There are a large number of unique people in world history. They were simple children, often brought up in poverty and did not know good manners. It was these people who radically changed the course of history, leaving behind only ashes. They were building a new world, a new ideology and a new outlook on life. Humanity owes its present life to all these hundreds of people, because it was the resulting mosaic of past events that led to what we have today. Everyone knows the names of such people, because they are constantly on people’s lips. Every year, scientists can provide an increasing number of interesting facts from the lives of great people. In addition, many secrets and mysteries are gradually being revealed, the disclosure of which a little earlier could have led to terrifying consequences.

Acquaintance

Genghis Khan is the founder of the first great khan of which he was. He united various scattered tribes located on the territory of Mongolia. In addition, he carried out a large number of campaigns against neighboring states. Most military campaigns ended in complete victory. The empire of Genghis Khan is considered the largest continental empire in all of world history.

Birth

Temujin was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract. The father named Temujin-Uge in honor of the captured Tatar leader, who was defeated just before the birth of the boy. The date of birth of the great leader is still not known exactly, since different sources indicate different periods. According to documents that existed during the life of the leader and his biographer witnesses, Genghis Khan was born in 1155. Another option is 1162, but there is no exact confirmation. The boy's father, Yesugei-bagatur, left him in the family of his future bride at the age of 11. Genghis Khan had to stay there until he came of age so that the children could get to know each other better. The little girl, the future bride named Borta, was from the Ungirat clan.

Father's death

According to the scriptures, on the way back home the boy's father was poisoned by the Tatars. Yesugei had a fever at home and died three days later. He had two wives. Both of them and their children were kicked out of the tribe by the head of the family. Women and children were forced to live in the forest for several years. They managed to escape by a miracle: they ate plants, the boys tried to fish. Even in the warm season, they were doomed to hunger, since they had to stock up on food for the winter.

Fearing revenge from the heirs of the great khan, the new head of the Targutai tribe, Kiriltukh, pursued Temujin. The boy managed to escape several times, but was eventually caught. They put a wooden block on him, which absolutely limited the martyr's actions. It was impossible to eat, drink, or even get the annoying bug off my face. Realizing the hopelessness of his situation, Temujin decided to escape. At night he reached the lake, where he hid. The boy was completely submerged in the water, leaving only his nostrils on the surface. The head of the tribe's bloodhounds carefully looked for at least some traces of the escapee. One person noticed Temujin, but did not give him away. Later it was he who helped Genghis Khan escape. Soon the boy found his relatives in the forest. Then he married Bort.

The making of a commander

Genghis Khan's empire was created gradually. At first, nukers began to flock to him, with whom he carried out attacks on neighboring territories. Thus, the young man began to have his own land, army and people. Genghis Khan began to form a special system that would allow him to effectively manage the rapidly growing horde. Around 1184, Genghis Khan's first son, Jochi, was born. In 1206, at a congress, Temujin was proclaimed Great Khan by God. From that moment on, he was considered the complete and absolute ruler of Mongolia.

Asia

The conquest of Central Asia took place in several stages. The war with the Karakitai Khanate ended with the Mongols receiving Semirechye and Eastern Turkestan. In order to gain the support of the population, the Mongols allowed Muslims to perform public worship, which was prohibited by the Naimans. This contributed to the fact that the permanent settled population completely took the side of the conquerors. The population considered the arrival of the Mongols to be “the mercy of Allah,” in comparison with the harshness of Khan Kuchluk. The residents themselves opened the gates to the Mongols. It is for this reason that the city of Balasagun was called the “meek city”. Khan Kuchluk was unable to organize a strong enough resistance, so he fled the city. Soon he was found and killed. Thus, the way to Khorezm was opened for Genghis Khan.

The empire of Genghis Khan absorbed Khorezm, a large state in Central Asia. Its weak point was that the nobles had complete power in the city, so the situation was very tense. Muhammad's mother independently appointed all her relatives to important government positions, without asking her son. Having thus created a circle of powerful support, she led the opposition against Muhammad. Internal relations became greatly strained when the threat of a Mongol invasion loomed. The war against Khorezm ended with neither side gaining a significant advantage. At night, the Mongols left the battlefield. In 1215, Genghis Khan agreed with Khorezm on mutual trade relations. However, the first merchants who went to Khorezm were captured and killed. For the Mongols, this was an excellent reason to start a war. Already in 1219, Genghis Khan, together with the main military forces, opposed Khorezm. Despite the fact that many territories were taken by siege, the Mongols plundered cities, killed and destroyed everything around them. Muhammad lost the war even without a fight, and, realizing this, he fled to an island in the Caspian Sea, having previously given power into the hands of his son Jalal ad-Din. After lengthy battles, the khan overtook Jalal ad-Din in 1221 near the Indus River. The enemy army numbered about 50 thousand people. To cope with them, the Mongols used a trick: after carrying out an outflanking maneuver along the rocky terrain, they struck the enemy from the flank. In addition, Genghis Khan deployed a powerful guard unit of bagaturs. Ultimately, Jalal ad-Din's army was almost completely defeated. He and several thousand soldiers fled from the battlefield by swimming.

After a 7-month siege, the capital of Khorezm, Urgench, fell and the city was taken. Jalal ad-Din fought against the troops of Genghis Khan for 10 long years, but this did not bring significant benefit to his state. He died defending his territory in 1231 in Anatolia.

In just three short years (1219-1221), the kingdom of Muhammad bowed to Genghis Khan. The entire eastern part of the kingdom, which occupied the territory from the Indus to the Caspian Sea, was under the rule of the Great Khan of Mongolia.

The Mongols conquered the West through the campaign of Jebe and Subadei. Having captured Samarkand, Genghis Khan sent his troops to conquer Muhammad. Jebe and Subedei passed through the whole of Northern Iran and then captured the South Caucasus. Cities were captured through certain treaties or simply by force. The troops regularly collected tribute from the population. Soon, in 1223, the Mongols defeated the Russian-Polovtsian military forces. However, retreating to the East, they lost. Small remnants of the huge army returned to the Great Khan in 1224, and he was in Asia at that time.

