Genghis Khan- Great Khan and founder of the Mongol Empire during the 13th century (from 1206 to 1227). This man was not just a khan; among his talents there was also a military leader, a state administrator, and a fair commander.

Genghis Khan owns the organization of the largest state (empire) at all times!

History of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan's proper name is Temujin (Temujin). This man with a difficult but great destiny was born during the 1155 year to 1162 year - exact date unknown.

Temujin's fate was very difficult. He came from a noble Mongolian family, which wandered with its herds along the banks of the Onon River in the territory of modern Mongolia. When he was 9 years old, his father was killed during the steppe civil strife. Yesugei-bahadur.

Genghis Khan is a slave

The family, which lost its protector and almost all its livestock, had to flee from the nomads. With great difficulty she managed to endure the harsh winter in a wooded area. Troubles continued to haunt the little Mongol - new enemies from the tribe taijiut attacked an orphaned family and captured the boy as a slave.

However, he showed strength of character, hardened by the adversities of childhood. Having broken the collar, he escaped and returned to his native tribe, which could not protect his family several years ago.

The teenager became a zealous warrior: few of his relatives could so deftly control a steppe horse and shoot accurately with a bow, throw a lasso at full gallop and cut with a saber.

Revenge for the family

Temujin quite soon managed to take revenge on all the offenders of his family. He has not yet turned 20 years, how he began to unite the Mongol clans around himself, gathering a small detachment of warriors under his command.

This was very difficult - after all, the Mongol tribes constantly waged armed struggle among themselves, raiding neighboring nomadic camps in order to take possession of their herds and seize people into slavery.

A steppe tribe hostile to him Merkits once made a successful raid on his camp and kidnapped his wife Borte. This was a great insult to the dignity of the Mongol military leader. He redoubled his efforts to bring the nomadic clans under his rule, and just a year later he commanded an entire cavalry army.

With him, he inflicted complete defeat on a large tribe of Merkits, destroying most of them and capturing their herds, and freed his wife, who had suffered the fate of a captive.

Genghis Khan - aspiring commander

Genghis Khan had excellent command of war tactics in the steppe. He suddenly attacked neighboring nomadic tribes and invariably won. He offered the survivors right to choose: either become his ally or die.

First big battle

Leader Temujin fought his first big battle in 1193 near Germani in the Mongolian steppes. At the head 6 thousand warriors he broke 10 thousandth his father-in-law's army Ung Khan, who began to contradict his son-in-law.

The Khan's army was commanded by a military leader Sangguk, who, apparently, was very confident in the superiority of the tribal army entrusted to him and did not worry about either reconnaissance or military security. Genghis Khan took the enemy by surprise in a mountain gorge and inflicted heavy damage on him.

Receiving the title of "Genghis Khan"

TO 1206 Temujin emerged as the strongest ruler in the steppes north of the Great Wall of China. That year was notable in his life for the fact that kurultai(congress) of Mongol feudal lords, he was proclaimed “Great Khan” over all Mongol tribes with the title “ Genghis Khan"(from Turkic " Tengiz" - ocean, sea).

Genghis Khan demanded that the tribal leaders who recognized his supremacy maintain permanent military detachments to protect the lands of the Mongols with their nomads and for aggressive campaigns against their neighbors.

The former slave no longer had open enemies among the Mongol nomads, and he began to prepare for wars of conquest.

Army of Genghis Khan

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

The decimal system was also used to build command of the Mongol army: foreman, centurion, thousander, temnik. To the highest positions, temniks, Genghis Khan appointed his sons and representatives of the tribal nobility from among those military leaders who had proven to him their loyalty and experience in military affairs.

The Mongol army maintained the strictest discipline throughout the command hierarchical ladder; any violation was severely punished.

History of the conquests of Genghis Khan

First of all, the Great Khan decided to annex other nomadic peoples to his power. IN 1207 year 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 general Mongol army.

Then came the turn of the big one for those times Uyghur states in East Turkestan. IN 1209 year, Genghis Khan’s huge army invaded their territory and, capturing their cities and blooming oases one after another, won complete victory.

The destruction of settlements in the occupied territory, the total extermination of rebellious tribes and fortified cities that decided to defend themselves with weapons in their hands were a characteristic feature of the conquests of the great Mongol Khan.

The strategy of intimidation allowed him to successfully solve military problems and keep conquered peoples in obedience.

Conquest of Northern China

IN 1211 year, Genghis Khan's cavalry army attacked Northern China. The Great Wall of China - this is the most grandiose defensive structure in the history of mankind - did not become an obstacle to the conquerors. IN 1215 year the city was captured by cunning Beijing(Yanjing), which the Mongols subjected to a long siege.

In this campaign, Genghis Khan adopted Chinese engineering military equipment - various throwing machines And battering rams. Chinese engineers trained the Mongols to use them and deliver them to besieged cities and fortresses.

Trek to Central Asia

IN 1218 year, the Mongol army invaded Central Asia and captured Khorezm. This time, the great conqueror found a plausible excuse - several Mongol merchants were killed in the border city of Khorezm, and therefore this country should be punished.

Shah Mohammed at the head of a large army ( up to 200 thousand Human) came out to meet Genghis Khan. U Karaku A big battle took place, characterized by such tenacity that by evening there was no winner on the battlefield.

The next day, Muhammad refused to continue the battle due to heavy losses, which amounted to almost half the army he had assembled. Genghis Khan, for his part, also suffered heavy losses and retreated, but this was his military stratagem.

The conquest of the huge Central Asian state of Khorezm continued until 1221. During this time they were conquered by Genghis Khan the following cities: Otrar (the territory of modern Uzbekistan), Bukhara, Samarkand, Khojent (modern Tajikistan), Merv, Urgench and many others.

Conquest of north-west India

IN 1221 year after the fall of Khorezm and the conquest of Central Asia, Genghis Khan made a campaign in North West India, capturing this large territory. However, Genghis Khan did not go further to the south of Hindustan: he was constantly attracted by unknown countries at sunset.

He, as usual, thoroughly worked out the route of the new campaign and sent his best commanders far to the west Jebe And Subedea at the head of their tumens and auxiliary troops of the conquered peoples. Their path lay through Iran, Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus. So the Mongols found themselves on the southern approaches to Rus', in the Don steppes.

Offensive on Rus'

At that time, the Polovtsian Vezhi, who had long lost their military strength, were wandering in the Wild Field. The Mongols defeated the Polovtsians without much difficulty, and they fled to the borderlands of the Russian lands.

