S. Volkov

In the first quarter of the XIII century, rich in historical events, the expanses from Siberia to Northern Iran and the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov were announced by the neighing of the horses of countless invaders pouring from the depths of the Mongolian steppes. They were led by the evil genius of that ancient era - the fearless conqueror and conqueror of the peoples, Genghis Khan.

Son of the hero Yesugei

Temujin - this is how Genghis Khan, the future ruler of Mongolia and Northern China, was named at birth - was born in the small tract of Delyun-Boldok, sheltered on the shore. hero." He was awarded such an honorary title for his victory over the Tatar leader Tmujin-Ugra. In battle, proving to his opponent who is who and capturing him, he, along with other prey, captured his wife Hoelun, who became Temujin's mother nine months later.

The exact date of this event, which affected the course of world history, has not been precisely established to this day, but 1155 is considered the most likely. There is also no reliable information about how his early years passed, but it is known for certain that already at the age of nine, Yesugei in one of the neighboring tribes betrothed his son a bride named Borte. By the way, for him personally, this matchmaking ended very sadly: on the way back he was poisoned by the Tatars, where he and his son stayed for the night.

Years of wanderings and troubles

From a young age, the formation of Genghis Khan took place in an atmosphere of a merciless struggle for survival. As soon as his fellow tribesmen learned about Yesugai's death, they left his widows to the mercy of fate (the ill-fated hero had two wives) and children (who also left a lot) and, having taken all the property, went to the steppe. The orphaned family wandered for several years, being on the verge of starvation.

The early years of the life of Genghis Khan (Temujin) coincided with the period when, in the steppes that became his homeland, local tribal leaders waged a fierce struggle for power, the purpose of which was to subjugate the rest of the nomads. One of these applicants, the head of the Taichiut tribe Targutai-Kiriltukh (a distant relative of his father), even captivated the young man, seeing him as a future rival, and kept him in wooden blocks for a long time.

The fur coat that turned the history of peoples

But fate was pleased to grant freedom to a young captive who managed to deceive his tormentors and break free. The first conquest of Genghis Khan dates back to this time. It turned out to be the heart of the young beauty Borte - his betrothed bride. Temujin went to her, barely gaining freedom. A beggar, with traces of pads on his wrists, he was an unenviable groom, but is it really possible to confuse a girl's heart with this?

As a dowry, Father Borte gave his son-in-law a luxurious sable fur coat, with which, although it seems incredible, the ascent of the future conqueror of Asia began. No matter how great the temptation was to show off in expensive furs, Temujin preferred to dispose of the wedding gift differently.

With him, he went to the most powerful leader of the steppe at that time, the head of the Kereit tribe, Tooril Khan, and offered him this only value of his, not forgetting to accompany the gift with flattery suitable for the occasion. This move was very far-sighted. Having lost his fur coat, Temujin acquired a powerful patron, in alliance with whom he began his path as a conqueror.

The beginning of the way

With the support of such a powerful ally as Tooril Khan, the legendary conquests of Genghis Khan began. The table given in the article shows only the most famous of them, which have become historically significant. But they could not have taken place without victories in small, local battles that paved the way for him to world fame.

By raiding the inhabitants of neighboring uluses, he tried to shed less blood and, if possible, save the lives of his opponents. This was by no means done out of humanism, which was alien to the inhabitants of the steppes, but with the aim of attracting the defeated to their side and thereby replenishing the ranks of their troops. He willingly accepted nukers - foreigners who were ready to serve for a share of the booty looted in campaigns.

However, the first years of Genghis Khan's reign were often overshadowed by unfortunate miscalculations. Once he went on another raid, leaving his camp unguarded. This was taken advantage of by the Merkit tribe, whose warriors, in the absence of the owner, attacked and, having plundered the property, took away all the women with them, including his beloved wife Bothe. Only with the help of the same Tooril Khan, Temujin managed, having defeated the Merkits, to return his missus.

Victory over the Tatars and the capture of Eastern Mongolia

Each new conquest of Genghis Khan raised his prestige among the steppe nomads and brought him to the ranks of the main rulers of the region. Around 1186, he created his own ulus - a kind of feudal state. Having concentrated all the power in his hands, he established a strictly defined vertical of power on the territory subordinate to him, where all the key posts were occupied by his close associates.

The defeat of the Tatars was one of the biggest victories that began the conquest of Genghis Khan. The table given in the article refers this event to 1200, but a series of armed clashes began five years earlier. At the end of the XII century, the Tatars were going through hard times. Their camps were constantly attacked by a strong and dangerous enemy - the troops of the Chinese emperors of the Jin dynasty.

Taking advantage of this, Temujin joined the Jin troops and attacked the enemy together with them. In this case, his main goal was not booty, which he willingly shared with the Chinese, but the weakening of the Tatars, who stood in his way to undivided dominion in the steppes. Having achieved what he wanted, he took possession of almost the entire territory of Eastern Mongolia, becoming its undivided ruler, since the influence of the Jin dynasty in this area noticeably weakened.

Conquest of the Trans-Baikal Territory

We should pay tribute not only to Temujin's military talent, but also to his diplomatic abilities. Skillfully manipulating the ambitions of the tribal leaders, he always directed their enmity in a direction favorable to him. Concluding military alliances with yesterday's enemies and treacherously attacking recent friends, he always knew how to be the winner.

After the conquest of the Tatars in 1202, the aggressive campaigns of Genghis Khan began in the Trans-Baikal Territory, where the Taijiut tribes settled in the vast wild expanses. It was not an easy campaign, in one of the battles of which the khan was dangerously wounded by an enemy arrow. However, in addition to rich trophies, he brought the khan confidence in his abilities, since the victory was won alone, without the support of allies.

The title of the Great Khan and the code of laws "Yasa"

The next five years became a continuation of his conquest of numerous peoples living on the territory of Mongolia. From victory to victory, his power grew and the army increased, replenished at the expense of yesterday's opponents who had transferred to his service. In the early spring of 1206, Temujin was proclaimed a great khan with the highest title of "kagan" and the name Chingiz (water conqueror), with which he entered world history.

The years of Genghis Khan's reign became a period when the whole life of the peoples subject to him was regulated by the laws he worked out, the set of which was called "Yasa". The main place in it was occupied by articles prescribing the provision of comprehensive mutual assistance on a campaign and, under pain of punishment, forbidding deception of a person who trusted in something.

It is curious, but according to the laws of this semi-wild ruler, loyalty, even shown by the enemy in relation to his sovereign, was considered one of the highest virtues. For example, a prisoner who did not want to renounce his former master was considered worthy of respect and was willingly accepted into the army.

To strengthen during the years of Genghis Khan's life, the entire population subject to him was divided into tens of thousands (tumens), thousands and hundreds. Above each of the groups was placed the chief, head (literally) responsible for the loyalty of his subordinates. This made it possible to keep a huge number of people in strict obedience.

Every adult and healthy man was considered a warrior and, at the first signal, was obliged to take up arms. In general, at that time, the army of Genghis Khan was about 95 thousand people, bound by iron discipline. The slightest disobedience or cowardice shown in battle was punishable by death.

The main conquests of the troops of Genghis Khan

Event	the date
Victory of Temujin's troops over the Naiman tribe	1199
The victory of Temujin's forces over the Taichiut tribe	1200 year
The defeat of the Tatar tribes	1200 year
Victory over the Kereites and Taijuites	1203
Victory over the Naiman tribe led by Tayan Khan	1204
Genghis Khan's attacks on the Tangut state Xi Xia	1204
Conquest of Beijing	1215
Conquest of Central Asia by Genghis Khan	1219-1223
The victory of the Mongols led by Subedei and Jebe over the Russian-Polovtsian army	1223
The conquest of the capital and the state of Xi Xia	1227

New path of conquest

In 1211, the conquest by Genghis Khan of the peoples inhabiting Transbaikalia and Siberia was practically completed. Tribute flowed to him from all over this vast region. But his rebellious soul did not find peace. Ahead was Northern China - a country whose emperor once helped him defeat the Tatars and, having strengthened, rise to a new level of power.

