: the commanders had to divide the captured property between the soldiers only at the end of the battle.

Temuchin's victories caused the rallying of the forces of his opponents. A whole coalition was formed, including Tatars, Taichiuts, Merkits, Oirats and other tribes, which elected Jamukha as their khan. In the spring of 1203, a battle took place, which ended in a complete defeat of Jamuqa's forces. This victory further strengthened the Temuchin ulus. In 1202-1203, the Kerait was headed by the son of Wang Khan Nilkh, who hated Temuchin because Wang Khan preferred him over his son and thought to transfer the Kerait throne to him bypassing Nilkha. In the fall of 1203, Wang Khan's troops were defeated. His ulus ceased to exist. Wang Khan himself died while trying to escape to the Naimans.

In 1204 Temuchin defeated the Naimans. Their ruler Tayan Khan died, and his son Kuchuluk fled to the territory of Semirechye to the country of the Karakitais (southwest of Lake Balkhash). His ally, the Merkit khan Tohto-beki, fled with him. There Kuchuluk managed to gather scattered detachments of Naimans and Kerait, enter into a disposition to the gurkhan and become a fairly significant political figure.

Reforms of the Great Khan

At the kurultai in 1206, Temuchin was proclaimed the great khan over all the tribes - Chinggis Khan. Mongolia was transformed: the scattered and warring Mongol nomadic tribes united into a single state.

At the same time, a new law was issued: Yasa. In it, the main place was occupied by articles about mutual assistance in the campaign and the prohibition of deceiving the person who trusted. Those who violated these regulations were executed, and the enemy of the Mongols, who remained loyal to their khan, was spared and accepted into their army. "Good" was considered loyalty and courage, and "evil" - cowardice and betrayal.

After Temuchin became the all-Mongolian sovereign, his policy reflected the interests of Noyonism even more vividly. The Noyons needed such internal and external measures that would help consolidate their dominance and increase their income. New wars of conquest, plundering of rich countries were supposed to expand the sphere of feudal exploitation and strengthen the class positions of the noyons.

The administrative system created under Genghis Khan was adapted to the implementation of these goals. He divided the entire population into tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens (ten thousand), thereby mixing tribes and clans and appointing commanders over them specially selected people from close associates and nukers. All adult and healthy men were considered warriors who ran their household in peacetime, and took up arms in wartime. Such an organization provided Genghis Khan with the opportunity to increase his armed forces to about 95 thousand soldiers.

Individual hundreds, thousands and tumens, together with the territory for nomadism, were given into the possession of this or that noyon. The Great Khan, considering himself the owner of all the land in the state, distributed the land and arats in the possession of the noyons, on the condition that they would regularly fulfill certain duties for this. The most important duty was military service. Each noyon was obliged, at the first request of the overlord, to put the required number of soldiers in the field. Noyon, in his lot, could exploit the labor of the arats, distributing his livestock to them for pasture or engaging them directly to work on his farm. Small noyons served large ones.

Under Genghis Khan, the enslavement of the arats was legalized, and the unauthorized transition from one dozen, hundreds, thousands or tumen to others was prohibited. This prohibition already meant the formal attachment of the arat to the land of the noyons - the death penalty threatened to migrate from the arat's possessions.

A specially formed armed detachment of personal bodyguards, the so-called keshik, enjoyed exclusive privileges and was intended mainly to fight against the khan's internal enemies. The Keshikten were selected from the Noyon youth and were under the personal command of the khan himself, being essentially the khan's guard. Initially, the detachment consisted of 150 keshikten. In addition, a special detachment was created, which was to always be in the vanguard and be the first to engage in battle with the enemy. It was named a squad of heroes.

Genghis Khan elevated the written law to a cult, he was supporters of a solid law and order. He created a network of communication lines in his empire, courier communications on a large scale for military and administrative purposes, organized intelligence, including economic.

Genghis Khan divided the country into two "wings". He put Boorcha at the head of the right wing, and Mukhali at the head of the left wing, two of his most loyal and experienced companions. The position and titles of senior and higher military leaders - centurions, thousand and temniks - he made hereditary in the family of those who, with their faithful service, helped him to seize the khan throne.

Conquest of Northern China

In 1207-1211, the Mongols conquered the land of the Yakuts [source?], Kirghiz and Uighurs, that is, they subjugated almost all the main tribes and peoples of Siberia, imposing tribute on them. In 1209, Genghis Khan conquered Central Asia and turned his gaze to the south.

Before the conquest of China, Genghis Khan decided to secure the eastern border by capturing the Xi-Xia Tangut state in 1207, who had previously conquered Northern China from the Chinese Song dynasty and created their own state, which was located between his possessions and the Jin state. After capturing several fortified cities, in the summer of 1208, the "True Ruler" withdrew to Longjin, waiting out the unbearable heat that fell that year. Meanwhile, news reaches him that his old enemies Tokhta-beki and Kuchluk are preparing for a new war with him. Preventing their invasion and carefully preparing, Genghis Khan defeated them utterly in a battle on the banks of the Irtysh. Tokhta-beki was among the dead, and Kuchluk fled and found shelter with the Karakitais.

Satisfied with the victory, Temuchin again directed his troops against Xi-Xia. After defeating the army of the Chinese Tatars, he seized the fortress and the passage in the Great Wall of China and in 1213 invaded directly into the Chinese Empire itself, the Jin state and marched as far as Nianxi in the Hanshu province. With growing tenacity, Genghis Khan led his troops, paved the way with corpses, deep into the continent and established his rule even over the province of Liaodong, the central one in the empire. Several Chinese commanders, seeing that the Mongol conqueror was gaining invariable victories, fled to his side. The garrisons surrendered without a fight.