IN 1223 year, the commanders Jebe and Subedey were defeated in a battle on Kalka River a united army of several Russian princes and Polovtsian khans. After the victory, the vanguard of the Mongol army turned back.

The last campaign and death of Genghis Khan

IN 1226–1227 years, Genghis Khan made a campaign in the country of the Tanguts Xi-Xia. He entrusted one of his sons with continuing the conquest of China. The anti-Mongol uprisings that began in Northern China, which he conquered, caused Genghis Khan great concern.

The great commander died during his last campaign against the Tanguts August 25, 1227. The Mongols gave him a magnificent funeral and, having destroyed all the participants in these sad celebrations, managed to keep the location of Genghis Khan’s grave completely secret to this day.

Temujin
		Full height

Data
Kana:	テムジン
Reading:	テムジン
Romaji:	Temujin
Status:	Alive
Floor:	Male ♂
Team :	Knights of Haido
Father:	Unknown†
Mother:	Unknown†
First appearance
Debut:	Gekijōban Naruto Daigekitotsu! Maboroshi no Chiteiiseki Dattebayo
Voiced by:	Kai Gaamon Kato Yuko (child)

Temujin- the main protagonist of Gekijōban Naruto Daigekitotsu! Maboroshi no Chiteiiseki Dattebayo.

Personality

As a child, Temujin was a rather kind and friendly child. After the destruction of the village, Temujin becomes more serious and responsible. He is quite loyal to Haido, the man who saved his life. He was seduced by Haido's speeches about utopia and decided to become his faithful servant, not sparing his life. However, at the same time he became very cruel, willing to make any sacrifice for the sake of utopia, such as killing innocent people. Temujin is also a very curious person. He was impressed by the Shinobi Chakra and Uzumaki Naruto's abilities. He eventually becomes kind when he learns the truth.

Appearance

Temujin is presented as a fairly tall teenager with long blond hair. His eye color changes from red to green throughout the film. On his chest is an unusual symbol received from birth. After entering the service of Haido, he dons medieval knight armor with a cloak. His casual attire consists of a green cloak, gray pants, sandals, and a white shirt.

Temujin's changes

Past

Temujin came from a noble clan. His ability was to control the Gelel stone. One day, unknown enemies attack his village, burn it down and kill all the inhabitants. However, Temujin survives and is found by Haido. Haido tells the boy about the Gelel stone and invites him to join its ranks to create a utopia. Temujin agrees without hesitation and becomes Haido's faithful servant.

Action

Daigekitotsu! Maboroshi no Chiteiiseki Dattebayo

Temujin vs Naruto

Temujin and Naruto arrive on the shore where Gaara had previously fought with the knights. They climb into a crashed ship, in which they find broken balloons with dead children. Naruto wants to know the answer from Temujin, but he is restrained by Karasu, and Kankuro tells Naruto that Haido's followers broke into Suna. Suddenly, Ranke and Kamira appear, who are unhappy with Temujin for coming here. Haido and Temujin find a cave with Gelel.

LEGENDARY PEOPLE OF MONGOLIA

GENGISH KHAN
(1162-1227)

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

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

early years

The ancestor of all Mongols, according to the “Secret Legend,” 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 wealthy leader of all the Mongol tribes and successfully waged wars with neighboring tribes. Temujin'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 owner of the fertile valleys between the Kerulen and Onon rivers. Yesugei-baatur also successfully fought and fought, subjugating the Tatars and many neighboring tribes. From the contents of the “Secret Legend” it is clear that Genghis Khan’s father was the famous khan of the Mongols.

It is difficult to name the exact date of birth of Genghis Khan. According to the Persian historian Rashid ad-din, his date of birth was 1155, modern Mongolian historians adhere to the date - 1162. He was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River (in the area of ​​Lake Baikal) in the family of one of the Mongolian leaders of the Taichiut tribe Yesugei-bagatura (“bagatur” - hero) from the Borjigin clan, and his wife Hoelun from the Onhirat tribe. It was named in honor of the Tatar leader Temujin, whom Yesugei defeated on the eve of the birth of his son. At the age of 9, Yesugei-Bagatur betrothed his son to a 10-year-old girl from the Khungirat family. Leaving his son with the bride's family until he came of age, so that they could get to know each other better, he went home. On the way back, Yesugei stopped at a Tatar camp, where he was poisoned. When he returned to his native ulus, he became ill and died a few days later.

The elders of the Mongol tribes refused to obey the too young and inexperienced Temujin and left along with their tribes to another patron. So young Temujin remained surrounded by only a few representatives of his family: his mother, younger brothers and sisters. All their remaining property included only eight horses and the family “bunchuk” - a white banner with the image of a bird of prey - a gyrfalcon and with nine yak tails, symbolizing the four large and five small yurts of his family. For several years, widows and children lived in complete poverty, wandering in the steppes, eating 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 Temujin), who declared himself the ruler of the lands once occupied by Yesugei, fearing the revenge of his growing rival, began to pursue Temujin. One day, an armed detachment attacked the camp of the Yesugei family. Temujin managed to escape, but was overtaken and captured. They put a block on it - two wooden boards with a hole for the neck, which were pulled together. The block was a painful punishment: a person did not have the opportunity to eat, drink, or even drive away a fly that had landed on his face. He finally found a way to escape and hide in a small lake, plunging into the water with the block and sticking only his nostrils out of the water. The Taichiuts searched for him in this place, but could not find him; but one Selduz, who was among them, noticed him and decided to save him. He pulled young Temujin out of the water, freed him from the block and took him to his home, where he hid him in a cart with wool. After the Taichiuts left, the Selduz put Temujin on a mare, provided him with weapons and sent him home.

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

Beginning of conquest

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

Temujin's first serious opponents were the Merkits, who acted in alliance with the Taichiuts. In Temujin's absence, they attacked the Borjigin camp and took Borte and Yesugei's second wife, Sochikhel, captive. Temujin, with the help of Khan Togoril and the Keraits, as well as his anda (sworn brother) Jamukha from the Jajirat clan, defeated the Merkits. At the same time, while trying to drive away the herd from Temujin’s possessions, Jamukha’s brother was killed. Under the pretext of revenge, Jamukha and his army moved towards Temujin. But without achieving success in defeating the enemy, the leader of the Jajirat retreated.

Temujin's first major military enterprise was the war against the Tatars, launched jointly with Togoril around 1200. The Tatars at that time had difficulty repelling the attacks of the Jin troops that entered their possessions. Taking advantage of the favorable situation, Temujin and Togoril inflicted a number of strong blows on the Tatars and captured rich booty. The Jin government awarded high titles to the steppe leaders as a reward for the defeat of the Tatars. Temujin received the title "jauthuri" (military commissar), and Togoril - "van" (prince), from that time he became known as Van Khan. In 1202, Temujin 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 capture booty during the battle and pursuit of the enemy: the commanders had to divide the captured property between the soldiers only after the end of the battle.

