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Genghis Khan: Difference between revisions
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==Conquests and character== | ==Conquests and character== | ||
Genghis Khan was a firm believer in logic, reason, and meritocracy. For example, Genghis killed his older half-brother to establish leadership and dominance within the family, and would recruit top soldiers from other armies. This is in contrast to the Big Man system of the tallest guy gets the job, regardless of ability that was in place at the time, or the kinship system of the Mongols which placed family ties above all else. | Genghis Khan was a firm believer in logic, reason, and meritocracy. For example, Genghis killed his older half-brother to establish leadership and dominance within the family, and would recruit top soldiers from other armies. This is in contrast to the Big Man system of the tallest guy gets the job, regardless of ability that was in place at the time, or the kinship system of the Mongols which placed family ties above all else. His rule was just but extremely brutal, with him abolishing torture in his realm, but treating criminals and bandits with the utmost severity. This ''Pax Mongolica'' (mongol peace) thus established in his empire and that of his descendants established trade links that spanned from China to Western Europe. | ||
He established a universal legal code in his empire, with all being subject to the laws regardless of birth. He established the world's first postal system throughout his empire which utilized a relay system of horseback messages ( similar to the later American pony express). He is also claimed to have been the first to establish the convention of diplomatic immunity, which was in contravention to the common practice at the time of keeping foreign diplomat hostage as bargaining tools. | |||
He conquered and despoiled large parts of northern China, central Asia, and utterly destroyed the powerful Turkic Khwarazmian Empire, which governed some of the most important regions of the Silk Road, despoiling the country, killing millions of people, and burning whole cities to the ground. This being his response to the inhospitable murder of envoys Genghis had sent in an effort to establish trade ties. In one of his most brutal deeds, when the wealthy city of Urgench (in modern Turkmenistan) was conquered by the Mongols, Genghis ordered the enslavement of the women, children and artisans of the city, and had the rest of the population of the city executed in a single session. Some figures claim up to 1.2 million inhabitants were massacred. | He conquered and despoiled large parts of northern China, central Asia, and utterly destroyed the powerful Turkic Khwarazmian Empire, which governed some of the most important regions of the Silk Road, despoiling the country, killing millions of people, and burning whole cities to the ground. This being his response to the inhospitable murder of envoys Genghis had sent in an effort to establish trade ties. In one of his most brutal deeds, when the wealthy city of Urgench (in modern Turkmenistan) was conquered by the Mongols, Genghis ordered the enslavement of the women, children and artisans of the city, and had the rest of the population of the city executed in a single session. Some figures claim up to 1.2 million inhabitants were massacred. | ||