Having established his position along the entire Great Wall of China, in the fall of 1213 Temuchin sent three armies to different ends of the Chinese Empire. One of them, under the command of the three sons of Genghis Khan - Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedei, headed south. Another, led by the brothers and commanders of Temuchin, moved east to the sea. Genghis Khan himself and his younger son Tolui headed the main forces in a southeast direction. The first army advanced as far as Honan and, capturing twenty-eight cities, joined Genghis Khan on the Great Western Road. The army under the command of Temuchin's brothers and generals captured the Liao-si province, and Genghis Khan himself ended his triumphal campaign only after he reached the sea rocky promontory in Shandong province. But either fearing civil strife, or due to other reasons, he decides to return to Mongolia in the spring of 1214 and concludes peace with the Chinese emperor, leaving him Beijing. However, the leader of the Mongols did not have time to leave behind the Great Wall of China, as the Chinese emperor moved his court further away, to Kaifeng. This step was perceived by Temujin as a manifestation of hostility, and he again sent troops into the empire, now doomed to death. The war continued.

The Jurchen troops in China, replenished at the expense of the aborigines, fought with the Mongols until 1235 on their own initiative, but were defeated and exterminated by Genghis Khan's successor Ugedei.

Fight against the Kara-Khitan Khanate

Following China, Genghis Khan was preparing for a campaign in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. He was especially attracted by the flourishing cities of South Kazakhstan and Zhetysu. He decided to carry out his plan through the valley of the Ili River, where the rich cities were located and ruled by the old enemy of Genghis Khan, the Naiman Khan Kuchluk.

While Genghis Khan was conquering all the new cities and provinces of China, the fugitive Naiman Khan Kuchluk asked the gurkhan who gave him refuge to help collect the remnants of the army defeated at the Irtysh. Having obtained a rather strong army under his arm, Kuchluk concluded an alliance against his overlord with the Shah of Khorezm Muhammad, who had previously paid tribute to the Karakitai. After a short but decisive military campaign, the allies were left in a big win, and the gurkhan was forced to relinquish power in favor of an intruder. In 1213, the gurkhan Chzhilugu died, and the Naiman khan became the sovereign ruler of Semirechye. Sairam, Tashkent, and the northern part of Fergana came under his authority. Having become an implacable enemy of Khorezm, Kuchluk began persecuting Muslims in his possessions, which aroused the hatred of the sedentary population of Zhetysu. The ruler of Koilyk (in the valley of the Ili river) Arslan khan, and then the ruler of Almalyk (north-west of modern Kulja) Bu-zar departed from the Naimans and declared themselves subjects of Genghis Khan.

In 1218, Jebe's detachments, together with the troops of the rulers of Koilyk and Almalyk, invaded the lands of the Karakitai. The Mongols conquered Semirechye and East Turkestan, which Kuchluk possessed. In the first battle, Jebe defeated the Naimans. The Mongols allowed Muslims to worship in public, which was previously prohibited by the Naimans, which contributed to the transition of the entire sedentary population to the side of the Mongols. Kuchluk, unable to organize resistance, fled to Afghanistan, where he was caught and killed. The inhabitants of Balasagun opened the gates to the Mongols, for which the city was named Gobalyk  “a good city”. The road to Khorezm was opened before Genghis Khan.

Conquest of Central Asia

After the conquest of China and Khorezm, the supreme ruler of the Mongol clan leaders, Genghis Khan, sent a strong cavalry corps under the command of Jebe and Subedei to reconnoitre the "western lands". They passed along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea, then, after the devastation of Northern Iran, penetrated into Transcaucasia, defeated the Georgian army (1222) and, moving north along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, met in the North Caucasus a united army of Polovtsians, Lezgins, Circassians and Alans. There was a battle that did not have decisive consequences. Then the conquerors split the ranks of the enemy. They presented the Polovtsians and promised not to touch them. The latter began to disperse to their nomadic camps. Taking advantage of this, the Mongols easily defeated the Alans, Lezgins and Circassians, and then defeated the Polovtsians in parts. At the beginning of 1223, the Mongols invaded the Crimea, took the city of Surozh (Sudak) and again moved to the Polovtsian steppes.

The Polovtsi fled to Russia. Leaving the Mongol army, Khan Kotyan, through his ambassadors, asked not to deny him the help of his son-in-law Mstislav the Bold, as well as Mstislav III Romanovich, the ruling Grand Duke of Kiev. At the beginning of 1223, a grand princely congress was convened in Kiev, where an agreement was reached that the armed forces of the princes of Kiev, Galicia, Chernigov, Seversky, Smolensk and Volyn principalities, having united, should support the Polovtsy. The Dnieper, near the island of Khortytsya, was designated as the assembly place for the Russian united army. Here, envoys from the Mongol camp were met, offering the Russian commanders to break the alliance with the Cumans and return to Russia. Considering the experience of the Polovtsy (who in 1222 agreed to persuade the Mongols to break their alliance with the Alans, after which Jebe defeated the Alans and attacked the Polovtsians), Mstislav executed the envoys. In the battle on the Kalka River, the troops of Daniel Galitsky, Mstislav Udaliy and Khan Kotyan, without notifying the rest of the princes, decided to independently "deal" with the Mongols, crossed to the eastern bank, where on May 31, 1223 they were completely defeated while passively contemplating this bloody battle on the part of the main Russian forces led by Mstislav III, located on the elevated opposite bank of the Kalka.

