The Characteristics Of Genghis Khan Of The Mongolian Tribe | Cram
History has encountered a great deal of influential leaders such as Julius Caesar , Hannibal and Alexander the Great. Surprisingly enough one of the world’s greatest warriors is always left out of the equation , Genghis Khan of the Mongolian Tribe. Today in our society , they are portrayed as savages who had the sole purpose of wiping out entire cultures , destroying villages and murdering the most people possible. While part of this statement was true , let’s not forget that the old world was a time of cruel things, things that wouldn’t happen in our modern day.Nevertheless, there was more to Genghis Khan and his empire than meets the eye, they were more than savages who used pure brutality. Many of his doings were responsible for the Mongolian
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He did something that brought out his rough childhood and early beginnings , he implemented meritocracy. Meritocracy is a philosophy saying that choice positions or power should be given to those who prove themselves worthy by performing greatly , demonstrating achievements and by being loyal to one. This technique managed Genghis Khan to find without bias three generals that would prove to be very worthy of his decision, Jebe , Quali and Subutai. His followers grew to believe and be loyal to him which greatly helped in his conquest. A great example of this is the background of these three generals. Muqali came from a line of leaders of the Jin Dynasty , Mongols ’ biggest foe. Jebe was also an enemy of Khan but due to his profound honesty , he was offered a position in Genghis Khan’s khanate. The best example is his last general , but certainly not the least , Subutai. Subutai was the son of a blacksmith and Khan saw in him through his skills and leadership material a great leader and that is exactly what he became. By using meritocracy , a conquered soldier or someone of lower social status could climb the ladders to great power by being loyal and performing well, this indicates Khan’s wise thought process and his leadership skills. Of course , to be a great conqueror
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One of his best techniques which also gave him his bad reputation and barbaric like appearance, was to slaughter entire populations but let a few live. These people became “harbingers of doom” and spread the word to nearby cities , this installed fear amongst entire populations which in some cases would even surrender hearing such stories. The Mongols were skilled archers and horsemen , allowing them to shoot arrows on horseback , this gave them a great advantage in the open. In fact , during Genghis Khan’s reign, children were taught at a young age by women how to be skilled at using bows. Children were educated for warfare as early as age six , in other cultures soldiers would only benefit from a few months of training. The average Mongolian soldier could shout out more than 150 arrows in less than 5 minutes. But sometimes , they encountered fortified cities and their tactics would need to be adapted. Genghis Khan used Chinese techniques and technology of siege warfare, they would use captives as human shields , catapults to spread the plague inside cities and even block off supply routes for weeks. Temujin’s army became feared by all , whether it was at cavalry attacks or siege