Hiking

The Khan's first victory, which occurred outside of Mongolia, occurred during the 1209-1210 campaign against the Tanguts. Khan began to prepare for war with the most dangerous enemy in the East - the state of Jin. In the spring of 1211, a great war began, which claimed many lives. Very quickly, by the end of the year, Genghis Khan’s troops controlled the territory from the north to the Chinese Wall. Already by 1214, the entire territory covering the north and the Yellow River was in the hands of the Mongol army. In the same year, the siege of Beijing took place. Peace was obtained through an exchange - Genghis Khan married a Chinese princess, who had a huge dowry, lands and wealth. But this step by the emperor was only a ruse, and as soon as the khan’s troops began to retreat, after waiting for the right moment, the Chinese resumed the war. For them, this was a big mistake, because in the speed of the Mongols they destroyed the capital to the last pebble.

In 1221, when Samarkand fell, the eldest son of Genghis Khan was sent to Khorezm to begin the siege of Urgench, the capital of Muhammad. At the same time, the youngest son was sent by his father to Persia to plunder and seize territory.

Separately, it is worth noting what happened between the Russian-Polovtsian and Mongol troops. The modern territory of the battle is the Donetsk region of Ukraine. The Battle of Kalka (year 1223) led to the complete victory of the Mongols. First they defeated the Polovtsian forces, and a little later the main forces of the Russian army were defeated. On May 31, the battle ended with the death of about 9 Russian princes, many boyars and warriors.

The campaign of Subedei and Jebe allowed the army to pass through a significant part of the steppes occupied by the Cumans. This allowed military leaders to evaluate the merits of the future theater of operations, study it and think over a reasonable strategy. The Mongols also learned a lot about the internal structure of Rus'; they received a lot of useful information from prisoners. Genghis Khan's campaigns were always distinguished by the thoroughness that was carried out before the offensive.

Rus

The Mongol-Tatars invasion of Rus' took place in 1237-1240 under the rule of Genghisid Batu. The Mongols actively attacked Rus', struck strong blows, waiting for opportune moments. The main goal of the Mongol-Tatars was to disorganize the warriors of Rus', sow fear and panic. They avoided fighting with large numbers of warriors. The tactic was to disunite a large army and break up the enemy piece by piece, wearing him down with sharp attacks and constant aggression. The Mongols began battles by throwing arrows in order to intimidate and distract their opponents. One of the significant advantages of the Mongol army was that battle management was organized in the best possible way. The managers did not fight next to ordinary warriors, they were at a certain distance, so as to maximally cover the viewing angle of military operations. Instructions were given to the soldiers using various signs: flags, lights, smoke, drums and trumpets. The Mongol attack was carefully planned. For this purpose, powerful reconnaissance and diplomatic preparation for battle were carried out. Much attention was paid to isolating the enemy, as well as fanning internal conflicts. After this stage, it concentrated near the borders. The offensive took place along the entire perimeter. Starting from different sides, the army sought to get to the very center. Penetrating deeper and deeper, the military destroyed cities, stole livestock, killed warriors and raped women. In order to better prepare for an attack, the Mongols sent special observation units that prepared the territory and also destroyed the enemy’s weapons. The exact number of troops on both sides is not reliably known, since information varies.

For Rus', the invasion of the Mongols was a severe blow. A huge part of the population was killed, the cities fell into decay, as they were thoroughly destroyed. Stone construction ceased for several years. Many crafts simply disappeared. The settled population was almost completely eliminated. The empire of Genghis Khan and the Mongol-Tatar invasion of Rus' were closely connected, since for the Mongols it was a very tasty morsel.

Khan's Empire

The Empire of Genghis Khan included a huge territory from the Danube to the Sea of ​​Japan, from Novgorod and to Southeast Asia. In its heyday, it united the lands of Southern Siberia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, Tibet and Central Asia. The 13th century marked the creation and flourishing of the great state of Genghis Khan. But already in the second half of the century, the huge empire began to split into separate uluses, which were ruled by the Chingizids. The most significant fragments of the huge state were: the Golden Horde, the Yuan Empire, the Chagatai ulus and the Hulaguid state. And yet the empire's frontiers were so impressive that no general or conqueror could achieve more.

Capital of the Empire

Karakoram city was the capital of the entire empire. The word literally translates as “black stones of the volcano.” It is believed that Karakorum was founded in 1220. The city was the place where the khan left his family during campaigns and military affairs. The city was also the residence of the khan, in which he received important ambassadors. Russian princes also came here to resolve various political issues. The 13th century gave the world many travelers who left notes about the city (Marco Polo, de Rubruck, Plano Carpini). The city's population was very diverse, since each quarter was isolated from the other. The city was home to artisans and traders who came from all over the world. The city was unique in terms of the diversity of its inhabitants, because among them there were people of different races, religions and thoughts. The city was also built up with many Muslim mosques and Buddhist temples.

Ögedei built a palace which he called “The Palace of Ten Thousand Years of Prosperity.” Each Genghisid also had to build his own palace here, which, naturally, was inferior to the building of the son of the great leader.

Descendants

Genghis Khan had many wives and concubines until the end of his days. However, it was the commander’s first wife, Borta, who gave birth to the most powerful and famous boys. The heir of Jochi's first son, Batu, was the creator of the Golden Horde, Jagatai-Chagatai gave the name to the dynasty that ruled over the central regions for a long time, Ogadai-Ogedei was the successor of the khan himself, Tolui ruled the Mongol Empire from 1251 to 1259. Only these four boys had a certain power in the state. In addition, Borta gave birth to her husband and daughters: Khodzhin-begi, Chichigan, Alagai, Temulen and Altalun.

