(Temujin, Temuchin)

(1155 -1227 )

Great conqueror. Founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire.

The fate of Temujin, or Temujin, was very difficult. He came from a noble Mongolian family who roamed with their herds along the banks of the Onon River in the territory of modern Mongolia. When he was nine years old, during the steppe civil strife, his father, Yesugei-bahadur, was killed. The family, which lost its protector and almost all livestock, had to flee from the nomads. It was with great difficulty that she managed to endure the harsh winter in the wooded area. Troubles continued to haunt the little Mongol - new enemies from the Taijiut tribe attacked the orphaned family and captured Temujin, putting on a wooden slave collar.

However, he showed the firmness of his character, tempered 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 knew how to deftly control a steppe horse 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 obedience to his will. Disobedience was punishable only by death. To the disobedient he was as merciless as to his blood enemies among the Mongols. Temujin soon managed 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. It was very difficult - after all, the Mongol tribes constantly waged an armed struggle among themselves, raiding neighboring nomads in order to take possession of their herds and capture people into slavery.

Steppe clans, and then entire tribes of Mongols, he united around himself, sometimes by force, and sometimes by diplomacy. Temujin married the daughter of one of the most powerful neighbors, hoping for the support of his father-in-law's warriors in difficult times. However, while the young military leader had few allies and his own soldiers, he had to endure failures.
The steppe tribe of the Merkits, hostile to him, once made a successful raid on his camp and kidnapped his wife. This was a great insult to the dignity of the Mongol commander. He redoubled his efforts to gather nomadic families under his rule, and in just a year he commanded a whole cavalry army. With him, he inflicted complete defeat on the numerous tribe of the Merkits, exterminating most of it and capturing their flocks, and freed his wife, who knew the fate of the captive.

The military successes of Temujin in the war against the Merkits attracted other Mongol tribes to his side, now they meekly gave their warriors to the military leader. His army was constantly growing, and the territories of the vast Mongolian steppe, which were now subject to his rule, also expanded.
Temujin tirelessly waged war against all 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 Tatars, who refused to subjugate him (this name was already called the Mongol in Europe, although as such the Tatars were destroyed by Genghis Khan in an internecine war). Temujin had an excellent command of the tactics of war in the steppe. He suddenly attacked neighboring nomadic tribes and invariably won victory. To the survivors, he offered the right to choose: either become his ally, or perish.

The leader Temujin fought his first big battle in 1193 near Germany in the Mongol steppes. At the head of 6 thousand soldiers, he defeated the 10-thousand 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 did not bother either about reconnaissance or about combat protection. Temujin caught the enemy by surprise in the 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 notable 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 Mongol steppe inhabitants, the title sounded like "universal sovereign", "real master", "precious sovereign".
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 of conquest against their neighbors. The former slave no longer had open enemies among the Mongol nomads, 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 thousand people. The best warriors from the Mongol tribes were recruited into her, and she 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 thousand soldiers). These military units were not only accounting units. A hundred and a thousand could carry out an independent combat mission. Tumen acted in the war already at the tactical level.

The command of the Mongolian army was also built according to the decimal system: the foreman, the centurion, the thousand's manager, the 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. Subsequently, they had good protective equipment in the form of various 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.

The light cavalry, and these were mainly horse archers, were the warriors of the conquered steppe tribes.

It was they who began the battles, bombarding the enemy with clouds of arrows and confusing his ranks, and then the heavily armed cavalry of the Mongols themselves went into the attack in a dense mass. Their attack was more like a ramming blow than a dashing raid of horse nomads.

Genghis Khan went down in military history as a great strategist and tactician of his era. For his commanders-temniks and other commanders, he developed the rules for waging war and organizing all military service. These rules were strictly followed in the context of the brutal centralization of military and state administration.

The strategy and tactics of the great conqueror of the Ancient World were characterized by careful conduct of long-range and short-range reconnaissance, a sudden attack on any enemy, even noticeably inferior to him in strength, the desire to dismember the enemy forces in order to destroy them piece by piece. Ambushes and luring the enemy into them were widely and skillfully used. 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 allowed Genghis Khan to determine the number of troops needed to defeat the enemy and quickly respond to all of his offensive actions.

