Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Archeologists Unearth Remains of Genghis Khan's Palace on Mongolian Steppe
Associated Press ^ | Oct 6, 2004 | Audrey McAvoy

Posted on 10/06/2004 6:04:21 AM PDT by Pharmboy

TOKYO (AP) - Archaeologists have unearthed the site of Genghis Khan's palace and believe the long-sought grave of the 13th century Mongolian warrior is somewhere nearby, the head of the excavation team said Wednesday. A Japanese and Mongolian research team found the complex on a grassy steppe 150 miles east of the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator, said Shinpei Kato, professor emeritus at Tokyo's Kokugakuin University.

Genghis Khan (c. 1162-1227) united warring tribes to become leader of the Mongols in 1206. After his death, his descendants expanded his empire until it stretched from China to Hungary.

Genghis Khan built the palace in the simple shape of a square tent attached to wooden columns on the site at around 1200, Kato said.

The researchers found porcelain buried among the ruins dated to the warrior's era, helping identify the grounds, Kato said. A description of the scenery around the palace by a messenger from China's Southern Tang Dynasty in 1232 also matched the area, he added.

Genghis Khan's tomb is believed to be nearby because ancient texts say court officials commuted from the mausoleum later built on the grounds to the burial site daily to conduct rituals for the dead.

Kato said his group was not aiming specifically to find the grave. Still, he said finding it would help uncover the secrets of Genghis Khan's power.

"Genghis Khan conquered Eurasia and built a massive empire. There had to have been a great deal of interaction between east and west at the time, in terms of culture and the exchange of goods," Kato said in an interview. "If we find what items were buried with him, we could write a new page for world history."

Genghis Khan's grave site is one of archaeology's enduring mysteries. According to legend, in order to keep it secret, his huge burial party killed anyone who saw them en route to it; then servants and soldiers who attended the funeral were massacred.

Kato said an ancient Chinese text says a baby camel was buried at the grave in front of her mother so the parent could lead Khan's family to the tomb when needed.

Archaeologists have been forced to abandon their searches for Khan's grave in the past, however, due to protests excavation would disturb the site.

An American-financed expedition to find the tomb stopped work in 2002 after being accused by a prominent Mongolian politician of desecrating traditional rulers' graves.

In 1993, Japanese archaeologists terminated a search for the tomb after a poll in Ulan Bator found the project unpopular.

According to Mongolian tradition, violating ancestral tombs destroys the soul that serves as protector.

If researchers do find the tomb, they would also likely discover the graves of Kublai Khan - Genghis' grandson who spread the Mongol empire to southeast Asia and became the first emperor of China's Yuan Dynasty - at the same time.

According to ancient texts, 13 or 14 Khan warriors, including Genghis and Kublai, are buried in the same place.

Kato said he would step aside and leave the matter of how to proceed up to his Mongolian colleagues if the team discovered the tombs.

"We will consult our Mongolian colleagues and decide what the best next step would be - we may have to escape back to Japan," Kato said, laughing. "Excavation should be done by Mongolians - not by those of us from other countries. It is up for Mongolians to decide."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Japan; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ancientautopsies; archaeology; china; dna; genealogy; genghiskhan; genocide; ggg; globalwarminghoax; gmongolmassmurderers; godsgravesglyphs; helixmakemineadouble; history; khanstomb; middleages; mongolmassmurderers; mongols; renaissance; yurt; yurts
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-56 last
To: PatrickHenry
I'd rather they found Alexander's tomb.

I dunno, IMO, I'd call Genghis Khan a greater conqueror than Alexander -- all Alex did was knock off the Persian Shah and gain his Empire -- the hard work had already been done by the Assyrian, Babylonian and Persian Empires, he didn't add on too much more -- when he did face a sizable and determined force (Porus) he barely succeeded. And Porus was only a very minor Indian king Alex's army got scared when they heard of the even larger armies further to the East
41 posted on 10/06/2004 11:36:56 AM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: Cronos
I dunno, IMO, I'd call Genghis Khan a greater conqueror than Alexander ...

Yes, but without Alexander, the Persians might have conquered Greece. There would have been no Western Civilization. So I'd say that notwithstanding Alexander's smaller territory compared to Genghis, Alexander was far more important. Besides, Alexander was a student of Aristotle. It's possible that a lost manuscript or two got buried with him. His tomb -- because of its possible contents -- could be a far more important find than that of Genghis.

42 posted on 10/06/2004 11:48:24 AM PDT by PatrickHenry (Hic amor, haec patria est.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: Pharmboy

Bump!


43 posted on 10/06/2004 12:17:11 PM PDT by aculeus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: aculeus
Love these threads.

BUMP!

44 posted on 10/06/2004 12:18:26 PM PDT by Publius6961 (I, also, don't do diplomacy.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

GGG PING -- looks like nobody pinged you to this yet.


45 posted on 10/06/2004 6:53:58 PM PDT by FairOpinion (FIGHT TERRORISM! VOTE BUSH/CHENEY 2004.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: PatrickHenry
Yes, but without Alexander, the Persians might have conquered Greece.