The khan's second wife, Merkit Khulan-Khatun, gave birth to a daughter, Dayrusun, and sons, Kulkan and Kharachar. Genghis Khan's third wife Esukat gave him a daughter, Charu-noinonu, and sons, Chakhur and Kharkhad.

Genghis Khan, whose life story is impressive, left behind descendants who ruled the Mongols in accordance with the Great Yasa of Khan until the 20s of the last century. The Emperors of Manchuria, who ruled Mongolia and China from the 16th to the 19th centuries, were also the direct heirs of the khan in the female line.

Decline of a great empire

The fall of the empire lasted 9 long years, from 1260 to 1269. The situation was very tense, as there was a pressing question about who would receive all the power. In addition, it should be noted the serious administrative problems faced by the management apparatus.

The fall of the empire occurred for the reason that the sons of Genghis Khan did not want to live according to the laws established by their father. They could not live by the main postulate “On the good quality and severity of the state.” Genghis Khan was shaped by a cruel reality that constantly demanded decisive action from him. Temujin was constantly tested by life, starting from the early years of his life. His sons lived in a completely different environment; they were protected and confident in the future. In addition, we should not forget that they valued their father’s possessions much less than he did.

Another reason for the collapse of the state was the struggle for power between the sons of Genghis Khan. She distracted them from the pressing affairs of the state. When important issues had to be resolved, the brothers were engaged in sorting things out. This could not but affect the situation in the country, world status, and the mood of the people. All this led to a general deterioration in the state in many aspects. Dividing their father's empire among themselves, the brothers did not understand that they were destroying it by dismantling it into stones.

Death of a Great Leader

Genghis Khan, whose story is impressive to this day, returned from Central Asia and marched with his army through Western China. In 1225, near the borders of Xi Xia, Genghis Khan was hunting, during which he fell and was seriously hurt. By the evening of the same day he developed a severe fever. As a consequence of this, a meeting of managers was convened in the morning, at which the question of whether or not to start a war with the Tanguts was considered. The council also included Jochi, who did not enjoy much confidence at the top of the government, since he regularly deviated from his father’s instructions. Noticing this constant behavior, Genghis Khan ordered his army to go against Jochi and kill him. But due to the death of his son, the campaign was never completed.

Having recovered his health, in the spring of 1226 Genghis Khan and his army crossed the Xi Xia border. Having defeated the defenders and left the city to be plundered, the khan began his last war. The Tanguts were completely defeated on the approaches to the Tangut kingdom, the path to which became open. The fall of the Tangut kingdom and the death of the khan are very connected, because the great leader died here.

Causes of death

The scriptures say that Genghis Khan's death occurred after he accepted gifts from the Tangut king. However, there are several versions that have equal rights to exist. Among the main and most probable causes are the following: death from illness, poor adaptation to the climate of the area, consequences of a fall from a horse. There is also a separate version that the khan was killed by his young wife, whom he took by force. The girl, fearing the consequences, committed suicide that same night.

Tomb of Genghis Khan

No one can name the exact burial place of the Great Khan. Different sources disagree on the hypotheses for a number of reasons. Moreover, each of them indicates different places and methods of burial. Genghis Khan's grave can be located in any of three places: on Burkhan-Khaldun, on the northern side of Altai Khan or in Yekhe-Utek.

The monument to Genghis Khan is located in Mongolia. The equestrian statue is considered to be the largest monument and statue in the entire world. The opening of the monument took place on September 26, 2008. Its height is 40 m without the pedestal, the height of which is 10 m. The entire statue is covered with stainless steel, the total weight is 250 tons. Also, the monument to Genghis Khan is surrounded by 36 columns. Each of them symbolizes the khan of the Mongol Empire, starting with Genghis and ending with Ligden. In addition, the monument has two floors and houses a museum, an art gallery, billiards, restaurants, a conference room and a souvenir shop. The horse's head serves as an observation deck for visitors. The statue is surrounded by a large park. The city authorities plan to develop a golf course, an open theater and an artificial lake.

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.

The name of Genghis Khan has long become a household name. It is a symbol of devastation and colossal wars. The Mongol ruler created an empire whose size amazed the imagination of his contemporaries.

Childhood

The future Genghis Khan, whose biography has many blank spots, was born somewhere on the border of modern Russia and Mongolia. They named him Temujin. He adopted the name Genghis Khan as a designation of the title of ruler of the vast Mongol empire.

Historians have never been able to accurately calculate the date of birth of the famous commander. Various estimates place it between 1155 and 1162. This inaccuracy is due to the lack of reliable sources relating to that era.

Genghis Khan was born into the family of one of the Mongol leaders. His father was poisoned by the Tatars, after which the child began to be persecuted by other contenders for power in his native uluses. In the end, Temujin was captured and forced to live with stocks placed around his neck. This symbolized the slave position of the young man. Temujin managed to escape from captivity by hiding in the lake. He was underwater until his pursuers began looking for him elsewhere.

Unification of Mongolia

Many Mongols sympathized with the escaped prisoner who was Genghis Khan. The biography of this man is a vivid example of how a commander created a huge army from scratch. Once free, he was able to enlist the support of one of the khans named Tooril. This elderly ruler gave his daughter to Temuchin as his wife, thereby cementing an alliance with the talented young military leader.

Very soon the young man was able to meet the expectations of his patron. Together with his army, ulus after ulus. He was distinguished by his uncompromisingness and cruelty towards his enemies, which terrified his enemies. His main enemies were the Tatars, who dealt with his father. Genghis Khan ordered his subjects to destroy all these people, except for children, whose height did not exceed the height of a cart wheel. The final victory over the Tatars occurred in 1202, when they became harmless to the Mongols, united under the rule of Temujin.

