Genghis khan biography timeline for kids

Despite his godlike states, Genghis Khan was in fact a mere mortal and died in AD. When he did, his empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea. This made it the largest in the world at the time. But his eyes were set on a different prize: Europe. Why did he want to control so much land so far from his home? European knights, heavily armored and also skilled on horseback, thought they could handle the Mongolian advance.

But such heavy armor made them too slow and turned them into easy targets. So, just genghis khan biography timeline for kids they had in Asia, the Mongolians made quick work of their first European combatants and expanded their empire even further. Then, when he dies, those who survive him fight for control over the empire their dead relative built.

This fight then leads to the breakup of the empire and the formation of multiple smaller realms. A classic example is the empire of Alexander the Great of Macedonia Greece. Peace and prosperity go hand in hand. They always have and they always will. It might seem contradictory, but often that peace is the result of aggressive conquest aka war.

The bloodiness of conflict can sometimes reduce instability and help civilizations grow and improve. This is exactly what happened as the result of Mongolian expansion. It ushered in an era known today as the Pax Mongolica. The word Pax means Peace in Latin, the language of the Romans. The Pax Mongolica was ultimately defined by the connections it created between the East and West, i.

Europe and Asia. The growth of the Mongolian empire from the Pacific Ocean all the way to Hungary and Poland helped establish trade routes between Europe and Asia that made trade and commerce between the regions much more possible. The citadel held out for another month and was only taken after heavy Mongol casualties. Genghis Khan proceeded to kill many of the inhabitants, enslave the rest and execute the governor Inalchuq.

Next, Genghis Khan besieged the city of Bukhara, which was not heavily fortified, with just a moat and a single wall. The city leaders opened the gates to the Mongols, though a unit of Turkish defenders held the city's citadel for another twelve days. The survivors from the citadel were executed, artisans and craftsmen were sent back to Mongolia, while young men who had not fought were drafted into the Mongolian army and the rest of the population was sent into slavery.

After the surrender of Bukhara, Genghis Khan also took the unprecedented step of personally entering the city, after which he had the city's aristocrats and elites brought to the mosque, where, through interpreters, he lectured them on their misdeeds, saying: "If you had not committed great sins, God would not have sent a punishment like me upon you.

With the capture of Bukhara, the way was clear for the Mongols to advance on the capital of Samarkandwhich possessed significantly better fortifications and a larger garrison compared to Bukhara. To overcome the city, the Mongols engaged in intensive psychological warfare, including the use of captured Khwarazmian prisoners as body shields.

After several days only a few remaining soldiers, loyal supporters of the Shahheld out in the citadel. After the fortress fell, Genghis executed every soldier that had taken arms against him. According to the Persian historian Ata-Malik Juvayni, the people of Samarkand were then ordered to evacuate and assemble in a plain outside the city, where they were killed.

Similarly, Juvayni wrote that in the city Termez, to the south of Samarkand"all the people, both men and women, were driven out onto the plain, and divided in accordance with their usual custom, then they were all slain". Juvayni's account of mass killings at these sites is not corroborated by modern archaeology. Instead of killing local populations, the Mongols tended to enslave the conquered and either send them to Mongolia to act as menial labor or retain them for use in the war effort.

The effect was still mass depopulation. Near to the end of the battle for Samarkandthe Shah fled to a small island in the Caspian Sea rather than surrender to the Mongols, but died the same year, leaving his son, Jalal al-Din Mangburni to resist the invaders. Genghis Khan subsequently ordered two of his generals, Subutai and Jebeto destroy the remnants of the Khwarazmian Empire, giving them 20, men and two years to do this.

At this point, the wealthy trading city of Urgench remained in the hands of Khwarazmian forces. The assault on Urgench proved to be the most difficult battle of the Mongol invasion and the city fell only after the defenders put up a stout defense, fighting block for block. Mongolian casualties were higher than normal, due to the difficulty of adapting Mongolian tactics to ubran fighting.

As usual, the artisans were sent back to Mongolia, young women and children were given to the Mongol soldiers as slaves, and the rest of the population was massacred. The Persian scholar Juvayni states that 50, Mongol soldiers were given the task of executing twenty-four Urgench citizens each, which would mean that 1. These numbers are considered logistically implausible by modern scholars, but the sacking of Urgench was no doubt a bloody affair.

After the defeat of the Khwarazmian Empire inGenghis Khan gathered his forces in Persia and Armenia to return to the Mongolian steppes. Under the suggestion of Subutaithe Mongol army was split into two forces. Genghis Khan led the main army on a raid through Afghanistan and northern India towards Mongolia, while another 20, two tumen contingent marched through the Caucasus and into Russia under generals Jebe and Subutai.

They pushed deep into Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Mongols defeated the kingdom of Georgiasacked the Genoese trade-fortress of Caffa in Crimea and overwintered near the Black Sea. Subutai sent emissaries to the Slavic princes calling for a separate peace, but the emissaries were executed. There is no historical record except a short account by the Arab historian Ibn al-Athir, writing in Mosul some 1, kilometres 1, miles away from the event.

Various historical secondary sources — Morgan, Chambers, Grousset — state that the Mongols actually defeated the Bulgars, Chambers even going so far as to say that the Bulgars had made up stories to tell the recently crushed Russians that they had beaten the Mongols and driven them from their territory. The Russian princes then sued for peace.

Subutai agreed but was in no mood to pardon the princes. Not only had the Rus put up strong resistance, but also Jebe — with whom Subutai had campaigned for years — had been killed genghis khan biography timeline for kids prior to the Battle of Kalka River. The Mongols learned from captives of the abundant green pastures beyond the Bulgar territory, allowing for the planning for conquest of Hungary and Europe.

Genghis Khan recalled Subutai back to Mongolia soon afterwards. The famous cavalry expedition led by Subutai and Jebe, in which they encircled the entire Caspian Sea defeating all armies in their path, remains unparalleled to this day, and word of the Mongol triumphs began to trickle to other nations, particularly in Europe. These two campaigns are generally regarded as reconnaissance campaigns that tried to get the feel of the political and cultural elements of the regions.

In both divisions returned to Mongolia. These invasions added Transoxiana and Persia to an already formidable empire while destroying any resistance along the way. The vassal emperor of the Tanguts Western Xia had earlier refused to take part in the Mongol war against the Khwarezmid Empire. Western Xia and the defeated Jin dynasty formed a coalition to resist the Mongols, counting on the campaign against the Khwarazmians to preclude the Mongols from responding effectively.

Inimmediately after returning from the west, Genghis Khan began a retaliatory attack on the Tanguts. His armies quickly took Heisui, Ganzhou, and Suzhou not the Suzhou in Jiangsu provinceand in the autumn he took Xiliang-fu. One of the Tangut generals challenged the Mongols to a battle near Helan Mountains but was defeated. According to legend, it was here that Genghis Khan reportedly saw a line of five stars arranged in the sky and interpreted it as an omen of his victory.

InGenghis Khan's army attacked and destroyed the Tangut capital of Ning Hia and continued to advance, seizing Lintiao-fu, Xining province, Xindu-fu, and Deshun province in quick succession in the spring. At Deshun, the Tangut general Ma Jianlong put up a fierce resistance for several days and personally led charges against the invaders outside the city gate.

Ma Jianlong later died from wounds received from arrows in battle. The new Tangut emperor quickly surrendered to the Mongols, and the rest of the Tanguts officially surrendered soon after. Not happy with their betrayal and resistance, Genghis Khan ordered the entire imperial family to be executed, effectively ending the Tangut royal lineage.

According to the official History of Yuan commissioned during China's Ming dynasty, Genghis Khan died during his final campaign against the Western Xiafalling ill on 18 August and passing away on 25 August The exact cause of his death remains a mystery, and is variously attributed to illness, being killed in action or from wounds sustained in hunting or battle.

According to The Secret History of the MongolsGenghis Khan fell from his horse while hunting and died because of the injury. The Galician—Volhynian Chronicle alleges he was killed by the Western Xia in battle, while Marco Polo wrote that he died after the infection of an arrow wound he received during his final campaign. In contrast, a study found that the he likely died from bubonic plagueafter investigating reports of the clinical signs exhibited by both the Khan and his army, which in turn matched the symptoms associated with the strain of plague present in Western Xia at that time.

Years before his death, Genghis Khan asked to be buried without markings, according to the customs of his tribe. After he died, his body was returned to Mongolia and presumably to his birthplace in Khentii Aimag, where many assume he is buried somewhere close to the Onon River and the Burkhan Khaldun mountain part of the Khentii mountain range.

According to legend, the funeral escort killed anyone and anything across their path to conceal where he was finally buried. The Genghis Khan Mausoleum, constructed many years after his death, is his memorial, but not his burial site. Genghis Khan left behind an army of more thanmen; 28, were given to his various brothers and his sons. Tolui, his youngest son, inherited more thanmen.

This force contained the bulk of the elite Mongolian cavalry. By tradition, the youngest son inherits his father's property. Temujin and his mother are abandoned by his father's tribe. After his father is poisoned, Temujin goes to take over his father's role as chieftain of their tribe. However, the tribe refused to be ruled by a young boy and cast out Temujin, his mother, and his three brothers, forcing them to live in poverty.

Temujin kills his half-brother. In an argument during a hunting expedition, Temujin kills his half-brother, Behter, who liked to take whatever young Temujin killed or caught. This is the beginning of his reputation as a great warrior. Temujin escapes from the Tayichi'ud. After being captured and enslaved by the Tayichi'ud, his father's formers allies, Temujin escapes with the help of a guard.

Jelme and Bo'orchu, who will become two of his generals, join forces with him as Temujin's reputation grows. Temujin marries a woman from the Onggirat tribe. Hoping to build an alliance with the Onggirat tribe, Temujin marries Borte. She is then kidnapped by the Merkit tribe as revenge against Temujin's father, who stole a Merkit wife.

The annals of history are replete with tales of great rulers meeting tragic ends, and inGenghis Khan met his own. The exact circumstances of his death remain shrouded in mystery, with tales varying from injuries sustained in battle to a fall from his horse. Regardless of the cause, his passing marked the end of an era. He had laid the groundwork for an empire that his descendants would expand, ensuring that his influence would be felt for generations to come.

With the passing of Genghis Khan, the mantle of leadership was handed over to his third son, Ogedei Khan, who was named his successor. Ogedei completed the conquest of the Western Xia and the Jin dynasty, further consolidating Mongol control over China. By the mids, Mongol armies had breached the formidable Russian principalities, resulting in the subjugation of major cities like Kiev.

Genghis khan biography timeline for kids

His family is left to fend for themselves after being abandoned by their clan. After His descendants continue the expansion of the Mongol Empire. After — His descendants continue the expansion of the Mongol Empire With the passing of Genghis Khan, the mantle of leadership was handed over to his third son, Ogedei Khan, who was named his successor.