16. Steal Her (Don’t Do This… Seriously)
While it should go without saying in our modern times that it is utterly unacceptable to steal a woman to be your wife, sadly this was not true for much of our early history. It was very common for male victors in battles and raids to take women from their defeated enemies to be wives and slaves. This practice continued far, far longer than it should have with some white colonists taking Indigenous women against their will to be wives.
One particularly prodigious thief of women was the great conqueror, Ghengis Khan. The first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Khan had a habit of stealing and raping women from every village he conquered. He eventually had over 500 recognized wives and consorts from various tribes he overcame, though he only officially acknowledged the children from his official wife, Börte.
Khan’s depravity towards women was so consistent that genetic studies have found his DNA in at least eight percent of the men living in the territory of the former Mongol empire. This figure amounts to around 16 million men or almost one-half a percent of the entire world population. Unsurprisingly, with 500 wives and consorts and little access to birth control, Khan had more children than we’ll probably ever know.
Where did we find this stuff? Here are our sources:
“10 Dating Tips From History That Could Improve Your Love Life” Radu Alexander, Listverse. January 2017.
“Romance Through the Age: Customs of Love, Marriage & Dating” Kimberly Powell, ThoughtCo. June 2018.
“10 Fascinating Facts About the Evolution of Dating and Courtship” David W Brown, Mental Floss. April 2016.
“Love, Sex, and Marriage in Ancient Egypt” Joshua J. Mark, Ancient History Encyclopedia. September 2016.
“A Prolific Genghis Khan, It Seems, Helped People the World” Nicholas Wade, The New York Times. February 2003.
“9 Strange Courtship Rituals From Around the World” ETHAN TREX, Mental Floss. NOVEMBER 4, 2015.