Temujin's victories caused the consolidation of the forces of his opponents. A whole coalition took shape, including Tatars, Taichiuts, Merkits, Oirats and other tribes, which elected Jamukha as their khan. In the spring of 1203, a battle took place that ended in the complete defeat of the forces of Jamukha. This victory further strengthened the Temujin ulus. In 1202-1203, the Keraits were led by Van Khan's son Nilha, who hated Temujin because Van Khan gave preference to him over his son and thought to transfer the Kerait throne to him, bypassing Nilha. In the fall of 1203, Wang Khan's troops were defeated. His ulus ceased to exist. Van Khan himself died while trying to escape to the Naiman.

In 1204, Temujin defeated the Naimans. Their ruler Tayan Khan died, and his son Kuchuluk fled to the territory of Semirechye in the country of the Karakitai (southwest of Lake Balkhash). His ally, the Merkit khan Tokhto-beki, fled with him. There Kuchuluk managed to gather scattered detachments of Naimans and Keraits, gain favor with the Gurkhan and become quite a significant political figure.

Reforms of the Great Khan

At the kurultai in 1206, Temujin was proclaimed the great khan over all tribes - Genghis Khan. Mongolia has been transformed: the scattered and warring Mongolian nomadic tribes have 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 deception of those who trusted. Anyone who violated these regulations was executed, and the enemy of the Mongols, who remained loyal to his khan, was spared and accepted into his army. “Good” was considered loyalty and courage, and “evil” was cowardice and betrayal.

After Temujin became the all-Mongol ruler, his policies began to reflect the interests of the Noyon movement even more clearly. The Noyons needed internal and external activities that would help consolidate their dominance and increase their income. New wars of conquest and the robbery of rich countries were supposed to ensure the expansion of the sphere of feudal exploitation and the strengthening of the class positions of the noyons.

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

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

Under Genghis Khan, the enslavement of arats was legalized, and unauthorized movement from one dozen, hundreds, thousands or tumens to others was prohibited. This ban meant the formal attachment of the arats to the land of the noyons - for migrating from their possessions, the arats faced the death penalty.

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

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

Genghis Khan divided the country into two “wings”. He placed Boorcha at the head of the right wing, and Mukhali, his two most faithful and experienced associates, at the head of the left. He made the positions and ranks of senior and highest military leaders - centurions, thousanders and temniks - hereditary in the family of those who, with their faithful service, helped him seize the khan's throne.

Conquest of Northern China

In 1207-1211, the Mongols conquered the land of the Yakuts [source?], Kyrgyz and Uyghurs, 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 in 1207 the Tangut state of Xi-Xia, who had previously conquered Northern China from the dynasty of the Chinese Song emperors and created their own state, which was located between his possessions and the Jin state. Having captured several fortified cities, in the summer of 1208 the “True Ruler” retreated 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. Anticipating their invasion and having carefully prepared, Genghis Khan defeated them completely in a battle on the banks of the Irtysh. Tokhta-beki was among the dead, and Kuchluk escaped and found shelter with the Karakitai.

Satisfied with the victory, Temujin again sends his troops against Xi-Xia. After defeating an army of Chinese Tatars, he captured the fortress and passage in the Great Wall of China and in 1213 invaded the Chinese Empire itself, the state of Jin and advanced as far as Nianxi in Hanshu Province. With increasing persistence, Genghis Khan led his troops, strewing the road with corpses, deep into the continent and established his power even over the province of Liaodong, central to the empire. Several Chinese commanders, seeing that the Mongol conqueror was gaining constant victories, ran over 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 Temujin sent three armies to different parts 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 Temujin's brothers and generals, moved east to the sea. Genghis Khan himself and his youngest son Tolui, at the head of the main forces, set out in a southeastern direction. The First Army advanced as far as Honan and, after capturing twenty-eight cities, joined Genghis Khan on the Great Western Road. The army under the command of Temujin's brothers and generals captured the province of Liao-hsi, and Genghis Khan himself ended his triumphant campaign only after he reached the sea rocky cape 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 makes peace with the Chinese emperor, leaving Beijing to him. However, before the leader of the Mongols had time to leave the Great Wall of China, 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 destruction. The war continued.

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

Fight against the Kara-Khitan Khanate

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

While Genghis Khan was conquering more and more cities and provinces of China, the fugitive Naiman Khan Kuchluk asked the gurkhan who had given him refuge to help gather the remnants of the army defeated at the Irtysh. Having gained a fairly strong army under his hand, Kuchluk entered into an alliance against his overlord with the Shah of Khorezm Muhammad, who had previously paid tribute to the Karakitays. After a short but decisive military campaign, the allies were left with a big gain, and the gurkhan was forced to relinquish power in favor of the uninvited guest. In 1213, Gurkhan Zhilugu died, and the Naiman khan became the sovereign ruler of Semirechye. Sairam, Tashkent, and the northern part of Fergana came under his power. Having become an irreconcilable opponent of Khorezm, Kuchluk began persecuting Muslims in his domains, which aroused the hatred of the settled population of Zhetysu. The ruler of Koylyk (in the valley of the Ili River) Arslan Khan, and then the ruler of Almalyk (northwest of modern Gulja) Bu-zar moved away from the Naimans and declared themselves subjects of Genghis Khan.

In 1218, Jebe's troops, together with the troops of the rulers of Koylyk and Almalyk, invaded the lands of the Karakitai. The Mongols conquered Semirechye and Eastern Turkestan, which were owned by Kuchluk. In the first battle, Jebe defeated the Naiman. The Mongols allowed Muslims to perform public worship, which had previously been prohibited by the Naiman, which contributed to the transition of the entire settled population to the side of the Mongols. Kuchluk, unable to organize resistance, fled to Afghanistan, where he was caught and killed. The residents of Balasagun opened the gates to the Mongols, for which the city received the name Gobalyk - “good city”. The road to Khorezm 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 explore the “western lands”. They walked along the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, then, after the devastation of Northern Iran, they penetrated Transcaucasia, defeated the Georgian army (1222) and, moving north along the western shore of the Caspian Sea, met a united army of Polovtsians, Lezgins, Circassians and Alans in the North Caucasus. A battle took place, which did not have decisive consequences. Then the conquerors split the ranks of the enemy. They gave gifts to 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 piecemeal. At the beginning of 1223, the Mongols invaded Crimea, took the city of Surozh (Sudak) and again moved into the Polovtsian steppes.