Temujin's new name

In order to officially consolidate his leading position among his fellow tribesmen, the leader of the Mongols convened a kurultai in 1206. This council proclaimed him Genghis Khan (or Great Khan). It was under this name that the commander went down in history. He managed to unite the warring and scattered uluses of the Mongols. The new ruler gave them the only goal - to extend their power to neighboring peoples. Thus began the aggressive campaigns of the Mongols, which continued after Temujin’s death.

Genghis Khan's reforms

Soon reforms began, initiated by Genghis Khan. The biography of this leader is very informative. Temujin divided the Mongols into thousands and tumens. These administrative units together made up the Horde.

The main problem that could hinder Genghis Khan was internal hostility among the Mongols. Therefore, the ruler mixed numerous clans among themselves, depriving them of the previous organization that had existed for dozens of generations. It bore fruit. The horde became manageable and obedient. At the head of the tumens (one tumen included ten thousand warriors) were people loyal to the khan, who unquestioningly obeyed his orders. The Mongols were also attached to their new units. For moving to another tumen, those who disobeyed faced the death penalty. Thus, Genghis Khan, whose biography shows him as a far-sighted reformer, was able to overcome the destructive tendencies within Mongolian society. Now he could engage in external conquests.

Chinese campaign

By 1211, the Mongols managed to subjugate all the neighboring Siberian tribes. They were characterized by poor self-organization and could not repel the invaders. The first real test for Genghis Khan on distant frontiers was the war with China. This civilization had been at war with the northern nomads for many centuries and had enormous military experience. One day, the guards on the Great Wall of China saw foreign troops led by Genghis Khan (a short biography of the leader cannot do without this episode). This fortification system was impregnable to previous intruders. However, it was Temujin who was the first to take possession of the wall.

It was divided into three parts. Each of them set out to conquer hostile cities in their own direction (in the south, southeast and east). Genghis Khan himself reached with his army all the way to the sea. He made peace. The losing ruler agreed to recognize himself as a tributary of the Mongols. For this he received Beijing. However, as soon as the Mongols retreated back to the steppes, the Chinese emperor moved his capital to another city. This was regarded as treason. The nomads returned to China and again filled it with blood. In the end, this country was subjugated.

Conquest of Central Asia

The next region that came under Temujin's attack was the local Muslim rulers who did not resist the Mongol hordes for long. Because of this, the biography of Genghis Khan is studied in detail in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan today. A summary of his biography is taught in any school.

In 1220, the khan captured Samarkand, the oldest and richest city in the region.

The next victims of the nomadic aggression were the Polovtsians. These steppe inhabitants asked some Slavic princes for help. So in 1223, Russian warriors first met the Mongols at the Battle of Kalka. The battle between the Polovtsy and the Slavs was lost. Temujin himself was in his homeland at that time, but closely monitored the success of his subordinates' weapons. Genghis Khan, whose interesting biographical facts are collected in various monographs, received the remnants of this army, which returned to Mongolia in 1224.

Death of Genghis Khan

In 1227, during the siege of the Tangut capital, he died. A brief biography of the leader, set out in any textbook, will certainly tell about this episode.

The Tanguts lived in northern China and, despite the fact that the Mongols had long since subjugated them, rebelled. Then Genghis Khan himself led the army, which was supposed to punish the disobedient.

According to the chronicles of that time, the leader of the Mongols hosted a delegation of Tanguts who wanted to discuss the terms of the surrender of their capital. However, Genghis Khan felt ill and refused the ambassadors an audience. He died soon after. It is not known exactly what caused the leader’s death. Perhaps it was a matter of age, since the khan was already seventy years old, and he could hardly endure long campaigns. There is also a version that he was stabbed to death by one of his wives. The mysterious circumstances of the death are also complemented by the fact that researchers still cannot find Temujin’s grave.

Heritage

There is little reliable evidence left about the empire that Genghis Khan founded. The biography, campaigns and victories of the leader - all this is known only from fragmentary sources. But the significance of the Khan’s actions is difficult to overestimate. He created the largest state in human history, spread over the vast expanse of Eurasia.

Temujin's descendants developed his success. Thus, his grandson Batu led an unprecedented campaign against the Russian principalities. He became the ruler of the Golden Horde and imposed tribute on the Slavs. But the empire founded by Genghis Khan was short-lived. At first it split into several uluses. These states were eventually captured by their neighbors. Therefore, it was Genghis Khan Khan, whose biography is known to any educated person, who became a symbol of Mongol power.

Federal Agency for Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Siberian State Automobile and Road Transport

Academy (SibADI)

Department 2 of National History and Political Science"

Essay

On the topic

"Genghis Khan"

Completed:

Student gr. EUT 10E1

Poghosyan Andranik Venetikovich

I checked the article. teacher Drazdkov A.V.

1. Genghis Khan - biography. 2-3 pp.

2. Unification of the Mongols 4-5 pp.

3. Military and administrative reforms. 5-6 pp.

4. The first campaigns of Genghis Khan. 6-7 pp.

5. Conquest of Central Asia. 7-8 pp.

6. The campaign of Jebe and Subetei. 8-9 pp.

7. Conquest of Iran. 9 pages

8. Recent years. 10-11 pp.

9. References 11 pages.

Subject.

GENGISH KHAN.(Temuchin)

There is probably not a person who is not familiar with the name of Genghis Khan, and among those who know history, there is not a single one who would not be amazed at the greatness of his deeds, which had a huge impact on the history of Asia and Europe. An extraordinary, attractive, terrible, unforgettable personality among generations of people, whom descendants envied and learned from. Even the great lame Timur traced his family back to Genghis Khan, trying to connect the history of his family with the life story of the great conqueror.

The man before becoming Genghis Khan, whose name was Temujin, was born in 1155 and came from the Borjigin clan of the Taichjiut tribe. His father Yessugai-bagatur (bagatur, baatur - one of the titles of the Mongolian nobility) was a wealthy noyon. Along with his death in 1164, the ulus he created in the Onon River valley also disintegrated. The tribes that were part of the Yessugai-Bagatura ulus abandoned the family of the deceased. The nukers (nuker - friend, comrade) who were personally loyal to him and the armed warriors who were in the service of the khans also left.

