The Rise of Temujin From a Nobody to History’s Greatest Conqueror

24. The Dangerous Steppe

For millennia, Steppe nomads frequently rode out of the vastness of their homelands, to raid, plunder, pillage, and otherwise terrorize the more civilized and prosperous lands on their periphery. If the nomads were unified under powerful warlords, things could escalate from mere raids to devastating invasions that could extinguish empires. The nomads had some advantages that gave them an edge against their settled neighbors. Chief among those was their mobility: nomads grew up with, and often on, horses. Accustomed to a life on the move, Steppe nomads were seldom tied to a specific location whose defense obligated them to stand up and fight. After raiding into the settled lands, the nomads could usually depart with their booty before the civilized authorities had time to mobilize a response.

23. Nomad Eruptions

In settled lands, only a minority could be mobilized as fighters, because the majority were needed in the fields and workshops. Steppe nomads had no fields and little manufacture, while their food source, their animal flocks and herds, could be cared for by children and women. So nearly the entire adult male population was available as warriors. Temujin, who was born into a Mongol tribe, was not the first to terrify the civilized world. In the seventh century BC, the Scythians – Iranian speaking nomads who inhabited the Steppe between China and the Carpathians – raided into the settled lands of the Middle East. In 612 BC, they played a key role in destroying the Assyrian Empire, forever extinguishing a nation that had existed for over a millennium, and that had dominated the Middle East for centuries. Other Steppe nomads continued to plague bordering empires, such as the Persians and Chinese.

22. Temujin’s Predecessor

The closest analog to Temujin’s medieval eruption was that of Attila (reigned 434 – 453) in the dying days of the Roman Empire. By the fifth century AD the Huns, a Steppe tribe, ruled an empire that reached into Eastern and Central Europe. Scary to begin with, the Huns became outright terrifying under the leadership of Attila, who became known as “The Scourge of God”. He terrorized the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, plundered the Balkans, extorted tons of gold from Constantinople, invaded Gaul, and struck into Italy, before drinking himself to death on his wedding night. Centuries later Temujin’s people, the Mongols, were an obscure tribe roaming the Steppe north of China. Just as they had done for centuries, when not fighting neighboring tribes, Mongol clans and factions fought each other. Then came Temujin, a charismatic and capable leader who, through a combination of violence and diplomacy, united the Mongols.

21. Growing Up in Desperate Want

After uniting the Mongols, Temujin conquered and absorbed neighboring tribes, and formed them into a greater Mongol nation. He then adopted the title Chinggis Khan, or Universal Ruler, and set out to conquer the world. He had been born the son of a minor Mongol chieftain, who was murdered when Temujin was nine. Tribal rivals then banished his widow and her family of five children to fend for themselves on the harsh Steppe. It was a veritable death sentence, but Temujin’s mother managed to keep her children alive. Or at least most of them: the family endured such dire want and poverty, and things got so bad, that Temujin killed an older brother for refusing to share a fish – or in some accounts, a marmot – a Steppe rodent. Temujin grew into a tough but charismatic man, and in his youth, began amassing a small and devoted following.

20. Transforming Tribes Into a Nation

Temujin had an instinct for tribal politics, and he parlayed his steadily growing band of followers to bring the disparate Mongol clans under his sway, one after another, until he had unified the entire tribe under his leadership. Temujin then implemented sweeping reforms intended to erase intra-tribal distinctions. He accomplished that by the extreme but effective measure of exterminating the Mongols’ fractious tribal aristocracy. He then combined the commoners into a unified tribe, bound by their personal allegiance to Temujin. After unifying the Mongols, Temujin set his sight on neighboring tribes. He began by taking on the formidable rival Tatars. After defeating them, he executed all Tatar males taller than a wagon’s axle. By 1206, Temujin had destroyed all Steppe rivals, and the formerly squabbling tribes had been united into a greater Mongol nation.

19. From Temujin to Chinggis Khan

A grand assembly was held in 1206, in which Temujin revealed a vision, endorsed by shamans. He claimed that the heavens had ordained that he rule all under the sky. The Mongols supported that vision, and proclaimed Temujin “Chinggis Khan”, meaning Universal Ruler. Chinggis, also known as Genghis, set out to fulfill his heavenly mandate of ruling all under the sky by transforming the Mongols into a war machine capable of conquering all under the sky. A good judge of men and a great talent spotter, Chinggis created a military meritocracy in which advancement was open to all who proved themselves capable, regardless of their origins. He subjected the hitherto fractious nomadic warriors to strict military discipline that was hard, but not overly harsh or unreasonable. And he drilled and trained them constantly.

