Madison Kirby Mr.

Cody October 19, 2012 World History Genghis Khan Born with a blood clot in his ist this newborn was destined or great, b!t whether this was great good or great e"il no one #new $Bec# et al. %%1&. Genghis Khan was a ierce warrior, b!t this need or con lict began with the '!rder o his ather. (he necessity to ha"e "engeance or his ather led Genghis to his li e o war and con)!ering, and his e*cellent strategies and s#ill are still !sed today. Witho!t 'any o his in l!ences on society in thro!gho!t his li e and e"en a ter his death, we wo!ld not ha"e the sa'e history that we ha"e today. Genghis Khans li e began with cr!elty and this see'ed to set the stage or e"erything he did. +t all began with the '!rder o his ather at age 9 when Genghis li e was co',letely changed. On a -o!rney ho'e Genghis ather 'et a gro!, o (artars. (hey ga"e hi' ood and water, b!t little did he #now they had lined the ood with ,oison. When the news s,read abo!t his athers death the tribe abandoned Genghis and his a'ily, lea"ing Genghis with his 'other and . brothers $www.bio.co' 2012&. Genghis 'other did her best to raise the boys well, and had a h!ge in l!ence on Genghis. Genghis 'other showed the boys an arrow and then sna,,ed it. /he the' grabbed a hand !l o arrows and as#ed the boys to try to brea# the', b!t they co!ld not. (his analogy was !sed to e*,lain one o the i',ortant things she ta!ght Genghis and the boys. /he ta!ght the' to stand !, or the'sel"es, b!t that coo,eration was the #ey to s!ccess. $2012&. Many con licts arose a'ong the boys 'ainly beca!se a ew o the' were hal 0brothers to

Genghis, and these boys were "ery 'ischie"o!s. When Genghis was 1% he '!rdered one o his siblings or no reason besides the act that he wanted a little target ,ractice $2012&. (his incident wo!ld only be the beginning o 'illions o innocent li"es lost at the hands o Genghis Khan. Witho!t the battles 'ade by Genghis '!ch o 1sia 'ay ha"e a co',letely di erent history. (he Mongol 2',ire that Genghis Khan con)!ered co"ered nearly all o 1sia. (his 'ade trade easier at the ti'e beca!se 'erchants didnt ha"e to cross as 'any borders and were sa er beca!se o this. Crossing borders co!ld be "ery dangero!s es,ecially i the tribes were e!ding. (hey 'ay 'ista#e yo! or their ene'y and ca,t!re yo!. B!t with the Mongol 2',ire this rarely occ!rred. Many Chinese inno"ations, s!ch as g!n,owder, reached 2!ro,e d!ring this ,eriod. Other things s,read along with the goods and the ideas. /o'e historians s,ec!late that the e,ide'ic o b!bonic ,lag!e that de"astated 2!ro,e d!ring the 1%00s was irst s,read by the Mongols. (he disease 'ight ha"e tra"eled along trade ro!tes or ha"e been ,assed to others by in ected Mongol troo,s $Bec# et al. %%3&. (he b!bonic ,lag!e is a great e*a',le o so'ething that in l!enced 'any societies. +t in ected the entire continent o 2!ro,e, and nearly one0third o the ,o,!lation was #illed by the ,lag!e $%99&. Witho!t this e,ide'ic the history o this area wo!ld ha"e a di erent story. (here co!ld ha"e been a war between bordering societies that wo!ld ha"e changed the c!lt!re o the area, there co!ld ha"e e"en been a ti'e o ,eace, or e"en another e,ide'ic that wo!ld ha"e 'olded the history and the c!lt!res o the world, b!t this ,lag!e that was s,read by the Mongols de ined the area at this ti'e. (he b!bonic ,lag!e e"en s,read across the oceans to the 4nited /tates and in ected and #illed 'any ,eo,le here $301&. 1ll o this death was ca!sed by the ,eo,le who r!led al'ost all o 1sia, the Mongols, and the 'an who led the con)!ering o the land was Genghis Khan. 5ot only did this worldwide e,ide'ic occ!r, b!t the ,!r,ose !l #illing o 'illions by Genghis Khan also i''ensely a ected

history. Genghis Khans cr!elest wea,on was his cr!elty. He belie"ed in terri ying his ene'ies into s!rrender. 6or instance, i a city re !sed to o,en its gates to hi' and his warriors he 'ight #ill the entire city when he inally ca,t!red the ,lace. He was also well #nown or b!rning cities to ashes $%%2&. Mans greatest good ort!ne is to chase and de eat his ene'y, sei7e his total ,ossessions, lea"e his 'arried wo'en wee,ing and wailing, 8and9 ride his 8horse9 $%%1&. (his )!ote ro' Genghis Khan shows that he belie"ed the best thing was not to own land and r!le it, b!t to de"astate ,eo,le and a'ilies, es,ecially those who ha"e done hi' wrong. (hese ideas o re"enge and cr!elty ,lay 'a-or ,arts in the li e o Genghis Khan, and here they occ!r again. 1ltho!gh cr!elty 'ay not be acce,ted in todays society, Genghis 'any "ictories ga"e ,roo that he was a s'art and strategic warrior and leader, and beca!se o this 'any o Genghis strategies are !sed today. 6or e*a',le, the organi7ation that Genghis !sed when se,arating his troo,s has been "ery in l!ential on ar'ies across the world today. Genghis se,arated his warriors into ar'ies o 10,000. (hese were then se,arated into 1,000 'en brigades, 1000'an co',anies, and 100'an s)!ads. He also ,laced his 'ost battle0,ro"en and loyal 'en in co''and o these !nits $%%2&. 5ot only does his organi7ation still in l!ence !s b!t his strategies do as well. /o'eti'es, a s'all Mongol ca"alry !nit wo!ld attac#, and then ,retend to gallo, away. (he ene'y !s!ally ollowed a ter the' or an easy #ill, b!t then the rest o the Mongol ar'y wo!ld a,,ear s!ddenly and sla!ghter the ene'y orces $%%2&. 1ltho!gh this strategy 'ay not be as co''on today with all o the 'achinery that is !sed in wars, it still has led 'any great con)!ests thro!gho!t history. Genghis Khan is i',ortant to learn abo!t beca!se he had a great a ect in history. He r!led al'ost all o 1sia. He 'alicio!sly '!rdered 'illions, and his ,eo,le are res,onsible or one o the worst ,lag!e e,ide'ics in history. (he towns that Genghis b!rned co!ld ha"e had a

,art in history i they werent de'olished, and o!t o all o the ,eo,le he #illed there s!rely had to be a ew that were destined to do so'ething a'a7ing. (hro!gho!t history Genghis has in l!enced 'any societies and witho!t hi' o!r world wo!ld be co',letely di erent.

Bibliogra,hy :Genghis Khan Biogra,hy.: Bio.com. 1;2 5etwor#s (ele"ision, 1. Oct. 2012. Web. 1. Oct. 2012. <htt,=>>www.biogra,hy.co'>,eo,le>genghis0#han09%0?@%3A,ageB1C. Bec#, Doger B., Einda Blac#, Earry /. Krieger, Fhilli, C. 5aylor, and Gahia +bo /haba#a. World History Patterns of Interaction. 2"ansto, +E= McGo!gal Eittell, 2009.Frint.