For several years, grief and poverty haunted Yessugai's family, and the enemies of his family did not stop trying to get even with the wife and children of the once terrible warrior, but it was from that time that Temujin's great ascent to the heights of power and might began. Distinguished by his height and physical strength, as well as his extraordinary intelligence among his fellow tribesmen, Temujin first recruited a gang of daredevils from them and began to engage in robbery and raids on neighboring tribes. Gradually the number of his adherents grew. His first undertaking was the successful restoration of his father's disintegrated ulus. Temujin's possessions consisted of lands lying in the upper reaches of the Tola, Kerulen and Onon rivers with their tributaries, which since ancient times were considered the ancestral home of all Mongols and the sacred heart of Mongolia.

The future “ruler of the Universe” did not set out to carry out campaigns of conquest; he only skillfully maneuvered among the surrounding hostile tribes: taking advantage of the central position of his ulus, he attacked separately the strong tribes that threatened him, preventing their possible raids on his lands with preemptive strikes, and, sometimes by cunning, sometimes by gifts and bribery, he did not allow large enemy forces to unite against him. The result of this was the subjugation of all of Eastern Mongolia, and by 1205 the unification of Western Mongolia under the rule of Temujin.

“In the life of Genghis Khan, two main stages can be distinguished: this is the period of the unification of all Mongol tribes into a single state and the period of conquest and the creation of a great empire. The border between them is marked symbolically"

1206 is the year of a great turning point in the life of this man: at the kurultai he was proclaimed the Divine Genghis Khan (Khan of Khans, or Great Khan), his full name in Mongolian became Delkyan ezen Sutu Bogda Genghis Khan, i.e. the Lord of the world, sent by God Genghis Khan .For a long time, the tradition of portraying Genghis Khan as a bloodthirsty despot and barbarian prevailed in European historiography. Indeed, he received no education and was illiterate. But the very fact that he and his heirs created an empire that united 4/5 of the Old World, from the mouths of the Danube, the borders of Hungary, Poland, Veliky Novgorod to the Pacific Ocean, and from the Arctic Ocean to the Adriatic Sea, the Arabian Desert, the Himalayas and the mountains of India, testifies to at least about him as a brilliant commander and prudent administrator, and not just a conqueror-destroyer. As a commander, he was characterized by the courage of strategic plans and deep foresight of political and diplomatic calculations. Intelligence, including economic intelligence, organization of courier communications on a large scale for military and administrative purposes - these are his personal discoveries.

GENGISH KHAN(proper name - Temujin) (1155 or 1162–1227), statesman of Mongolia, commander and creator of the first united Mongolian state. Born in the Delyun Baldok tract on the Onon River, in 1155 (according to medieval Muslim historians) or in 1162 (according to Chinese sources), the eldest son of the leader of the Taichiut tribe Yesugei-baatar, the grandson of Khabul, the first khan who existed at the beginning of the 12th century. Union of Mongolian tribes "Khamag Monogol Ulus". According to legend, he had red hair, unusual for the Mongols. When Temujin was 9 years old, his father was poisoned, and the union he led fell apart. His widow and children began to wander.

1) Uniting the Mongols.

The grown-up Temujin entered into an alliance with his father’s related friend (anda), Togoril (Van-khan), an influential leader of the Kereit tribe, and also fraternized with Bytyr Jamukha from the Jajirats clan. Relying on this alliance, he was able to gather his father's former subjects and defeat the strong Merkit tribe. Later, the coalition with Jamukha collapsed, and Temujin was defeated by his Anda brother-in-arms in the battle of Dalan Balzhut, but he proved himself to be a capable diplomat and, through promises and rewards, attracted most of Jamukha's supporters. In 1190, with the support of the nobility (noyons) and warriors (nukers), the son of Yesugei Bator was elected head of the tribal union created by his grandfather.

Temujin established a court with a large staff of court officials appointed from the noyons of various tribes and clans - heads of the khan's herds, khan's herds, khan's wagons, kravchi, bearers of the khan's chair, etc., a privileged class of darkhans and began to create a combat-ready army, appointing those loyal to him people in positions of commanders of tens, hundreds and thousands of soldiers. In addition, he organized a detachment of bodyguard guards (keshik). In alliance with the troops of the Jurchen Empire, Jin Temujin c. 1200 defeated the Tatars, and then dispersed the new coalition of tribes created by Jamukha. In 1202, together with the Kereite Van Khan, Temujin defeated the Merkit and Tatars. Both planned a campaign against the strong Naiman tribe, but at the last moment their alliance fell apart. Thanks to his military talent, Temujin defeated Jamukha and Van Khan in 1203, and in 1204–1205 he conquered the Naimans and the Merkits who fled to the Baikal region. Thus, he managed to unite all the Mongol tribes.

During the conquest of the Naimans, Chingiz became acquainted with the beginnings of written records, which were in the hands of the Uyghurs there; the same Uighurs entered the service of Genghis and were the first officials in the Mongol state and the first teachers of the Mongols. Apparently, Genghis hoped to subsequently replace the Uyghurs with natural Mongols, since he ordered noble Mongolian youths, including his sons, to learn the language and writing of the Uyghurs. After the spread of Mongol rule, even during the life of Genghis, the Mongols also used the services of Chinese and Persian officials.

Military and administrative reforms.

In 1206, at a congress of nobility (kurultai), held in Delyun-buldak on the banks of the Onon River, Temujin was proclaimed the all-Mongol khan - Genghis Khan. Khan organized the Mongolian state on a military-administrative basis; the entire population of the country was divided into “right” and “left” wings, which were divided into tumens. Each tumen was supposed to field 10 thousand warriors and consisted of thousands (population groups that fielded 1 thousand warriors). Thousands were divided into hundreds, which, in turn, consisted of dozens (groups of nomads - ails, fielding 10 warriors each). In total, 95 detachments of 1 thousand people were organized.

