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Genghis Khan was an Eco Warrior and Reduced Carbon Emissions… In Brutal Ways

Khalid Elhassan September 29, 2021 36 min

The significant conquests and movements of Genghis Khan and his generals. Wikimedia

6. Tens of Millions Today are Descended From Genghis Khan

One of the more chilling quotes attributed to Genghis Khan, which says quite a bit about what he was all about, is about what made him happy. As he put it: “My greatest joy is to defeat my enemies and drive them before me. To see their cities reduced to ashes. To see their loved ones shrouded and in tears, and to embrace their wives and daughters”. His wide-sweeping conquests afforded him the opportunity to embrace many an enemy’s wives and daughters.

That is backed up not only by the historic record but by science. A 2003 DNA study showed that 1 out of every 200 men in the world is descended from the great Mongol conqueror. That is based on a study of Y chromosomes, which are only passed from fathers to sons. The Great Khan’s paternal chromosomes are even more prolific within the borders of what had once been his empire. Within those vast expanses, roughly 1 out of every 10 men is descended from Genghis.

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.