Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Early in the morning, Temujin’s camp is raided by the Merkids. At first, he flees with his brothers, mother, and sister, leaving Borte and the other women behind to be taken by the raiders. Weatherford explains that this was essentially a pragmatic decision, as leaving the women in camp might slow down the Merkids and allow them to escape. Once certain that the raiding party is gone, Temujin considers whether or not to launch a counterattack to reclaim his wife. Seeking guidance, he prays for three days to Burkhan Khaldun, a sacred mountain at the head of three rivers that would come to take on extreme significance.

Temujin’s prayer allows Weatherford to explain the basics of Mongol religion at this time: they are animists, worshipping “the myriad spiritual forces of nature” (32), especially revering the Eternal Blue Sky. Burkhan Khaldun is especially sacred as the tallest mountain in the region, as well as being the source of three rivers: the Kherlen, which he had just escaped, the Onon, where he had been born, and the Tuul, flowing towards the territory of Ong Khan. Temujin decides to set out to enlist the help of Ong Khan in winning his wife back from the Merkids.

Ong Khan agrees to help him, pleased to have an excuse to attack the Merkids. Temujin is reunited with Jamuka, now an ally of Ong’s and with a following of his own. Their three combined forces set out towards Merkid territory, stage a successful raid, and find Borte (but not the other women) in the Merkid camp. Borte, however, is now pregnant, and when she gives birth to her first son he is named Jochi, meaning “visitor” or “guest.” Doubts about Jochi’s actual parenthood would continue to linger for the rest of his life and affect his relationship with his younger brothers.

Now once again a close ally of Jamuka, Temujin binds himself further to him and his herding people by taking another public oath of brotherhood. Weatherford relates that they both traced their ancestors back to a common foremother, though Jamuka claimed descent from her first husband and Temujin from a later one (who had killed the first). Thus, Jamuka held a higher position in the family hierarchy. Weatherford describes the importance of family relationships among the Mongols: “Kinship was not so much the determinant of relationships as it was a general idiom through which people made, negotiated, and enforced their social claims” (38). That is, among bands which shared many common ancestors, any personal relations, whether positive or negative, were described in terms of family bonds. This unique view came to carry great significance in the administration of the later Mongol Empire. Tension mounts between Temujin (now nineteen years old) and Jamuka as Temujin begins to be treated less as an equal and more as a younger brother. In May of 1181, Jamuka slights Temujin by giving him a disrespectful order about where to set up his camp. At Borte’s suggestion, he leaves that night with his family and a great number of Jamuka’s own followers. There is no pursuit, but the stage is set for future hostility between the two friends.

Temujin and Jamuka spend the next twenty-five years in conflict as both increase their followings and form new alliances. At the age of twenty-seven, Temujin decides to claim the title of khan, or, failing that, to provoke a decisive struggle with Jamuka. He summons his followers to a khuriltai, or traditional council, making sure not to threaten the power of Ong Khan. Ong, for his part, has been encouraging the ambition of both Temujin and Jamuka, realizing the division between the two of them works to his own advantage. Once Temujin gains the support of a “modest” number of families, he calls himself khan and begins to rearrange the traditional authority structure of his band. He grants positions of power to those he trusts based on loyalty, not kinship. He is especially careful to appoint loyal followers as cooks and herd guards, organizing his band as if it were an extended family: “[u]nder Temujin, the administration of the nascent Mongol tribe became an extension of Temujin’s own household” (41).

In 1190, one of Jamuka’s followers is killed in a cattle raid, and Jamuka uses it as an excuse to send his followers into battle. He routs Temujin’s forces and (according to The Secret History of the Mongols) mutilates his prisoners, boiling many alive. Though defeated, Temujin wins the support of many who are disturbed by Jamuka’s cruelty.

In 1195, Ong Khan is provoked by his patrons, the Jurched rulers of China, into an attack on the Tatar people. He enlists Temujin to help lead his army, which is successful. The raids on the Tatars bring back valuable plunder, as their territory lies closer to the cities of China and the east-west trade routes. Temujin realizes the advantage gained by alliances with the powerful, similar to the alliance Ong Khan has made with the Jurcheds. Wealth from the Tatar raids attracts more followers to Ong and Temujin. In response to another raid, Temujin launches a campaign against the rival Jurkin tribe, whom he defeats. He distributes the conquered land to members of his tribe, but does not take the Jurkin as slaves. Rather, he accepts them as members of the group, even giving a captured boy to his mother as an adoptive son. He also establishes a capital, Avarga, on Jurkin territory.