However, the greatness of Genghis Khan's military leadership was also in something else: he knew how to react quickly, changing his tactics depending on the circumstances. So, faced for the first time with strong fortifications in China, Genghis Khan began to use all kinds of throwing and siege machines 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, the khan wrote them out from other countries or captured them. In this case, military specialists became khan's slaves, but were kept in fairly good conditions.
Until the last day of his life, Genghis Khan strove to expand his truly enormous possessions as much as possible. Therefore, each time the Mongol army went further and further from Mongolia.

First, the great khan decided to annex other nomadic peoples to his state. In 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 came the turn of the Uighur state, which was large at that time, in East Turkestan. In 1209, a huge army of Genghis Khan invaded their territory and, one after another, seizing their cities and blooming oases, won a complete victory. After this invasion, only heaps of ruins remained from many trading cities and villages.

The destruction of settlements in the occupied territory, the total extermination of recalcitrant tribes and fortified cities, which 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 the conquered peoples in obedience.

In 1211, 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 for the conquerors. The Mongol cavalry defeated the troops that stood in its way. In 1215, the city of Beijing (Yanjing) was seized by cunning, which the Mongols subjected to a long siege.

In North China, the Mongols destroyed about 90 cities, the population of which resisted the Mongol army. In this campaign, Genghis Khan adopted the engineering combat equipment of the Chinese - various throwing machines and battering rams - on his horse troops. Chinese engineers trained the Mongols to use them and deliver them to besieged cities and fortresses.

In 1218, the Mongols conquered the Korean Peninsula. After campaigns in North China and Korea, Genghis Khan turned his gaze further to the West - towards the sunset. In 1218, the Mongol army invaded Central Asia and captured Khorezm. This time the great conqueror found a plausible excuse - several Mongolian merchants were killed in the border town of Khorezm, and therefore the country should have been punished where the Mongols were treated badly.

With the appearance of the enemy on the borders of Khorezm, Shah Muhammad, at the head of a large army (numbers up to 200 thousand people are called), set out on a campaign. A big battle took place near 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. The next day, 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 his military cunning.

The conquest of the huge Central Asian state of Khorezm continued. In 1219, a Mongol army of 200 thousand people under the command of the sons of Genghis Khan, Oktay and Zagatay, laid siege to the city of Otrar, located on 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 lasted four months. During this time, the number of defenders has decreased three times. Famine and disease began in the city, since it was especially bad with drinking water. In the end, the Mongol army burst into the city, but could not capture the fortress citadel. Gazer Khan with the remnants of the defenders of Otrar held out in it for another month. By order of the great khan, the city was destroyed, most of the inhabitants were destroyed, and some - artisans and young people - were taken into slavery.

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

In June of the same 1220, the Mongols, led by Genghis Khan, laid siege to another large city of Khorezm - Samarkand. The city was defended by a garrison of 110,000 (the numbers are greatly overestimated) under the command of the governor Alub Khan. Khorezm warriors made frequent forays beyond the city walls, preventing the Mongols from carrying out siege work. However, there were townspeople who, wishing to save their property and lives, opened the gates of Samarkand to the enemy.

The Mongols rushed into the city, and hot battles with its defenders began on the streets and squares. However, the forces turned out to be unequal, and besides, Genghis Khan introduced more and more forces into battle to replace the tired soldiers. Seeing that it would not be possible to defend Samarkand, the heroically fighting Alub Khan, at the head of a thousand Khorezm horsemen, managed to escape from the city and break through the enemy's blockade ring. The surviving 30 thousand defenders of Samarkand were killed by the Mongols.

The conquerors also met staunch resistance during the siege of the city of Khojent (modern Tajikistan). The city 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 resist the assault, he and some of his soldiers embarked on ships and sailed down the Yaksart River, pursued along the coast by the Mongol cavalry. However, after a fierce battle, Timur-Melik managed to break away from his pursuers. After his departure, the city of Khujand surrendered the next day at the mercy of the victors.

The Mongols continued to seize the Khorezm cities one after another: Merv, Urgench ... In 1221
After the fall of Khorezm and the conquest of Central Asia, Genghis Khan made a campaign in Northwest India, capturing this large territory. However, Genghis Khan did not go further to the south of Hindustan: he was always attracted by unknown countries at sunset.
He, as usual, thoroughly worked out the route of the new campaign and sent his best generals Jebe and Subedei far to the west 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 Russia, in the Don steppes.