Four years before the start of the Chinese campaign, wanting to secure the route of his troops, Genghis Khan captured and plundered the Tangut kingdom of Xi Xia. In the summer of 1213, having managed to capture the fortress that covered the passage in the Great Wall of China, he invaded the territory of the Jin state. His campaign was swift and victorious. Taken by surprise, many cities surrendered without a fight, and a number of Chinese military leaders went over to the side of the invaders.

When Northern China was conquered, Genghis Khan moved his troops to Central Asia, where they were also lucky. Having conquered vast expanses, he reached Samarkand, from where he continued his journey, conquering Northern Iran and a significant part of the Caucasus.

Genghis Khan's campaign against Russia

To conquer the Slavic lands in 1221-1224, Genghis Khan sent two of his most experienced commanders - Subedey and Dzhebe. Having crossed the Dnieper, they invaded the borders of Kievan Rus at the head of a large army. Not hoping to defeat the enemy on their own, the Russian princes entered into an alliance with their old enemies - the Polovtsians.

The battle took place on May 31, 1223 in the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov, on the Kalka River. It ended with troops. Many historians see the reason for the failure in the arrogance of Prince Mstislav Udatny, who crossed the river and started the battle before the main forces approached. The desire of the prince to cope with the enemy alone turned into his own death and the death of many other governors. Genghis Khan's campaign against Russia turned out to be such a tragedy for the defenders of the fatherland. But even more difficult trials lay ahead of them.

The last conquest of Genghis Khan

The conqueror of Asia died at the end of the summer of 1227 during his second campaign against the state of Xi Xia. Even in winter, he began the siege of his capital - Zhongxing, and, having exhausted the forces of the city's defenders, was preparing to accept their surrender. This was the last conquest of Genghis Khan. Suddenly he felt ill and took to his bed, and after a short time he died. Not excluding the possibility of poisoning, researchers tend to see the cause of death in the complications caused by an injury received shortly before in a fall from a horse.

The exact burial place of the great khan is unknown, just as the date of his last hour is unknown. In Mongolia, where once the Delyun-Boldok tract was located, in which, according to legend, Genghis Khan was born, a monument erected in his honor rises today.

Childhood and youth of Genghis Khan

Exact date of birth Temujin, which later received the name , is still unknown. However, it can be argued that it was the time of the collapse of the first Mongolian state Hamag approximately in $50$-$60$-s of $XII$ c. father Temujin, called Yesugai-baatur, he was poisoned by the Tatars, with whom the family Temujin was on hostile terms. It happened when Temuchin was nine years old left alone. People who were previously subordinate Yesugayu-baaturu left him with his mother ohelun-fujin and brothers to their fate. As a youth Temujin was subjected to the ruler of the Taichiut tribe Torgutai-Kiriltuhom punishment for being with his younger brother, Khasar, killed his stepbrother Bekter based on rivalry. For this, he was kept for a long time as a prisoner with a wooden block around his neck.

Remark 1

It was this fact that gave rise to the myth often found in the sources that in youth Temujin was a slave.

Struggle for dominance in the steppe

Having made an escape Temujin eventually gathered nukers around him and in the $70$-$80$-s of the $XII$ c. took the first steps towards dominance among the Mongols. Significant assistance in uniting the disparate ulus Temuchin rendered Tooril Khan, the ruler of the Kereites, who was twinned with his father. At this time, bet Temujin attacked by the Merkits, who captured his wife - Borte. This event allowed Tooril Khanu start a campaign against the Merkits. In $1177$-$1178$. the Merkits were defeated. Temujin regained his wife, and his supporters seized booty and slaves. Already at this time Temujin showed his cruel character, ordering that none of the Merkits be left alive, but that they all be killed.

Example 1

First big battle Temujin spent $1,193 when he defeated his father-in-law's $10,000 army Ung Khana, having only $6$ thousand soldiers. Commander of the army Ung Khana Sanguk confident in the superiority of the troops entrusted to him, he did not take care of either reconnaissance or military protection. So Temujin was able to catch the enemy by surprise and completely destroyed.

Victory Temujin over the Merkits allowed him to attract other Mongol tribes to his side, who meekly provided him with their soldiers. Army Temujin grew steadily, and after it, the territories of the Mongolian steppe controlled by him expanded. Temujin constantly waged wars with all the tribes of the Mongols, who did not recognize his supreme power. He was distinguished by perseverance and extreme cruelty, for example, on his orders, the Tatar tribe that did not submit to him was completely exterminated (however, ironically, the Mongols in Europe began to be called by this name). Temujin perfectly mastered the tactics of the steppe war, suddenly attacking neighboring tribes, he invariably won victories. In $1206$, Temujin became the most powerful ruler in the steppes north of the Great Wall of China. It was in this year that at the kurultai (i.e. congress) of the Mongolian feudal lords he was proclaimed "great khan" over all the Mongols, giving him the title.

Remark 2

Most historians agree that this title comes from the Turkic word tengis- the ocean, and meant "Khan, whose power is boundless, like the ocean".

Military reforms of Genghis Khan

To maintain their power and suppress any manifestation of discontent created a special cavalry guard of up to $ 10 thousand people. Only the best warriors from the Mongol tribes, who enjoyed great privileges, got into it. They were also personal bodyguards. . From their own number, the Great Khan appointed the highest commanders in the rest of the army.

Divided the army according to the decimal system: tens, hundreds, thousands and tumens ($10$ thousand soldiers). These units were not only accounting units, but could also perform local combat missions, i.e. act autonomously.

According to this system, the high command of the Mongolian army was also lined up: ten's manager, centurion, thousand's manager, temnik. To the main positions, temnikov, he tried to appoint his sons and representatives of the tribal nobility from among those who, by deed, proved to him their loyalty and abilities in military affairs. The Mongol army maintained the most severe discipline at all levels of the hierarchical ladder, any violation was severely punished. The principle of mutual responsibility was applied, i.e. if one warrior fled from the battlefield, the whole ten were executed, if ten, then the whole hundred, etc.

He highly appreciated talent and personal merits and put them above tribal status. Often he appointed even worthy enemies to command posts.

Example 2

For example, once a shooter from an enemy Tayichiut tribe almost killed the Great Khan, hitting the horse on which he was sitting with an arrow. The shooter bravely confessed his guilt, but instead of being executed, he was appointed a general and later received the nickname Jebe, which means arrowhead. Jebe went down in history as one of the greatest military leaders, along with General Subaday.

Campaigns of Genghis Khan

Initially making conquests, did not always attract the general Mongolian army. His spies delivered information about the upcoming enemy, about the number, location and movement of his troops. All this allowed use as many troops as was necessary to defeat the enemy.

However, leadership talent It also consisted of something else: he quickly reacted to a changing situation, changing tactics depending on the circumstances.

Example 3

For example, faced for the first time with the need to storm the fortifications in China, began to use all kinds of siege machines. They were transported disassembled and quickly assembled during the siege of cities. When Temuchin other specialists were required who were absent among the Mongols, for example, mechanics or doctors, the khan wrote them out from other countries or took them prisoner.

In $1207$, the Great Khan conquered vast areas north of the Selenga River and in the upper reaches of the Yenisei. The cavalry of the conquered tribes was included in the Mongol army.

Next came the turn of the Uighur state located in East Turkestan. In $1209$ the army entered their territory, and successively captured all their cities, won a complete victory.

In $1211$ the army invaded northern China. Even the Great Wall of China could not stop the conquerors. The Mongols defeated the Chinese troops and captured Beijing in $1215. In northern China, the Mongols ravaged about $90$ of cities whose inhabitants had resistance. In $1218$, the Mongols conquered Korea.

After that turned his gaze to the West. In the same $1218$ year, the Mongol army moved into Central Asia and subjugated the state of Khorezm.

