Posted on 04/08/2005 9:17:07 PM PDT by CarrotAndStick
Nearly a thousand years after his death, the name of Genghis Khan still reverberates down the ages. Scourge of the known world, he sprang out of nowhere to bring death and destruction.
For the world of Islam in particular, the Mongol onslaught was a veritable holocaust. From Bukhara to Baghdad, Genghis laid waste to flowering cities and prosperous countries. Operating on the principle of "surrender and live; or resist and die", he and his generals led his ravening hordes in unceasing campaigns from Beijing to Budapest.
Even after his death, his successors carried on his mission to bring all mankind under Mongol rule. Western Europe was fortunate in that a possible dispute over succession prompted the Mongol hordes to return to their steppes and grasslands as suddenly as they had appeared.
In 1995, the Washington Post proclaimed Genghis Khan as 'the most important man in the last thousand years' because he led a single species to dominate the entire known world.
His conquests made one nation aware of the existence of other remote countries. They 'realigned the world's major religions, influenced art, established new trade patterns. The effects remain as keystones in Eurasian history.' But for the world of Islam, Genghis Khan's coming was nothing short of apocalyptic. Until he and his successors traumatized much of the Middle East, Damascus and Baghdad were at the cutting edge of science, philosophy and the arts. Travellers went there to learn at the feet of renowned scholars. The refined products of the Arab world were avidly sought after by western kings and queens.
The Mongol invasion brought this civilization to a premature end. With the destruction of libraries and laboratories and the slaughter of thinkers and scientists, the great progress the Muslims had made was halted. Many believed that the irruption of the Mongols was caused by the wrath of God.
A wave of reaction set in as science and philosophy were discouraged, if not altogether prohibited. The orthodox claimed that the disaster was caused because Muslims had turned away from the literal words of the Holy Scriptures.
Indeed, it can be argued that the Arab world went into a decline from which it has still not recovered. Muslim Spain escaped the holocaust and continued to thrive for some while still.
When Ottoman Turkey rose to power, it absorbed vast swathes of Arab territory from Makkah to the Maghreb into its empire. In the East, the Moghul Empire rose, again under a Central Asian tribe.
Since the Ottomans conquered them, most Arab nations have seen their borders drawn and redrawn by foreign powers, their leaders imposed on them and their resources plundered. Small wonder they are confused by and angry about being constantly exploited by an avaricious and incompetent leadership.
Now, as this frustration and dissatisfaction expresses itself in extremism and terrorism, people like Osama bin Laden talk of the Americans as 'crusaders'. A comparison with the Mongol hordes would be more appropriate.
Now, as then, Muslims blame a perceived deviation from God's commandments as the cause of their plight. They do not see that they are weak because of ignorance and their refusal to master science and technology.
Genghis Khan learned the use of gunpowder and siege-busting weaponry from the Chinese after he had engaged them in prolonged warfare. And while maintaining the mobility of his fast-moving cavalry, he integrated this new technology into his tactics.
Who was he, this vision of hell for the civilized world of the period? To this day, Genghis Khan's birth place and grave have not been located. When he died in 1227, his inner circle kept his death a secret to prevent the disintegration of his vast empire.
They buried him quietly, according to his wishes. His descendants and his generals took over various territories as he had wished them to. For the period, it was a remarkably smooth transition, and the lack of fratricidal strife allowed the momentum created by the Great Khan to carry the expansion of the empire forward.
To learn more about this illiterate but wise ruler, you could do no better than read John Man's new biography "Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection". Simultaneously, a travel book about the wild steppes and grasslands from where Genghis sprang, it is also a marvellous history of the Mongol people.
Relying heavily on 'The Secret History of the Mongols', a work the author thinks was commissioned by Genghis as well as supervised by him, The author has visited many of the remote places the Great Khan was reputed to have been in. On his travels, he comes across strange customs and fascinating people.
On this journey to one of the least known parts of the world, you learn, among other things, how to cook a marmot. (You skin it; sew up the holes in the skin after stuffing it with pieces of the animals together with hot stones; and blast the outer fur with an acetylene torch).
Genghis Khan was raised by his mother when he lost his father at a young age, and struggled to survive in a region where tribal rivalries were rife. Gradually, using his courage and his cunning, he built up a network of loyalties among the local tribes. In a series of battles, he strengthened his hold over his people and then burst out eastward, to capture large parts of China.
He then turned his attention to the West, and sent his generals in an extended raid into Russia and Eastern Europe. Nation after nation fell before the Mongol cavalry.
A Georgian queen, having been asked by the Pope to send help for the current crusade, wrote in her letter of apology: "A savage people of Tatars, hellish of aspect, as voracious as wolves in their hunger for spoils, and as brave as lions, have invaded my country..."
According to contemporary sources cited, Genghis Khan had a special grudge against Muslims: his envoys to King Mohammed of the Muslim Central Asian state of Khwarezm were killed when they brought proposals for trade and good relations.
The Great Khan was furious, and according to his Persian historian Juvaini, 'flew into a whirlwind of rage, the fire of wrath driving the water from his eyes so that it was only to be quenched in blood.'
According to the Secret History, Genghis Khan proclaimed: "Let us ride out against the Islamic people, to gain vengeance!" The current state of confusion in the Muslim world is a measure of his success.
Wow! Finally somebody has dedicated a thread in my name!
How can i ever thank you...... :-D
I wonder if the other species agree with this?
Good book.
DIDJA hafta bring up THAT subject?
