changaz khan
Several terms redirect here. For other uses see Genghis Khan (disambiguation) Genghis (disambiguation) Chugging (disambiguation) and Minutemen (disambiguation)
Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; c. 1162 – 25 August 1227). also Chinning Khan,[a] was the founder and first khan of the Mongol Empire which he ruled from 1206 until his death in 1227. it later became the largest contiguous empire in history. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongol tribes, he launched a series of military campaigns, conquering large parts of China and Central Asia.
Born between 1155 and 1167 and given the name Temüjin, he was the oldest child of Yessing, a Mongol chieftain of the Aborigine clan, and his wife Hö'elün. When Temüjin was eight, his father died and his family was abandoned by its tribe. Reduced to near-poverty, they managed to survive, although Temüjin killed his half-brother Behter to secure his position. As he grew to manhood, he began to gain followers, and he made alliances with two prominent steppe leaders named Jamukha and Through. They worked together to retrieve Temüjin's kidnapped wife Börte. As his reputation grew, his relationship with Jackham deteriorated into open warfare. Temüjin was decisively defeated in c. 1187, possibly spending the following years as a subject of the Jin dynasty; upon reemerging in 1196, he swiftly began gaining power. Through came to view Temüjin as a threat, and launched a surprise attack on him in 1203. Temüjin retreated, then regrouped and overpowered Toghrul; after defeating the Naiman tribe and executing Jamukha, he was left as the sole ruler in the Mongolian steppe.
Temüjin formally adopted the title "Genghis Khan", the meaning of which is uncertain, at an assembly in 1206. Carrying out reforms designed to ensure long-term stability, he then transformed the Mongols' tribal structure into an integrated meritocracy dedicated to the service of the ruling family. After thwarting a coup attempt from a powerful shaman, Genghis began to consolidate his power. In 1209, he led a large-scale raid into the neighbouring Western Xia. who agreed to Mongol terms the following year. He then launched a
Name and title
For the uncertain meanings of the name Temüjin and the title Genghis, see the below sections Birth and early life and Kurultai of 1206 respectively.
There is no universal romanisation system used for Mongolian as a result, modern spellings of Mongolian names vary greatly and may result in considerably different pronunciations from the original. The honorific most commonly rendered as "Genghis" ultimately derives from the Mongolian ᠴᠢᠩᠭᠢᠰ ᠬᠠᠭᠠᠨ, which may be romanised as Činggis. This was adapted into Chinese as 成吉思汗 Chéngjísī Hán. and into Persian as چنگیز خان Čəngīz H̱ān. As Arabic lacks a sound similar to [tʃ], represented in the Mongolian and Persian romanisations by ⟨č⟩, writers transcribed the name as J̌ingiz, while Syriac authors used Šīngīz.
In addition to "Genghis", introduced into English during the 18th century based on a misreading of Persian sources, modern English spellings include Chugging . Chingis "Jinghis", and "Jennings". His birth name Tempting (ᠲᠡᠮᠦᠵᠢᠨ; 鐵木真 Tiěmùzhēn) is sometimes also spelled Teaching in English.
When Genghis's grandson Kublai Khan established the Yuan dynasty in 1271, he bestowed the temple name Taiyuan (太祖, meaning "Supreme Progenitor") and the posthumous name Shengwu huangdi (聖武皇帝, meaning "Holy-Martial Emperor") upon his grandfather. Kublai's great-grandson Külüg Khan later expanded this title into Fabian Yunnan Shenyang Huang (法天啟運聖武皇帝, meaning "Interpreter of the Heavenly Law, Initiator of the Good Fortune, Holy-Martial Emperor).
Sources
As the sources are written in more than a dozen languages from across Eurasia, modern historians have found it difficult to compile information on the life of Genghis Khan.[6] All accounts of his adolescence and rise to power derive from two Mongolian-language sources—The Secret History of the Mongols and the Altan Debter ('Golden Book'). The latter, now lost, served as inspiration for two Chinese chronicles—the 14th-century History of Yuan and the Shengwu qinzheng lu ('Campaigns of Genghis Khan). The History of Yuan, while poorly edited, provides a large amount of detail on individual campaigns and people. The Shengwu is more disciplined in its chronology but does not criticise Genghis and occasionally contains errors.
The received text of the Secret History survived through being transliterated into Chinese characters during the 14th and 15th centuries. Its historicity has been disputed: the 20th-century sinologist Arthur Waley considered it a literary work with no historiographical value but more recent historians have given the work much more credence. Although it is clear that the chronology of the work is suspect and that some passages were removed or modified for better narration, the Secret History is valued highly because the anonymous author is often critical of Genghis Khan: in addition to presenting him as indecisive and as having a phobia of dogs, the Secret History also recounts taboo events such as his fratricide and the possibility of his son Jochi's illegitimacy.