At that time, 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. In 1223, the 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 commissioned one of his sons to continue the conquest of China. The anti-Mongol uprisings that began in the North China he had conquered caused great concern in Genghis Khan.

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

The Arab chronicler Rashid ad-Din in his work "Chronicle" detailed the history of the formation of the Mongol state and the campaigns of conquest of the Mongols. Here is what he wrote about Genghis Khan, who became for world history a symbol of the desire for world domination and military power: “After his victorious speech, the inhabitants of the world were convinced with their own eyes that he was marked by all kinds of heavenly support. Thanks to the extreme limit of (his) power and might, he conquered all the Turkic and Mongol tribes and other categories (of the human race), introducing them into the ranks of his slaves ...

Thanks to the nobility of his personality and the subtlety of his inner qualities, he stood out from all those peoples, like a rare pearl from the environment of precious stones, and drew them into the circle of possession and into the hand of the supreme government ...

Despite the plight and abundance of difficulties, troubles and all kinds of misfortunes, he was an extremely brave and courageous man, very smart and talented, reasonable and knowledgeable ... "

For a year they laid siege to the city of Bamiyan and, after months of defense, 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.

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 protector 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 adversity 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 deftly control a steppe horse 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 he was 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 whole 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 soldiers, and he had to endure 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 around him nomadic families, and just a year later he was in command of 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 to become his ally, or to 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 either about reconnaissance or about outposts. Temujin caught the enemy by surprise 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 Mongol steppe inhabitants, his title sounded like "universal sovereign", "real master", "precious sovereign".

The first thing the great khan took care of was the Mongol army. Genghis Khan demanded from the leaders of the tribes, who recognized his supremacy, to maintain permanent military detachments to protect the lands of the Mongols with their nomad camps 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.

Genghis Khan's army 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: the foreman, the centurion, the thousand's manager, the temnik. For the highest posts - 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 was 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 near 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 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 hiking in North China and Korea, Genghis Khan turned his attention further west - towards the sunset. 1218 - the Mongol army invaded Central Asia and captured Khorezm. This time, Genghis Khan found a plausible excuse for the invasion - several Mongol 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.

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 thousandth 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 his defenders was reduced by three times. Famine and disease began in the camp of the besieged, 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-thousand 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, which 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 overestimated) 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 to 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 the new campaign and sent his best commanders Jebe and Subadei 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, which 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 ...

The exact time of birth of Temuchin, one of the greatest commanders and conquerors, is unknown. The calculations of Rashid ad-Din, carried out on the basis of documents and archives of the khans of Mongolia, indicate the year 1155, and it was this date that was accepted by modern historians as a reference. The place of his birth was Delyun-Boldok, a tract on the bank of the Onon.

At two years old, Temuchin was put on a horse by his father, Yesugei-Bagatur, the leader of one of the Mongol tribes - the Taichiuts. The boy was brought up in the traditions of the warlike Mongols and, at a very young age, was a master of weapons and participated in almost all inter-tribal competitions. As soon as Temuchin was nine years old, his father, to strengthen his friendship with the clan Urgenat, married a ten-year-old girl named Borte to his son. Leaving the boy until the age of majority in the family of his future wife, Yesugei set off on the return journey, and on the way spent the night in the parking lot of one of the Tatar tribes. After arriving in his ulus, he fell ill and died three days later. One of the legends says that the Tatars poisoned Temuchin's father. After the death of Yesugei, his two wives and six children were expelled from the ulus, and they had to wander around the steppe, eating only fish, game and roots.

Learning about the family's problems, Temuchin joined her and wandered with his relatives for several years. However, Targutai-Kiriltukh, who seized the lands of Yesugei, realized that the growing Temuchin could take cruel revenge, and sent an armed detachment after him. Temuchin was taken prisoner, and he was wearing pads, which made it impossible not only to eat on his own, but even to drive off flies. He managed to escape and hide in a small lake, plunging into the water in stocks. According to legend, one of the pursuers, Sorgan-Shira, noticed Temuchin, pulled him out of the water, and then hid him under the wool in a cart. When the detachment left, the savior gave Temuchin a horse and weapons. Later, the son of Sorgan-Shir, Chilown, took a very close position at the throne of Genghis Khan.