Mstislav III, fenced off with a tynom, held the defense for three days after the battle, and then went to an agreement with Jebe and Subedai to lay down arms and freely retreat to Russia, as not participating in the battle. However, he, his army and the princes who trusted him were treacherously captured by the Mongols and cruelly tortured as "traitors to their own army."

After the victory, the Mongols organized the pursuit of the remnants of the Russian army (only every tenth warrior returned from the Azov region) destroying towns and villages in the Dnieper direction, capturing civilians. However, the disciplined Mongol commanders did not have an order to stay in Russia. Soon they were recalled by Genghis Khan, who considered that the main task of the reconnaissance campaign to the west had been successfully accomplished. On the way back at the mouth of the Kama, the troops of Jebe and Subedei suffered a serious defeat from the Volga Bulgars, who refused to recognize the power of Genghis Khan over themselves. After this failure, the Mongols descended down to Saksin and, by the Caspian steppes, returned to Asia, where in 1225 they united with the main forces of the Mongol army.

The Mongol troops who remained in China enjoyed the same success as the armies in Western Asia. The Mongol Empire was expanded to include several newly conquered provinces north of the Yellow River, with the exception of one or two cities. After the death of Emperor Xuyin Tsung in 1223, the Northern Chinese Empire practically ceased to exist, and the borders of the Mongol Empire almost coincided with the borders of Central and Southern China, which was ruled by the imperial Song dynasty.

Death of Genghis Khan

Upon his return from Central Asia, Genghis Khan once again led his army through Western China. In 1225 or early 1226, Genghis undertook a campaign against the Tangut country. During this campaign, astrologers informed the leader of the Mongols that the five planets were in unfavorable correspondence. The superstitious Mongol considered himself in danger. Under the power of foreboding, the formidable conqueror went home, but on the way he fell ill and died on August 25, 1227.

Before his death, he wished that the king of the Tanguts would be executed immediately after the capture of the city, and the city itself would be destroyed to the ground. Different sources give different versions of his death: from an arrow wound in battle; from prolonged illness after falling from a horse; from a lightning strike; by the hand of a captive princess on their wedding night.

At the dying wish of Genghis Khan, his body was taken home and interred in the Burkan Kaldun area. According to the official version of the "Secret Legend", on the way to the Tangut state, he fell from his horse and was badly hurt while hunting wild horses, kulans and fell ill: Years of Dogs (1226) set out on a campaign against Tangutov. From the khansh, Yesui-khatun followed the sovereign. On the way, during a round-up of wild horses-kulans, which are found there in great numbers, Genghis Khan sat astride a brown-gray horse. On a raid of kulans, his brown-gray climbed up in order, and the sovereign fell and was badly hurt. Therefore, we made a stop in the Tsoorkhat tract. The night passed, and the next morning Yesui-Khatun told the princes and noyons: “The sovereign had a strong fever at night. It is necessary to discuss the situation. "The" Secret Legend "says that" Genghis Khan, after the final defeat of the Tanguts, returned and ascended to heaven in the year of the Pig "(1227). ...

According to the will, Genghis Khan was succeeded by his third son Ogedei. Until the capital of Xi-Xia Zhongxing was taken, the death of the great ruler was to be kept secret. The funeral procession moved from the camp of the Great Horde to the north, to the Onon River. The Secret Legend and the Golden Chronicle report that on the route of the caravan with Genghis Khan's body to the burial place, all living things were killed: people, animals, birds. In the annals it is written: "They killed every living creature that they saw, so that the news of his death would not spread to the surrounding places. In four of his main hordes they mourned and he was buried in the area that he once deigned to designate as a great reserve." ... His wives carried his body through his native encampment, and in the end he was buried in a rich tomb in the Onona Valley. During the burial, mystical rites were carried out, which were designed to protect the place where Genghis Khan was buried. The place of his burial has not yet been found. After the death of Genghis Khan, mourning lasted for two years.

According to legend, Genghis Khan was buried in a deep tomb, sitting on a golden throne, in the family cemetery "Ikh Khorig" near Mount Burkhan Khaldun, at the head of the Urgun River. He sat on the golden throne of Muhammad, brought by him from the captured Samarkand. To prevent the grave from being found and desecrated in subsequent times, after the burial of the Great Khan, a herd of horses was driven several times across the steppe, destroying all traces of the grave. According to another version, the tomb was built in the river bed, for which the river was temporarily closed, and the water was directed along a different channel. After the burial, the dam was destroyed, and the water returned to its natural course, forever hiding the burial place. Everyone who participated in the burial and could remember this place was subsequently killed, those who carried out this order were subsequently killed too. Thus, the secret of Genghis Khan's burial remains unsolved until now.

Until now, attempts to find the grave of Genghis Khan have been unsuccessful. The geographical names of the times of the Mongol Empire have completely changed over many centuries, and today no one can say with accuracy where Mount Burkhan Khaldun is. According to the version of academician G. Miller, based on the stories of the Siberian "mungols", Mount Burkhan-Khaldun in translation can mean "God's mountain", "The mountain where the deities are placed", "The mountain - God scorches or God penetrates everywhere" - "sacred mountain Chinggis and his ancestors, the mountain-deliverer, to which Chinggis, in memory of his salvation in the forests of this mountain from fierce enemies, bequeathed to sacrifice forever, was in the places of the original nomadic camps of Chinggis and his ancestors along the Onon River. "

RESULTS OF THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINGISKHAN

During the conquest of the Naimans, Genghis Khan got acquainted with the beginnings of written clerical work, some of the Naimans entered the service of Genghis Khan and were the first officials in the Mongol state and the first teachers of the Mongols. Apparently, Genghis Khan hoped to subsequently replace the Naimans with ethnic Mongols, since he ordered the noble Mongolian youths, including his sons, to learn the language and writing of the Naimans. After the spread of Mongol rule, even during the life of Genghis Khan, the Mongols also used the services of Chinese and Persian officials.