Multiple chronicles in Persian have also survived, which display a mix of positive and negative attitudes towards Genghis Khan and the Mongols. Both Minhaj-i Siraj Juzjani and Ata-Malik Juvayni completed their respective histories in 1260. Juzjani was an eyewitness to the brutality of the Mongol conquests and the hostility of his chronicle reflects his experiences. His contemporary Juvayni. who had travelled twice to Mongolia and attained high position in the administration of a Mongol successor state, was more sympathetic; his account is the most reliable for Genghis Khan's western campaigns. The most important Persian source is the Jami' al-tawarikh ('Compendium of Chronicles') compiled by Rashid al-Din on the order of Genghis's descendant Ghazan in the early 14th century. Ghazan allowed Rashid privileged access to both confidential Mongol sources such as the Altan Debter and to experts on the Mongol oral tradition, including Kublai Khan's ambassador Bolad Chingsang. As he was writing an official chronicle, Rashid censored inconvenient or taboo details.
There are many other contemporary histories which include additional information on Genghis Khan and the Mongols, although
Early life
Birth and childhood
The year of Temüjin's birth is disputed as historians favour different dates: 1155 1162 or 1167. Some traditions place his birth in the Year of the Pig, which was either 1155 or 1167. While a dating to 1155 is supported by the writings of both Zhao Hong and Rashid al-Din other major sources such as the History of Yuan and the Shengwu favour the year 1162. The 1167 dating, favoured by Paul Pelliot, is derived from a minor source—a text of the Yuan artist Yang Weizhen—but is more compatible with the events of Genghis Khan's life than a 1155 placement .which implies that he did not have children until after the age of thirty and continued actively campaigning into his seventh decade. 1162 remains the most accepted date .the historian Paul Ratchnevsky notes that Temüjin himself may not have known the truth. The location of Temüjin's birth is similarly debated: the Secret History records his birthplace as Delüün Boldog on the Onon River but this has been placed at either Dadal in Khentii Province or in southern Agin-Buryat Okrug, Russia.
Temüjin was born into the Borjigin clan of the Mongol tribe[c] to Yesügei, a chieftain .who claimed descent from the legendary warlord Bodonchar Munkhag, and his principal wife Hö'elün, originally of the Olkhonud clan whom Yesügei had abducted from her Merkit bridegroom Chiledu. The origin of his birth-name is contested: the earliest traditions hold that his father had just returned from a successful campaign against the Tatars with a c.aptive named Temüchin-uge, after whom he named the newborn in celebration of his victory, while later traditions highlight the root temür (meaning 'iron') and connect to theories .That "Temüjin" means 'blacksmith'. Several legends surround Temüjin's birth. The most prominent is that of a blood clot he clutched in his hand as .He was born, a motif in Asian folklore which indicated the child would be a warrior. Others claimed that Hö'elün was impregnated by a ray of
Adolescence
Yesügei's death shattered the unity of his people, which included members of the Borjigin Tayichiud and other clans. As Temüjin was only around ten, and Behter around two years older, neither was considered old enough to rule. The Tayichiud faction excluded Hö'elün from the ancestor worship ceremonies which followed a ruler's death and soon abandoned her camp. The Secret History relates that the entire Borjigin clan followed, despite Hö'elün's attempts to shame them into staying by appealing to their honour. Rashid al-Din and the Shengwu however imply that Yesügei's brothers stood by the widow. It is possible that Hö'elün may have refused to join in levirate marriage with one, resulting in later tensions, or that the author of the Secret History dramatised the situation. All the sources agree that most of Yesügei's people renounced his family in favour of the Tayichiuds and that Hö'elün's family were reduced to a much harsher life. Taking up a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, they collected roots and nuts, hunted for small animals, and caught fish.
Tensions developed as the children grew older. Both Temüjin and Behter had claims to be their father's heir: although Temüjin was the child of Yesügei's chief wife Behter was at least two years his senior. There was even the possibility that as permitted under levirate law Behter could marry Hö'elün upon attaining his majority and become Temüjin's stepfather. As the friction, exacerbated by frequent disputes over the division of hunting spoils, intensified Temüjin and his younger brother Qasar ambushed and killed Behter. This taboo act was omitted from the official chronicles but not from the Secret History .which recounts that Hö'elün angrily reprimanded her sons. Behter's younger full-brother Belgutei did not seek vengeance and became one of Temüjin's highest-ranking followers alongside Qasar. Around this time Temüjin developed a close friendship with Jamukha, another boy of aristocratic descent; the Secret History notes that they exchanged knucklebones and arrows as gifts and swore the anda pact the traditional oath of Mongol blood brothers at the age of eleven.
As the family lacked allies, Temüjin was taken prisoner on multiple occasions.[38] Captured by the Tayichiuds.He escaped during a feast and hid first in the Onon and then in the tent of Sorkan-Shira, a man who had seen him in the river and not raised the alarm. Sorkan-Shira sheltered Temüjin for three days at great personal risk before allowing him to escape. Temüjin was assisted on another occasion by an adolescent named Bo'orchu who aided him in retrieving stolen horses. Soon afterwards, Bo'orchu joined Temüjin's camp as his first nökor ('personal companion'; pl. nökod). These incidents, related by the Secret History, are indicative of the emphasis its author put on Genghis' personal charisma.
0 Comments