Temuchin found his relatives and took them to a safe place. A few years later, he married Borte, intended for him by his father, and received a luxurious sable fur coat as a dowry. It was this fur coat that became an offering to Khan Tooril, one of the most powerful leaders of the steppe, and helped to enlist his support. Under the patronage of Tooril Khan, Temuchin's strength and influence began to grow, and nukers flocked to his camp from all over Mongolia. He began to raid, multiplying his herds and holdings. Temuchin differed from other similar conquerors in that he did not completely cut out the uluses, but tried to save the lives of even the soldiers who opposed him, and later attracted them to his army.

However, Temuchin also found opponents. In his absence, the Merkits attacked the camp, and Temuchin's pregnant wife, Borte, was captured. With the support of Tooril Khan and Jamukha, the leader of the Jadaran tribe, in 1184 Temuchin defeated the Merkits and returned his wife. After the victory, he began to live in the same horde with Jamukha, his childhood friend and brother-in-law, but a year later Jamukha left Temuchin, and many of his warriors remained in the horde. During the formation of the administration apparatus in the horde, at Temuchin's headquarters, Jalme and Boorchu occupied the leading posts, and Subedey-Bagatur received a post equivalent to the chief of staff. By that time, Temuchin already had three sons, and in 1186 he created his first ulus. Temuchin's army at that time numbered three tumens - about thirty thousand soldiers.

Jamukha could not just break the laws of the steppe and oppose his brother. But one day his younger brother Taichar tried to steal horses from Temuchin and was killed. Jamukha announced revenge to his brother and marched against him with a huge army. In the battle that took place near the Gulegu mountains, Temuchin was defeated. After this unpleasant event, Temuchin accumulated strength and, together with Tooril Khan, began a war against the Tatars. The main battle took place in 1196, and as a result, the combined forces of the Mongols got rich booty, and Temuchin acquired the title of jautkhuri - military commissar. Tooril Khan became a Mongolian van - that is, a prince.

The joint military actions of 1197 - 1198 served to cool relations between Temuchin and Tooril Wan Khan, since the latter decided that it made no sense to give his vassal a part of the booty. And since in 1198 the Chinese Jin dynasty ruined many Mongol tribes, Temuchin managed to spread his influence to the eastern regions of Mongolia. Perhaps Temuchin was too trusting, because literally a year later he once again united with Jamukha and Wan Khan, and they struck a blow at the Naiman ruler Buyruk Khan. Upon the return of the troops home, the Naiman detachment blocked their path, and as a result of the betrayal of his comrades-in-arms, Temuchin was left alone with a strong army. He decided to retreat, and the Naiman soldiers rushed to pursue Wang Khan and inflicted a crushing defeat on him. Departing from pursuit, Wang Khan sent a messenger to Temuchin with a request to help him out and received help. In fact, Temuchin saved Wang Khan, and he bequeathed his ulus to the savior.

From 1200 to 1204 Temuchin was constantly at war with the Tatars and the rebellious Mongol tribes. But he already opposed them alone, without the support of Wang Khan, wins one victory after another, and his army grows. However, Temuchin acted not only by military force, but also by diplomatic means, as well as by a method that none of the Mongol leaders had ever used before. Temuchin ordered not to kill the enemy's soldiers, but first to conduct interrogation and try to attract them to his army. At the same time, he distributed the newly arrived soldiers to the checked detachments. In some ways, this policy is similar to the actions of Alexander the Great.

After Temuchin's victory over the Kereites, Jamukha with part of his army joined the army of the Naiman Tayan Khan, expecting that either Temuchin would destroy the opponents or fall in battle with them. Learning about the plans of the Naimans, Temuchin in 1204, at the head of forty-five thousand horsemen, opposed them. Despite the cunning of the enemy, Temuchin's troops overtook and defeated the army of Tayan Khan. Tayan Khan himself died, and Jamukha, as usual, left with a part of the soldiers even before the start of the battle. In 1205, Temuchin's army continued to seize more and more lands, and most of Jamukha's soldiers left him and came under the control of Temuchin. Jamukha was betrayed by his own nukers, who wanted to curry favor with Temuchin. True, Temuchin destroyed the traitors, and offered his former friend to become his ally. But Jamukha refused and asked for death, worthy of the ruler of the Mongols - without shedding blood. By order of Temuchin, the soldiers broke Jamukha's spine.

In the spring of next year, an important event took place in Temuchin's life - he was proclaimed the great khan of the Mongols, and he also received a special title - Genghis Khan. Mongolia united into one state with a powerful army. Temuchin began the transformation of Mongolia, and one of his most important acts was the introduction of a new law - the Yasa of Genghis Khan.

