Electronic Passport to Genghis and Kublai Khan

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Mr. Dowling's Electronic Passport Chinese History

Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan

     Genghis Khan was one of the world’s greatest conquerors. He was born in AD1167, the son of a minor chief in what is now eastern Mongolia, and was originally given the name Temujin. Temujin united the nomadic tribes of Mongolia in a disciplined military state. He became known as Genghis Khan, or "Universal Ruler."

     In 1207, Genghis Khan led the Mongols on the first of many destructive, bloody invasions.   Nobody knows exactly how many people were slaughtered by his destructive raids, by even the most conservative estimates suggest several million people died. Ganghis Khan never learned how to read, but his success as a ruler resulted from his superior military organization, strategy and mobility.

     Genghis Kahn’s grandson, Kublai Khan, conquered China. Kublai Khan moved his capital to the city now known as Beijing in 1271. He probably did not know how to speak Chinese, but he took the Chinese name Yuan for his dynasty. The Yuan was the only foreign dynasty to rule all of China. At its height, the Mongol empire stretched from Korea to Hungary and as far south as Vietnam. It was the largest empire the world has ever known. The Mongols are remembered mostly for their ferocious military force, but they improved the road system linking China with Russia and promoted trade throughout the empire and with Europe.

     After Kublai Khan died in 1294, the Mongols became less warlike. They were resented as an elite, privileged class exempt from taxation. Several natural disasters and a peasant rebellion caused the Mandate of Heaven to shift to a Buddhist peasant, Hung-wu. Hung-wu expelled over 60,000 Mongols and began the Ming Dynasty.

The Land of Genghis Khan -- National Geographic profiled the Universal Leader of the Mongols in December, 1996 and February, 1997. The Internet version of the article is fascinating! Note that National geographic refers to the tents the Mongols live in as gers. I used the term yerts. They are the same word. Yert is the more common spelling, but either is acceptable.

Chinese History

To cite this page:
Dowling, Mike., "The Electronic Passport to Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan," available from http://www.mrdowling.com/613-khans.html; Internet; updated Tuesday, April 30, 2002 11:57 PM