The most severe discipline was introduced in the Mongol army; the slightest disobedience or manifestation of cowardice was punishable by death.

Genghis Khan organized the administration of the new Mongol state. Separate uluses (khubi - “separate share”) were allocated to the management of his mother, sons and younger brothers, and the post of supreme judge was established. Khan unified written records, entrusting it initially to Uyghur scribes. The Uyghur script, adapted to the Mongolian language, was introduced. In 1206 he proclaimed a code of laws (yasa) based on customary law, but taking into account the needs of a centralized state. The yasa contained mainly a list of punishments for various crimes. The death penalty was punishable by the unauthorized proclamation of oneself as khan, deliberate deception, triple bankruptcy, hiding a runaway captive or slave, refusal to assist in battle, desertion, betrayal, theft, perjury and disrespect for elders.

The military strategy and tactics developed by Genghis Khan (organization of reconnaissance, surprise attack, the desire to defeat the enemy in parts, ambushes and the practice of luring the enemy, the use of mobile masses of cavalry, etc.) ensured the advantage of the Mongol army over the forces of neighboring states.

The first campaigns of Genghis Khan.

In 1205, 1207 and 1210, Mongol forces invaded the Tangut state of Western Xia (Xi Xia), but did not have decisive success; the matter ended with the conclusion of a peace treaty obliging the Tanguts to pay tribute to the Mongols. In 1207, a detachment sent by Genghis Khan under the command of his son Jochi made a campaign north of the Selenga River and into the Yenisei valley, conquering the forest tribes of the Oirats, Ursuts, Tubass and others. In the winter of 1208, Mongol troops crossed the Altai Mountains, pursuing the Naiman who fled to the west and subjugating the Uighurs . By 1211, the Yenisei Kyrgyz and Karluks joined the new power.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

KAZAKH NATIONAL UNIVERSITY named after K.I.SATPAEV

Department of History of Kazakhstan

Topic: “Genghis Khan. Years of Reign"

Completed:

1st year student

font 5В072400

Kulmakhanov Ramazan

Checked:

Ph.D. assistant professor

Department of IR

Chatybekova K.K.

Almaty 2011

Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan (1155 or 1162 - August 25, 1227) - a short title of the Mongol khan from the Borjigin clan, who united the scattered Mongol tribes.

The commander who organized the Mongol conquests in China, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Founder of the Mongol Empire and its first great khan.

After his death in 1227, the heirs of the empire became his direct descendants from his first wife Borte in the male line, the Chingizids.

Biography. Birth and youth

Temujin was born in the Delyun-Boldok tract on the banks of the Onon River (Fig. 1) in the family of one of the leaders of the Mongolian Taichiut tribe, Yesugei-Bagatura from the Borjigin clan and his wife Hoelun from the Ungirat tribe, whom Yesugei recaptured from the Merkit Eke-Chiledu and was named in the honor of the Tatar leader Temuchin-Uge, whom he captured, 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) point to the year 1167.

At the age of 9, Yesugei-Bagatur betrothed his son to 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 died three days later.

After the death of Temujin’s father, his followers abandoned the widows (Yesugei had 2 wives) and the children of Yesugei (Temudjin 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 cattle. 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 Taichiut leader, Targitai-Kiriltukh (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 him - 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 stocks 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 (later Chilaun, the son of Sorgan-Shire, became one of Genghis Khan’s four close nukers).

After some time, Temujin found his family. The Borjigins immediately migrated to another place, and the Taichiuts could not detect them. At the age of 11, Temujin became friends with his peer of noble origin from the Jadaran (Jajirat) tribe - Jamukha, who later became the leader of this tribe. With him in his childhood, Temujin twice became a sworn brother (anda).

A few years later, Temujin married his betrothed Borta (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 steppe leaders of that time - Tooril, the khan of the Kerait tribe. Tooril was a sworn brother (anda) of Temujin’s father, and he managed to enlist the support of the Kereit leader by recalling this friendship and presenting a sable fur coat to Borte. Upon Temujin’s return from Tooril Khan, one old Mongol gave him his son Jelme, who became one of his commanders, into his service.

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. 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 (according to rough estimates, based on the date of birth of Ogedei), Temujin, with the help of Tooril Khan and his Kereyites, as well as Jamukha (invited by Temujin at the insistence of Tooril Khan) from the Jajirat clan, defeated the Merkits and returned Borte. Belgutai's mother, Sochikhel, refused to go back.

After the victory, Tooril Khan went to his horde, and Temujin and 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 dispersed, while many of Jamukha’s noyons and nukers joined Temujin (which was one of the reasons for Jamukha’s hostility towards Temujin). Having separated, Temujin began organizing his ulus, creating a horde control apparatus. The first two nukers, Boorchu and Jelme, were appointed senior at 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). Temujin created his first small ulus in 1186 (1189/90 are also probable) and had 3 tumens (30,000 people) troops.

Jamukha sought an open quarrel with his anda. The reason was the death of Jamukha's younger brother, Taichar, during his attempt to steal a herd of horses from Temudjin's possessions. Under the pretext of revenge, Jamukha and his army marched against 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 Secret History of the Mongols”) Temujin was defeated.

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 towards 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 received the title "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, headed by Buiruk Khan in Altai and Tayan Khan on the Black Irtysh. In 1199, Temujin, together with Van Khan and Jamukha, attacked Buyruk 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 found out about this and retreated 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 Temujin 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 Temujin after his death.

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 Jelme 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 marksman Jirgoadai, who confessed that it was he who shot Temujin. He was accepted into Temujin's army and received the nickname Jebe (arrowhead). A pursuit was organized for the Taichuts. Many were killed, some surrendered into service. This was the first major victory won by Temujin.

