What we know and where it comes from
Much of what we know about the early life of Genghis Khan comes from a single remarkable text, The Secret History of the Mongols, written in the thirteenth century, not long after his death. It mixes plausible detail with poetry, family drama and legend, and Persian and Chinese writers add their own accounts, often as outsiders. Historians therefore treat many specific episodes with care. The broad outline is reasonably secure; the exact dates and some details, including his year of birth, are debated. A date in the 1160s is common, but some scholars prefer other years.
A difficult childhood
He was born with the name Temujin into a family of the Borjigin clan, who belonged to the minor nobility of the steppe. According to tradition, his father, Yesugei, was killed by rivals when Temujin was still a boy, and the family was left isolated and short of food. Rival clans abandoned them, so the widow Hoelun and her children lived on roots, fish and small game. The story is told in dramatic terms, and the hardship may be exaggerated, but it fits the realities of a society where status depended on followers and herds.
His early life also included a quarrel with a half-brother that ended in a killing, and a period of capture by a rival group. Marriage and friendship mattered as much as fighting. He married Borte, and her family connections helped him. He also made alliances with powerful figures such as Toghrul, ruler of the Keraites, and with a childhood friend, Jamukha.
Steppe politics
The steppe was not one people but a patchwork of Mongol-speaking and Turkic-speaking groups, among them Tatars, Keraites, Naimans, Merkits and Mongols proper. Loyalties were personal and fluid. A leader’s strength came from his ability to attract followers, share spoils and win battles. Neighboring settled states, especially the Jin dynasty in northern China, often played the tribes against each other, rewarding some and raiding or punishing others.
Temujin’s rise followed the usual path of a successful steppe leader, with some important differences. Over perhaps two decades he won battles against the Tatars, who were enemies of his family, and against his former friend Jamukha. He defeated the Keraites, after his relationship with Toghrul broke down, and then the Naimans in the west of Mongolia. After each victory he tended to absorb the defeated rather than leaving them as a permanent rival, though he treated some leaders and clans harshly.
Loyalty over lineage
One of the features historians highlight is that Temujin promoted people by loyalty and ability as much as by birth. Trusted companions, including some of humble origin, were given important commands. Military units mixed people from different clans, which weakened the old tribal loyalties. Breaking up and reorganizing defeated groups served the same purpose.
The army was arranged on a decimal system, in units of roughly ten, a hundred, a thousand and ten thousand men. Their commanders were appointed by the khan. This structure is discussed more fully in our article on Mongol warfare and the horse archer. A personal guard drawn from the sons of leading families kept the ruler’s household secure and also tied elite families to him.
The great assembly of 1206
In 1206 Temujin was proclaimed ruler of the united peoples at a great assembly known as a kuriltai, held near the Onon River. It was then that he took the title Chinggis Khan, a name usually written “Genghis Khan” in English. The meaning of the title is debated, and there are several theories, none certain. What matters is that the confederation became a single political body, often called the Yeke Mongol Ulus, the Great Mongol State.
Alongside military reform came law and administration. Traditionally, a code of orders attributed to Genghis Khan, often called the Yasa, is credited with maintaining discipline and order. What exactly it contained, and whether it was ever a written code in the modern sense, is a matter of scholarly argument. The Mongols also adopted a script based on the Uyghur alphabet, using literate administrators from conquered or allied peoples. Religious tolerance was a practical policy: shamanic traditions were common among the Mongols, and various faiths, including Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, were allowed to operate in the empire.
Why unification mattered
A united steppe was a very different neighbor from a divided one. Before 1206, raids and feuds consumed much of the energy of the tribes. After unification, that energy could be directed outward. Plunder and tribute were important for keeping followers loyal, so expansion was almost built into the system. Genghis Khan’s attention turned first to the Tangut state of Xi Xia and then to the Jin, with campaigns that launched the wider Mongol conquests.
The later campaign against Khwarazm, in Central Asia, is usually linked to a dispute about the treatment of Mongol envoys and merchants. It led to the conquest of some of the richest cities of the Islamic golden age, in places such as Bukhara and Samarkand.
Death and succession
Genghis Khan died in 1227 during a campaign against the Tangut state. The circumstances are reported in several different ways, and his burial place has never been confirmed. Before his death he had arranged the future of the empire by assigning territories to his sons, including Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedei and Tolui. Jochi died shortly before his father, so his lands passed to his own sons, among them Batu, who would lead the western campaigns. Ogedei was chosen as great khan.
His legacy was complicated. In Mongolia he is remembered as the founder of the nation, while in many places conquered by his armies his name is associated with massive destruction. The Mongol Empire that grew from his work outlasted him by generations but lacked the single hand that had held it together.