The Polovtsians fled to Rus'. Leaving the Mongol army, Khan Kotyan, through his ambassadors, asked not to refuse him the help of his son-in-law Mstislav the Udal, as well as Mstislav III Romanovich, the ruling Grand Duke of Kyiv. At the beginning of 1223, a large princely congress was convened in Kyiv, where it was agreed that the armed forces of the princes of Kyiv, Galicia, Chernigov, Seversk, Smolensk and Volyn principalities, united, should support the Polovtsians. The Dnieper, near the island of Khortitsa, was appointed as the gathering place for the Russian united army. Here envoys from the Mongol camp were met, inviting the Russian military leaders to break the alliance with the Polovtsians and return to Rus'. Taking into account the experience of the Cumans (who in 1222 persuaded the Mongols to break their alliance with the Alans, after which Jebe defeated the Alans and attacked the Cumans), Mstislav executed the envoys. In the battle on the Kalka River, the troops of Daniil Galitsky, Mstislav the Udal and Khan Kotyan, without informing the other princes, decided to “deal with” the Mongols on their own and 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, having fenced himself off with a tyn, held the defense for three days after the battle, and then came to an agreement with Jebe and Subedai to lay down arms and freely retreat to Rus', as he had not participated 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 soldier returned from the Azov region), destroying cities and villages in the Dnieper direction, capturing civilians. However, the disciplined Mongol military leaders had no orders to linger in Rus'. They were soon recalled by Genghis Khan, who considered that the main task of the reconnaissance campaign to the west had been successfully completed. 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 went down to Saksin and along the Caspian steppes returned to Asia, where in 1225 they united with the main forces of the Mongol army.

The Mongol forces remaining in China enjoyed the same success as the armies in Western Asia. The Mongol Empire was expanded with several new conquered provinces lying north of the Yellow River, with the exception of one or two cities. After the death of Emperor Xuyin Zong in 1223, the Northern Chinese Empire virtually ceased to exist, and the borders of the Mongol Empire almost coincided with the borders of Central and Southern China, ruled by the imperial Song dynasty.

Death of Genghis Khan

Upon returning from Central Asia, Genghis Khan once again led his army through Western China. In 1225 or early 1226, Genghis launched a campaign against the Tangut country. During this campaign, astrologers informed the Mongol leader that five planets were in unfavorable alignment. The superstitious Mongol believed that he was 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 Tangut king would be executed immediately after the capture of the city, and that the city itself would be destroyed to the ground. Different sources give different versions of his death: from an arrow wound in battle; from a long illness, after falling from a horse; from a lightning strike; at the hands of a captive princess on her wedding night.

According to Genghis Khan's dying wish, his body was taken to his homeland 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 injured while hunting wild kulan horses and fell ill: “Having decided to go to the Tanguts at the end of the winter period of the same year, Genghis Khan carried out a new re-registration of troops and in the fall Year of the Dog (1226) set out on a campaign against the Tanguts. From the Khansha, Yesui Khatun followed the sovereign. Along the way, during a roundup of the Arbukhai wild horses-kulans, which are found there in abundance, Genghis Khan sat astride a brown-gray horse. " During the raid of the kulans, his brown-gray climbed up to the ground, and the sovereign fell and was badly hurt. Therefore, they made a stop at the Tsoorkhat tract. The night passed, and the next morning Yesui-Khatun said to 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). From the Tangut booty, he especially generously rewarded Yesui-Khatun at his very departure." .

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 Great Horde camp to the north, to the Onon River. The “Secret Legend” and the “Golden Chronicle” report that on the route of the caravan with the body of Genghis Khan to the burial place, all living things were killed: people, animals, birds. The chronicles record: “They killed every living creature they saw so that the news of his death would not spread throughout the surrounding areas. His four main hordes mourned and he was buried in the area that he had once deigned to designate as a great reserve.” . His wives carried his body through his native camp, and in the end he was buried in a rich tomb in the Onon Valley. During the burial, mystical rites were performed, which were designed to protect the place where Genghis Khan was buried. His burial place has not yet been found. After the death of Genghis Khan, mourning continued 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 source of the Urgun River. He sat on the golden throne of Muhammad, which he brought from captured Samarkand. To prevent the grave from being found and desecrated in subsequent times, after the burial of the Great Khan, a herd of thousands of horses was driven across the steppe several times, destroying all traces of the grave. According to another version, the tomb was built in a riverbed, for which the river was temporarily blocked 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 site. Everyone who participated in the burial and could remember this place was subsequently killed, and those who carried out this order were subsequently killed too. Thus, the mystery of Genghis Khan’s burial remains unsolved to this day.

So far, attempts to find the tomb of Genghis Khan have not been successful. Geographical names from the times of the Mongol Empire have completely changed over many centuries, and no one today can say with accuracy where Mount Burkhan-Khaldun is located. According to the version of academician G. Miller, based on the stories of the Siberian "Mongols", Mount Burkhan-Khaldun in translation can mean "God's mountain", "Mountain where deities are placed", "Mountain - God scorches or God penetrates everywhere" - "sacred mountain Chinggis and his ancestors, the deliverer mountain, to which Chinggis, in memory of his salvation in the forests of this mountain from fierce enemies, bequeathed to sacrifice forever and ever, was located in the places of the original nomads of Chingis and his ancestors along the Onon River."

RESULTS OF GENGIGI KHAN'S REIGN

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

In the field of foreign policy, Genghis Khan sought to maximize the expansion of the territory under his control. Genghis Khan's strategy and tactics were characterized by careful reconnaissance, surprise attacks, the desire to dismember enemy forces, setting up ambushes using special units to lure the enemy, maneuvering large masses of cavalry, etc.

The ruler of the Mongols created the greatest empire in history, which in the 13th century subjugated vast expanses of Eurasia from the Sea of ​​Japan to the Black Sea. He and his descendants swept away great and ancient states from the face of the earth: the state of the Khorezmshahs, the Chinese Empire, the Baghdad Caliphate, and most of the Russian principalities were conquered. 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 cause offenses, and to forget them completely, to spare countries and cities that have submitted voluntarily, to free from all tax and respect the temples dedicated to God, as well as his servants." The significance of "Jasak" for the formation of statehood in the empire of Genghis Khan is noted by all historians. The introduction of a set of military and civil laws made it possible to establish a firm rule of law on the vast territory of the Mongol Empire; non-compliance with its laws was punishable by death. Yasa prescribed tolerance in matters of religion, respect for temples and clergy, prohibited quarrels among the Mongols, disobedience of children to their parents, the theft of horses, regulated military service, rules of conduct in battle, distribution of military spoils, etc.
“Immediately kill whoever steps on the threshold of the governor’s headquarters.”
“Whoever urinates in water or on ashes is put to death.”
“It is prohibited to wash the dress while wearing it until it is completely worn out.”
“Let no one leave his thousand, hundred or ten. Otherwise, let him and the commander of the unit who received him be executed.”
"Respect all faiths, without giving preference to any one."
Genghis Khan declared shamanism, Christianity and Islam the official religions of his empire.

