Genghis Khan's war-like ways were driven just as much by economic necessity as they were by a lust for power and territory. As the Mongol population grew so food and resources became scarce and in 1211 his forces struck the Jin Dynasty in northern China to plunder their bountiful rice fields.
"He spared his enemy's best horsemen and weapons experts, folding them into his growing army
And assembled a small army of 500 men to raid the Merkit camp with devastating force. Not only did he liberate Borte but he utterly destroyed the Merkits.
Throughout his twenties and thirties, Temujin would continue this pattern, strengthening his political alliances, sharpening his military tactics and expanding his reputation as a merciless butcher. He annihilated his father's murderers, the Tatars, allegedly ordering the death of all males over three foot tall. He boiled enemy chieftains alive and built pyramids from the skulls of vanquished foes. All the while, he spared his enemy's best horsemen and weapons experts, folding them into his growing army.
By 40 years old, Temujin had achieved the unthinkable: the complete unification of the Mongol tribes. Having absorbed, subjugated or destroyed his political rivals, tens of thousands of his loyal followers gathered at a massive spiritual coronation called a khuritai, during which Temujin the warrior was renamed Genghis Khan - literally 'king of the ocean', or 'universal ruler'.
Genghis Khan now commanded an army of 100,000 or more. These fighters weren't the barbaric raiders of lore, but a disciplined and highly trained war machine. Rank was based on merit and proven loyalty, not relations to the khan. Squads were composed of ten men, companies of 100 and divisions of 10,000. The Mongol horse - small and swift - was like a jet fighter. Mongol riders could fire their composite bows forward or backward while riding full speed, launching armour-piercing arrows as far as 320 metres (1,050 feet).
For centuries, the Mongol nomads paid steep taxes to travel along the Silk Road and conduct trade with the Chinese, who had amassed vast wealth in terms of food, technology and treasure. For his first great conquest, Genghis Khan set
Timeline
Genghis Mj! the god
The word 'khan' is an honorary title meaning 'sovereign ruler' in Altaic, a family of languages stretching across the Mongol Empire. In 1206, the young Temujin was made the sole political and military leader of the newly unified nomadic tribes and given the title Genghis Khan, or 'universal ruler'. Like most Mongol warriors, Genghis Khan practised a form of shamanism called Tengriism and worshipped a god called Koko Mongke Tengri ('Eternal Blue Sky'). When he was named Genghis Khan, he was designated the earthly Representative of Eternal Blue Sky. This holy mantle gave Genghis Khan the spiritual authority to rule over more 'civilised' nations. As Genghis Khan often proclaimed to his subjects, "One sun in heaven; one lord on Earth."
As a ruler, though, he was unexpectedly tolerant to other religions, allowing Muslims, Christians and Buddhists to worship freely in his empire.
His sights on Xixia, a Chinese empire ruled by the Tanguts from Tibet.
Outnumbered by the Xia defenders, the Mongol army employed a favourite tactic: false retreat. When the Xia warriors pursued the fleeing Mongols,
Khan was waiting with a barrage of arrows.
Once Xixia pledged loyalty to the Mongols, Genghis Khan pushed east to the much larger Jin Dynasty,
World History