18. The Mongol Hordes

Mongol “hordes” are often imagined as vast swarms of barbarians attacking in wild charges to overwhelm enemies with numbers and reckless savagery. In reality, the Mongols seldom outnumbered their foes. Instead, they swept across Eurasia and conquered a vast empire despite being severely outnumbered by their enemies. Indeed, Chinggis and his warriors won routinely annihilated opposing forces that outnumbered them by factors of two to one, three to one, and four to one or more. They won despite their numerical inferiority because they were professionals, who were extremely good at warfare. The Mongols and other Steppe nomads absorbed by Chinggis had been riding horses since they were toddlers, and had been taught how to master the bow and arrow since early childhood. That made them prime cavalry material when they joined Chinggis’ army, where they underwent extensive training that transformed them into a mounted elite.

17. Temujin Brought Organization to the Steppe

Chinggis’ men practiced individual archery and horsemanship skills almost daily, and trained constantly to master unit tactics. The learned maneuvers, formation changes, rotations, advances, retreats, and massed archery, until they became second nature. Chinggis further revolutionized Steppe warfare by placing his warriors in a well-organized hierarchical structure, with an effective chain of command. In place of the traditional ad hoc tribal units, based on kinship groups, he created a military organization based on decimals, with a hierarchy of ranks. At the base were squads of 10 men, known as an Arbans. 10 Arbans were combined into a company of 100, known as a Zuun. 10 Zuuns made a regiment of 1000, known as a Minghan. 10 Minghans were formed into a division of 10,000, known as a Tuman. Two or more Tumans were formed into armies. A separate imperial guard of 10,000 men protected Chinggis and prominent Mongol figures.

16. Training Hard to Fight Well

Sixty percent of Chinggis’ Mongols were trained as light cavalry archers, and the rest were trained as armored heavy cavalry, wielding lances as their main weapon. One of Chinggis’ favorite tactics, for which he incessantly trained his men, was to whittle down the enemy from a distance with arrows. Once the enemy was sufficiently weakened, a signal would be given for a charge by the heavy cavalry, who skewered the enemy with their lances before setting about them with sabers. Another favored tactic in which he drilled his men was a feigned retreat, to lure the enemy into pursuing them. Then, at the right time and place, the pursued Mongols would suddenly turn and countercharge or surround their pursuers. Chinggis’ military machine was centuries ahead of its time, with features that were not seen again until the modern era.

15. Chinggis’ Surprisingly Modern Mongols

One Mongol military trait that seems remarkably modern was the wide flexibility and leeway afforded soldiers and officers in carrying out their orders. Chinggis’ chain of command effectively communicated his overall objectives and the commander’s vision and aim. Mongol subordinates were not micromanaged, and initiative was encouraged, so long as they carried out orders promptly and effectively served the overall plan. After the Mongols’ collapse, that trait vanished for centuries. It did not reemerge until Helmuth von Moltke reintroduced it in the nineteenth century, and made it a hallmark of the Prussian and German military. Chinggis’ military innovations also included the equivalent of modern army corps operations. His Tumans of 10,000 warriors, which were powerful enough to take on significantly larger enemy formations, usually operated independently, marching separately to sweep across and devastate wide swathes of enemy territory. They were functionally similar to the corps created by Napoleon centuries later.

14. Temujin Could Have Taught Napoleon a Thing or Two

Mongol Tumans maintained contact with each other and with army commanders in charge of two or more Tumans by a steady stream of message bearing couriers. If a Tuman made contact with an enemy force too big to handle on its own, the other Tumans could quickly be called in and concentrated into an army. Centuries later, Napoleon Bonaparte adopted a similar methodology to advance on a broad front with separate army corps, each of them strong enough to operate independently and handle any opposition short of a sizeable army. Making their own way, Napoleon’s corps advanced like the outstretched fingers of a hand. If and when one of them made contact with the main enemy force, it would engage in order to fix it in place, or otherwise maintain contact.

13. Chinggis and His Mongols Were Open-Minded About Adopting New Methods So Long as They Were Effective

Just like Mongol tumans, as one Napoleonic corps fixed an enemy in place, the remaining corps would rush in and concentrate upon their sister corps in contact with the enemy, and what had been a widespread advance resembling outstretched fingers would transform into a clenched fist. Chinggis and the lieutenants he trained were not conservative when it came to warfare. Having already revolutionized Steppe warfare and discarded many of the olden tribal ways of fighting, Chinggis was not particularly wedded to any traditions. He and his subordinates were instead open-minded and receptive to adopting the military techniques of others, provided they were effective. For example, the Steppe had no tradition of siege warfare, yet the Mongols successfully besieged and captured numerous cities by employing Chinese, Persian, Arab, and European specialists. Within a generation, the Mongols became the greatest practitioners of siege warfare since the ancient Romans.

12. From Tribal Warrior Bands to Professional Army

Temujin transformed the Steppe nomads from tribal warrior bands, into a disciplined professional army. He built on the inherent strengths of the nomads – toughness, excellent horsemanship, and martial skills such as archery. When those strengths were combined with professionalism and discipline, the Steppe nomads became a fearsome war machine that had no equal anywhere in the world during Chinggis’ lifetime. Indeed, his military’s discipline and professionalism rivaled that of the Roman legions, and would not be matched until the modern era. He kicked off his quest to conquer the world by invading China, which was fragmented at the time into various dynasties. His first victims were the Western Xia Dynasty, whom he defeated and reduced to vassals by 1210. Next were the more powerful Jin Dynasty, whom he attacked in 1211.

11. Turning on China

After a decisive Mongol victory in which hundreds of thousands of enemy troops were massacred, Chinggis captured and sacked the Jin capital in 1215. The Jin emperor fled and abandoned northern China. Temujin’s victories left him in charge of conquered territories that included tens of millions of Chinese peasants. He did not know what to do with them, so he decided to kill them all, and let their farmlands revert to grasslands that could serve as pasturage for the Mongols’ herds. The Chinese were spared that genocide after Chinggis’ advisors explained the concept of taxation to him. He came to realize that many live peasants working the fields and paying regular taxes would produce great wealth for him. Then his campaigning in China was interrupted by a diplomatic incident that led to far reaching consequences.

10. Putting the Conquest China on Pause to Wreck Central Asia

A governor in the powerful Khwarezmian Empire to the west executed Mongol envoys sent by Chinggis to its emir. The emir then committed one of history’s greatest mistakes, when he scornfully refused to hand over the offending governor. So Chinggis launched an invasion of Khwarezim in 1218, that overran and extinguished it by 1221. Its fleeing emir was relentlessly chased across his steadily dwindling domain, until he died, abandoned and exhausted, on a small Caspian island as Temujin’s men closed in. Chinggis’ conduct during the Khwarezmian campaign cemented his reputation for savagery. Thousands of captives were marched ahead of Mongol armies as human shields. Millions died, as Chinggis had entire cities massacred for offering the least resistance. After the capture of an enemy city, the cry “feed the horses!” signaled the Mongols to fall upon and assault, murder, and plunder.

9. Destroyer of Empires…

When operating deep in enemy territory, Chinggis preferred to leave no enemies, actual or potential, behind. Making few distinctions between combatants and noncombatants, he frequently ordered the killing of all who were encountered. Chinggis was chillingly methodical in his atrocities. He did not torture or unnecessarily abuse his victims, but had them killed quickly. Specific units were given the task of butchery, soldiers were assigned quotas of victims, and the massacres were carried out swiftly. In short order, Chinggis reduced Khwarezm from a prosperous empire to a depopulated wasteland. At the central mosque in the once thriving but now smoldering Khwarezmian city of Bukhara, he told the survivors that he was the Flail of God, and that: “If you had not committed great sins, God would not have inflicted a punishment like me upon you“.

8. …and Exterminator of Peoples

Chinggis had reduced the Western Xia in China to vassalage in 1210. For nearly a decade, they served him, assisting against the Jin and other enemies. However, when war broke out between Chinggis and the Khwarezmians, the Western Xia took the opportunity to renounce their vassalage and ally with the other Chinese. Chinggis responded to the betrayal by invading the Western Xia again in 1225, this time intending to exterminate them. He conducted a genocidal campaign in which he systematically reduced and destroyed their cities, while massacring both the urban and rural populations.

7. The Genocidal Mongols

After two years’ of campaigning in Western Xia, during which his men carried out a series of massive massacres, each with victims numbering in the hundreds of thousands, Chinggis’ quest to conquer the world ended when he fell off a horse in 1227, and died of his injuries. His death did not save the Western Xia: the Mongols continued the campaign, with redoubled ferocity in honor of their deceased leader. Today, the Western Xia are almost unknown beyond a small circle of academics, precisely because Chinggis’ campaign to annihilate them was so successful. In addition to the creation of a massive empire, the Mongol invasions kicked off by Chinggis had another global impact. According to research by the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Ecology, Temujin’s depredations cooled Earth.

6. Temujin’s Impact on the Climate

To be sure, cooling Earth had not been Chinggis’ goal. Nonetheless, that is just what he did. In a nutshell, Chingiss’ conquests cooled Earth because so many people were killed that it resulted in reforestation. As the author of the study that examined that put it: “It’s a common misconception that the human impact on climate began with the large-scale burning of coal and oil in the industrial era … Actually, humans started to influence the environment thousands of years ago by changing the vegetation cover of the Earth‘s landscapes when we cleared forests for agriculture“.

5. The Horrific Cost of Chinggis’ Conquests

The Mongol invasions killed an estimated forty million people. That was in a world whose population was about a twentieth of the one we live in today. If extrapolated to modern population figures, it would be the equivalent of more than four times the deaths of World War I and World War II combined. That massive body count meant there were significantly fewer people to engage in activities that emitted carbon. Most significantly, many regions were depopulated, and vast swathes of what had once been cleared and cultivated fields reverted to forests, whose trees and vegetation absorbed carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Scholarsbegan their research with a global model of land cover in 800 AD. Then, as seen below, they examined four major historical events that could have impacted the climate because of reforestation after significant population declines.

4. The Impact on Vegetation

The four major historical events that could have impacted the climate were the Mongol invasions of the thirteenth century, the Black Death in the fourteenth century, the conquest of the Americas in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the fall of Ming China in the seventeenth century. All of these events involved massive fatalities. The Black Death, for example, killed over 25 million people. However, Mother Nature barely noticed those calamities – except for the Mongol invasions. Chinggis’ depredations reduced global CO2 by about 0.1 part per million. It was a minor, but nonetheless noticeable and measurable effect. That was because the Mongol invasions had the greatest impact on the amount of land covered by vegetation.

3. An Unexpected Consequence of Temujin’s Conquests

As one researcher put it: “We found that during the short events such as the Black Death and the Ming Dynasty collapse, the forest re-growth wasn’t enough to overcome the emissions from decaying material in the soil … But during the longer-lasting ones like the Mongol invasion and the conquest of the Americas there was enough time for the forests to re-grow and absorb significant amounts of carbon“. The study demonstrated that the depopulation and disruptions caused by the Mongol invasions were so massive that they led to a significant drop in the amount of cleared land under cultivation. Then as now, people chopped down forests to clear land for agriculture. That automatically increased the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, because vegetation stores carbon. Trees and shrubs are what scientists call “carbon sinks”, defined as things that absorb more carbon from the atmosphere than they release.

2. Killing Enough People to Cool the Planet

Vegetation mass produced by agriculture in cleared land that had once been forested is significantly less than the mass of the trees that had once occupied that land. So acre for acre, the cultivated lands store less carbon than had been stored in the forests they replaced. Additionally, human activity on those cleared lands transforms them from the carbon sinks they had once been when forested, and into carbon sources that increase rather than decrease atmospheric CO2. The Mongols killed a whole lot of people and depopulated vast regions. Without people to keep cultivated areas clear, nature took over and those lands reverted to forests. Enough forest cover to absorb 700 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. That is the equivalent of what people today – twenty times more numerous than in the days of Genghis Khan – pump into the atmosphere from gasoline in a year.

1. A Case Study on the Impact of Reforestation

It is relevant as a case study of what significant reforestation (hopefully, without Temujin’s massive slaughter) could do to reduce atmospheric carbon. As a study author put it: “Today about a quarter of the net primary production on the Earth’s land surface is used by humans in some way, mostly through agriculture. […]. In the past we have had a substantial impact on global climate and the carbon cycle, but it was all unintentional. Based on the knowledge we have gained from the past, we are now in a position to make land-use decisions that will diminish our impact on climate and the carbon cycle. We cannot ignore the knowledge we have gained“.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Burgan, Michael – Empire of the Mongols (2009)

Encyclopedia Britannica – Carbon Sink

Encyclopedia Britannica – Genghis Khan

Hildinger, Erik – Warriors of the Steppe: Military History of Central Asia, 500 BC to 1700 AD (1997)

History Collection – Terror on the Steppe: 12 Terrifying Nomadic Leaders of Eurasia

Holocene, The, July, 2011, 21(5) – Coupled Climate-Carbon Simulations Indicate Minor Global Effects of Wars and Epidemics on Atmospheric CO2 Between AD 800 and 1850

Live Science – Mongol Invasion in 1200 Altered Carbon Dioxide Levels

Morgan, David – The Mongols (2007)

Saunders, John Joseph – The History of the Mongol Conquests (2001)

Weatherford, Jack – Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (2004)