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Genghis Khan
| Genghis Khan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A 1278 painting of Genghis Khan | |||||||||
| Khan of the Mongol Empire | |||||||||
| Reign | 1206 – August 1227 | ||||||||
| Successor | |||||||||
| Born | Temüjin c. 1162 Khentii Mountains | ||||||||
| Died | August 1227 (aged around 65) Xingqing, Western Xia | ||||||||
| Burial | |||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||
| Issue | |||||||||
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| House | Borjigin | ||||||||
| Father | Yesugei | ||||||||
| Mother | Hö'elün | ||||||||
Genghis Khan[a] (born Temüjin; c. 1162 – August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the first ruler of the Mongol Empire, which he created in 1206 in his fatherland (modern Mongolia).
After the death of his father when Temüjin was eight, his family was left behind by the Mongols. They became very poor, but did not die. Temüjin was very clever, and people who liked him came to be his soldiers. He made friends with two rulers named Jamukha and Toghrul, and they helped him find his wife Börte, who had been made a prisoner. However, Temüjin and Jamukha started to dislike each other, and they began a war. Temüjin lost at the start and may have had to run away for years. By 1196, he was back in Mongolia, and many soldiers came to fight for him. Soon, Toghrul started to dislike Temüjin and attacked him in 1203. Temüjin won this war and Toghrul and Jamukha died.
Temüjin took the name "Genghis Khan", the meaning of which is unknown, at a large meeting in 1206. He made changes to the society of the Mongols so that it was more stable and killed a powerful shaman who tried to overcome him. His armies then attacked foreign lands: the Western Xia in 1209, the Chinese Jin dynasty in 1211, the Qara Khitai in 1218, and the Khwarazmian Empire in 1219. Many of these countries suffered greatly from these attacks. Genghis Khan died in 1227. His third son Ögedei became the second ruler of the Mongol Empire in 1229.
Many people think very different things about Genghis Khan. For his people, he was intelligent and caring. To his enemies, he was an evil murderer. His soldiers killed millions of people, but also allowed trading and communications to grow across Asia. After his death, Mongolians made him into a god. Today, they remember him as the father of their country.
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