After the defeat of Khorezm and the conquest of Central Asia, Genghis Khan undertook a campaign in the North-West of India, conquering this vast territory as well. But Genghis Khan did not advance to the south of the Hindustan peninsula, as he was more attracted to unknown countries in the West. For intelligence sent his best commanders far to the west Jebe and subedea with the troops. Their path ran through Iran, Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus. Thus, the Mongols approached the southern borders of Russia. At that time, the Polovtsians roamed the Don steppes, having long lost their former military strength. The Mongols managed to defeat the Polovtsy without much difficulty, and they hid in the Russian border lands. In $1223$ Jebe and subday won a victory in the battle on the Kalka River over the combined army of some Russian princes and Polovtsians. However, after this victory, the Mongol avant-garde turned back.

Remark 3

Determine the exact number of deaths as a result of campaigns is not possible, but historians agree on a figure of about $40 million. The sources note that during the invasion of the Mongols, the population of China decreased by tens of millions. The population of Khorezm is three-quarters, and the total number of human losses during the campaigns of Genghis Khan, according to scientists, was $11$% of population Lands of that time.

The great commander died during his last campaign against the Tanguts in $1227$. The Mongols gave him a magnificent funeral ceremony, putting to death all its participants, in order to keep the location of the grave a complete secret. .

Childhood and youth of Genghis Khan

Remark 1

It was this fact that gave rise to the myth often found in the sources that in youth Temujin was a slave.

Struggle for dominance in the steppe

Example 1

Remark 2

Most historians agree that this title comes from the Turkic word tengis- the ocean, and meant "Khan, whose power is boundless, like the ocean".

Military reforms of Genghis Khan

He highly appreciated talent and personal merits and put them above tribal status. Often he appointed even worthy enemies to command posts.

Example 2

Campaigns of Genghis Khan

However, leadership talent It also consisted of something else: he quickly reacted to a changing situation, changing tactics depending on the circumstances.

Example 3

In $1207$, the Great Khan conquered vast areas north of the Selenga River and in the upper reaches of the Yenisei. The cavalry of the conquered tribes was included in the Mongol army.

Next came the turn of the Uighur state located in East Turkestan. In $1209$ the army entered their territory, and successively captured all their cities, won a complete victory.

After that turned his gaze to the West. In the same $1218$ year, the Mongol army moved into Central Asia and subjugated the state of Khorezm.

Remark 3

Having completed the reorganization of the Mongol army and administration, having strengthened the empire with the Uighurs and forest people, Genghis was ready to attack the kingdom of the Tanguts (they were a people of Tibetan origin) in the Ordos and Kansu region. When he approached their capital, they agreed to pay tribute to the Mongols; Genghis Khan did not insist on their complete submission. The main goal of his raid was to weaken the Tanguts and thus eliminate the danger of their attack during the planned Chinese campaign.

Careful preparations were made for this campaign, both diplomatically and militarily. Many spies were sent to the Jin Empire to study the general situation within it. Uyghur merchants trading with China were also instructed to collect the necessary information. The main weakness of the Jin was that it exercised control over only a part of China. Moreover, the southern Song Empire, which competed with it, was under the rule of a primordially Chinese dynasty. The Jin were newcomers (Jurchen origin) and, despite the rapid assimilation by the Chinese, were perceived by the local population as strangers. Their control extended from Manchuria to the area south of the Yellow River, including the provinces of Chihli, Shanxi, Shandong, and northern Henan. The original place of residence of the Jurchens was Northern Manchuria. Southern Manchuria was inhabited by the Khitan, who ruled Northern China before the Jurchen conquest. Khitan loyalty to the Jin dynasty was questionable. All these circumstances were taken into account by Genghis Khan and his advisers. Trusted agents were secretly sent to influential Khitan tribal leaders to prepare future cooperation.

For the Mongols, the war against the Jin was a natural act of revenge for the support that the Jin had previously given to the Tatars, and in particular for the shameful execution of Ambagai Khan some fifty years ago. In the tribal society of the steppes, blood feuds continued for years, and the insult inflicted on the forefathers was keenly felt by their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Acting as the embodiment of the Mongol nation, Genghis Khan declared a holy war. Before the campaign, he retired to his tent, where he spent three days in prayer, asking the Eternal Blue Sky to support his readiness to avenge the suffering of his ancestors. While their emperor was offering prayers, the soldiers and people around his tent, in a state of nervous excitement, called out to Heaven, shouting: "Tengri, Tengri!" On the fourth day, Genghis appeared and announced that Heaven had guaranteed their victory.

The first Chinese campaign of the Mongols began in 1211. The Jin armies were more numerous, but Genghis Khan proved to be a more adroit strategist than the Jin commanders. The Mongolian troops were divided into various army groups, which acted in perfect coordination. Simultaneously attacked from different sides, the Jin generals dispersed their forces; this made it possible for Genghis Khan's guards to penetrate the Great Wall in a place where the enemy did not expect an attack. The divisions of the Mongol army then headed straight for Beijing, while other formations reached the shores of the Chikhli Bay. It turned out to be extremely important that the Mongols managed to capture most of the imperial herds kept north of Beijing. This deprived the Jin of their main source of replenishment for their cavalry. Lacking experience and weapons for the assault, the Mongols at this stage did not attempt to capture the well-defended Beijing. But they tightly controlled the entire Beijing region. The diplomacy of Genghis began to bear fruit: in 1212, the Khitan rebelled against the Jin, and their tribal leaders recognized the suzerainty of Genghis Khan. Two years later, Emperor Jin signed a peace treaty with Genghis, according to which Genghis received the adopted daughter of Emperor Jin as his wife with a fantastically rich dowry. The peace did not last long, as neither side was going to support it. Emperor Jin decided to leave Beijing and move his capital to the southern part of the empire in order to organize defense there. On the way there, part of his army, recruited from the Khitans, rebelled and headed back to Beijing. Not wanting to miss a favorable moment, the Mongols immediately resumed the war. Beijing fell in 1215.

This did not bring the war to an end as the Jin continued to resist in the southern part of their realm. However, the main task of Genghis Khan was achieved. Mongol rule was firmly established in both North China and Manchuria, and these countries became an integral part of the Chinggis empire, which had a lasting impact on the structure of the Mongol army and state. Genghis now had at his disposal not only a corps of Chinese military engineers, but could also use the services of experienced, highly cultured and well-trained civilian officials. With their help, and with the support of the Uighurs, the Mongols gained the ability to rule the world they were so close to conquering. Genghis Khan's most famous Chinese adviser was Yelü Chucai, a descendant of a Khitan princely family, but a Chinese by education and culture.

After establishing his power in Beijing, Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia, setting before Mukhali the task of completing the conquest of the Jin Empire. His attention now turned from Chinese affairs to Central Asia, where he had some work in progress. Recall that after Temujin's victory over the Naimans in 1204, the son of the last Naiman Khan, Kuchluk, fled westward, eventually reaching the kingdom of Kara-Khidan. Soon Kuchluk took advantage of internal strife where he received asylum and seized power himself. Originally a Christian of the Nestorian denomination, Kuchluk later converted to Buddhism. As ruler of the Kara-Khidan kingdom, he tried to suppress both Christianity and Islam there, which caused considerable opposition. Through the Uighurs, Genghis Khan was well informed of these events.

One of the main principles of Genghis Khan's strategy was the desire to destroy the enemy to the end. For several years he seemed to have forgotten about Kuchluk, preparing and then carrying out the Chinese campaign; however, now that his hold on northern China had been consolidated, he could afford to strike the final blow against his old enemy. Successively, two Mongolian tumens were sent to the Kara-Khidan region under the command of Jebe-Noyon. As soon as Jebe was on enemy territory, he proclaimed complete religious freedom. Therefore, the Mongols were greeted as liberators by both Christians and Muslims. With the support of the local population, Jebe inflicted a lightning defeat on the troops of Kuchluk. Kuchluk died while trying to escape. As a result of Jebe's victory, the western border of the Mongol Empire now reached the limits of Khorezm.

