The Mongol Conquests by Captivating History

Author:Captivating History [History, Captivating] [History, Captivating]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-09T22:00:00+00:00

Expansion of the Mongol Empire during the life of Genghis Khan. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org

The exact place of his burial is unknown, even though some recent archaeological discoveries claim to have found them. So far, nothing has been conclusively confirmed. According to some stories, he was buried below a river, which was done by temporarily diverting the flow. Other stories tell us that horses leveled the ground he was buried in. Then his resting place was covered by trees, and all people passing by the procession were killed to keep the exact location a secret. However, these accounts likely hold more mythology than truth. More important than Genghis’ final resting place was the issue of his succession. Here the great khan showcased his wisdom once more. As he was getting old, he realized that his sons weren’t getting along as he had hoped, mostly Jochi and Chagatai. Genghis knew this could lead to the division of his empire. Furthermore, it would end the unity of the Mongol people on which he had worked hard for decades. Therefore, he called upon a meeting of his own family around the time of the attack on the Khwarezmian Empire. Once his sons had gathered, he opened a discussion of his succession, which led to a confrontation between his two eldest sons, Jochi and Chagatai.

On the one hand, Jochi was the eldest, but the question of him being an illegitimate son of some Merkit chief remained. Also, over the years, his attitude toward Genghis and his brothers grew sour. For Chagatai, that was enough to question his rights to succeed the great khan. This led to a full-blown brawl between them, in which both claimed they would never follow each other. Genghis realized that if either of them became the new ruler after him, the Mongol Empire would split and a civil war would break out. Thus, he devised a solution. He chose his third son, Ogedei, as his rightful successor, forcing both Jochi and Chagatai to swear allegiance to him. However, during the war against the Persians, Jochi’s behavior grew worse, to the point of him refusing to see Genghis Khan. This led Genghis to question if Jochi would honor the agreement of succession, but his eldest son died in late 1226 or early 1227. The cause is once again unknown. Nonetheless, the timing of his demise led some historians to argue Jochi was murdered. He was possibly killed by his father or some other family member as a way to keep the unity of the Mongol nation intact. Whether it was an assassination or a natural death, without Jochi, the cohesion of the Mongol Empire would be safe, at least for a while.

Without a doubt, Genghis Khan is one of the most influential rulers of all time, an exquisite general, and a capable statesman and politician, as well as a great judge of people. He managed to claw his way up from being a pretty much homeless orphan to unite the people from the steppes and become a ruler over a great deal of Asia.

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