The Life of Chinggis Khan

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November 12th, 2011 World History The Life of Chinggis Khan Who was Chinggis Khan? What has he accomplished during his reign over the Mongol Empire? What role did he play in the unification of this empire? These are questions that have been frequently asked about this strong, militant figure of the Mongol Empire. Other questions that are asked by intrigued listeners are ones like: What was he like up to the point of his reign? Or, Was his name always Chinggis Khan? All of these questions will be answered in this paper. Chinggis Khan was born Temujin in 1167 into the noble family, the Borjigin Clan. Oulen was his mother and Yesuhei was his father. He was named Temujin because in the time of his birth, his father had captured a Tatar Chieftain of the same name. When Temujin was a young boy, his father was poisoned by a group of Tatars, the Kiyat tribe broke up and scattered, abandoning their chief's family and leaving Temujin's mother, Oulen, to raise her children alone. Accounts of Temujin glorify him as intelligent, brave, and an adept fighter, even from an early age, and as such potential threat to the leaders of other tribes of the steppe. The rise of Chinggis Khan is a little more interesting. The principal Borjigin Mongol leader, Kabul Khan, began a series of raids into Jin in 1135. In 1162 (some historians say 1167), Temujin, was the first son of Mongol Chieftain Yesugei, and grandson of Kabul Khan. Yesugei was the chief of the Kiyat Subclan of the Borjigin Mongols. The Kiyat rejected Temujin as their leader and chose one of his kin instead. Temujin and his immediate family were abandoned and apparently left to die in a semi-desert, mountainous region. Although all this happened he did not die, he actually became the leader of the Kiyat Subclan and by 1196, the unquestioned chief of the Borjigin Mongols. In 1206 Temujin's leadership of all Mongols,

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