Remember, one man's Mongol is another man's Turk. They all have Type B blood ~ they kind of invented the stuff too.
Didn't they also shave off the ambassador's beard or something?
I think I read someplace that such an act was a sign of terrible disrespect.
I don't recall; I think you're right, though. This was the second ambassador that the Persians killed.
from http://library.thinkquest.org/11847/gather/9b.html, a pretty good summary of what happened:
"In 1209, Ghengis Khan's invasions began. He began by taking Xi Xia, a kingdom situated along the Silk Road that exacted heavy taxes from Mongol caravans. His next target was Jin. However, he was unable to attack over the 40-foot walls which confronted him. So he instead ravaged the countryside for several years. When he returned in 1214 with 70,000 troops and the Chinese technology of mangonels, an advanced catapult that could fling 100-pound weights, the Jin quickly fell, offering gold, silver, and a princess in tribute. A short time later, the Jin began to regroup further south. Ghengis Khan quickly attacked again, slaughtering a great number of the Jin people. In 1218, 20,000 horsemen easily took Kara-Khitan, where the mostly Muslim population had been religiously oppressed. The word of the Mongol army began to spread. "In the countries that have not yet been overrun by them, everyone spends the night afraid that they may appear there too" (Ibn Al-Athir, NG 96, p 9). "
"Ghengis now set to work on building his capitol city, Karakorum, with help from the thousands of artisans he had collected from conquered realms. He also built a government with the help of Chinese scholars. He attempted to open up trade with neighboring Samarkand, sending 450 merchants to the capitol. A border governor arrested them and had them all executed as spies. When Ghengis demanded [of the Shah -Spk] that the governor be handed over for punishment, the ambassador's head was sent back in reply. This was a supreme offense to the Mongols. "In retribution for every hair on their heads it seemed that a hundred thousand heads rolled in the dust" (Juvaini, NG 96, p 28). They asked for more troops from Xi Xia, but were turned down, an affront that would be revenged. With 110,000 men Ghengis surrounded both major cities in the kingdom, bombarding them with the mangonels for a month before they fell."
Ghengis had gone out of his way to make the first embassy palatable to the Persians, to the point of ordering that the ambassador and staff sent should be Muslims. By doubly insulting Ghengis, the "civilized world' announced that they thought they could slaughter him and his at will. He probably figured "it's them or us, and I'd rather it be us" - so he took on the world.
One of the "unexpected consequences" of this was the siege and sack of proud Baghdad in 1258, well after the death of Ghengis. An interesting aside - Ghengis introduced many modern concepts to warfare, among which was this rule: 'It is forbidden to abandon any living comrade in the field of battle; at pain of death.'
Ghengis was absolutely not evil. Ruthless in war, yes. Deliberately cruel? No. The general picture of him as a demon is colored by the accounts of the people who insulted him and defied him.
I've had an interest in Mongols & Huns for a while (as well
as other peoples), but many things I've read have been of a
"tainted" nature. I'm sure he was better than he is often given
credit for, but I'm also sure he had a powerful temper...
otherwise, I doubt his revenge would be as it was.
He was far better than he's been given credit for in the mainstream histories. His temper was legendary as well - though he didn't ever let it be his master. In this case, I really can't say that I wouldn't have done the same in his place, can you? The foreign government of (what appeared to him to be) the Western world kills my representatives that I've chosen to be as palatable as possible, and then kills my dearest friend who I sent as a peaceful envoy. Then they send me his head back in a bag and I'm supposed to kowtow to them? Screw that, I'm going to take apart the world if I have to to get at the people responsible.
I'm pretty sure that's how many people would act, as well.
Yes, I'm sure I would too... though women are
often frowned upon for having tempers like men.
Most of what I've been able to find & read relate to his
death & burial, usually making it a big point that his grave
is still unknown to us.... but, that was exactly the idea. Even
then he & his people are portrayed mostly as blood loving.
The Muslims were defeated at the gates of Vienna. The Mongols breached Europe at the battles of Liegnitz and Mohi (a lot earlier), with the Mongols withdrawing to deal with succession at the death of the khan (on of Ghengis' sons, Ogedai I believe).
His grave is unmarked and unknown because he did not wish to be worshipped as a god (which some of his people were starting to do). He was a big believer in God, though it was not the Judeo-Christian concept of God. He believed that for a man to be worshipped as a god was blasphemous and weakened the people.
This should interest you, then; Ghengis often sent women (but not courtesans) as ambassadors, with a suitable guard party. An absolutely astounding idea for the 1200s...
I'd never read that before. Then again, I've already
mentioned what I've read was slanted, so such a fact
wouldn't be represented. He must always be portrayed
as a barbarian & nothing more complex.
Never read that before either. I had read somewhere he had
become obsessed with immortality or death or something like
that... though I haven't read enough about him to know what's
true & what is made up for one's own stance on him.
Many of the things I read are online, as there is no
local library. The sites I found I generally decided
didn't have enough info to be worth bookmarking.
Discovery did a pretty good overview of his life and career a few weeks ago. It leaves out a number of details and focuses more on his military abilities, but it definitely is not a hack job. Most histories of him sound like "George Bush, as told by Al-Jazeera with special reporting from Osama Bin Laden" would. This one doesn't and it's worth watching.
I saw it while looking at the tv listings on the guide
channel, but figured it'd be terrible & didn't watch it.
One thing I do know (military wise) is the Mongols had
multiple types of arrows, which I thought were intriguing
(& beautiful in a certain way). Some were meant to whistle
while others were (of course) meant to inflict injury.
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