In 1201, Jamuka makes another attempt to claim the title of khan. Though he has fewer followers than Ong and Temujin, he has the backing of the Tayichiud clan. Weatherford makes the important comment that for the Mongols, the most important objective in battle is to win without fighting, and instead by intimidating the enemy and causing them to flee. A lightning storm convinces Jamuka’s followers that their enemies’ shamans are more powerful, and a great number flee. Temujin pursues the Tayichiuds and is shot in the neck with an arrow, but is saved by his follower, Jelme, who sucks the blood out of his wound and shows extreme bravery in saving Temujin’s life. With the Tayichiuds defeated, Temujin incorporates them into his own tribe, after killing their leaders. Jamuka escapes Ong Khan.

In 1202, Ong sends Temujin to raid the Tatars. He defeats them and kills all men taller than wheels on a cart; the rest he adopts into his tribe. He institutes a new system of allocating booty from raids: no looting is to occur until the battle is over, when it is to be distributed equally to all, with a share given to widows and children of men killed in battle. Temujin deals harshly with those who violate this rule. His radical changes to the traditional ways of waging war drive some of his followers to Jamuka, but ensure the loyalty of many others. Temujin reforms the organization of armies into a decimal system: divisions of ten (arban), one hundred (zagun), one thousand (mingan), and ten thousand (tumen) men. All groups are integrated across family lines and required to do one day of public-service work per week. Temujin closes off Burkhan Khaldun as a sacred preserve.

Temujin realizes that Ong has been playing Jamuka and himself against each other. He decides to force a resolution by requesting a marriage between his eldest son, Jochi, and Ong’s daughter. Ong refuses, as his Kereyid tribe still thinks of Temujin as unworthy. Ong tries to lure him into a trap by inviting him to a celebration, but Temujin is tipped off and orders his men to disperse. With nineteen companions, he ends up at Lake Baljuna, where a wild horse appears: a powerful omen to his followers, who swear allegiance to him. This oath is a historical touchstone for Mongolians, and, according to Weatherford, “acquired a symbolic representation of the diversity of the Mongol people based on mutual commitment and loyalty that transcended kinship, ethnicity, and religion” (58). Temujin marches back and launches a surprise attack on Ong. Ong and Jamuka escape to the rival Naiman tribe.

In 1204, Temujin defeats the Naimans due in part to his innovations in military tactics. Jamuka flees, but, after a year, is caught and brought to Temujin. They have a partial reconciliation; Temujin offers to become blood brothers once again, and blames their division on others who sought to divide them. Jamuka confesses and repents, but asks to be killed. He requests burial in a mountainous place so that he may be a spiritual guardian to Temujin and his descendants.

Ong and Jamuka’s defeat leaves Temujin as the undisputed ruler of the steppes. He calls a large khuriltai council to confer legitimacy on his rule, taking the name Chinggis Khan (from the Mongol for “wolf”). Once accepted by the people and the shamans, he continues his reforms in the organization of Mongol society. Every male from the ages of fifteen to seventy is made a soldier; leadership roles are to be given based on loyalty, and everyone is to have religious freedom. He abolishes older customs, such as the abduction of women and the enslavement of fellow Mongols.

Temujin begins to institute a writing system acquired in the conquest of the Naimans. The new code of laws is written down, and the writing system at first has no other use than to record the law. Temujin creates the position of Supreme Judge, as well as elite unit of leaders’ sons. He establishes a postal system for both public use and military communication.

Trouble begins with the shaman, Teb Tengeri, to whom Temujin grants power over his family’s estate. The shaman is often at odds with Temujin’s brothers. He tells Temujin that he has had a dream foretelling that Khasar, his older brother, may usurp his position. Temujin imprisons his brother, but releases him after Hoelun protests. Hoelun dies soon after. Borte persuades Temujin that Teb Tengeri is harming him and his family, and Temujin allows his youngest brother to kill the shaman publicly.

Temujin consolidates his power and sends an expedition to explore trade and an alliance with the Siberian tribes. He contacts the Uighur people to the west, and marries his daughter to their khan. Neighboring nations are viewed as “in-laws,” rather than rivals. All of these contacts increase the economic activity flowing through Mongolia, and the wealth of the Uighurs especially foreshadows the possibilities of outward expansion.