Article From November 2006

Genghis Khan Is My Hero by Frank Y Pak Agostinelli

Mongolia is the 19th largest country in the world with extreme climates during the short summers and long winters. The Gobi Desert sits in the south while mountainous ranges sit in the north and the west. Nomadic people have traveled through this area for centuries. The nomadic lifestyle is still prevalent today. It would be hard for one to reconcile the fact a man from the steppes of Mongolia would rule a good chunk of the world. The Mongol Nation may have been close to 300,000 thousand in the time of Temujin later known as Chinggis (Genghis in Persian) Khan. The Mongol Empire stretched from Korea through China to Mesopotamia to the Danube to the Persian Gulf to as far as Poland by 1280. Although many deemed Genghis Khan a barbarian, he was not a barbarian but a champion of The Mongol People.

According to oral history, in Temujin’s attempt to overtake Ong Khan, he and nineteen men from 9 different Mongol tribes which included Buddhists, Christians, and Muslims (Khan was a shamanist) made a pact. The Baljuna Covenant was an oath swearing eternal allegiance to the young Temujin. With this Temujin successfully united the tribes of Mongolia into one nation. He defeated Ong Khan and one other rival to become Genghis Khan, leader of the Yeke Mongol Ulus, the Great Mongol Nation.

Genghis Khan learned from his experiences and applied them to his political system. Unprecedented at this time, his political institution was a meritocracy starting with his army. His most loyal followers and his oldest followers took charge of 1000-10,000 soldiers. Others received the highest positions based on their achievements and loyalty. The Mongol Empire worked like a finely tuned machine. Because of the different tribes that came together to form the Mongol Nation, Khan created the Great Law of Genghis Khan to quell the feuds between some of the tribes. This law was created by intertwining certain important aspects from the customs and traditions of all the tribes. He got rid of anything that would hinder the growth of the new Mongol Nation. Genghis Khan was governed by the same policies he implemented. He felt as a leader he too should be held accountable. Many of the policies he created were from his life experiences for example kidnapping women, animal rustling, abduction and enslaving any Mongol, and adultery were forbidden; all children were legitimized whether born to a wife or a concubine; and most importantly all were granted religious freedom. Khan also codified a Mongol law. The law stated in so many words, no individual was above family and it was the family’s responsibility to keep everyone on the same page. An infraction by any one member would bring punishment to the whole family or group. Collectivism at it’s best.

Unlike many leaders who had expectations their soldiers will die for them and their cause, Khan did not want his men to sacrifice their lives for him. In what one could say was superstitious, Khan forbade his soldiers to even mention death. Speaking about it could bring death. Speaking of a fallen soldier could bring death. These Mongol warriors had to have the mentality they were immortal. Victory was everything and at any cost. Khan was a master of propaganda, a 13th century cerebral assassin. Word spread through mouth and writings embellishing the totals of people killed. Genghis Khan always gave two choices before the inevitable: surrender and pledge allegiance or die. Those who surrendered became vassals who were protected and had to follow the policies as if they were Mongol. Those who chose to fight met death. The Mongols did not partake in cruelty and torture as most had done in the past. They attacked and finished the job. After conquest, those who had surrendered where allowed to live autonomously as they did before. They only had to pay tributaries to Genghis Khan. Although Mongols has little to offer culture-wise, whomever they conquered, their culture or cultural aspects were adopted, became part of the Mongol Empire and spread like seeds to be cultivated over time. In addition, anything worth some value was distributed evenly among his people so there would be no disputes.

Anything and just about everything you hear of Genghis Khan is he was nothing more than a barbarian killing at will. To state Genghis Khan has a bad reputation is an understatement. It is also wrong. Western perspective has diluted what good Genghis Khan and the Mongols have accomplished. The focal point is on the conquests of other people in over sensationalistic ways. Tales of his Golden Horde wreaking havoc doesn’t say much for the conquered. They are portrayed as weaklings crushed under the seismic wave of the Mongol Empire. Voltaire's play The Orphan Of China denigrates the totality of the man's true character whereas Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (The Squires Tale) praises him. Alexander The Great is revered for his conquests. But what did Alexander do so different from Khan? I could meander down the racial barrier and show one the obvious, Khan is Mongol and Alexander is Macedonian. It is what it is. As Alexander was given his just due pushing Hellenic culture throughout his empire, Khan should be given his just due of displaying religious tolerance. If Julius Caesar and Napoleon conquered as they did without killing one soul please forward me the memo. If the aforementioned as well as Alexander the Great were considered great such prejudices should not be bestowed upon Genghis Khan.