One of the main places in Yasa was occupied by articles on the importance of mutual assistance between warriors in campaigns and on deception punishable by death. The conquered tribes along the Yasa were accepted into the army, and the enemies were mercilessly destroyed. Courage and loyalty were declared good, and betrayal and cowardice were declared evil. Genghis Khan actually mixed the tribes and destroyed the tribal system, dividing the entire population into tumens, thousands, hundreds and tens. All healthy men who had reached a certain age were declared warriors, but in peacetime they were obliged to manage their household, and, if necessary, appear to their khan with weapons. The army of Genghis Khan at that time numbered about one hundred thousand soldiers. The Great Khan granted lands to his noyons, and they regularly served him, performing not only the mobilization of soldiers, but also government in peacetime.

One hundred and fifty keshikten bodyguards guarded Genghis Khan and received exclusive privileges for this. Later, the Keshikten detachment expanded and turned into almost Chinkhis Khan's personal guard. The khan also took care of the development of courier communications, serving both administrative and military purposes. In modern terms, he also organized strategic intelligence. Dividing Mongolia into two parts, he put Boorchu at the head of one wing, and Mukhali, his most tried and true companions, at the head of the other. Genghis Khan also legalized the transfer of the posts of the highest military leaders by inheritance.

In 1209, Central Asia was conquered, and until 1211 the troops of Genghis Khan conquered almost all of Siberia and imposed tribute on its peoples. Now Genghis Khan's interests have shifted to the south. After defeating the army of Tatars supporting the Chinese, Genghis Khan captured the fortress and secured a passage through the Great Wall of China. In 1213, the Mongol invasion of China began. Taking advantage of the power of his army and the fact that many fortresses surrendered to him without a fight, Genghis Khan reached the central provinces of China. The next year, in the spring, Genghis Khan took his troops to Mongolia, and made peace with the Chinese emperor. However, immediately after the imperial court left Beijing, allocated under the treaty as the capital of China, Genghis Khan again sent his troops behind the Great Wall and continued the war.

After the defeat of the Chinese troops, Genghis Khan began to prepare for a campaign in Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The cities of Semirechye attracted Genghis Khan also because while he was at war in the Chinese Empire, the khan of the Naiman tribe Kuchluk, defeated at the Irtysh, gathered an army and entered into an alliance with Muhammad, the shah of Khorezm, and later became the autocratic ruler of Semirechye. In 1218, the Mongols captured Semirechye, as well as the entire eastern Turkestan. In order to attract the population to their side, the Mongols allowed Muslims to practice their own faith, which Kuchluk had previously prohibited. Now Genghis Khan could invade the lands of rich Khorezm.

In 1220, the capital of the Mongol Empire, Karakorum, was founded, and the Tumens of Genghis Khan continued their campaigns in two streams. The first stream of invaders passed through the northern part of Iran and invaded the South Caucasus, and the second rushed to the Amu Darya after Shah Mohammed who had fled from Khorezm. Having passed the Derbent passage, Genghis Khan defeated the Alans in the North Caucasus and defeated the Polovtsians. In 1223, the Polovtsians united with the squads of the Russian princes, but this army was defeated on the Kalka River. However, the withdrawal of the Mongol army became unpleasant - in the Volga Bulgaria, the Mongols received a rather serious blow and fled to Central Asia.

Returning from Central Asia to Mongolia, Genghis Khan undertook a campaign in the western part of China. According to the records of Rashid ad-Din, during an autumn hunt in 1225, Genghis Khan flew out of the saddle and hit the ground hard. In the evening of the same day, he developed a fever. He was ill all winter, but in the spring he found the strength to lead an army on a campaign across China. The resistance of the Tanguts led to the fact that they lost tens of thousands killed, and Genghis Khan ordered to plunder the settlements. At the end of 1226, Mongol troops crossed the Yellow River, and the way to the east was opened for them.

The one hundred thousandth army of the Tangut kingdom was defeated by the army of Genghis Khan, which opened the way to the capital. Already in winter, the siege of Zhongxing began, and by the summer of 1227 the Tangut kingdom ceased to exist. But even before the end of the siege, Genghis Khan died. It is considered to be the date of his death on August 25, 1227, but according to other sources this happened in early autumn. According to the will of Genghis Khan, Ogedei, the third son, became his successor.