In 1201, some Mongol forces (including the Tatars, Taichiuts, Merkits, Oirats and other tribes) decided to unite in the fight against Temudjin. They took the oath of allegiance to Jamukha and enthroned him with the title Gur Khan. Having learned about this, Temujin contacted Van Khan, who immediately raised an army and came to him.

In 1202, Temujin independently opposed the Tatars. Before this campaign, 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. A fierce battle was won, and at the council assembled by Temujin after the battle, it was decided to destroy all the Tatars, except for the children below the cart axle, as revenge for the ancestors of the Mongols they killed (in particular Temujin's father).

In the spring of 1203, a battle between Temujin’s troops and the combined forces of Jamukha and Van Khan took place. Although Van Khan did not want a war with Temujin, he was persuaded by his son Nilha-Sangum, who hated Temujin because Van Khan preferred him over his son and was thinking of transferring the Kereite throne to him, and Jamukha, who claimed that Temujin was uniting with Naiman Taiyang Khan. In this battle, Temujin's ulus suffered many losses. But Van Khan's son was wounded, which is why the Kereits left the battlefield. To gain time, Temujin began sending diplomatic messages, the purpose of which was to separate both Jamukha and Van Khan, and Van Khan from his son. At the same time, a number of tribes that did not join either side created a coalition against both Wang Khan and Temujin. Having learned about this, Wang Khan attacked first and defeated them, after which he began to feast. When Temujin was informed about this, a decision was made to attack with lightning speed and take the enemy by surprise. Without even making overnight stops, Temujin’s army overtook the Kereyites and completely defeated them in the fall of 1203. The Kereit ulus ceased to exist. Van Khan and his son managed to escape, but came across a Naiman guard, where Tayan Khan ordered Van Khan's head to be cut off. Wang Khan's son was able to escape, but was later killed by the Uyghurs.

With the fall of the Kereyites in 1204, Jamukha and the remaining army joined the Naimans in the hope of Temujin’s death at the hands of Tayan Khan or vice versa. Tayan Khan saw Temujin as his only rival in the struggle for power in the Mongolian steppes. Having learned that the Naimans were thinking about the attack, Temujin decided to launch a campaign against Tayan Khan. But before the campaign, he began to reorganize the command and control of the army and the ulus. In the early summer of 1204, Temujin's army - about 45,000 horsemen - set out on a campaign against the Naiman. Tayan Khan's army initially retreated in order to lure Temujin's army into a trap, but then, at the insistence of Tayan Khan's son, Kuchluk, they entered the battle. The Naimans were defeated, only Kuchluk with a small detachment managed to go to Altai to join his uncle Buyuruk. Tayan Khan died, and Jamukha disappeared even before the fierce battle began, realizing that the Naimans could not win. Kublai, Zhebe, Zhelme and Subetai especially distinguished themselves in battles with the Naimans.

In the autumn of the same year, Temujin, building on his success, opposed the Merkit, and the Merkit people fell. Tokhtoa-beki, the ruler of the Merkits, fled to Altai, where he united with Kuchluk.

In the spring of 1205, Temujin's army attacked Tokhtoa-beki and Kuchluk in the area of ​​the Bukhtarma River. Tokhtoa-beki died, and his army and most of Kuchluk’s Naimans, pursued by the Mongols, drowned while crossing the Irtysh. Kuchluk and his people fled to the Kara-Kitays (southwest of Lake Balkhash). There Kuchluk managed to gather scattered detachments of Naimans and Keraits, gain favor with the Gurkhan and become quite a significant political figure. The sons of Tokhtoa-beki fled to the Kipchaks, taking with them the severed head of their father. Subetai was sent to pursue them.

After the defeat of the Naiman, most of the Mongols of Jamukha went over to Temujin's side. At the end of 1205, Jamukha himself was handed over to Temujin alive by his own nukers, for which they were executed by Temujin as traitors. Jamukha was also executed by Temujin.

Reforms of the Great Khan

In the spring of 1206, at the source of the Onon River at the kurultai, Temujin was proclaimed great khan over all tribes and received the title “Genghis Khan”. Mongolia has been transformed: the scattered and warring Mongolian nomadic tribes have united into a single state.

A new law came into force - Yasa of Genghis Khan. In Yas, the main place was occupied by articles about mutual assistance in the campaign and the prohibition of deception of those who trusted. Those who violated these regulations were executed, and the enemy of the Mongols, who remained faithful to their ruler, was spared and accepted into their army. Loyalty and courage were considered good, and cowardice and betrayal were considered evil.

Genghis Khan 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. The armed forces of Genghis Khan, formed in this way, amounted 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, the owner of all the land in the state, distributed land and arats to the 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 disobedience the arats faced the death penalty.

An armed detachment of personal bodyguards, called keshik, enjoyed exceptional privileges and was intended 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. The Russian word “bogatyr” comes precisely from the Mongolian word “bagadur”.

Genghis Khan created a network of message lines, 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 forest tribes, 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 attention to the south.

Before the conquest of China, Genghis Khan decided to secure the border by capturing the Tangut state of Xi-Xia in 1207, which was located between his possessions and the state of Jin. Having captured several fortified cities, in the summer of 1208 Genghis Khan retreated to Longjin, waiting out the unbearable heat that fell that year.

Meanwhile, news reached him that his old enemies Tokhtoa-beks and Kuchluk were preparing for a new war with him. Having carefully prepared, Genghis Khan defeated them completely in a battle on the banks of the Irtysh. Tokhtoa-beki was among the dead, and Kuchluk escaped and found shelter with the Karakitai.

Satisfied with the victory, Temujin again sent 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 state of Jin directly and marched as far as Nianxi in Hanshu Province. With increasing persistence, Genghis Khan led his troops deep into the continent and established his power over the province of Liaodong, central to the empire. Several Chinese commanders went 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 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-si, and Genghis Khan himself ended his triumphant campaign only after he reached the sea rocky cape in Shandong province. In the spring of 1214, he returned to Mongolia and made 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 power. 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.