In the field of foreign policy, Genghis Khan strove to maximize the limits of the territory under his control. The strategy and tactics of Genghis Khan were characterized by careful reconnaissance, suddenness of the attack, the desire to dismember the enemy's forces, the arrangement of ambushes using special detachments to lure the enemy, the maneuvering of large masses of cavalry, etc.

The ruler of the Mongols created the greatest empire in history, which in the 13th century conquered the vast expanses of Eurasia from the Sea of ​​Japan to the Black Sea. He and his descendants swept away the great and ancient states: the state of the Khorezmshahs, the Chinese Empire, the Baghdad Caliphate, conquered most of the Russian principalities. Vast territories were placed under the control of the Yasa steppe law.

The old Mongolian code of laws "Jasak", introduced by Genghis Khan, reads: "Genghis Khan's Yasa prohibits lying, theft, adultery, prescribes to love one's neighbor as oneself, not to inflict insults, and to forget them completely, to spare the countries and cities that voluntarily submitted, to liberate from everyone tax and respect the temples dedicated to God, as well as his servants. " The importance of "Jasak" for the formation of statehood in the empire of Genghis Khan is noted by all historians. The introduction of a code of military and civil laws made it possible to establish a solid law and order on the vast territory of the Mongol Empire, non-observance of its laws was punishable by death. Yasa prescribed tolerance in matters of religion, respect for temples and clergy, forbade quarrels among the Mongols, disobedience of children to parents, stealing horses, regulated military duty, rules of conduct in battle, distribution of war booty, etc.
"Immediately kill whoever stepped on the threshold of the governor's rate."
"Anyone who urinates in water or ashes is put to death."
"The prohibition to wash the dress while wearing it, until it is completely worn out."
"Let no one leave his thousand, hundreds or ten. Otherwise, he himself and the chief of the unit who received him will be executed."
"Respect all confessions, giving preference to none."
Genghis Khan declared shamanism, Christianity and Islam as the official religions of his empire.

Unlike other conquerors for hundreds of years before the Mongols ruled over Eurasia, only Genghis Khan managed to organize a stable state system and make Asia appear before Europe not just an unexplored steppe and mountainous space, but a consolidated civilization. It was within its borders that the Turkic revival of the Islamic world began, which with its second onslaught (after the Arabs) almost finished off Europe.

In 1220, Genghis Khan founded Karakorum, the capital of the Mongol Empire.

The Mongols revere Genghis Khan as the greatest hero and reformer, almost as the embodiment of a deity. In European (including Russian) memory, he remained something like a pre-thunderous crimson cloud that appears before a terrible, all cleansing storm.

DESCENDANTS OF CHINGISKHAN

Temujin and his beloved wife Borte had four sons:

• a son Jochi
• a son Chagatai
• a son Ogedei
• a son Tolu th.

Only they and their descendants could claim the highest power in the state. Temujin and Borte also had daughters:

• daughter Hojin bags, wife of Butu-gurgen from the Ikirez clan;
• daughter Tsetseiheng (Chichigan), wife of Inalchi, the youngest son of the head of the Oirats, Khudukh-beki;
• daughter Alangaa (Alagai, Alakha), who married the Noyon of the Onguts Buyanbald (in 1219, when Genghis Khan went to war with Khorezm, he entrusted her with state affairs in his absence, therefore she is also called Tөr sagch gunzh (ruler-princess);
• daughter Temulen, wife of Shiku-gurgen, son of Alchi-noyon from the Khongirads, the tribe of her mother Borte;
• daughter Alduun (Altalun), who married Zavtar-setsen, noyon khongiradov.

Temuzhin and his second wife, Merkitka Khulan-Khatun, the daughter of Dair-usun, had sons

• a son Kulkhan (Khulugen, Kulkan)
• a son Kharachar;

From the Tatar woman Yesugen (Yesukat), daughter of Charu-noyon

• a son Chakhur (Jaur)
• a son Kharhad.

The sons of Genghis Khan continued the work of the Golden Dynasty and ruled the Mongols, as well as the conquered lands, based on the Great Yasa of Genghis Khan until the 20s of the XX century. Even the Manchu emperors, who ruled Mongolia and China from the 16th to the 19th centuries, were descendants of Genghis Khan, since for their legitimacy they married Mongol princesses from the golden family dynasty of Genghis Khan. The first Prime Minister of Mongolia of the 20th century, Chin Van Handdorj (1911-1919), as well as the rulers of Inner Mongolia (until 1954) were the direct descendants of Genghis Khan.

The family vault of Genghis Khan was maintained until the 20th century; in 1918, the religious head of Mongolia, Bogdo-gegen, issued an order to preserve the Urgiin bichig (family list) of Mongolian princes, called shastir. This shastir is kept in the museum and is called "Shastir of the state of Mongolia" (Mongol Ulsyn shastir). Many direct descendants of Genghis Khan from his golden surname still live in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.

ADDITIONAL LITERATURE

B.Ya. Vladimirtsov Genghis Khan. Publishing house ZI Grzhebin. Berlin. Petersburg. Moscow. 1922 Cultural and historical sketch of the Mongol Empire of the XII-XIV centuries. In two parts with attachments and illustrations. 180 pages. Russian language.

