CONQUERING KHANS

GENGHISKHAN C.1155-1227 THE ALL-POWERFUL ‘UNIVERSAL RULER’

Genghis Khan’s very name has been described by historian Richard Overy as “a byword for military ruthlessness and competence”. Born as Temüjin Borjigin in Mongolia’s Khentii Mountains, he began life as a member of a Mongol royal clan. His father was poisoned when he was nine years old and Temüjin lived in extreme poverty with his family for some time. However, with sheer skill and determination he became a warrior and managed to eventually unite all of the Mongol tribes under his rule. He was declared ‘Genghis Khan’ (‘Universal Ruler’) of all the Mongolian steppe people in 1206 but his ambitions did not stop there. The former Temüjin now applied his determination for world conquest and prepared the Mongols exclusively for war.