Life of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan as a ruler

As a ruler, Khan was exceptional for his times. Although he himself was illiterate, he hired scribes to teach his close ones and the children in his camp to read and write. He also hired a scribe to stay by his side and record all his words and, most importantly, to record the new code of laws he developed. He called these laws the yasak and said: "They shall guide men who come after me, even for a thousand years. If they depart from my yasak, the realm will crumble. They will then call for Genghis Khan but will not find him." His laws prohibited lying, spying, quarrelling, using magic or taking advantage of superstitions, and various guidelines for the behavior of his soldiers and for women when men were absent at war. Women were given far more respect and responsibility than was customary. Khan established a code of honor that was so effective that under his reign theft, murder, robbery, and adultery virtually disappeared. People who were accused of crimes almost always admitted it if they were guilty and many who broke the law even turned themselves in and asked to be punished.

Genghis Khan himself lived fairly modestly and had a hatred of pretension and ritual. He directed his princes to call him by his birth name, Temujin and never used a title, even when he signed important papers. He always held on to his sense of roots, as a nomad, and continually valued courage over wealth and power. He lived in a tent his whole life - although it was a larger and more elaborate tent than anyone else in camp - and once said: "Perhaps my children will live in stone houses and walled towns; not I." The most important rule when a camp was established was that nothing was to be put in front of his tent to obscure his view.

As the size of his army increased, Khan rearranged it so that often his divisions - previously 10,000 strong - were 30,000 strong. These hordes of men were so skilled and determined that just the sight of them struck terror in the enemy. They would burst out of the steppe and into battle with loud war like yells that could be heard for a long distance. Said a man who had seen them pass by: "They have voices more shrill than an eagle."  Another said: "Khan's army is as numerous as ants and locusts. His warriors are as brave as lions."

Every member of the cavalry had a backup of two or three extra horses, enabling the army to advance for days at a time at unprecedented speed. Khan himself always kept a bodyguard of 1000 men and a standing army of 10,000 nearby. The soldiers themselves ranged in age from 15 to 70 years old. There was a system of promotion to guarantee that anyone who performed with courage and loyalty was rewarded. It was customary before Genghis Khan to promote soldiers on the basis of their family connections and background. He appointed his officers instead on the basis of achievement, thus assuring not just skill, but devotion.

Two-thirds of the Khan's soldiers carried the enormous Mongol bow and a large supply of arrows, a lasso, a collection of light spears, and a sword. They were protected by leather shields, helmets, and long leather tunics. The cavalry, which was out in front, wore full leather armor and carried a lance, a scimitar (a saber with a long curved blade), and bows and arrows. Genghis insisted all his men wear coarse silk shirts under their armor since he'd discovered that arrows could seldom penetrate the rough natural fiber. It was a crime under the laws of the Khan to not retrieve arrows dropped by fallen soldiers, and all wounded soldiers were given aid as soon as possible. Injured soldiers were never abandoned on the field.

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