Unlike other conquerors who dominated Eurasia for hundreds of years before the Mongols, only Genghis Khan was able to organize a stable state system and make Asia appear to Europe not just as an unexplored steppe and mountainous space, but as a consolidated civilization. It was within its borders that the Turkic revival of the Islamic world then 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 their greatest hero and reformer, almost as an incarnation of a deity. In European (including Russian) memory, he remained something like a pre-storm crimson cloud that appears before a terrible, all-purifying storm.

DESCENDANTS OF GENGISH KHAN

Temujin and his beloved wife Borte had four sons:

• son Jochi
• son Çağatay
• son Ogedei
• son Tolu y.

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

• daughter Hodgin bags, wife of Butu-gurgen from the Ikires clan;
• daughter Tsetseihen (Chichigan), wife of Inalchi, the youngest son of the head of the Oirats, Khudukha-beki;
• daughter Alangaa (Alagai, Alakha), who married the Ongut noyon 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 Tor zasagch gunj (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 of the Khongirads.

Temujin and his second wife, Merkit Khulan-Khatun, daughter of Dair-usun, had sons

• son Kulhan (Hulugen, Kulkan)
• son Kharachar;

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

• son Chakhur (Jaur)
• son Harkhad.

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 20th century. Even the Manchu emperors, who ruled Mongolia and China from the 16th to the 19th centuries, were descendants of Genghis Khan, as for their legitimacy they married Mongol princesses from Genghis Khan's golden family dynasty. 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 direct descendants of Genghis Khan.

The family record of Genghis Khan dates back to the 20th century; in 1918, the religious head of Mongolia, Bogdo Gegen, issued an order to preserve the Urgiin bichig (family list) of Mongol 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 family still live in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.

ADDITIONAL LITERATURE

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

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

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

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

The hidden legend of the Mongols. Translation from Mongolian. 1941.

Pedigree

Since ancient times, the Mongols kept family lists ( urgiin bichig) of their ancestors. The ancestry of Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, was and remains connected with the history of the Mongols themselves.

Five children of Alan-goa gave rise to five Mongolian clans - from Belgunotai came the Belgunot clan, from Bugunotai - Bugunot, from Buhu-Khadaki - Khadakin, from Bukhatu-Salji - Saljiut. The fifth - Bodonchar, was a brave warrior and ruler, from him came the Borjigin family.

From the four children of Duva-Sokhor - Donoy, Dogshin, Emneg and Erkheh - four tribes of Oirats descended. Already at that time, the first Mongol state was formed, Khamag Mongol Ulus, whose existence dates back to the middle of the 12th century.

Biography

Birth and early years

Temujin was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River (in the area of ​​Lake Baikal) in the family of one of the leaders of the Mongolian Taichiut tribe, Yesugei-bagatura (“bagatur” - hero) from the Borjigin clan and his wife Hoelun from the Ungirat tribe, whom Yesugei recaptured from Merkita Eke-Chiledu. It was named after the captured Tatar leader Temuchin-Uge, whom Yesugei defeated on the eve of the birth of his son. The year of Temujin’s birth remains unclear, since the main sources indicate different dates. According to Rashid ad-Din, Temujin was born in 1155. The History of the Yuan Dynasty gives 1162 as the date of birth. A number of scientists (for example, G.V. Vernadsky), based on an analysis of sources, point to the year 1167.

At the age of 9, Yesugei-Bagatur betrothed the son of Borte, a 10-year-old girl from an Ungirat family. Leaving his son with the bride's family until he came of age, so that they could get to know each other better, he went home. According to the “Secret Legend,” on the way back, Yesugei stopped at a Tatar camp, where he was poisoned. Upon returning to his native ulus, he fell ill and fell ill, and died three days later.

After the death of Temuchin's father, his followers abandoned the widows (Yesugei had 2 wives) and the children of Yesugei (Temuchin and his younger brother Khasar, and from his second wife - Bekter and Belgutai): the head of the Taichiut clan drove the family from their homes, stealing everything that belonged to her livestock For several years, widows and children lived in complete poverty, wandering in the steppes, eating 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, Targutai (a distant relative of Temujin), who declared himself the ruler of the lands once occupied by Yesugei, fearing the revenge of his growing rival, began to pursue Temujin. One day, an armed detachment attacked the camp of the Yesugei family. Temujin managed to escape, but was overtaken and captured. They put a block on it - two wooden boards with a hole for the neck, which were pulled together. The block was a painful punishment: a person did not have the opportunity to eat, drink, or even drive away a fly that had 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 only his nostrils out of the water. The Taichiuts searched for him in this place, but could not find him. He was noticed by a farm laborer from the Selduz tribe of Sorgan-Shire, who was among them, and decided to save him. He pulled young Temujin out of the water, freed him from the block and took him to his home, where he hid him in a cart with wool. After the Taichiuts left, Sorgan-Shire put Temujin on a mare, provided him with weapons and sent him home. (Subsequently, Chilaun, the son of Sorgan-Shire, became one of the four close nukers of Genghis Khan).

After some time, Temujin found his family. The Borjigins immediately migrated to another place, and the Taichiuts could no longer detect them. At the age of 11, Temujin became friends with his peer of noble origin from the Jardaran tribe, Jamukha, who later became the leader of this tribe. With him in his childhood, Temujin twice became sworn brothers (Andoy).

A few years later, Temujin married his betrothed Borte (by this time Boorchu, also one of the four closest nukers, appeared in Temujin’s service). Borte's dowry was a luxurious sable fur coat. Temujin soon went to the most powerful of the then steppe leaders - Tooril, khan of the Kerait tribe. Tooril was the sworn brother (anda) of Temujin’s father, and he managed to enlist the support of the Kerait leader by recalling this friendship and presenting a sable fur coat to Borte. Upon returning from Tooril Khan, one old Mongol gave his son Jelme into service, who became one of Genghis Khan’s commanders.

