Skip Lee, age 13, of Casper, Wyo., for his question:
WHO WAS GENGHIS KHAN?
Genghis Khan was one of the greatest conquerors in history. Starting as a chief of a small Mongol tribe, he became the founder of a vast empire. Before his death, he claimed wide territories in the East, including China, what is now Iran, northwest India and part of Russia.
Born in 1167, Genghis Khan’s real name was Temujin, meaning iron smith. When he was just 13, he succeeded his father as chief and began to extend his power over neighboring tribes. He was proclaimed Great Khan after he defeated two of the many politically influential Mongolian clan confederacies of his time.
In 1206 he took the title of Genghis Khan. He united all Mongolian tribes and established his empire in the area of the steppes or central Asian plains, where he organized the wandering inhabitants into a rigid military system.
Genghis Khan also incorporated into this system non Mongol Altaic peoples like the Kirghiz. For these steppe people, Genghis Khan established the Yassa, the first Mongolian code of laws.
After he had accomplished this organization, Genghis Khan planned the conquest of the entire world. He claimed that he was commanded by the “eternal blue sky,” the highest supernatural power the old Mongolian region recognized.
Genghis Khan didn’t conquer the entire world, but he certainly captured much of it.
Between 1205 and 1209, he conquered the Hsi Hsia empire, now the Chinese province of Kansu and the ordos region. Between 1211 and 1215, he attacked the Chin empire in North China. He conquered Peking in 1215 and crushed the empire of the Kara Kitai in 1218.
In 1220 and 1221, Genghis Khan took and totally destroyed Bukhara, Samarkand and Gurgan, then the centers of Muslim Persian culture. He sent his generals with two smaller armies to south Russia where they defeated the Cuman empire.
When Genghis Khan died in 1227, each of his four sons received a part of the Mongolian Empire under the condition that they would recognize the authority of the Great Khan.
His grandson was the Kublai Khan of Marco Polo’s “Travels.”
Genghis Khan was buried in the Burkhan Khaldun Mountains.
The actual site of the grave is unknown, although a tomb in the Urdus region of Inner Mongolia is worshipped.
The Mongol Empire was the biggest land empire in history. Its territory extended from the Yellow Sea in eastern Asia to the borders of eastern Europe.
At various times the Mongol Empire included China, Korea, Mongolia, Persia (which is now Iran), Turkestan and Armenia. It also included parts of Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and Russia.
The Mongols were the most savage conquerors of history. Their armies ruthlessly eliminated any resistance. They spread terror and destruction everywhere.