That may have been a good thing -- the Persians were tolerant and highly civilised (remember, among other things wine cultivation started in Iran) and they didn't have a gay culture...

There would have been no Western Civilization

Well there would have been one -- but it would have been a Romano-Persian culture -- Persia would not have moved as far west as Italy -- they were not a maritime power. They would have been stopped by the mountains to the north of Greece. Rome would have been Rome but with Persian influences. Who knows, Rome defeated the giant Hellenic kingdoms after the Second Punic War, they may have defeated the Persians earlier and had an Empire stretching from Britain to India or beyond. A stronger Rome would have meant a stronger Christianity and probably noIslam as they would have been smote by the power of Rome
46 posted on 10/06/2004 10:14:05 PM PDT by Cronos (W2K4)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Cronos
I'd agree that Alexander just defeated the Persian king (who was betrayed and murdered by nobles if memory serves) and took over the existing empire. However, Genghis Khan did the same thing in China -- as you said, "the hard work had already been done." Elsewhere in Asia his forces (with or without him) would ride up unexpectedly, kick the crap out of everyone, kill a bunch of people, took a bunch of booty, set up a puppet regime, and leave, having eaten up everything in sight.

The Scythians and various other westbound invaders from the steppe were more significant than Genghis Khan, although I've heard tell that he may have left literally millions of offspring all over the place due to, well...
Genghis Khan: Father to Millions?
by Rossella Lorenzi
June 22, 2004
The Mongol emperor's habit of killing the men and inseminating the women when his army conquered a new territory, coupled with handing the Empire and other wealth to his sons, and their sons, would explain how the chromosome came to such prevalence today, said Sykes.

The final piece of evidence came from the Hazara, a hill tribe in Pakistan who had a strong oral history of being descended from Genghis Khan.

"The Y chromosome was present in the Hazara, but not in the surrounding tribes, who did not have this oral history. Though the evidence is circumstantial, it is, I believe, very strong," Sykes said.
Alexander's conquest didn't hold together as a single unit after his untimely death, but altogether the various kingdoms covered a slightly larger area and lasted in some cases for centuries. Unlike the Persian Empire that area included Greece, which Persia never managed to conquer (not for lack of trying).

I'd also agree that a Persian victory against the city-states of Greece could have done irreparable damage to the unfolding civilization we often take for granted.
George W. Bush will be reelected by a margin of at least ten per cent

Election 2004 threads on FR

47 posted on 10/06/2004 10:30:16 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("All I have seen teaches me trust the Creator for all I have not seen." -- Emerson)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 41 | View Replies]

To: FairOpinion; blam; Ernest_at_the_Beach; SunkenCiv; 24Karet; 2Jedismom; 4ConservativeJustices; ...
Thanks, FairOpinion!
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest
-- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

48 posted on 10/06/2004 10:31:52 PM PDT by SunkenCiv ("All I have seen teaches me trust the Creator for all I have not seen." -- Emerson)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: FrankWild

I believe that the spelling has evolved over the centuries. It is now Kerry Con, John Con, or simply John the Con, Kerry on!


49 posted on 10/06/2004 10:36:54 PM PDT by AmericanVictory (Should we be more like them, or they like us?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Skooz
>Remember, it's pronounced zhin-jhis.

It was pronounced 'Chengis'. The term Chengisxhan was a title adopted at the all-tribal council which elected him ruler of high Asia around 1206, or 'ruler over all such as live in felt tents'. The man's giv en name was Tem-ujin.

The guy was the ultimate self-made man. His conquest of Northern China and the later conquest of all of China by his dynasty should in theory have been impossible since there was a population differential of at least 100/1 between China and Mongolia. Kind of like a squirrel killing a lion and eating it.

50 posted on 10/07/2004 1:49:01 AM PDT by judywillow
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Professional Engineer

ping


51 posted on 10/07/2004 5:30:34 AM PDT by msdrby (remind me to drink more water)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pharmboy

He was a KELT!


52 posted on 10/07/2004 7:18:19 PM PDT by Henchman (Kerry lied, good men died!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Pharmboy

bump


53 posted on 10/07/2004 7:19:04 PM PDT by VOA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Carry_Okie

ping


54 posted on 10/07/2004 7:23:24 PM PDT by farmfriend ( In Essentials, Unity...In Non-Essentials, Liberty...In All Things, Charity.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Henchman
He was a KELT!

Is that a Kosher Celt?

55 posted on 10/07/2004 9:14:45 PM PDT by Pharmboy (History's greatest agent for freedom: The US Armed Forces)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 52 | View Replies]


· GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach ·
· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·

 
 Antiquity Journal
 & archive
 Archaeologica
 Archaeology
 Archaeology Channel
 BAR
 Bronze Age Forum
 Discover
 Dogpile
 Eurekalert
 Google
 LiveScience
 Mirabilis.ca
 Nat Geographic
 PhysOrg
 Science Daily
 Science News
 Texas AM
 Yahoo
 Excerpt, or Link only?
 


Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
 

· History topic · history keyword · archaeology keyword · paleontology keyword ·
· Science topic · science keyword · Books/Literature topic · pages keyword ·


56 posted on 12/11/2010 6:48:50 AM PST by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 48 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-56 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson