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40 Awe-Inspiring Facts About Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire

Khalid Elhassan February 3, 2019 24 min

Mongolian herders. National Museum of Natural History

29. The Mongols Were an Insignificant Tribe Before Genghis

Before Genghis, the Mongols were an obscure tribe, roaming the Steppe north of China. When not fighting neighboring tribes, Mongol clans and factions fought against each other, just as they had done for centuries. Then they were united under a charismatic and capable leader named Temujin. Having united the Mongols, Temujin went about conquering and absorbing neighboring tribes, and forming them into a Mongol nation. He then adopted the title Genghis Khan, or Universal Ruler, and set out to conquer the world.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.