There are many legends about the location of the tomb of Genghis Khan. According to some sources, he rests in the depths of the sacred mountain of the Mongols Burkhan-Khaldun, according to others - in his homeland in the upper reaches of the Onon, in the Delyun-Boldok tract.

Genghis Khan was born in 1155 or 1162, in the Delyun-Boldok tract, on the banks of the Onon River. At birth, he was given the name Temujin.

When the boy was 9 years old, he was married to a girl from the Ungirat clan, Borte. For a long time he was brought up in the family of his bride.

When Temujin became a teenager, his distant relative, the leader of the Taichiuts, Tartugay-Kiriltukh, declared himself the autocratic ruler of the steppe and began to persecute his rival.

After an attack by an armed detachment, Temujin was taken prisoner and spent many years in painful slavery. But soon he managed to escape, after which he was reunited with his family, married his betrothed and entered into a struggle for power in the steppe.

First military campaigns

At the very beginning of the XIII century, Temujin, together with Wang Khan, set out on a campaign against the Taijiuts. After 2 years, he undertook an independent campaign against the Tatars. The first battle won on his own contributed to the fact that Temujin's tactical and strategic skills were appreciated.

Great conquests

In 1207, Genghis Khan, deciding to secure the border, seized the Tangut state of Xi-Xia. It was located between the Jin state and the possessions of the Mongol ruler.

In 1208, Genghis Khan captured several well-fortified cities. In 1213, after the capture of the fortress in the Great Wall of China, the commander invaded the state of Jin. Struck by the power of the attack, many Chinese garrisons surrendered without a fight and came under the command of Genghis Khan.

The unofficial war lasted until 1235. But the remnants of the army were quickly defeated by one of the children of the great conqueror, Ogedei.

In the spring of 1220, Genghis Khan conquered Samarkand. Passing through northern Iran, he invaded the south of the Caucasus. Further, the troops of Genghis Khan came to the North Caucasus.

In the spring of 1223, a battle took place between the Mongols and the Russian Polovtsy. The latter were defeated. Intoxicated by the victory, the troops of Genghis Khan themselves suffered defeat in the Volga Bulgaria and in 1224 returned to their ruler.

Genghis Khan's reforms

In the spring of 1206 Temujin was proclaimed a great khan. There he "officially" adopted a new name - Chingiz. The most important thing that the great khan managed to do was not his numerous conquests, but the unification of the warring tribes into a powerful Mongol empire.

Thanks to Genghis Khan, a courier connection was created, intelligence and counterintelligence were organized. Economic reforms have been implemented.

last years of life

There is no exact data on the cause of death of the great khan. According to some reports, he died suddenly in the early autumn of 1227, due to the consequences of an unsuccessful fall from a horse.

According to an unofficial version, the old khan was stabbed to death by his young wife at night, who was forcibly taken away from his young and beloved husband.

Other biography options

• Genghis Khan had an atypical appearance for a Mongol. He was blue-eyed and fair-haired. According to historians, he was too cruel and bloodthirsty even for a medieval ruler. More than once he forced his soldiers to become executioners in the conquered cities.
• The grave of the great khan is still shrouded in a mystical fog. So far, it has not been possible to reveal her secret.

Genealogy

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

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

From four children of Duva-Sokhor - Donoy, Dogshin, Emnag and Erhekh - four tribes of Oirats originated. Already at that time, the first Mongolian state, Hamag Mongol ulus, was formed, the existence of which dates back to the middle of the 12th century.

Biography

Birth and early years

Temuchin was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River (near 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 Oelun from the Ungirats tribe, whom Yesugei recaptured from merkita to Eke-Chiledu. It was named after the captured Tatar leader Temuchin-Uge, whom Yesugei defeated on the eve of the birth of his son. Temuchin's year of birth remains unclear, since the main sources point to different dates. According to Rashid ad-Din, Temuchin was born in 1155. The History of the Yuan Dynasty names 1162 as the date of birth. A number of scientists (for example, G.V. Vernadsky), based on an analysis of sources, indicate the year 1167.

At the age of 9, Yesugei-Bagatur married the son of Borte, a 10-year-old girl from the Ungirat family. Leaving his son in the bride's family until he comes of age, in order to get to know each other better, he went home. According to the Secret Legend, on the way back, Yesugei stopped at the Tatars' 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 adherents left the widows (Yesugei had 2 wives) and Yesugei's children (Temuchin and his younger brother Khasar, and from his second wife, Bekter and Belgutai): the head of the Taichiut clan drove the family out of their homes, driving away everything that belonged to her livestock. For several years the widows with their 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, Targutai (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 did not have the opportunity to either eat or 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 with a block into the water and sticking out only his nostrils from 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 Sorgan-Shire, 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, Sorgan-Shire put Temuchin on a mare, supplied him with weapons and sent him home. (Subsequently, Chilown, the son of Sorgan-Shire, became one of the four close nukers of Chinggis Khan).

After a while Temuchin found his family. The Borjigins immediately migrated to another place, and the Taichiuts could no longer find them. At the age of 11, Temuchin became friends with his peer of noble birth from the Jardaran tribe - Jamukha, who later became the leader of this tribe. With him in his childhood, Temuchin twice became a twin brother (Anda).

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

The beginning of the conquests

With the support of Tooril Khan, Temuchin's forces began to grow gradually. Nukers began to flock to him; he raided his neighbors, multiplying his possessions and herds (enriching his possessions). He differed from the rest of the conquerors in that during the battles he tried to keep as many people from the enemy ulus alive as possible in order to further attract them to his service. 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 (according to the assumption, she was already pregnant and was expecting the first son of Jochi) and Yesugei's second wife, Sochihel, Belgutai's mother. In 1184 (according to rough estimates, based on the date of birth of Ogedei), Temuchin, with the help of Tooril Khan and the Kerait, as well as his Anda (named brother) Jamuqa (invited by Temuchin at the insistence of Tooril Khan), from the Jajirat clan defeated the Merkits and returned Borte, and Belgutai's mother, Sochihel, refused to go back.

After the victory, Tooril Khan went to his horde, and Temuchin and his anda Jamukha remained to live together in one horde, where they again entered into a twinning alliance, exchanging gold belts and horses. After some time (from six months to one and a half), they dispersed along different paths, while many noyons and nukers of Jamukha joined Temuchin (which was one of the reasons for Jamukha's dislike for Temuchin). Having separated, Temuchin proceeded to set up his ulus, creating an apparatus for managing the horde. The first two nukers, Boorchu and Dzhelme, were put in the khan's headquarters, the command post was given to Subetai-bagatur, in the future the famous commander of Genghis Khan. In the same period, Temuchin has a second son, Chagatai (the exact date of his birth is not known) and a third son, Ogedei (October 1186). Temuchin created his first small ulus in 1186 (1189/90 years are also likely), and had 3 darkness (30 thousand people) troops.

In the ascent of Temuchin as the khan of the ulus, Jamukha did not see anything good and was looking for an open quarrel with his anda. The reason was the murder of Jamukha's younger brother, Taichar, while trying to drive off a herd of horses from Temuchin's possessions. Under the pretext of revenge, Jamukha with his army in 3 darkness moved to Temuchin. The battle took place near the Gulegu mountains, between the headwaters of the Sengur River and the upper course of the Onon. In this first big battle (according to the main source "The Treasured Legend of the Mongols") Temuchin was defeated. This defeat knocked him out of the rut for some time and he had to gather strength to continue the struggle.

The first large military enterprise of Temuchin after the defeat by Jamukha was the war against the Tatars, together with Tooril Khan. The Tatars at that time with difficulty repulsed the attacks of the Jin troops that had entered their possession. The combined troops of Tooril Khan and Temuchin, joining the troops of Jin, moved on the Tatars, the battle took place in 1196. They dealt a series of strong blows to the Tatars and captured rich booty. The government of the Jurchen Jin, as a reward for the defeat of the Tatars, conferred high titles on the steppe leaders. Temuchin received the title "Jautkhuri" (military commissar), and Tooril - "Van" (prince), from that time he became known as Wang Khan. Temuchin became a vassal of Wang Khan, in whom Jin saw the most powerful of the rulers of Eastern Mongolia.