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.

To the west

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, penetrated into Transcaucasia, defeated the Georgian army (1222) and, moving north along the western shore of the Caspian Sea, met in the North Caucasus a united army of Vainakhs (Chechens and Ingush), Polovtsians , Lezgins, Circassians and Alans. 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 and Circassians, and then defeated the Cumans piecemeal, while the Vainakhs managed to avoid complete defeat. After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Lezgin-speaking Derbent, the Mongols bypassed the city. After this, through the territory of other Dagestan highlanders, the Mongols reached the coast of the Caspian Sea north of Derbent, opening their way to the North Caucasus steppes. 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'. Polovtsian Khan Kotyan asked for the help of his son-in-law Mstislav the Udal and Mstislav III Romanovich, Grand Duke of Kyiv. At the beginning of 1223, a princely congress was convened in Kyiv, which decided that the forces of the Kyiv, Galician, Chernigov, Seversky, Smolensk and Volyn principalities 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 Russians to break the alliance with the Polovtsians. 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 his princes were 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 the inhabitants. 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 to include several new provinces that lay north of the Yellow River. 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 Song Dynasty.

Death of Genghis Khan

Upon returning from Central Asia, Genghis Khan once again led his army through Western China. According to Rashid ad-din, in the fall of 1225, having migrated to the borders of Xi Xia, while hunting, Genghis Khan fell from his horse and was seriously injured. By evening, Genghis Khan began to develop a high fever. As a result, the next morning a council was convened, 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 mistrusted, was not present at the council due to his constant evasion of his father's orders. Genghis Khan ordered the army to go on a campaign against 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.

In the spring of 1226, Genghis Khan again led the army, and the Mongols crossed the Xi Xia border in the lower reaches of the Edzin Gol River. The Tanguts and some allied tribes were defeated and lost several tens of thousands killed. Genghis Khan handed over the civilian population to the army for destruction and plunder. This was the beginning of Genghis Khan's last war, designed for the complete extermination of the Tangut people. In December, the Mongols crossed the Yellow River and entered the eastern regions of Xi Xia. Near Lingzhou, a clash of a hundred thousand Tangut army with the Mongols occurred. The Tangut army was completely defeated. The path to the capital of Xi Xia was now open.

Genghis Khan's Empire at the time of his death

In the winter of 1226--1227. The final siege of Zhongxing began. In the spring and summer of 1227, the Tangut state was destroyed, and the capital was doomed. The fall of the capital Xi Xia is directly related to the death of Genghis Khan, who died under its walls. According to Rashid ad-din, he died before the fall of the Tangut capital. According to the Yuan-shi, Genghis Khan died when the inhabitants of the capital began to surrender. The “Secret Legend” tells that Genghis Khan accepted the Tangut ruler with gifts, but, feeling bad, ordered his death. And then he ordered to take the capital and put an end to the Tangut state, after which he died. Sources name different causes of death - sudden illness, illness from the unhealthy climate of the Tangut state, a consequence of a fall from a horse. It is confidently established that he died in the early autumn (or late summer) of 1227 on the territory of the Tangut state of Xi Xia immediately after the fall of the capital Zhongxing (the modern city of Yinchuan) and the destruction of the Tangut state.

According to the will, Genghis Khan was succeeded by his third son Ogedei.

Tomb of Genghis Khan

Where Genghis Khan was buried has not yet been established; sources cite different places and possible burial processions.

According to local legends, the tomb of Genghis Khan is located near Lake Tabasun Nor. The supposed location of the grave is Mount Burkhan-Khaldun, sacred to the Mongols, as well as the Delyun-Boldok tract (Upper Onon).

Genghis Khan commander army campaign

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 information both about Chinggis’s appearance (tall, strong build, wide forehead, long beard) and about 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

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, even during the life of Genghis Khan, the Mongols also used the services of officials and clergy of the conquered peoples, primarily the Chinese and Persians.

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.

Temujin 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.

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

Chronology of main events

1162 -- Birth of Temujin (also probable dates are 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 Toghrul. Birth of the 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 attack 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 Temujin.

1203 - Attack of the Keraits, Van Khan's tribe, with Jamukha at the head of the army on Temujin's 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 Merkits and Naimans tribe.

1205 - Betrayal and surrender of Jamukha by his nukers to Temujin and probable execution of Jamukha.

1206 -- At the kurultai, Temujin is given the title "Genghis Khan".

1207 - 1210 - Genghis Khan attacks 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.

List of references

Borzhigin G. N. Ertniy etseg ovgod huu urag. - M.: Mongolia, 2005;

Grousset R. Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the Universe. -- M., 2008. (ZhZL series) -- ISBN 978-5-235-03133-3

D "Osson K. From Genghis Khan to Tamerlane. - Paris, 1935;

Kradin N. N., Skrynnikova T. D. Empire of Genghis Khan. -- M.: Eastern Literature, 2006. -- ISBN 5-02-018521-3

Rashid ad-Din Fazlullah Hamadani. Collection of chronicles. -- T. 1. Book. 1. Per. L. A. Khetagurova, 1952

Rashid ad-Din Fazlullah Hamadani. Collection of chronicles. -- T. 1. Book. 2. Per. O. I. Smirnova, 1952;

Yuan-chao bi-shi. The hidden legend of the Mongols. Per. S. A. Kozina, 1941;

Yuan shi. History of the Yuan Dynasty. - M.: Beijing, 1976.

Yurchenko A. G. The image of Genghis Khan in world literature of the XIII-XV centuries. // Yurchenko A. G. Historical geography of political myth. The image of Genghis Khan in world literature of the XIII-XV centuries. - St. Petersburg: Eurasia, 2006. - p. 7-22.

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