Battles & Wars › Medieval wars › Mongol conquests
Genghis Khan
c. 1162–1227· Person· Asia & Pacific
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
Temüjin, a Mongol chief's son who united the steppe tribes and took the title Genghis (Chinggis) Khan in 1206.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
After his father was poisoned, Temüjin's family was abandoned by its clan and lived in poverty. Through alliances, betrayals and victories he united the Mongol and Turkic tribes and was proclaimed khan at a great assembly in 1206. He broke old tribal loyalties by reorganizing his people into decimal army units, promoted officers for merit and loyalty, issued a law code and adopted a script. His campaigns struck the Western Xia, Jin China and Khwarazm. He died in 1227 while campaigning.
Why it matters
He turned a scattered nomad society into a disciplined military state, laying the base for the largest land empire in history.
Legacy and how we know
The Secret History of the Mongols, written soon after his death, plus Persian and Chinese chronicles. He is revered in Mongolia as its founding father and remembered elsewhere as a destroyer of cities.
Still debated
His birth year (estimates run from 1155 to 1167) and cause of death are uncertain, and his grave has never been found.
Inside this (3)
Connections (8)
▸Genghis Khan launched Mongol conquestsWell documented
The connection
After uniting the steppe tribes in 1206, Genghis Khan turned his reorganized army outward: first against the Western Xia, then the Jin in northern China, taking Zhongdu (Beijing) in 1215. When a Khwarazmian governor massacred a Mongol trade caravan, he destroyed that Central Asian empire (1219–21). His sons and grandsons kept expanding for decades after his death in 1227.
When and how
Mongolia and northern China from 1206; Central Asia, 1219–21; Genghis with generals Jebe and Subutai and his sons Jochi, Chagatai, Ögedei and Tolui.
How we know
The Secret History of the Mongols, Chinese annals and Persian historians such as Juvayni record his campaigns in detail.
Debates and open questions
Why he turned outward is debated: plunder, a belief in a mandate from the Sky god Tengri, keeping his coalition busy, or a run of wet years that fattened herds.
▸Genghis Khan was grandfather of Kublai, who launched Mongol invasions of JapanWell documented
The connection
Kublai Khan was a son of Tolui, Genghis Khan's youngest son. He inherited his grandfather's claim that Heaven had granted the Mongols rule over all peoples, so neighbors who refused to submit were treated as rebels. When Japan's shogunate ignored his demands, Kublai, now ruling China as the Yuan dynasty, invaded in 1274 and 1281.
When and how
Kublai's court at Dadu (Beijing); letters to Japan sent through Korea from 1266; invasions of Kyushu in 1274 and 1281.
How we know
A copy of Kublai's 1266 letter to the 'king of Japan' survives at Tōdai-ji temple in Nara, alongside Yuan and Korean annals.
Debates and open questions
Whether Kublai wanted conquest or mainly submission and trade, and whether he aimed to cut Japan's ties with the rival Song, is debated.
▸Genghis Khan crushed the Jin army at Battle of Yehuling (Badger's Mouth)Mostly agreed
The connection
Having united the Mongols in 1206 and forced the Western Xia kingdom to submit, Genghis Khan turned on the Jin, who had long played steppe tribes against each other. At Yehuling his outnumbered cavalry broke the main Jin field army, the first great Mongol victory over a Chinese empire.
When and how
Yehuling, near Zhangjiakou northwest of Beijing, autumn 1211; Genghis Khan and his general Muqali against the Jin field army.
How sure are we?
The Yuan Shi and Jin dynastic histories record the battle and the Jin defeat, though they were written more than a century later and differ on details and numbers.
Debates and open questions
How large the Jin army was, and whether the battle was one clash or a series of fights over weeks, is unclear.
▸Genghis Khan took the Jin capital in Siege of Zhongdu (Beijing)Well documented
The connection
Genghis Khan led the 1213 campaign that surrounded Zhongdu. He accepted peace and tribute in 1214, but when the Jin emperor moved his court south to Kaifeng, he sent his army back. His generals, joined by Khitan defectors from the Jin, took the starving city in June 1215 while he camped to the north.
When and how
Zhongdu, near modern Beijing, 1213–1215; Genghis Khan against the Jin emperor Xuanzong.
How we know
The Secret History of the Mongols, the Yuan and Jin dynastic histories, and Persian accounts agree on the dates and outcome.
Debates and open questions
Historians debate whether Genghis aimed to rule north China or mainly to extract tribute and loot; he left much of it to local allies to govern.
▸Genghis Khan avenged his murdered envoys in Mongol conquest of Khwarazm (Bukhara and Samarkand)Well documented
The connection
Genghis sought trade with Khwarazm. In 1218 the governor of Otrar massacred a Mongol-sponsored caravan of several hundred merchants, and Shah Muhammad II executed an envoy sent to demand justice. Genghis answered with a full invasion in 1219, commanding it himself with his sons.
When and how
Otrar, on the Syr Darya in today's Kazakhstan, 1218; invasion 1219–1221 by Genghis, his sons Jochi, Chagatai, Ögedei and Tolui, and generals Jebe and Subutai.
How we know
Juvaini, Juzjani and Ibn al-Athir all describe the Otrar massacre and the killing of the envoy as the cause of the war.
Debates and open questions
Some historians think Genghis would have attacked anyway and the incident was a pretext; the caravan may also have carried spies.
▸Genghis Khan personally defeated Jalal al-Din at Battle of the IndusWell documented
The connection
Angered by the defeat at Parwan, Genghis Khan led the pursuit himself, marching day and night to catch Jalal al-Din before he could cross the Indus. He commanded the attack that broke the Khwarazmian army, and is said to have stopped his archers from shooting the prince as he swam away.
When and how
Banks of the Indus River, November 1221; Genghis Khan against Jalal al-Din Mingburnu.
How we know
Juvaini and other Persian sources, writing within a few decades, describe Genghis's personal command; the river escape appears in several accounts.
Debates and open questions
The admiring words Genghis reportedly spoke about Jalal al-Din may be literary embellishment by later chroniclers.
▸Subutai rose as a leading general of Genghis KhanWell documented
The connection
Subutai entered Temüjin's service as a young man, following his elder brother Jelme. Genghis Khan promoted by talent rather than birth, and Subutai became one of his 'four hounds', trusted generals given hard independent missions. He went on to serve Genghis's son Ögedei and grandson Batu.
When and how
Mongolia, from about the 1190s to 1227; Subutai, his brother Jelme, Jebe and Genghis Khan.
How we know
The Secret History of the Mongols names him among the 'four hounds', and his Yuan Shi biography traces his career.
Debates and open questions
When exactly he joined and what his early roles were is vague, since the Secret History is part chronicle, part epic.
▸Smiths and armorers: the first arms industry were spared and resettled to serve Genghis KhanWell documented
The connection
The Mongols often killed the defenders of cities that resisted but spared skilled artisans, including smiths and armorers, and moved them east. Craftsmen from Samarkand, Urgench and other cities were resettled to make weapons, armor and goods for the Mongol armies and court.
When and how
Central Asia and northern China, about 1211–1227 and after; for example, Samarkand (1220) and Urgench (1221).
How we know
Persian historians such as Juvayni and Rashid al-Din, Chinese records, and William of Rubruck, who met a captured Parisian goldsmith at Karakorum in 1254.
Debates and open questions
The numbers deported, often given as tens of thousands, come from chroniclers and may be exaggerated.