In 1197-1198. Van Khan, without Temuchin, made a campaign against the Merkits, plundered and paid nothing to his named “son” and vassal Temuchin. This marked the beginning of a new cooling. After 1198, when Jin ruined the Kungirats and other tribes, Jin's influence on Eastern Mongolia began to weaken, which allowed Temuchin to take possession of the eastern regions of Mongolia. At this time, Inanch-khan dies and the Naiman state breaks up into two ulus, headed by Buyruk-khan in Altai and Tayan-khan on the Black Irtysh. In 1199 Temuchin, together with Wang Khan and Jamukha, jointly attacked Buyruk Khan and he was defeated. Upon returning home, the Naiman detachment blocked the way. It was decided to fight in the morning, but at night Wang Khan and Jamukha disappeared, leaving Temuchin alone in the hope that the Naimans would end him. But by morning Temuchin realizes their plan and retreats without engaging in battle. The Naimans began to pursue not Temuchin, but Wang Khan. The Kereits entered into a difficult battle with the Naimans, and in the evidence of death, Van-Khan sent messengers to Temuchin with a request for help. Temuchin sent his nukers, among whom Boorchu, Mukhali, Borokhul and Chilown distinguished themselves in battle. For his salvation, Wang Khan bequeathed his ulus to Temuchin after his death (but after the last events he did not believe in it). In 1200, Wang Khan and Temuchin launched a joint campaign against the Taichiuts. Merkits came to the aid of the taiichiuts. In this battle Temuchin was wounded by an arrow, after which Chzhelme took care of him all the following night. By morning, the Taichiuts disappeared, leaving many people behind. Among them was Sorgan-Shira, who once saved Temuchin, and the well-aimed shooter Jebe, who confessed that it was he who shot Temuchin, for which he was forgiven. A pursuit was organized for the tai chuts. Many were killed, some surrendered to the ministry. This was the first defeat of the Taichiuts.

Genghis Khan elevated the written law to a cult, was a supporter 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". At the head of the right wing, he put Boorcha, at the head of the left - Mukhali, two of his most faithful and tested 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 North China

In 1207-1211, the Mongols conquered the land of the Kyrgyz, Khankhans (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 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. Having captured several fortified cities, in the summer the "True Ruler" withdrew to Longjin, waiting out the unbearable heat that fell that year.

Mongol archers on horseback

Meanwhile, news reaches him that his old enemies Tokhta-beks and Kuchluk are preparing for a new war with him. Anticipating 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 sends 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 the Chinese Empire itself, the Jin state, and marched as far as Nianxi in the Hanshu province. With increasing tenacity, Genghis Khan led his troops into the interior of the continent and established his rule over the province of Liaodong, central to the empire. Several Chinese generals deserted 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 generals of Genghis Khan, 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 farther, 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 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.

Campaigns of Genghis Khan and his generals

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 rule. 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.

Death of Genghis Khan

Empire of Genghis Khan at the time of his death

Upon his return 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 hurt. By evening, Genghis Khan began to have a strong fever. As a result, the next morning a council was assembled, at which the question was "to postpone or not the war with the Tanguts." The council was not attended by the eldest son of Genghis Khan, Jochi, to whom there was already a strong distrust, due to his constant evasion of his father's orders. Genghis Khan ordered that the army 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 came. Genghis Khan fell ill throughout the winter of 1225-1226.

Genghis Khan's personality

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 get quite detailed information about both the appearance of Chinggis (tall, strong constitution, wide forehead, long beard), and about his character traits. Coming from a people who apparently did not have a written language and developed state institutions before him, Genghis Khan was deprived of book education. With the talents of a commander, he combined organizational skills, unyielding will and self-control. He was generous and affable enough to maintain the affection of his companions. Without denying himself the joys of life, he remained a stranger to excesses incompatible with the activities of the ruler and commander, and lived to old age, retaining his mental abilities in full force.

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But 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 only 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 began, which with its second onslaught (after the Arabs) almost finished off Europe.

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 Genghis Khan

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

• Khojin-bags, wife of Butu-gurgen from the Ikirez clan;
• Tsetseikhen (Chichigan), wife of Inalchi, the youngest son of the head of the Oirats, Khuduha-beki;
• 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);
• 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 khongirads.

Temuzhin and his second wife, Merkit, Khulan-Khatun, the daughter of Dair-usun, had sons Kulkhan (Khulugen, Kulkan) and Kharachar; and from the Tatar woman Yesugen (Esukat), the daughter of Charu-noyon, the sons of Chakhur (Jaur) and 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 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 clan live in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia (PRC), as well as in other countries.

Genetic research

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

Chronology of major events

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