Mongol Empire and the nomadic world. Bazarov B.V., Kradin N.N. Skrynnikova T.D. Book 1. Ulan-Ude. 2004. Institute of Mongolian Studies, Buddhology and Tebetology SB RAS.

Mongol Empire and the nomadic world. Bazarov B.V., Kradin N.N. Skrynnikova T.D. Book 3. Ulan-Ude. 2008. Institute of Mongolian Studies, Buddhology and Tebetology SB RAS.

On the art of war and the conquests of the Mongols. Composition by Lieutenant Colonel of the General Staff M. Ivanin. St. Petersburg, Publisher: printed in a military printing house. Year of publication: 1846. Pages: 66. Language: Russian.

The secret legend of the Mongols. Translated from Mongolian. 1941.

His life is steeped in legends. As Zeus the Thunderer, he manifested himself in roar and destruction. The waves of his activity shook the continents for a long time, and the wild hordes of his nomads became a horror for entire countries. But he would not have been so powerful if he had not armed himself with the knowledge of ancient civilizations. Genghis Khan and his empire gladly accepted the military achievements of great cultures. Wherever the Mongols went, they very quickly dissolved in the local population, adopting the language and religion of the people they conquered. They were the locusts that forced civilized countries to unite. Genghis Khan emerged against the backdrop of relaxed states, creating from them the largest continental empire in the history of mankind. When these states were strengthened, the Mongol Power also disappeared, becoming a symbol of unbridled aggression.

Divine origin

At all times, the appearance of great people was overgrown with divine ancestors and heavenly signs. The annals of the conquered countries give different dates of Temujin's birth: 1155 and 1162, mentioning a blood clot that the baby clutched in his palm.

Mongolian literary monument "The Secret Legend", compiled in 1240, gives a detailed description of the ancestors of Genghis Khan, their families and matrimonial circumstances. For example, the name Temujin was given to the future khan of the universe in honor of the defeated Tatar leader Temujin-Uge. The boy was born from Yesugei-Bagatur from the Borjigin clan and the girl Hoelun from the Olkhonut clan. Yesugei himself, according to the "Legend", was poisoned by the Tatars when Temujin was 9 years old. His father managed to marry him to Borte, an 11-year-old girl from the Ungirat clan.

The death of his father triggered a chain of events that influenced the formation of Temujin. Neighboring clans drive the family away from their homes, pursue Yesugei's heir and try to kill him. Captured, he flees, splitting wooden blocks, hides in the lake, then escapes in a cart with wool, which was provided to him by the sons of some farm laborer. Subsequently, the people who helped him will be generously treated. The cruelty towards young Temujin was not unfounded. The overgrown Mongol tribes lacked pastures and were waiting for a leader who would unite them to conquer new lands.

The boy finds his relatives and marries Board. Trials hardened him and gave life meaning. Smart beyond his years, Temujin watches as his nation's human resource is spent on mutual extermination. He is already beginning to form his circle and befriend some tribal leaders against others.

Mongols against Tatars

The glory of a successful commander attracts the best warriors to him. His mercy towards the vanquished and severity towards violators of military discipline makes him the most famous military leader in Mongolia. Temujin knows how to select personnel. A hierarchy of power is being built in his ulus, which will then spread throughout his empire. He won the intraspecific struggle of the steppe people. According to the Chinese chronicles, the Tatars were a strong tribal union, whose raids disturbed not only the Mongol uluses, but also the Chinese civilization. The Jin dynasty finds a loyal ally in Temujin, who acquires not only high titles, but also the ability to intrigue.

In 1202, Temujin became so strong that he was able to stand alone against the Tatars, his old offenders and enemies. Contrary to the usual rule not to kill opponents who admitted defeat, he slaughters almost all Tatars, leaving only children shorter than a cart wheel alive. With daring and unexpected attacks, he defeats the former allies of Wang Khan and Jamukha, and then betrays the latter to bloodless death - his spine was broken. The backbone of the intra-Mongolian opposition was broken.

Formation of the Great Empire

In the spring of 1206, the kurultai of all Mongol leaders proclaimed Temujin as Genghis Khan, that is, the ruler of the endless steppe, like the sea. First of all, the new ruler destroys tribal differences, dividing his subjects into hundreds, thousands and tumens. It was a militarized state, in which every man was obliged, at the first call, to stand in the horse lava with weapons in his hands. The chiefs of the subdivisions were chosen not according to gentility, but according to their ability. Loyalty became the highest valor, so having a Mongolian friend was a great asset. Deception, cowardice and betrayal were punishable by death, and the enemy, devoted to his master to the end, was accepted into the army without any problems.

Building a socio-political pyramid of his power, Genghis Khan undoubtedly took an example from the state model of the Celestial Empire, where he probably had time to visit. He managed to impose a feudal hierarchy on his nomadic people, to secure simple nomadic peasants (arats) for certain lands and pastures, placing noyon chiefs over them. The Noyons exploited the peasants, but they themselves were responsible to a higher leader for the mobilization of a certain number of soldiers. The transition from one boss to another was prohibited on pain of death.

China is to blame for allowing the unification of the Mongols. Playing on the contradictions and secretly supporting the opponents of Temujin, the rulers could keep the steppe people in fragmentation for a long time. But the Chinese themselves were fragmented, and the Mongol Khan got good advisers who helped him build the state machine and showed the way to China. Having conquered the Siberian tribes, Genghis Khan concentrates his forces along the Great Wall of China. His sons - Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedei - lead the hordes that bite into the body of the Jin empire, the lord of the steppes himself with his youngest son Tolui became the head of the army that moved to the sea. The empire collapses like a house of cards, weakened by the weight of internal contradictions, leaving the emperor Beijing, but the next year the war continued with the remnants of the doomed empire.

