Genghis Khan (Civ5)/Civilopedia

=== History ===
Genghis Khan is one of the most recognized and most feared leaders in all of human history. Hundreds of statues, buildings, and commercial products bear his image, and numerous entertainment works have been created honoring his life. He became the first to unite the warring, nomadic tribes of northeast Asia and founded the largest contiguous empire known to man. Perhaps less known are the improvements and advancements he made in infrastructure, trade, and religious tolerance. More than just a warrior, he was also a capable and shrewd civil leader.
=== Birth ===
Born Borjigin Temujin in 1162 AD, Temujin was raised in a Mongol tribe that inhabited the lands near modern-day Ulaanbaatar. The third oldest son of a tribal chieftain, he is said to be named after a captured Tatar chieftain. Much of Temujin's early life is shrouded in mystery, and the few sources which do exist often conflict and disagree. No accurate portraits or pictures of him exist today, but many sources describe Temujin as a "glittering" man, sporting long red hair and blue-green eyes.
=== Early life ===
Like many of the tribesmen in the region Temujin's early life was pretty difficult, despite being born into nobility. At the age of nine he was betrothed to a neighboring tribe-chieftain's daughter and sent to live with her family. His father was killed on the way back home, and Temujin's tribe subsequently abandoned him and the remainder of his family. The family lived destitute until he married his betrothed at the age of 16.
=== Unification Begins ===
Temujin began his bid for power by offering himself as a vassal to his late father's blood brother, Toghrul, the Khan of the Kerait tribe. During this time, Temujin's wife was captured by the Merkit tribe, and Toghrul lent the young warlord 20,000 men to face them in battle. Not only did Temujin recapture his wife, but he also completely defeated the Merkits, bringing them under this control. He became a Khan in his own right and began conquering more of the neighboring tribes.
During his conquests the young Khan fundamentally broke with Mongol tradition - he created a new set of laws and incorporated his captured holdings into his growing empire, rather than destroying and pillaging them. His law, the Yassa, promised soldiers fair pay and wealth, outlawed thievery and pillaging of any kind, and promised protection and religious freedom for all conquered tribes. Temujin's political innovations brought him much loyalty and strongly united his growing nation.
The rest of his outward expansion and unification of the Mongol tribes is filled with tales of betrayal, intrigue, dashing victories, conspiracies, familial disputes, and more betrayal, including rifts between his former ally Toghrul and eldest son Jochi. However, despite these setbacks he managed to subdue or unite all the nomadic tribes in the Mongolia area by 1206, the first man to ever do so. At a joint council of chiefs he was given the name "Genghis Khan," the eternal and universal ruler of the Mongol peoples.
=== Outward Expansion ===
After the unification of Mongolia, Genghis soon began a series of successful military campaigns to conquer the surrounding and outlying areas, creating a massive empire under his rule. In 1209, he forced the surrender of the Xia provinces, and shortly thereafter in 1211, he finished the conquest of the Jin Dynasty.
Next he turned his attention west toward Persia. In a deft maneuver containing only two armies of 20,000 men each, Genghis launched a successful attack against the Kara-Khitan Khanate, putting his reach of control right on Persia's doorstep.
Rather than conquer the neighboring empire of Khwarezmia, Genghis instead offered a political alliance, sending a 500-man trade caravan to the capital - he hoped to create a powerful trading partner using the Silk Road. However, the Khwarezmian Shah distrusted the young leader and slaughtered the caravan. Trying once more, Genghis sent a group of ambassadors to the Shah directly, who answered the gesture by beheading one of them. Outraged, Genghis assembled some 200,000 men and personally oversaw the bloody fall and abject subjugation of the Khwarezmian Empire in 1220. Immediately following his success he captured many other regions on his way back to Mongolia, including Georgia, Afghanistan, and the remaining Western Xia holdings.
His victorious journey complete, Genghis's empire now stretched from the Caspian Sea in the west all the way to the Sea of Japan in the east, twice the size of the Roman Empire.
=== Succession and Death ===
Now an aged man, the topic of Genghis's succession was heated and highly contested. His eldest son, Jochi, was suspected of being born of a different man (as a result of his wife's capture), and many refused outright to follow him. The clash ended however in 1226 when Jochi died mysteriously, some claiming that Genghis himself ordered the boy poisoned. His middle son Ogedei was named heir, as Genghis thought him the most level headed and stable of his remaining children.
Shortly after in 1227 Genghis died, the reason for which is still debated. Some claim he fell from his horse during a battle against the Tangut people, others hold that he was struck down by a long illness. Some even claim that a captured Tangut princess killed him with a pair of pliers. Regardless of the means or reason, Genghis Khan was buried in an unmarked grave as he wished, its location a closely guarded family secret. Some folklore claims that a river was diverted over the site to protect it; other stories describe a grove of trees planted atop the grave to hide it. In 2004, an archaeological dig uncovered what is believed to be the ruins of Genghis' palace. Hope remains that his grave may yet be found.
=== Judgment of History ===
Depending on whom you ask, Genghis Khan is regarded as a worthy leader and excellent ruler or, conversely as a bloodthirsty killer. In present-day Mongolia, he is thought of favorably as the father of the nation, and his many political innovations are upheld and heralded. In formerly conquered lands, such as Iraq and Iran, he is seen almost universally as a genocidal, maniacal tyrant who caused untold destruction and damage. Whether his tales of greatness or brutality are contested or exaggerated, he is undoubtedly one of the most important and influential leaders in the ancient world, his legacy still remaining strong and visible even today.