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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford

In twenty-five years, the Mongol army subjugated more lands and people than the Romans had conquered in four hundred years. (xviii).

What principles led to the success of Genghis Khan, who was named Temujin at birth?  Genghis Khan built a new society that was fashioned around achievement, loyalty and merit. In contrast, the fuedal system of Europe was based on aristocratic privilege.   In an era where Europe was somewhat moribund, Genghis Khan was a fountain head of original ideas.  He placed greater credence on the loyalty of allies than he did on family members.  The appointment of loyal allies as opposed to family members to key position in his entourage would mark his rise to power (44).  He took captives into his tribe not as slaves but as members of the tribe in good standing (44).

To those who followed Temujin faithfully, there would be rewards and good treatment.  To those who chose to attack him, he would show no mercy. None of Temujin's generals deserted him through his six decades as a warrior (49). 

Temujin was always thinking ahead; he had the brains of a chess master..  One of his ideas that had considerable merit, from the viewpoint of military strategy, was his awareness that looting immediately after the enemy had been routed was not as fruitful as it might have been and could lead to disastrous consequences in the near future.  Premature looting allowed many enemy warriors to escape, who would survive to fight another day.  After his second conquest of the Tatars, Temujin decided that all looting would wait until after a complete victory had been won over the Tatar forces (50).  This was in accordance with parallel ideas. His strategy was to kill the leaders and absorb the survivors and all their goods and animals into his tribe (51).   

Temujin had the ability to bounce back from major setbacks such as the episode that led to the Baljuna Covenant.

The oaths sworn at Baljuna created a type of brotherhood, and in transcending kinship, ethnicity and religion, it came close to being a type of modern civic citizenship based upon personal choice and commitment (58).  Unlike the other steppe tribes that had embraced the scriptural and priestly tradition of Buddhism, Islam or Christianity, the Mongols remained animists, praying to the spirits around them.  Temujin removed his hat, put his hand on his breast, and dropped down ont the ground nine times to kowtow before the sun and the sacred mountain. Burhkhan Khaldun was the sacred heart of the Mongol world (33).

The Great Law of Genghis Khan was not based on divine revelation from God nor an ancient code.  He consolidated it from the customs and traditions of the herding tribes over centuries.  He forbade the abduction and enslavment of any Mongol. He  declared all children legitimate, whether born to a wife or a concubine.  He forbade the selling of women into marriage(67-68).  He made animal rustling a capital offense.  He decreed complete and total religious freedom and exempted religious leaders from taxation and public service (69).

Mongol law, as codified by Genghis Khan, recognized group responsibility and group guilt (70).  By subjugating the ruler to the law, he achieved something that no other civilization had yet accomplished (70). 

Useful Links

Encapsulated History Class Page

Genghis Khan Glossary Quiz

The Rise of Mongol Power

Genghis Khan Quick Facts

In the Mongol army, the entire unit held a rank (72)

The Mongols did not find honour in fighting; they found honour in winning (91).

In 1214, Genghis Khan besieged the court of the Golden Khan (96).

The Mongols operated a virtual propaganda machine that consistently inflated the number killed in battle and spread fear wherever its words carried (114).

Kill don't mourn (118).

You can conquer a nation only by conquering the hearts of the people (125).

The Mongol army had accomplished in a mere two years what the Crusaders and Selju Turks had failed to do in two centuries (184).

Khubilai Khan proved more capable of uniting China than did the Sung rulers.

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