Driving west

The blossoming cities of Semirechye, which lay to the west of China, tried to unite before the formidable conqueror headed by the Naiman Khan Kuchluk. Using religious and ethnic contradictions, the Mongols conquer Semirechye and East Turkestan in 1218, and approach the borders of Muslim Khorezm.

By the time of the Mongol conquest, the power of the Khorezmshahs had turned into a huge Central Asian power, crushing southern Afghanistan, eastern Iraq and Iran, Samarkand and Bukhara. The ruler of the Khorezmshah empire Ala ad-Din Mohamed II behaved extremely arrogantly, underestimating the strength and cunning of the Mongolian khan. He ordered to cut off the heads of the ambassadors of Genghis Khan, who had arrived for peaceful trade and friendship. The fate of Khorezm was decided. He stabbed the well-fortified cities of the Asian state like nuts, since he had Chinese engineers who knew a lot about siege business in his army.

Genghis Khan's commanders Chepe and Subadey pursue the remnants of the Khorezmshah army through Northern Iran, the South Caucasus, then through the North Caucasus, sweeping away the Alans, Polovtsians and Russians on their way. In the spring of 1223, the first clash of the princes of north-eastern Russia with hordes of nomads on the Kalka River took place. The Mongols used their usual tactics of fake flight and, having lured the combined forces of the Slavs and Polovtsians deep into their position, attacked from the flanks and utterly defeated the enemy. Unfortunately, our ancestors did not draw any conclusions from this defeat and did not unite before the formidable enemy. The days of civil strife and princely freedom were numbered. The yoke of the Golden Horde will crush the Slavic tribes for two hundred years in order to become cement for the future great Russia.

The world after Genghis Khan

The leader of the Mongols still continues to fight the remnants of the unconquered tribes of China, Siberia and Central Asia. During the hunt, Genghis Khan falls from his horse and is injured, which causes a strong fever and weakening of the whole body. In the spring of 1226, he led a campaign against the Tanguts in the Chinese province of Ningxia, defeats the Tangut army and dies under the walls of the city of Zhuxing.

The tomb of the Great Mogul has not been precisely established, which gives food for numerous conjectures and fantasies. Genghis Khan's successors failed to keep the huge empire under a single command. Very soon it breaks up into uluses, which are only formally subordinate to the ruler in Karakorum (the capital of the empire). Our ancestors encountered the Jochi ulus, whose son was the famous commander Batu. In 1266 this ulus became a separate state, which received the name "Golden Horde" in historiography.

Having conquered many lands from Hungary to Vietnam, the Mongols were not at all going to impose their culture, customs and religion on the unfortunate peoples. Having caused terrible material destruction, this "locust" subsided or disappeared into the local population. There are many descendants of the Mongolian "Bagaturs" and even the Chingizids among the Russian nobles. The famous revolutionary Georgy Valentinovich Plekhanov was a descendant of "the ruler of the endless steppes." In China, the Mongol dynasty ruled under the name Yuan from 1271 to 1368.

Temujin, the unifier of numerous Mongol tribes, who organized campaigns of conquest in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, the conqueror of China, and, of course, the founder of the Mongol empire, which became the largest continental empire in the history of mankind, is known all over the world under the legendary name of Genghis Khan. Let's take a closer look at the history of this successful commander and conqueror.

Temujin's birth and adolescence

On the banks of the Onon River, in northeastern Mongolia, is the Delyun-Boldok Valley. Here, in the family of Yesugei-Bagatur, who at that time was the leader of a significant part of the Mongol tribes, was born Temujin, the future founder of the Mongol empire. The name Temujin was given to the boy, according to Mongol tradition, in honor of the Tatar leader defeated by his father the day before. Modern historians disagree about the year of birth. Based on several sources, the date is dated from 1155 to 1167. At the age of 9, he had a bride named Borte, an 11-year-old girl from the Ungirat tribe. At the same time, Esugei-Bagatur's father suddenly died, possibly becoming a victim of Tatar poisoning. The leader of the hostile Taichiut clan immediately drove away Yesugei's family and took away all the cattle that belonged to them. For several years, Yesugei's two wives, Temujin and his brothers Temuge, Khasar and Hachiun, were forced to roam the steppe. Targutai-Kiriltukh, the leader of the Taiyuts, who drove away Temujin's family, fearing future revenge, attacked the camp where he lived. Temujin was captured, but soon escaped and was reunited with his family.

Formation of the future Genghis Khan

Tooril Khan, the former anda (brother) of Yesugei Khan, supported the young Temujin during his formative years. In 1184, with his help, Temujin fought his first battle, defeating the Taichiuts, who were acting in alliance with the Merkit tribe. Thus, he avenged the humiliation of his family, and returned his wife Borte. Jamukha, his noble peer from the Jajirat tribe, became his brother at that time.

At this time, Temujin proceeds to organize his horde, or the so-called ulus. By 1186, the state formation was finally formed. Once again joining military efforts with Tooril Khan, Temujin undertook a campaign against the Tatars. In this war, the troops of the Chinese Jin Dynasty become another ally. In 1196, the combined troops of the Mongols and the Chinese defeated the Tatars, capturing multiple trophies. The Chinese government awards Tooril Khan with the title "Wang" (prince), and since then he is known as Wang Khan.

Between 1200 and 1205, Temujin entered into an inevitable confrontation with Wang Khan and Jamukha, who were his most powerful rivals in the struggle for dominance over the Mongol tribes. A series of battles, in which certain tribes went over to the side of Temujin, then to the side of his rivals, finally ended in 1205 with the defeat and death of Jamuqa.

