Period+4+Stookey

[|Genghis Khan]o Bio (minimum 300 words): I was born with the name Temujiin in 1162 to a family of Mongols. This family was unremarkable in virtually every way. My father arranged my marriage with Borte, my wife, (I was twelve, she eleven). On the way back, he was murdered by Tartars. At the age of twelve, I had suddenly become the man of the family. I was later captured by a rival tribe and had a huge wooden block placed around my neck. However, I escaped. At age eighteen, I married Borte. However, I was not out of the woods yet. My wife was kidnapped and raped by a group of bandits. I and my comrades rescued her. She gave birth to a boy, but I have no way of knowing whether he is actually my son. All of my experiences made me want to unite Mongolia and make it a safe place. Despite many hardships, I managed to recruit a loyal following. By the year 1185, I was Khan of the Mongols. However, I still had to unite the other nomadic tribes of the region. Fortunately, I had an ally. My father’s blood brother, Toghril, was Khan of the Keraits. I forged an alliance with him, and together, we united all of the tribes in Mongolia. When Toghril died, I became Khan of all Mongolia. I took the title Genghis Khan. Many people have painted a picture of me as a monster, up there with Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot. However, I was much more than just a brutal conqueror. I preferred negotiations to confrontation. Many of the wars I started were in retaliation for some offense, such as murdering my messengers. Besides, the reason I was doing all of this in the first place was because if left to their own devices, the various Mongol tribes would begin fighting each other again. Plus, when a city, tribe or nation surrendered peacefully, I allowed them to continue much as they always had. The Mongol horde looked remarkably like a modern army set down in the Middle Ages, as if Patton and Rommel had fallen through a time warp. My cavalry could move over one hundred miles a day. We were the most disciplined, adaptable, and strategic army of our day. I was also very progressive. I gave equal rights to women, even allowing them to serve in my army. I also allowed homosexual relationships that were essentially marriages in all but name. However, I will not deny that I was often very cruel to those who resisted me. When the city of Samarkand refused to surrender to me and I conquered it anyway, I ordered the deaths of thousands of people as an example to all who would oppose me. o Favorite Quotations: “To crush your enemies, see then driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women; that is best in life”