Khorezm, located in Western Turkestan, in the basin of the lower reaches of the Amu Darya, is the oldest cultural region in the world. The high level of agriculture was made possible by the ingenious irrigation system branching off from the Amu Darya; crafts and industries have flourished in this region since time immemorial. Equally important was the role of Khorezm in international trade. Being at the crossroads between China and the Mediterranean world, between India and South Russia, Khorezm was a meeting place for trade caravans from east and west, north and south. It can be called an island of settled civilization in a sea of steppes and deserts; Barthold rightly likens its role in the steppe trade to that of the British Isles in maritime trade.

The indigenous population of Khorezm had Iranian origins. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the country prospered under the enlightened rule of the Samanid dynasty. However, starting from the 10th century, the Samanid kingdom was under constant and increasing pressure from a broad federation of Turkic tribes known as the Oghuz. Historically, the Oghuz state was part of the Turkic Khaganate, which existed from the 6th to the 8th centuries. Ethnically, the Oguzes were a mixture of Turks and Iranians (Alans). In the middle of the 11th century, a branch of the Oghuz, known by their leader as the Seljuks, settled in Khorezm and Persia. The Seljuks later invaded Asia Minor, but gradually lost their control over the Middle East. Khorezm was one of the centers of opposition. Beginning in 1117, the area was ruled by a military governor, Kutbuddin Mohammed, who came from Turkish mercenaries who were usually recruited from slaves. He succeeded in founding a dynasty of able rulers; initially under Seljuk suzerainty, they eventually became independent and assumed the old Persian title of Shah. The city of Urgench in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya became the capital of their empire. In the last quarter of the 12th century, Bukhara and northern Persia were annexed to Khorezm. Between 1206 and 1215, Khorezm Shah Mohammed II conquered the southern part of Persia, as well as Afghanistan. Now he had to meet with Genghis Khan, and in this conflict he would not be up to par.

Although the empire of Muhammad II was vast and prosperous, it was not very durable and was torn apart by internal contradictions. For the population of the newly acquired Persian provinces, Khorezm Shah was a stranger; in general, in the empire, his Iranian subjects did not mix much with the Turks. As far as religion was concerned, the majority of the population of the empire were Muslims, but there was an eternal conflict between Shiite and Sunni doctrines, and various Shiite sects added their share to this opposition. The peasantry grumbled under the burden of taxes; merchants hated the corruption of city governors and the lack of safety on the roads. There was no single army. Estate owners ( ikta) commanded militia units recruited from the tenants of their land. These troops were poorly trained. The Turkmen tribesmen, brave and warlike, were undisciplined, the guardsmen of the Shah Kangli (Kipchakia) were demoralized; the army technicians, occupied with catapults and other military mechanisms, showed competence, but their unit was not integrated with the rest of the army. In addition, the shah's house was shaken by intrigues. His mother, an ambitious and energetic woman of Kanglish origin, often interfered in her son's plans and supported his doubts about the most capable of his sons, Jalal ad-Din, whose popularity among the people in general grew as rapidly as his father's prestige declined. To make matters worse, the Shah's lack of tact led him to quarrel with some of the leading mullahs.

From Khorezm merchants who traded with the Uighurs and Chinese, Khorezm Shah learned about the conquest of northern China by Genghis Khan. He decided to send an embassy to the Mongol ruler under the pretext of conveying congratulations. The true goal was to assess the strength of the Mongols. Genghis Khan generously met the ambassadors and merchants and sent his representatives and a trade caravan to Turkestan in response. The contingent of both the diplomatic mission and the caravan consisted mainly of Khorezm and Bukhara merchants - subjects of Mohammed II, who succumbed to the temptation to significantly expand trade with the Far East and agreed to become agents of Genghis Khan. Having reached the borders of the Khorezm Empire, the caravan stopped in the city of Otrar, on the banks of the Syrdarya River; from here the envoys followed to Urgench in order to receive a reception from the shah. The Shah agreed to talk to them, but at the same time the governor of Otrar (presumably acting on the Shah's secret order) ordered that the merchants of Genghis be killed and their goods taken away. When the Mongol emperor received news of these events, he sent a representative to Mohammed, demanding that the governor of Otrar be handed over to him. Mohammed not only refused to do this, but also ordered the death of the Mongol envoy. The envoy's escort received permission to return to Mongolia, but only after his beard was shaved, which was considered a grave insult. Genghis Khan now had no alternative to war. He convened an emergency kurultai, at which all the necessary plans for the Turkestan campaign (1218) were considered and taken into action. Presumably, at this meeting, the laws of the Mongol Empire, promulgated in 1296, were systematized and approved in the form of a written code, the Great Yasa.

The Mongol campaign against the Khorezm Shah's empire was as meticulously prepared as against China. Jebe no doubt could offer useful advice based on his raid in the nearby country of Kara-Khidan. In addition, all information about Turkestan that came from Muslim merchants, Uighurs and other sources was taken into account. In any case, as subsequent events showed, Genghis Khan was inclined to overestimate the power of Khorezm Shah. To increase his army, he sent an envoy to the Tangut ruler asking for more troops. The response was far from friendly: If You do not have enough troops, You are not worthy to be Khan ". It was nothing but an insult. However, with his usual reserve, Genghis Khan decided to postpone the punishment of the Tangut until after the Turkestan war. The concentration of the Mongol army in Northern Dzungaria was completed in the spring of 1219. The main army consisted of one hundred thousand horsemen; with additional troops, her strength could be about one and a half hundred thousand. A significant number of Genghis's fighters were veterans of the Chinese campaign, which also served as an excellent school for his generals. The troops of Khorezm Shah numbered about three hundred thousand, but most of his soldiers were much worse trained. In addition, Mohammed II did not have the gift of a leader, necessary in difficult times. Many of his subjects would have welcomed the appointment of Jalal ad-Din as supreme commander, but, as already mentioned, Muhammad did not trust his son, fearing that if he won, he would rise to power.

Under the circumstances, Muhammad approved a plan that puzzled both his contemporaries and most historians of his reign. Instead of concentrating his army to repulse the Mongol attack, he scattered the troops, placing a significant part of them in large fortified cities like Otrar, Bukhara and Samarkand; only some formations of the Khorezm army were tasked with ensuring communications between the garrisons of cities and field maneuvering; meanwhile, orders were given to the governors of Persia to assemble a reserve army there. From my point of view, Muhammad's war plan could be based on his assessment of the information regarding Genghis's Chinese campaign, transmitted to him by the ambassadors he sent to Genghis before the break between the two rulers. Until that time, the Mongols had not been able to take a single fortress by storm. If such were the calculations of Muhammad's strategy, then he had miscalculated badly. Genghis Khan now had many Chinese military engineers ready to help him. It is not clear whether some of the siege weapons, like the catapults used by the Mongols in the Turkestan campaign, were actually brought from China, or whether they were all built directly on the spot by Muslim technicians under the direction of the Chinese. The fact is that these machines were used in many cases. When no machines were involved, the Mongols used rudimentary devices and tactics in their siege of fortified cities like Otrar and Bukhara, such as filling ditches with mud and stones or building siege structures to storm walls. Presumably, these works were directed by Chinese engineers or the Mongols trained by them. Prisoners of war and local residents called up for military service were used as labor force. In many cases, they were also sent first to storm the walls, most died, but this did not bother the Mongols much.

In the autumn of 1219, the troops of Genghis Khan appeared at the walls of Otrar. Leaving a few tumens for the siege of this city, the Mongol emperor went straight to Bukhara with the selected troops of his army. On his way, many small villages surrendered without a fight, thus avoiding destruction. The Mongols ordered in each case to tear down the city walls; on the whole, the population was not disturbed, but it had to supply the proper number of workers and pay a moderate indemnity. The authorities of the Great City of Bukhara, however, decided to defend the city. Only after the garrison, in an attempt to penetrate the siege ring, left the city and died in battle, Bukhara surrendered. A desperate group of warriors locked in the inner castle continued to resist for another twelve days, until most of them were killed. When it was all over, Genghis Khan ordered the population to leave the city and all property. Merchants and artisans were recruited to work for the Mongols. Other people were left to their fate and, according to some sources, most of them died. The abandoned city was given to soldiers for plunder, as a result of which it burned down (1220).

Bukhara became an example for all enemy cities that did not want to submit without a fight. When Otrar fell, his governor, who was guilty of killing the merchants of the Chinggis caravan, was captured alive and died after painful torture. Soon Samarkand was also taken by the Mongols. Having thus lost their main fortresses and the best troops, Khorezm Shah and his son fled to the south. The difference in character between father and son was now quite evident. Mohammed thought only of his own safety, which he hoped would be secured for him on an island in the Caspian Sea. Jalal ad-Din, on the contrary, wanted to continue the resistance and upon arrival in Ghazni, in Afghanistan, immediately began organizing a new army. Two Mongol tumens, led respectively by Jebe and Subedei, were sent south to capture the fleeing shah. Having lost sight of Mohammed, the Mongol expeditionary force conquered territory along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and reached Azerbaijan, the westernmost province of the state of Khorezm Shah. The two commanders now asked Genghis Khan's permission to move north through the Caucasus in order to reconnoiter the "Western countries". Genghis approved their plans. As a result, a daring raid on Southern Russia was carried out in 1220-23, during which a heavy defeat was inflicted on the Russians in the battle of Kalka.

Military operations of the main Mongol armies in 1220-21. had a dual task: the capture of the capital of Khorezm, Urgench, and the defeat of the newly formed army of Jalal ad-Din. Against the latter, Genghis Khan first sent a tumen under the command of his half-brother Shigi-Khutuhu, the supreme judge. These troops were defeated by Jalal ad-Din, which was the only failure of the Mongols during the Turkestan campaign. Then Genghis Khan, realizing the seriousness of the situation, accompanied by his youngest son, led his main army against the Khorezm prince. Jalal ad-Din retreated, but accepted the battle on the banks of the upper Indus. Here his army was defeated, and his wives and children were captured by the Mongols. However, he himself, however, rushed with his horse into a stormy river, swam to the other side and disappeared by land, eventually reaching Delhi. For some time Genghis Khan apparently weighed the possibility of continuing his campaign further south to conquer India. Both he and his advisers understood, however, the enormous difficulties of the whole undertaking and, in particular, of overcoming the high mountain ranges. Among the opponents of the campaign was Yelü Chucai. In the end, the Mongol Khan decided to abandon this idea and turned his army back.

Meanwhile, his three sons - Jochi, Chagatai and Ogedei - who were ordered to capture Urgench, succeeded in this after some delay, explained by Jochi's quarrel with two other brothers. As part of the siege operations, the Mongols destroyed the main dam on the Amu Darya above the city, which caused irreparable damage to the entire irrigation system and, as a result, to Khorezm agriculture. Until recently, it was believed that the destruction of the great dam also led to a change in the channel of the Amu Darya, which supposedly turned west and began to flow into the Caspian, and not into the Aral Sea, as before. Recent archaeological excavations, however, do not support this theory. .

After completing the conquest of Turkestan, Genghis gave himself and the army a rest. It was at this time that he had philosophical conversations with the Taoist monk Chang-Chun. As early as 1219, Genghis heard that the Taoists understood alchemy well and were close to discovering the elixir of life. Therefore, he invited Chang-Chun, who was considered the most famous representative of this school, to visit him. Prior to this, Chang-Chun had refused such invitations, but this time he agreed and made a long and difficult journey. In the camp of Genghis, he was met with great honors. During the first meeting, the emperor immediately expressed his desire for the secret of longevity. The philosopher honestly said that he did not have such a secret. Although disappointed, Genghis Khan did not lose interest in Taoist teachings and arranged three more meetings with Chang-Chun. A Kara-Khidan officer translated the words of the latter into Mongolian. Genghis Khan was pleased with the lectures and noted that Chang Chun's philosophy could keep a person alive, even if it could not make a person immortal.

Meanwhile, steps were being taken to restore order in the newly conquered country; a new system of taxation was introduced under the competent leadership of local merchants, one of whom, Mahmud Yalavach, became one of Genghis Khan's most trusted advisers. People were ordered to go about their peaceful affairs, the roads were freed from robbers. So, after the initial period of terrible destruction had passed, the country not only returned to normal life, but even received a better administration than before. However, it took a long time before the irrigation system of Khorezm was restored.

Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia in 1225. Now he was ready to punish the Tanguts for their refusal to help him in the Turkestan campaign. But he had nowhere to hurry, because he knew about the inevitability of their destruction. He devoted much time to perfecting the organization of his empire. The administrative institutions already established were now accommodating to the control of the vast subjugated world and what still had to be subdued. Probably in 1225-26. the final version of the code of laws, called Yasa, was rewritten and approved.

In the autumn of 1226, Genghis Khan moved against the Tanguts. Tangut cities fell one by one, the Mongols celebrated their victory. But even before the end of the campaign, Genghis Khan was wounded in a fall from his horse and died. According to Genghis' instructions, his death was kept secret by his youngest son, Tolui, who accompanied his father both in this campaign and in the Turkestan war, and who inherited command of the fighting troops. Only when the resistance of the Tanguts was finally broken was the sad news announced to friends and enemies. The body of Genghis Khan was brought to Mongolia. The exact location of the burial was kept secret; according to some sources, he was buried in the forests of Mount Burkan.

Even after his death, Genghis Khan continued to live in Mongolian history as a guiding spirit and the embodiment of the nation. His name is mentioned in every important state document issued by his successors; Yasa remained the basis of Mongol imperial law; a collection of his sayings (Bilik) became a source of wisdom for future generations; only his descendants were considered as contenders for the throne. Such a zealous reverence for the memory of Genghis Khan makes it difficult for the historian to assess the role of his personality in the creation of the empire. Was Genghis Khan's success primarily the result of his own strenuous effort? To what extent can he be explained by the talent of his governors and advisers, or by the disunity of his opponents? Not every ruler knows how to take advantage of the mistakes of his enemies; Genghis Khan, of course, used them to the fullest. As for the role of his lieutenants, there is no doubt that Genghis Khan's ability to appoint the right person to the right place greatly contributed to the success of his enterprises both in military campaigns and in the organization of the empire. Genghis Khan himself willingly recognized the help rendered to him by his generals, diplomats and officials, and generously rewarded them. And yet, his leading role in all important military and political decisions taken during his reign is obvious. Undoubtedly, Genghis Khan's talent for skillfully coordinating the activities of his subordinates. And, I believe, it is safe to say that as a military leader and statesman, he had a broad outlook and a sense of reality.

Genghis Khan disagreed. " The highest pleasure of a man, he said, is in victory: to defeat his enemies, to persecute them, to deprive them of their property, to make those who love them weep, to ride their horses, to embrace their daughters and wives.". It seems paradoxical that the person who uttered these words could enjoy a conversation with the learned people of his time and always showed a willingness to acquire new knowledge, philosophize about life and death. According to available evidence, Genghis Khan was a healthy and strong man. However, there are indications on the existence of a nervous breakdown in his personality, which, apparently, must have been increased by many painful shocks experienced in childhood and youth.Hence his religious exaltation, his zeal for prayer during every serious crisis in life before the start of the Chinese campaign.Although in his youth he personally led his followers against the enemy on many occasions and was considered a brave warrior, he seems to have lacked the truly noble attitude of his father. This is especially evident in the case of the attack of the Merkits on his camp, when he escaped by fleeing and leaving his young bride at the mercy of his enemies. Of course, his life was to be spared, not for its own sake, but for the sake of his great destiny, the future of the empire he was to create. And yet, Genghis Khan's behavior is more like cowardice, even if this act is considered evidence of his self-control.

Vladimirtsov correctly called Genghis Khan "a brilliant savage." Discussing the problem of ingenious savagery, Radoslav A. Tsanov refers to the Polynesian belief in the existence of a supernatural ability in certain outstanding and happy people, which he calls " mana". This is the concept of a secret supreme gift, something "above the ordinary human power, above natural processes." Within the boundaries of this approach, Genghis Khan's belief in his universal mission can be considered as a reflection on the "mana" power that owned him. He himself understood this as the ordinance of Heaven.

There is no reliable description of Genghis Khan's appearance. The report of a Song agent who visited Beijing in 1221 was considered an important source until recently, but is now believed to have not described Genghis Khan. There is, however, a fine portrait of him by a Chinese artist in a series of portraits of Mongol emperors in the Imperial Palace in Beijing; it was published in 1928. All the details of the headdress and dress of each emperor appear to be authentic. Presumably, the depiction of the face in each case was based either on reliable descriptions or on drawings from the reigns of these emperors.

The last military campaign of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan returned to Mongolia in 1225 and spent a hot summer at his headquarters. He was disturbed by the news of the planned alliance of the Jin with the Tanguts. He could not help remembering that the latter insultingly rejected his order to provide an auxiliary corps before going to Central Asia in 1218. Then the adviser to the Tangut emperor, the chief military leader Ashagambu, said: “If Genghis Khan does not have enough strength for what he wants to do , why did he take on the role of emperor? ”, Obviously, hoping that Genghis Khan would be defeated in the war with Khorezm and the Tangut state would regain its independence without shedding blood.

At that time, Genghis Khan could not disperse his forces, but now the time has come for revenge and for a preemptive strike against the emerging alliance of the Tanguts and the Jurchens.

It was during this period (1225-1226) that Genghis Khan paid much attention to improving the organization of his empire. The administrative institutions already established were now accommodating to control the vast subjugated world, from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea, and those still to be conquered. Probably, it was at this time that the final version of the code of laws, the Yasa, was rewritten and approved.

Successful wars in China, Central Asia, Iran, the Caucasus and South Russia, which allowed the Turkic-Mongolian government to feed the army, did not save the country from an economic crisis, since it was very difficult to deliver booty home at great distances. Most of it disappeared along the way and did not get to Mongolia. This is also why Genghis Khan seized on a pretext for war with the nearby Tangut.

Meanwhile, the Tangut ruler tried to negotiate peace, but the conditions turned out to be unacceptable for the Tanguts - to give the heir hostage. It was a fatal decision - Genghis Khan remembered everything from harboring his enemies to refusing to give auxiliary troops in 1218 to the Tanguts.

In the era of Genghis Khan, the Tangut state, surrounded by more powerful powers, despite its own army, numbering, according to some sources, up to 150 thousand people, was always under the threat of invasion. The Tangut state of Xi-Xia, which included twenty-two semi-agricultural, semi-pastoral provinces, extended beyond the Great Wall, capturing the Ordos region, a vast plateau located inside the large Huang He loop and the territories of Ningxia and Gansu. Little is known about the origin of the Tangut Empire, only that it arose at the end of the 10th century. as a kind of Chinese dominion. The Tanguts (a people close to the Tibetans and the Kyangs) served the Chinese emperors of the Tang dynasty and received at their disposal the territory that was under the control of the latter. Allies of China during the "Five Dynasties" (907-960), then, under the Song Dynasty (960-1279), they achieved independence when the Chinese could not withstand the onslaught of the invaders from the north - the Khitans.

So, in 1226, mobilization was again carried out among the Turko-Mongols. The warlords gathered thousands of people, horses and camels that followed the warriors. Genghis Khan was accompanied by Ogedei and Tolui and even Yesui, one of his wives. Everything was ready to march on the Tanguts. Just at that time, Genghis Khan arranged a battue hunt, and at some point his horse suddenly reared up and threw his rider to the ground. Khan was taken to the tent. He was tormented by terrible pains, his body burned as if in a fever. One of the Khan's commanders suggested postponing the invasion of Xi-Xia, but Genghis Khan was adamant: "If we leave, the Tanguts will not hesitate to announce that we have chickened out." Suffering from pain, Genghis Khan announced that he would reach the capital of the Xi-Xia state.

In March 1226, the army of Genghis Khan entered the Tangut state. The cavalry passed through the Gobi, then approached the borders of populated areas, where the Great Silk Road passed.

The city of Khara-Khoto fell first, in March 1226, its defenders and population were killed. The Turkic-Mongols consistently crushed the western part of Xi-Xia - in the summer the large Tangut city of Suzhou fell, its population was destroyed, only 106 families were saved.

The cities of Suzhou, Ganzheu, Dunhuang were influenced by other countries, mainly Central Asian, but also Tibet, India and the West - through Buddhism and Nestorianism.

It was not difficult for the Turko-Mongol conquerors to master them. The troops were able to live comfortably there, using the stocks of found grain. But the heat soon became unbearable, and Genghis Khan settled for some time in the mountains towering over the oases.

In the summer, the Turko-Mongols went on an all-out offensive against the Tanguts.

Genghis Khan responded to Ashagambu's challenge, to his every word: he tore out his treasures, precious silks, tents and distributed his herds of camels to his soldiers. He then gave the order that all the Tanguts captured should be placed at the mercy of his soldiers. The entire male population capable of holding weapons in their hands was slaughtered. The Xi-Xia empire was never again able to rise from the ruins left by the armies of Genghis Khan. A few months later, the Khan's cavalry captured the city of Lanzhou and came close to Ningxia, the enemy capital. The city, built on the banks of the Yellow River, was surrounded by a belt of powerful fortifications and had large stocks of food and weapons. The Turko-Mongols began a systematic siege.

Meanwhile, in the same year 1226, Ogedei was sent to China. The Chinese authorities, although weak, were still able to draw from the huge human reserves of supporters. Ogedei advanced along the Wei River, then crossed the province of Henan and reached the capital of Jin. The Jini failed to mobilize troops: only two years later they will be able to achieve some success, but these will be just the last outbreaks of a fading dynasty.

There remained the siege of Ningxia, the residence of the sovereign Si-Xia Li Yang and his entire court. The capital of the Tangut empire was located on the left bank of the Huang He and protected from the west by the Alashan mountains. Ningxia was an important trading center on the border with the great Gobi desert, where there was an exchange of fabrics, carpets made of white camel wool, silks, and weapons. Communities of Buddhists and Nestorians peacefully coexisted here, there were three Christian Nestorian churches in the city.

While the city was preparing for defense, the nomads placed military corps around its walls in order to block all exits. Genghis Khan, with part of his cavalry, devastated the regions of the Tangut empire, while the sons of the great khan led their troops to small cities, which ruthlessly smashed, according to a categorical order: to destroy, sparing no one, neither chicken nor dog. The Khan himself took command of several regiments. He spent a significant part of 1227 moving between the Yellow River and the upper reaches of the Wei River, in the vicinity of the cities of Lanzhou and Longde and the Liupan mountains. When the heat came, he set up his camp on the slopes of Lupanshan, where he found both rest and coolness.

Li Yang was trapped in his own capital. In the first half of June, he was forced to make a decision to surrender the capital. Li Yang sent envoys to the enemy camp to inform Genghis Khan that he was asking for a month delay for his surrender.

Several weeks passed and Li Yang left Ningxia to announce his surrender. He was accompanied by a numerous retinue and servants who carried precious gifts. There were “images of Buddha shining with gold, golden and silver bowls and goblets, boys and girls, horses and camels - all in multiples of nine”, which was considered lucky by the Mongols. Li Yang was escorted to the imperial tent, but was not allowed to see the khan. He had to bow from afar, "through the ajar door."

Was Genghis Khan already dead when Li Yang capitulated? It is very possible that the leader of the Tanguts surrendered to the empty throne, but he never knew this, since he was immediately executed in accordance with the previously given order of the khan. Would Li Yang agree to capitulate if he knew about the death of Genghis Khan? Obviously, the Turkic-Mongolian commanders until the last minute forced Li Yang to believe that he had surrendered to the commander, who was able to “command the clouds” with a wave of his hand.

The victory over the Tangut state entailed the voluntary subjugation of Tibet.

So at the end of 1227 the state of Xi-Xia fell, its destruction was the last act of the "Conqueror of the Universe" Genghis Khan.

Genghis Khan came into the world with a blood clot clenched in his fist, a sign of a warlike future. The omen came true: even standing on the verge of death, at the age of seventy-two, he never ceased to be a military man, and even when he was gone, his orders continued to be carried out.

According to Genghis Khan's instructions, his death was kept secret by his youngest son Tolui, who accompanied his father both in this campaign and in the Turkestan war, and who inherited the command of the troops fighting. Only when the resistance of the Tanguts was finally broken was the sad news announced to friends and enemies. The body of Chigis Khan was brought to Mongolia. The exact location of the burial was kept secret; according to some sources, he was buried in the forests of Mount Burkan.

In August 1227, Genghis Khan's successor Ogedei brought large sacrifices in his honor according to the Turkic-Mongolian traditions. Forty of the most beautiful girls were selected from the families of the noyons. They were dressed in festive dresses, adorned with jewels and, as Rashid ad-Din writes, they were sent to serve Genghis Khan in another world. The best horses were buried with them.

Regarding the causes of Genghis Khan's death, in addition to the official version of falling from a horse during a hunt, there are several others, for example, that he did not die a natural death. So, at Marco Polo, Genghis Khan died from a wound in the knee with an arrow, at Plano Carpini - from a lightning strike.

According to a widespread Mongolian legend, Genghis Khan died from a wound inflicted by the Tangut Khansha, the beautiful Kurbeldishin Khatun, who spent her only wedding night with Genghis Khan, who took her as his wife by right of conqueror.

Even after his death, Genghis Khan continued to live in Mongolian history as a guiding spirit and the embodiment of the nation. His name was mentioned in every important state document published by his successors; Yasa remained the basis of Mongol imperial law; a collection of his sayings (Bilik) became a source of wisdom for future generations; only his descendants were considered as contenders for the throne.

We will try to reveal the ideological essence of his state theory in order to refute the completely wrong idea of Genghis Khan as a simple enslaver, conqueror and destroyer, which was created in historical literature and mainly under the influence of the one-sided and tendentious attitude towards him of contemporary chroniclers, representatives of various sedentary peoples conquered by him. states.

While Alexander the Great and Napoleon are surrounded by a halo of glory, Genghis Khan remains a barbarian forever stained with the blood of many nations. This image is still alive in the public consciousness, and even writers strictly judge the Turkic-Mongolian conqueror. He was represented either as a brilliant strategist, or as an oriental despot, thirsting for power and blood; sometimes he is a stern but fair leader, who managed to win a place under the sun for a people who had barely emerged from the darkness of barbarism, sometimes he is an autocrat, acting with sword and fire. In short, the man who patiently managed to forge an empire from the Siberian taiga to the banks of the Indus and from the Pacific coast to the Black Sea is still poorly understood.

So, let's dwell on the ideological basis of the empire of Genghis Khan.

Genghis Khan was the bearer of a great and positive idea, and in fact his desire for creation and organization prevailed over the desire for destruction.

According to some of his sayings that have survived to us and according to the general nature of all his institutions, we can restore his system and give it that theoretical formulation that Genghis Khan himself did not and could not give.

Genghis Khan was not only a great conqueror, but also a great organizer. Like any large-scale state organizer, he was guided in his organizational activities not only by narrow practical considerations of the current moment, but also by well-known higher principles and ideas, united in a coherent system. As a typical representative of the Turanian race, he himself was incapable of clearly formulating this system in abstract philosophical terms, but, nevertheless, he clearly felt and realized this system, was completely imbued with it, and every single action of his, every act or order of his logically followed. from this system.

His leading role in all important military and political decisions taken during his reign is obvious. Undoubtedly, Genghis Khan's talent for skillfully coordinating the activities of his subordinates. As a military leader and statesman, he undoubtedly had a broad outlook and a sense of reality.

To his subjects, starting with the highest nobles and military leaders and ending with ordinary soldiers, Genghis Khan made certain moral demands. The qualities he most valued and encouraged were fidelity, devotion and fortitude; the vices that he most despised and hated were treason, betrayal and cowardice. These indicators were signs for Genghis Khan, according to which he divided all people into two categories. For one type of people, their material well-being and security are higher than their personal dignity and honor, therefore they are capable of cowardice and treason.

Such people are base, vile, essentially slavish natures; Genghis Khan despised them and mercilessly destroyed them. On his conquest path, Genghis Khan had to overthrow and depose many rulers. Almost always, among the close associates and nobles of such rulers, there were traitors and traitors who, by their betrayal, contributed to the victory and success of Genghis Khan. But Genghis Khan did not reward any of these traitors for their service: on the contrary, after each victory over some king or ruler, the great conqueror gave the order to execute all those nobles and close associates who had betrayed their master. Their betrayal was a sign of their slave psychology, and there was no place for people with such a psychology in the empire of Genghis Khan. And vice versa, after the conquest of each new kingdom, Genghis Khan showered rewards and brought closer to himself all those who remained loyal to the former ruler of this conquered country to the very end, loyal even when their loyalty was clearly unprofitable and dangerous for them. For by their loyalty and steadfastness, such people proved their belonging to the psychological type on which Genghis Khan wanted to build his state system.

After another victory, he more than once happened to reward or take into his service those who remained faithful to their masters, his recent enemies, to the end. Rashid al-Din and the Secret History testify to cases of this kind, which demonstrate his respect for the courage of the doomed and the spirit of sound morality of his reign. The weak, who once came under his protection, he defended to the end and followed this principle strictly. The leader of the Onguts, Alakuch-tegin, was killed for taking the side of the khan against the Naimans. Genghis Khan took care of his family, brought his son closer to him and gave him his daughter as a wife, ensuring the well-being of his house. The vanquished in the old wars, the Uyghurs and Khitans, had no more reliable patron than him, just as Syrian Christians and Armenians will find their most reliable protectors in the person of his grandchildren. In Liaodong, a Chinese prince, the very first vassal of Genghis Khan, died during the war in Khorezm. His widow came to the conqueror. He very kindly received the princess and testified to her and her two sons the warmest paternal feelings. In all similar circumstances, in this nomad, in this destroyer of peoples, there was a natural greatness of spirit, even nobility, which greatly surprised the Chinese.

People of the psychological type valued by Genghis Khan are not afraid of a person who can take away his life or material wealth, but are only afraid of committing an offense that can dishonor or belittle their dignity, moreover, belittle their dignity not in the eyes of other people (for they are not afraid of human ridicule and condemnation , as they are not afraid of people at all), but in their own eyes. A special code always lives in their minds, a charter of actions that are permissible and not permissible for an honest and self-respecting person; they value this charter most of all, treating it religiously, as divinely established, and they cannot allow its violation, because if it were violated, they would begin to despise themselves, which is more terrible for them than death.

Subdividing people into these two categories, Genghis Khan put this division at the forefront in his state building. He kept the people of slave psychology with the only thing that can be used to keep them - material well-being and fear. And he did not allow these people to rule. The entire military-administrative apparatus was composed only of people of the second psychological type, regardless of whether he was a Mongol or a Turk, organized in a coherent hierarchical system, at the highest level of which was Genghis Khan himself. And if other subjects saw in Genghis Khan only an overwhelmingly terrible force, then the people of the ruling apparatus saw in him, first of all, the most prominent representative of the psychological type characteristic of them all and bowed before him as before the heroic embodiment of their own ideal.

In the practical application of his state theory in the real conditions of the countries he conquered, Genghis Khan was guided by the conviction that people of the psychological type he valued are mainly among nomads, while sedentary peoples mostly consist of people of a slave psychology. Indeed, the nomad, by his very nature, is much less attached to material goods than the settled city dweller or farmer.

Among the nomadic aristocracy, all these features were further aggravated by tribal traditions, a living sense of not only personal, but also family honor, and a sense of responsibility to ancestors and descendants. It is not surprising, therefore, that Genghis Khan drew human material for his military-administrative apparatus mainly from the ranks of the nomadic aristocracy. But at the same time, in principle, he was not at all guided by class prejudices: many of the military leaders appointed by him to high posts came from the most seedy families, and some of them had directly been a simple shepherd in their social position before. For Genghis Khan, it was not the belonging of a given person to a particular class or stratum of nomadic society that was important, but his human qualities. But, as it was said, Genghis Khan found people of the type he needed mainly among nomads, and he clearly understood the connection of this psychological type with nomadic life. Therefore, the main covenant that he gave to his descendants and all nomads was that they should always keep their nomadic way of life and beware of becoming sedentary.

A distinctive feature of the state of Genghis Khan was that this state was ruled by nomads.

Another important feature of Genghis Khan's state was the position of religion in this state. Being a deeply religious man, constantly feeling his personal connection with the deity, Genghis Khan believed that this religiosity was an indispensable condition for the attitude that he valued in his subordinates.

Genghis Khan did not impose on his subordinates any specific, dogmatically and ritually formalized religion. There was no official state religion in his kingdom; among his warriors, commanders and administrators were both shamanists and Buddhists, Muslims and Christians (Nestorians). The only important thing for Genghis Khan was that each of his loyal subjects, in one way or another, vividly felt his complete subordination to an unearthly higher being, that is, he was religious, professed some religion, no matter what. In this broad religious tolerance, a well-known historical role was played by the fact that Genghis Khan himself, according to his religious convictions, professed shamanism, that is, a rather primitive religion, not at all dogmatically formalized and not striving for proselytism.

Tolerance of Genghis Khan was by no means a manifestation of passive indifference: he was indifferent to what kind of religion his subjects professed, the very belonging of people to any religion was of paramount importance to him.

For the state system of Genghis Khan, active support, approval and placing religion at the forefront were as important and essential as the approval of a nomadic life and the transfer of power into the hands of nomads - and this is the essence of his ideology.

A gifted politician, he did not remain indifferent to the experience of civilized nations. Genghis Khan brought Uighur advisers (Ta-Ta-Tong), Muslims (Mahmud Yalavach) and Khitans (Yelü Chutsai) closer to him. Ta-Ta-Tong performed the same functions under him as under the last Naiman king, that is, he was a kind of chancellor, as well as a teacher of Uighur writing for his sons. Mahmud Yalavach served as his representative in Maverannahr, where he became the first Turkic-Mongolian governor. As for the Sinicized Khitan Yelü Chutsai, he brought the foundations of Chinese civilization to the Turkic-Mongolian society, it even happened that he helped prevent mass exterminations. One of his duties was to preserve valuable manuscripts in sacked or burned cities, as well as to search for medicines against epidemics generated by numerous slaughters.

During the last military campaign of Genghis Khan, one of his commanders remarked that the new Chinese subjects of the empire were of no use to Genghis Khan, since they were not fit for war, that it was better to exterminate the entire population - about ten million people - in order to benefit from the land, turning her to pasture for the cavalry. Genghis Khan was already inclined to accept this advice when Yelü Chutsai intervened and explained what benefits could be derived from fertile lands and industrious subjects: a tax on land and the right to trade would give 500,000 ounces of silver, 80,000 pieces of silk and 400,000 pieces of silk. bags of grain per year. Then Genghis Khan instructed him to develop a system of taxation. He tried to prove that mercy is a good policy, and in doing so hit the mark, since the barbarism of the Mongols was mainly born of ignorance.

Genghis Khan remained illiterate until the end of his life and was a typical nomad in habits and understanding of the delights of life. Like all nomads, hunting was his pleasure; he was an expert on horses; not being a lecher by nature, Genghis Khan, according to the traditions of his people and time, had several wives and many concubines, warning his subjects against excessive drinking, he himself did not feel disgust for wine. According to Rashid-ad-Din, Genghis Khan once asked his commanders what they see as the highest pleasure of man. Bogurchi said that the highest pleasure is to ride a horse in the spring, at good speed and with a falcon. Others also highly valued hunting. Genghis Khan disagreed. "Man's highest pleasure," he said, "consists in victory: to defeat your enemies, to persecute them, to deprive them of their property, to make those who love them weep, to ride their horses, to embrace their daughters and wives." It seems paradoxical that the person who uttered these words could enjoy a conversation with the learned people of his time and always showed a willingness to acquire new knowledge, to philosophize about life and death.

One gets the impression that Genghis Khan had a special sympathy for the Khitans and Uighurs, the most civilized peoples of the Turkic-Mongolian world. The former, without losing national characteristics, could introduce the Chinggisid empire to Chinese culture, the latter to the ancient Turkic civilization of Orkhon and Turfan, to the Syrian, Manichaean, Nestorian, and Buddhist traditions. Therefore, Genghis Khan and his successors recruited for their civil administration and among the Uyghurs, and the Uyghur alphabet, in a slightly modified form, served as the basis for the Mongolian alphabet.

Massive destruction and carnage were forgotten. The administrative system, based on Chinggisid discipline and organization and Uyghur clerical work, remained and eventually became a contribution to civilization. It is from this point of view that Genghis Khan should be judged. Marco Polo noted in his writings: "He died, and this is very sad, because he was a wise and reasonable person."

“He established peace,” wrote Joinville, a 13th-century French historian. “... And this seems paradoxical,” researcher Fank continues his thought, as if, “when you think about the incessant wars waged by the Relentless Emperor, but, in essence, the statement that Genghis Khan established peace is exactly and deeply true ... In this sense, he really established peace in the universe, a peace that lasted for about two centuries, at the cost of wars that in total did not last even two decades. Genghis Khan sought an alliance with Christianity. If this union were realized, then there is no doubt that Islam, taken in pincers (by the crusaders and Mongols) ... would be crushed ... economic, social and political ties between the Western world and the Far East would not tolerate constant breaks from a worldview hostile to Europe. All civilizations of the Old World would reach mutual understanding and penetration. Christianity failed to understand this...

This Conqueror of the world was, above all, its inflexible revivalist. With iron and fire, he opened the ancient world paths for the march of a future civilization. In this sense, the Damned has a right to a place in Humanity.

By uniting all the Turkic-Mongolian nations into one empire, by imposing iron discipline from Beijing to the Black Sea, Genghis Khan put an end to continuous intertribal wars and ensured unprecedented security of trade caravan routes. “During the reign of Genghis Khan,” wrote Abul Ghazi, “the country from Iran to Turpan was so calm that one could go from sunrise to sunset with a golden dish on his head without being attacked.” Indeed, his Yasa established in Mongolia and Maverannakhr the "Genghisid world", a world, of course, built on horrors and cruelty, but he gradually humanized under his successors and paved the way for the great travelers of the fourteenth century.

The "Destroyer" also destroyed the barriers of the dark ages, opening up new paths for humanity. Europe came into contact with Chinese culture. At the court of his son, Armenian princes and Persian nobles communicated with the Russian grand dukes. The opening of the paths was accompanied by an exchange of ideas. Europeans began to show curiosity about distant Asia.

The goal of Genghis Khan was to create a single empire, where there would be all the conditions for the prosperity of mankind.

Well, human life is too short to carry out such a grandiose task. But, as Rashid ad-Din tells us: "He came from the perishable world and left the throne of the kingdom to a glorious family."

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CHAPTER 6

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The title of the Great Khan and the code of laws "Yasa"

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The last conquest of Genghis Khan

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Campaigns of Genghis Khan

Struggle for dominance in the steppe

Military reforms of Genghis Khan

Campaigns of Genghis Khan

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