TdF suggestion Gabriel Facundes
Illustrates rainer petter
Edition Felipe van Deursen
CRIMINAL RECORD
Name – Temujin (circa 1160-1227)
Location – Asia
Deaths – 40 million*
1 – Temujin was born in the 1160s on the banks of the Onon River, in Mongolia, the son of Yesugei Baghatur, head of one of the nomadic tribes that constantly lived in conflict. The boy was born with a blood clot in one handwhich was interpreted as a divine sign that he would be a great warrior
2 – Temujin’s father died of poison by a rival tribe when the boy was 9 years old. He inherited leadership of a small and vulnerable tribe. Even young, he knew how to use strategy and sought to ally with other clans. That’s how he met Borte, his wife
3 – The mercits, former enemies of Temujin’s father, invaded and plundered his tribe, in addition to kidnapping Borte. The Mongol leader summoned the allies and plotted revenge. Slaughtered, the merkit tribe disappeared from the map, and Borte was finally rescued. Temujin gained the respect of the Mongols
4 – Temujin abandoned hierarchical traditions and adopted meritocracy in the distribution of positions. That is, whoever he deemed worthy was promoted, regardless of the person’s origins. He also began to discipline all the people: training like shooting with a bow and arrow has become mandatory since childhood
5 – In 1204, disrespect for tradition led Temujin to face a childhood friend, Jamuka, on the battlefield. Temujin won with psychological tactics, like lighting five torches per soldier to make your army look bigger. Defeated, Jamuka, who also wanted to be the great Mongol leader, was executed. With the path clear of competition, Temujin adopted the title Genghis khanwhich means “Lord of the Universe”
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6 – Genghis khan soon tried to live up to the title and invaded China, the most powerful empire at the time. As he advanced towards the capital, Zhongdu, he left a trail of slaughter and rape. Thirty kilometers of walls surrounded the city, but it was not fully protected. The Mongols intercepted the incoming food, starving thousands to death. Then they used civilians as human shields to protect themselves from Chinese arrows. When they finally invaded, set fire, looted and destroyed everything and everyone for a month
7 – At first, Genghis he wanted to conquer the world by trade, not by the sword. He sent ambassadors to the Khurasmian Empire, a power in Central Asia, but the Khurasmians would not talk and sent back the head of one of the representatives in 1218. Then the monster came out of the cage. The Mongol fury rode with 200,000 men to meet the enemy. There was so much blood that, to prevent the living from hiding in piles of the dead, the Mongols they decapitated the body and then nailed the head on stakes. The Khrasmian Empire ended up being incorporated into the Mongol
8 – Genghis he returned to China, where he wanted to conquer new kingdoms. On that raid, in 1227, he died, possibly from a horse fall (Other sources cite malaria and an arrow in the knee). Later, his son Ogodei arrived in Europe and conquered regions of present-day Russia, Poland, Hungary and Ukraine. Kublai, one of the grandsons of Genghis, reigned when the empire was already diminishing in size. His domain was limited to China and Mongolia.
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WHAT END DID IT TAKE?
the tomb of Genghis khan It’s a mystery. Everyone involved in his funeral would have been killed so that no one would ever discover the location.
* Total deaths attributed to Genghis khan and their successors in the Mongol Empire
documentary SOURCES Genghis khan: The Mongol Fury (BBC), and Ancients Behaving Badly (History Channel); book Genghis khan and the Making of the Modern World, by Jack Weatherford