State transformations

Finally, after all the vicissitudes of the internal struggle, in the spring of 1206, another kurultai (inter-tribal meeting) took place. There Temujin was recognized as the great khan of all tribes, with the assignment of the name Chingiz, which means "the ruler of the vast, like the sea." Anticipating major military action, Genghis Khan immediately began a series of reforms designed to strengthen the state and its central authority in it.

Was created the so-called "Yasa", a set of laws that governed all spheres of life in the country. The population was divided into groups according to a quantitative criterion (tens, hundreds and thousands), thus, the previously existing tribal division has lost its force. Tumen (ten thousand people), together with the territory of their nomads, were headed by a “noyon”, a civil ruler, comparable in title to a prince, who was personally appointed by the great khan. At the request of the great khan, the noyon was obliged to send a certain number of troops to participate in military enterprises.

The entire male population was obliged to work in the economic sphere, and in wartime - to serve in the army. The number of the armed forces was about 90 thousand people. Also created "keshik" - personal security troops of the great khan.

"Arats", sedentary peasants, who made up the majority of the population, were assigned to a certain area of ​​residence, which was forbidden to leave. This facilitated the registration of the population, as well as its collection in the event of the outbreak of hostilities.

Conquest of China

The next step of Genghis Khan was the conquest of the Chinese empire. The Jin Dynasty has long been a threat to the territorial expansion of the Mongols in Asia. Yongji, the new emperor of Jinei, had previously traveled to the Mongols as an ambassador, and did not impress Genghis Khan with his personal qualities. This gave him a good reason not to swear allegiance to Yongji as a vassal.

In 1213, Genghis Khan's troops invaded the territory of the Jin State, capturing one of the fortresses on the Great Wall of China. The Chinese troops were unable to withstand the well-trained Mongol army, as a result of which, by the fall, Genghis Khan controlled Liaodong, the central province of the empire. Thereafter, the three armies moved to different parts of the Jin State, completing the conquest by the spring of 1214. By this time, Genghis Khan had made peace with the Chinese emperor, under whose rule only Beijing remained with small adjacent territories. Genghis Khan went to Mongolia, where he learned that the emperor had moved the capital from Beijing to another city, more remote from Mongolian territories. This step was used by Genghis Khan to further deploy hostilities, which continued even after his death.

Genghis Khan and Semirechye Khanates - a campaign to Asia

The logical step after the conquest of the Jin Empire was the expansion to the Semirechye, Central Asia. The implementation of the conquest began from the valley of the Ili River. There were many rich cities in it, which were ruled by Kuchluk, the khan of the Naiman tribe.

Kuchluk concentrated power over such cities of Semirechye as Tashkent, Sairam, Fergana in his hands. In an effort to strengthen his rule, Kuchluk also became an opponent of the Shah of Khorezm. Such a policy could not but provoke resistance from the rest of the cities of Central Asia. Bu-Zar, the ruler of Almalyk and Arslan khan, the ruler of the city of Koilyk, broke with the Naimans and recognized themselves as vassals of Genghis Khan.

It was common for the Great Khan, like other rulers, with unlimited power, to allow themselves some liberties. A classic example is the ascent of Jebe, one of the best commanders of Genghis Khan. Jebe was an archer in the Taijiut tribe, which Genghis Khan defeated in the Koiten tract in 1201. In this battle, an arrow wounded the great khan. During interrogation, one of the archers admitted that it was he who shot that very arrow. Impressed by his courage, Genghis Khan made him a foreman in his army.

Having received such valuable allies, Genghis Khan began an invasion of Semirechye in 1218. Jebe, one of the best generals of Genghis Khan, united his troops with the forces of Bu-Zar and Arslan Khan. All Semirechye and eastern Turkestan were conquered very quickly. The first battle with the Naimans ended with Jebe's victory, and Kuchluk, hated by Genghis Khan, was forced to flee to Afghanistan, where he was soon killed.

In the fall of 1219, the war with Khorezm began. Samarkand was taken in the spring of 1220, and most of the Khorezmshah state was conquered by the spring of 1231. Thus, huge territories were added to the empire of Genghis Khan, from the Caspian Sea to the Indus.

Further westward expansion

The final stage of Genghis Khan's conquests was his campaign aimed at conquering Eastern Europe and the Caucasian states. The formal reason for starting the campaign was the persecution of the Khorezmshah Muhammad, the former ruler of the newly conquered Khorezm. In pursuit of him, Genghis Khan's commanders Jebe, Subedei and Tohuchar passed through the whole of northern Iran. At the same time, such large cities as Nishapur, Merv, Amul and Rey were brought to submission. At about this time (about December 1220), the news came about the death of the Khorezmshah Muhammad, who died of pneumonia. However, a pretext was no longer required for further conquest. Genghis Khan's army was at the peak of its military power, and the noyons continued their march to the west. Penetrating through Derbent to the northern Caucasus, the Mongols faced the combined resistance of the Polovtsy, Alans and Lezghins. Having introduced a split in the enemy's camp with the help of cunning, the Mongols defeated the troops opposing them piece by piece.

A feature of Genghis Khan's reign was tolerance to the religious beliefs of the conquered peoples. Churches and monasteries were exempted from taxes, which became a very profitable political step.

After the capture of Surozh in the Crimea, Genghis Khan sent the troops of Jebe and Subedei to eastern Europe. The princely congress in Kiev, which took place at the beginning of 1223, decided to unite the forces of the Kiev, Volyn, Chernigov and Galicia principalities with the Polovtsian troops for a unified rebuff to the Mongols. As a result, the famous battle on Kalka took place on May 31st. Due to poor coordination of actions between different principalities, the Mongolian troops managed to defeat the combined Russian-Polovtsian forces. The consequence of this was a serious weakening of the Russian principalities.