Beginning of conquest

With the support of Tooril Khan, Temujin's forces began to gradually grow. Nukers began to flock to him; he raided his neighbors, increasing his possessions and herds (enriching his possessions). He differed from the other conquerors in that during the battles he tried to keep as many people from the enemy ulus alive as possible in order to later attract them to his service. Temujin's first serious opponents were the Merkits, who acted in alliance with the Taichiuts. In the absence of Temujin, they attacked the Borjigin camp and captured Borte (according to assumptions, she was already pregnant and was expecting Jochi’s first son) and Yesugei’s second wife, Sochikhel, Belgutai’s mother. In 1184 (approximately based on the date of birth of Ogedei), Temujin, with the help of Tooril Khan and the Keraits, as well as his anda (sworn brother) Jamukha (invited by Temuchin at the insistence of Tooril Khan) from the Jajirat family, defeated the Merkits and returned Borte, and Belgutai’s mother, Sochikhel, refused to go back.

After the victory, Tooril Khan went to his horde, and Temujin and his anda Jamukha remained to live together in the same horde, where they again entered into a twinning alliance, exchanging golden belts and horses. After some time (from six months to a year and a half), they went their separate ways, with many of Jamukha’s noyons and nukers joining Temuchin (which was one of the reasons for Jamukha’s hostility towards Temuchin). Having separated, Temujin began organizing his ulus, creating a horde control apparatus. The first two nukers, Boorchu and Jelme, were appointed senior in the Khan's headquarters; the command post was given to Subetai-Baghatur, the future famous commander of Genghis Khan. During the same period, Temujin had a second son, Chagatai (the exact date of his birth is unknown) and a third son, Ogedei (October 1186). Temuchin created his first small ulus in 1186 (1189/90 are also probable), and had 3 darkness (30 thousand people) troops.

In the ascension of Temujin as khan of the ulus, Jamukha did not see anything good and looked for an open quarrel with his anda. The reason was the murder of Jamukha's younger brother, Taichar, while trying to drive away a herd of horses from Temujin's possessions. Under the pretext of revenge, Jamukha and his army moved towards Temujin in 3 darkness. The battle took place near the Gulegu Mountains, between the sources of the Sengur River and the upper reaches of Onon. In this first big battle (according to the main source “The Hidden Legend of the Mongols”) Temujin was defeated. This defeat unsettled him for some time and he had to gather strength to continue the fight.

Temujin's first major military enterprise after the defeat from Jamukha was the war against the Tatars, together with Tooril Khan. The Tatars at that time had difficulty repelling the attacks of the Jin troops that entered their possessions. The combined troops of Tooril Khan and Temujin, joining the Jin troops, moved against the Tatars; the battle took place in 1196. They inflicted a number of strong blows on the Tatars and captured rich booty. The Jurchen government of Jin, as a reward for the defeat of the Tatars, awarded high titles to the steppe leaders. Temujin received the title "Jauthuri" (military commissar) and Tooril - "Van" (prince), from which time he became known as Van Khan. Temujin became a vassal of Wang Khan, whom Jin saw as the most powerful of the rulers of Eastern Mongolia.

In 1197-1198 Van Khan, without Temujin, made a campaign against the Merkits, plundered and gave nothing to his named “son” and vassal Temujin. This marked the beginning of a new cooling. After 1198, when the Jin ravaged the Kungirats and other tribes, Jin influence on Eastern Mongolia began to weaken, which allowed Temujin to take possession of the eastern regions of Mongolia. At this time, Inanch Khan dies and the Naiman state breaks up into two uluses, led by Buyruk Khan in Altai and Tayan Khan on the Black Irtysh. In 1199, Temujin, together with Van Khan and Jamukha, attacked Buiruk Khan with their joint forces and he was defeated. Upon returning home, the path was blocked by a Naiman detachment. It was decided to fight in the morning, but at night Van Khan and Jamukha disappeared, leaving Temujin alone in the hope that the Naimans would finish him off. But by morning, Temujin realizes their plan and retreats without engaging in battle. The Naimans began to pursue not Temujin, but Van Khan. The Kereits entered into a difficult battle with the Naimans, and with death evident, Van-Khan sent messengers to Temuchin asking for help. Temujin sent his nukers, among whom Boorchu, Mukhali, Borohul and Chilaun distinguished themselves in battle. For his salvation, Van Khan bequeathed his ulus to Temuchin after his death (but after recent events, he did not believe in it). In 1200, Wang Khan and Temujin set out on a joint campaign against the Taichiuts. The Merkits came to the aid of the Taichiuts. In this battle, Temujin was wounded by an arrow, after which Czhelme nursed him throughout the next night. By morning the Taichiuts disappeared, leaving many people behind. Among them was Sorgan-Shira, who once saved Temujin, and the sharpshooter Jebe, who confessed that it was he who shot Temujin, for which he was forgiven. A pursuit was organized for the Taichuts. Many were killed, some surrendered into service. This was the first defeat inflicted on the Taichiuts.

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

Genghis Khan divided the country into two “wings”. He placed Boorcha at the head of the right wing, and Mukhali, his two most faithful and experienced associates, at the head of the left. He made the positions and ranks of senior and highest military leaders - centurions, thousanders and temniks - hereditary in the family of those who, with their faithful service, helped him seize the khan's throne.

Conquest of Northern China

In 1207-1211, the Mongols conquered the land of the Kirghiz, Khankhas (Khalkha), Oirats and other forest peoples, 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 in 1207 the state of the Tanguts Xi-Xia, who had previously conquered Northern China from the dynasty of the Chinese Song emperors and created their own state, which was located between his possessions and the state of Jin. Having captured several fortified cities, in the summer the “True Ruler” retreated to Longjin, waiting out the unbearable heat that fell that year.

Mongol Archers on Horses

Meanwhile, news reaches him that his old enemies Tokhta-beki and Kuchluk are preparing for a new war with him. Anticipating their invasion and having carefully prepared, Genghis Khan defeated them completely in a battle on the banks of the Irtysh. Tokhta-beki was among the dead, and Kuchluk escaped and found shelter with the Karakitai.