The further spread of Mongol influence to the west was stopped in the region of the Samarskaya Luka. In 1223 or 1224, the troops of Jebe and Subedey were defeated by the Volga Bulgars.

Death of the great khan

After completing the campaign to Central Asia, Genghis Khan led a nomadic journey to the borders of the conquered Jin kingdom. There, in the fall of 1225, he fell off his horse while hunting, receiving severe bruises. The disease continued until the spring of 1226, when he recovered so much that he was able to lead a campaign against Xi-Xia, the state of the Tangut tribe. The enemy and his allied tribes were defeated, and the civilian population was plundered by the troops. The offensive continued in December, when the Mongols crossed the Yellow River, breaking through to the eastern part of Xi-Xia. Near Lingzhou, the Mongols defeated a hundred-thousand-strong Tangut army, thus clearing the way to Zhongxing, the capital of Xi-Xia. In the spring of 1227, the siege of Zhongxing ended, marking the destruction of the Xi-Xia state. About these days, Genghis Khan died. There is no single version among historians about the reasons for the death of the great khan. According to the Yuan-shih, the official history of China, Genghis Khan died while receiving surrender and gifts from the Tangut ruler, having ordered his execution beforehand. The Arab historian Rashid ad-din writes that Genghis Khan died before the surrender of the capital of the Tanguts. It is only known for certain that the great khan died in the summer of 1227 in the Zhongxing region.

Tomb of Genghis Khan

The place where Genghis Khan is buried is one of the many historical mysteries. The location of the grave was kept in great secrecy, thanks to the destruction of the slaves who carried out the burial, as well as the subsequent execution of the soldiers who gave these slaves to the sword. Rashid ad-Din and Marco Polo say that the funeral procession of Genghis Khan destroyed all the witnesses he met by chance. Thanks to these measures, the grave of Genghis Khan most likely was not plundered, and may have survived to this day. According to the Mongolian tradition, which is reported by the same Marco Polo, “all the great sovereigns, the descendants of Genghis Khan ... are buried in the great mountain Altai; and wherever the great sovereign of the Tatars dies, at least a hundred days' journey from that mountain, they bring him there to be buried. " Now this mountain is known as the Big Khingan. However, it is safe to say that the tomb of Genghis Khan is still awaiting its archaeologist.

Empire of Genghis Khan

Summarizing the results of Genghis Khan's state activities, the following facts can be cited. During the territorial expansion of the Mongols, such previously powerful states were erased from the map:

• Chinese Empire;
• Baghdad Caliphate;
• Khorezm kingdom;
• a large number of Russian principalities;
• Volga Bulgaria.

The territories of all these countries were annexed to the Mongol power and placed under the supremacy of "Yasa" - a collection of laws compiled by Genghis Khan. As a result, the territory of the Mongol Empire constituted the largest area among all continental states that have ever existed in the entire history of mankind. Effective military tactics, in particular, imitation of retreat, with luring the pursuing enemy into a prepared ambush, provided the Mongolian army with many victories over numerically superior opponents and ensured the stability of conquests for many years to come.

Genghisids descendants of the khan

Genghis Khan left a rich offspring from his two wives. The supreme power was inherited only by his children from Borte. First and most beloved wife. Borte's four sons inherited their father's vast empire:

• Jochi;
• Ogedei;
• Tolui;
• Chagatai.

Borte also brought five daughters to Genghis Khan: Temulen, Alangaa, Khojin-bags, Tsetseikhen and Alduun.

Using the legal principles laid down in the Yasa, the descendants of Genghis Khan ruled his empire until the 20th century, when the revolution broke the thread of their reign. However, the direct descendants of Genghis Khan live both in Mongolia and in some parts of China.

What if? alternative history

In our time, the direction of alternative history is very popular, in the works of which options for possible changes in historical scenarios are played out. Indeed, one of these options can be imagined - if Genghis Khan were Russian, not Mongol. What would happen in that case? Based on the real actions of the Mongolian Genghis Khan, it is possible to present a single and very simple alternative scenario based on the principle of the greatest likelihood. If Genghis Khan had been born into the family of one of the many Kiev princes, then using the natural cunning of character, natural greed for power and craving for conquest, he would have done exactly the same thing that happened in Mongolia. Genghis Khan would simply unite the scattered principalities, acting mainly by force, but sometimes, perhaps using cunning or bribery. In the future, he would lead the created power along the traditional path of conquest for that time, the vector of which would depend on the current weakness of one or another neighboring state.

What Genghis Khan looked like

Naturally, the desire of scientists, and those simply interested in history, to imagine the appearance of such a legendary person as Genghis Khan. However, the portraits that have survived from that era suffer from stylization and monotony. Simply put, the portrait of any official or military leader from the army of Genghis Khan differs little from the portrait of the greatest khan himself. The same characteristic Mongoloid facial features, a beard mustache, in a word, the classic features of a male warrior of that era.

According to the description from the "Secret Legend of the Mongols", the following features can be cited: a traditional long beard, a strong military physique, a wide forehead, and high growth. That's all that can be fairly reliably said about the appearance of the great khan.

As for the personal characteristics of Genghis Khan, The Secret Legend of the Mongols mentions self-control, the will to conquer, and organizational skills. In fact, creating a power from scratch, Genghis Khan was deprived of the basis of state institutions that simply did not exist before, he had to act based on his own natural talent of the ruler.