Satisfied with the victory, Temujin again sends his troops against Xi-Xia. After defeating an army of Chinese Tatars, he captured the fortress and passage in the Great Wall of China and in 1213 invaded the Chinese Empire itself, the state of Jin and advanced as far as Nianxi in Hanshu Province. With increasing persistence, Genghis Khan led his troops into the interior of the continent and established his power over the province of Liaodong, central to the empire. Several Chinese commanders defected 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 Temujin sent three armies to different parts 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 generals of Genghis Khan, moved east to the sea. Genghis Khan himself and his youngest son Tolui, at the head of the main forces, set out in a southeastern direction. The First Army advanced as far as Honan and, after capturing twenty-eight cities, joined Genghis Khan on the Great Western Road. The army under the command of Temujin's brothers and generals captured the province of Liao-hsi, and Genghis Khan himself ended his triumphant campaign only after he reached the sea rocky cape 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 makes peace with the Chinese emperor, leaving Beijing to him. However, before the leader of the Mongols had time to leave the Great Wall of China, 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 destruction. The war continued.

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

Fight against the Kara-Khitan Khanate

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

Campaigns of Genghis Khan and his commanders

While Genghis Khan was conquering more and more cities and provinces of China, the fugitive Naiman Khan Kuchluk asked the gurkhan who had given him refuge to help gather the remnants of the army defeated at the Irtysh. Having gained a fairly strong army under his hand, Kuchluk entered into an alliance against his overlord with the Shah of Khorezm Muhammad, who had previously paid tribute to the Karakitays. After a short but decisive military campaign, the allies were left with a big gain, and the gurkhan was forced to relinquish power in favor of the uninvited guest. In 1213, Gurkhan Zhilugu died, and the Naiman khan became the sovereign ruler of Semirechye. Sairam, Tashkent, and the northern part of Fergana came under his rule. Having become an irreconcilable opponent of Khorezm, Kuchluk began persecution of Muslims in his domains, which aroused the hatred of the settled population of Zhetysu. The ruler of Koylyk (in the valley of the Ili River) Arslan Khan, and then the ruler of Almalyk (northwest of modern Gulja) Bu-zar moved away from the Naimans and declared themselves subjects of Genghis Khan.

Death of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan's Empire at the time of his death

Upon returning from Central Asia, Genghis Khan once again led his army through Western China. According to Rashid ad-din, in the fall, having migrated to the borders of Xi Xia, while hunting, Genghis Khan fell from his horse and was badly injured. By evening, Genghis Khan began to develop a high fever. As a result, the next morning a council was assembled, at which the question was “whether or not to postpone the war with the Tanguts.” Genghis Khan's eldest son Jochi, who was already strongly distrusted, was not present at the council due to his constant evasion of his father's orders. Genghis Khan ordered the army to set out on a campaign to Jochi and put an end to him, but the campaign did not take place, as news of his death arrived. Genghis Khan was ill throughout the winter of 1225-1226.

Personality of Genghis Khan

The main sources by which we can judge the life and personality of Genghis Khan were compiled after his death (the “Secret Legend” is especially important among them). From these sources we receive fairly detailed information about both Chinggis’s appearance (tall, strong build, broad forehead, long beard) and his character traits. Coming from a people who apparently did not have written language or developed state institutions before him, Genghis Khan was deprived of a book education. With the talents of a commander, he combined organizational abilities, unyielding will and self-control. He possessed enough generosity and friendliness to retain the affection of his associates. Without denying himself the joys of life, he remained a stranger to excesses incompatible with the activities of a ruler and commander, and lived to an old age, retaining his mental abilities in full strength.

Results of the board

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

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

Descendants of Genghis Khan

Temujin and his beloved wife Borte had four sons: Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedei, Tolui. Only they and their descendants could claim supreme power in the state. Temujin and Borte also had daughters:

• Khodzhin-begi, wife of Butu-gurgen from the Ikires clan;
• Tsetseihen (Chichigan), wife of Inalchi, the youngest son of the head of the Oirats, Khudukha-beki;
• Alangaa (Alagai, Alakha), who married the Ongut noyon 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 Tor zasagch gunj (ruler-princess);
• Temulen, wife of Shiku-gurgen, son of Alchi-noyon from the Khongirads, the tribe of her mother Borte;
• Alduun (Altalun), who married Zavtar-setsen, noyon of the Khongirads.

Temujin and his second wife, the Merkit Khulan-Khatun, daughter of Dair-usun, had sons Kulhan (Khulugen, Kulkan) and Kharachar; and from the Tatar woman Yesugen (Esukat), daughter of Charu-noyon, sons Chakhur (Jaur) and Kharkhad.

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 20th century. Even the Manchu emperors, who ruled Mongolia and China from the 16th to the 19th centuries, were descendants of Genghis Khan, as 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 direct descendants of Genghis Khan.

The family record of Genghis Khan dates back to the 20th century; in 1918, the religious head of Mongolia, Bogdo Gegen, issued an order to preserve Urgiin bichig(family list) of Mongol princes. This monument is kept in the museum and is called “Shastra of the State of Mongolia” ( Mongol Ulsyn Shastir). Many direct descendants of Genghis Khan from his Golden Family live in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia (PRC), as well as in other countries.

Genetic research

According to Y-chromosome studies, about 16 million men living in Central Asia are descended strictly in the male line from a single ancestor who lived 1000±300 years ago. Obviously, this man could only be Genghis Khan or one of his immediate ancestors.

Chronology of main events

• 1162- Birth of Temujin (also probable dates - 1155 and 1167).
• 1184(approximate date) - Captivity of Temujin's wife - Borte - by the Merkits.
• 1184/85(approximate date) - Liberation of Borte with the support of Jamukha and Togoril Khan. Birth of Genghis Khan's eldest son, Jochi.
• 1185/86(approximate date) - Birth of Genghis Khan's second son - Chagatai.
• October 1186- Birth of Genghis Khan's third son, Ogedei.
• 1186- His first ulus of Temujin (also probable dates - 1189/90), as well as defeat from Jamukha.
• 1190(approximate date) - Birth of Genghis Khan's fourth son - Tolui.
• 1196- The combined forces of Temujin, Togoril Khan and Jin troops advance on the Tatar tribe.
• 1199- Attack and victory of the combined forces of Temujin, Van Khan and Jamukha over the Naiman tribe led by Buiruk Khan.
• 1200- Attack and victory of the joint forces of Temujin and Wang Khan over the Taichiut tribe.
• 1202- Attack and destruction of the Tatar tribe by Temuchin.
• 1203- Attack of the Keraits, the tribe of Van Khan, with Jamukha at the head of the army on the Temuchin ulus.
• Autumn 1203- victory over the Kereits.
• Summer 1204- victory over the Naiman tribe led by Tayan Khan.
• Autumn 1204- victory over the Merkit tribe.
• Spring 1205- Attack and victory over the united forces of the remnants of the Merkit and Naiman tribes.
• 1205- Betrayal and surrender of Jamukha by his nukers to Temuchin and probable execution of Jamukha.
• 1206- At the kurultai, Temuchin is given the title “Genghis Khan”.
• 1207 - 1210- Genghis Khan's attacks on the Tangut state of Xi Xia.
• 1215- Fall of Beijing.
• 1219-1223- Genghis Khan's conquest of Central Asia.
• 1223- victory of the Mongols led by Subedei and Jebe on the Kalka River over the Russian-Polovtsian army.
• Spring 1226- Attack on the Tangut state of Xi Xia.
• Autumn 1227- Fall of the capital and state of Xi Xia. Death of Genghis Khan.

Death of Genghis Khan. Major versions

Genghis Khan died in 1227 during a campaign against. According to Genghis Khan's dying wish, his body was transported to his homeland and interred in the area of ​​Mount Burkan-Kaldun.
According to the official version of the “Secret Legend”, on the way to the Tangut state he fell from his horse and was badly injured while hunting wild kulan horses and fell ill:
“Having decided to go to the Tanguts at the end of the winter period of the same year, Genghis Khan conducted a new re-registration of the troops and in the fall of the Year of the Dog (1226) set out on a campaign against the Tanguts. Of the Khanshas, ​​Yesui-ha followed the sovereign tun. On the way, during a raid on the Arbukhai wild kulan horses, which are found there in abundance, Genghis Khan sat astride a brown-gray horse. During the attack of the kulans, his brown-gray climbed onto the dab, and the sovereign fell and was badly hurt. Therefore, we made a stop at the Tsoorkhat tract. The night passed, and the next morning Yesui-khatun said to the princes and noyons: “The sovereign had a strong fever at night. We need to discuss the situation."
Further in the text of the “Secret Legend” it is said that “Genghis Khan, after the final defeat of the Tanguts, returned and ascended to heaven in the year of the Pig” (1227). From the Tangut spoils, he especially generously rewarded Yesui-Khatun at his very departure.”
In the “Collection of Chronicles” of Rashid ad-Din the following is said about the death of Genghis Khan:
“Genghis Khan died within the country of Tangut from an illness that befell him. Even earlier, during his will to his sons and sending them back, he commanded that when this event happened to him, they would hide it, not weep or cry, so that his death would not be discovered, and that the emirs and troops there would wait until the sovereign and the inhabitants of Tangut did not leave the walls of the city at the appointed time, then they would have killed everyone and would not have allowed the rumor of his death to quickly reach the regions until the ulus gathered together. According to his will, his death was hidden.”
In Marco Polo, Genghis Khan heroically dies in battle from an arrow wound to the knee, and in the chronicle « from an incurable disease, the cause of which was an unhealthy climate" or from a fever that he contracted in the Tangut city,from a lightning strike. The version of the death of Genghis Khan from a lightning strike is found only in the works of Plano Carpini and brother C. de Bridia. In Central Asia, death from lightning was considered unfortunate to the extreme.
In the Tatar chronicleGenghis Khan was stabbed to death with sharp scissors in his sleep by a young Tangut princess during their wedding night. According to another less common legend, he died on his wedding night from a fatal wound inflicted with the teeth of a Tangut princess, who then threw herself into the Huang He River. This river began to be called Khatun-muren by the Mongols, which means “ queen river».
In retellingthis legend goes like this:
“According to a widespread Mongolian legend, which the author also heard, Genghis Khan allegedly died from a wound inflicted by the Tangut Khansha, the beautiful Kurbeldishin Khatun, who spent her only wedding night with Genghis Khan, who took her as his wife by right of the conqueror after the capture of the Tangut kingdom. Having left his capital and harem, the Tangut king Shidurho-Khagan, distinguished by cunning and deceit, allegedly persuaded his wife, who remained there, to inflict a mortal wound on Genghis Khan with her teeth during their wedding night, and his deceit was so great that he sent advice to Genghis Khan so that she could searched “to the nails” in order to avoid an attempt on the life of the khan. After the bite, Kurbeldishin Khatun threw herself into the Yellow River, on the banks of which Genghis Khan stood at his headquarters. This river was then called Khatun-muren by the Mongols, which means “river of the queen.”
A similar version of the legend is given by N.M. Karamzin in “History of the Russian State” (1811):
“Carpini writes that Genghis Khan was killed by thunder, and the Siberian Mungals say that he, having forcibly taken his young wife from the Tangut Khan, was stabbed to death by her at night, and that she, fearing execution, drowned herself in the river, which was therefore called Khatun-Gol.”
N.M. Karamzin probably borrowed this evidence from the classic work “History of Siberia”, written by the German historian academician G. Miller in 1761:
“It is known how Abulgazi tells about the death of Genghis: according to him, it followed on the way back from Tangut, after he defeated the ruler he himself had appointed, but who rebelled against him, named Shidurku. The Mongolian chronicles report completely different information about this. Gaudurga, as they write, was then khan in Tangut, he was attacked by Genghis with the aim of kidnapping one of his wives, about whose beauty he had heard a lot. Genghis was lucky to get the desired booty. On the way back, during a night stop on the banks of a large river, which is the border between Tangut, China and Mongolian land and which flows through China into the ocean, he was killed while sleeping by his new wife, who stabbed him with sharp scissors. The killer knew that for her act she would receive retribution from the people. She prevented the punishment that threatened her by throwing herself into the above-mentioned river immediately after the murder and committed suicide there. In memory of her, this river, which is called Gyuan-guo in Chinese, received the Mongolian name Khatun-gol, that is, women's river. The steppe near Khatun-gol, in which this great Tatar sovereign and founder of one of the largest kingdoms is buried, bears the Mongolian name Nulun-talla. But it is not known whether other Tatar or Mongol sovereigns from the clan of Genghis were buried there, as Abulgazi tells about the Burkhan-Kaldin tract.”
G. Miller names the Tatar handwritten chronicle of Khan Abulagazi as the source of this information and “. However, information that Genghis Khan was stabbed to death with sharp scissors is given only in the chronicle of Abulagazi; in the “Golden Chronicle” this detail is not present, although the rest of the plot is the same.
In the Mongolian work “Shastra Orunga” the following is written: “Genghis Khan in the summer of the year of the Ge-cow in the sixty-sixth year of his life in the city simultaneously with his wife Goa Khulan, changing his body, showed eternity.”
All of the listed versions of the same memorable event for the Mongols are surprisingly very different from each other. The latest version contradicts the “Secret Legend”, which says that at the end of his life Genghis Khan was ill, and next to him was his devoted khansha Yesui Khatun.
Thus, today there are five different versions of the death of Genghis Khan, each of which has an authoritative basis in historical sources.