Leo de Hartog is a Dutch specialist in Mongol history and has taught the subject extensively. GENGHIS KHAN Conperor of the World LEO DE HARTOG PAPERBACKS Published In 2004 by Tauris Parke Paperbacks an lmprmt of I BTauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 F~tthAvenue, New York NY 10010 www ~btaurls.com In the Un~tedStates of Amer~caand in Canada d~strlbutedby Palgrave Macmillan, a dlvlsion of St Alartln's Press 175 Fdth Avenue, New Yolk NY 10010 Copyright 0 Leo de Hartog, 1989, 2004 The r~ghtof Leo de Hartog to be ~dentltiedas the author of this work has been asserted by the author In accordance wlth the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All r~ghtsreserved Except for brief quotations In a revlew, th~sbook, or any part thereot; may not be reproduced, stored In or introduced into a retr~evalsystem, or transmitted, In any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, pllotocopying, recording or otherwise, w~thoutthe prlor written permission of the publisher ISBN 1 86064 972 6 A full CIP record for thls book is available from the Br~t~shLlbrary A hll CIP record for th~sbook is avallable from the L~braryot Congress Library of Congress catalog card: avallable Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall Contents Preface Mongolia on the eve of the birth of Asia's greatest son Geography and climate The tribes Mongol society The rise of a young chief of the Bo jigins The emergence of an obscure tribe The beginning of the elimination process Ruler of all tribes living in felt tents The final overthrow of the Ong-Khan West Mongolia yields to the new master Power and suspicion The Yasa: Genghis Khan's code of laws The Mongol army Organization The Mongol cavalryman and the method of warfare The strength of the Mongol army The rapacious barbarians at China's northern frontier The art-loving Sung buy peace A careful beginning: the attack on Hsi-Hsia vi Contents The war without an end Victor and vanquished The prelude The rise of the Khwarazm shahs Contacts between the ruler of the west and the ruler of the east The 'liberation' of east Turkestan 0g6dei, the successor to the throne The hurricane from the east A giant with feet of clay Transoxiana overrun The pursuit of Sultan Muhammad I1 The destruction of the work of centuries The great raid The cavalcade of terror The first Mongol invasion of Russia After the storm The world conqueror and the mountain savage A broken world left behind The last campaign The world conqueror and his empire The world conqueror The empire In the footsteps of the father The inheritance The new ruler The reconquest of Persia and Caucasia The war in China continues The martyrdom of the Korean people The Mongol invader in Europe The end of the old Russia Central Europe on the edge of the abyss Contents vii The return to Mongolia 15 The last phase of unity 'Toregene was a very shrewd and capable woman' The apostolic nuncio Twilight of the Ogodeids Maps Central Asia at the end of the twelfth century (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 6, 11) North China (1205-40) (Chapters 6, 11, 13) The Qara Khitai kingdom (1 135-12 18) (Chapter 7) South-west Asia (121-5) (Chapters 7,8, 10, 13) The pursuit of Muhammad I1 and the great raid ( 1220-3) (Chapters 8, 9) The Mongol Empire (1227) (Chapters 12, 13) The Middle East and Caucasia (1230-45) (Chapter 13) Eastern Europe ( 1236-42) (Chapter 14) Notes Bibliography Index Preface The study which forms the basis of this book began in 1941 when I was a prisoner of war in Colditz. That I was able to work in those years on the subject of Genghis Khan and the foundation of the Mongol Empire I attribute with gratitude for the most part to the co-operation I received from the French Red Cross. When I asked if they could send L'Empire des Steppes, by Rent Grousset I received this book with the note: 'L'Empire des Steppes de Grousset, actuellement introuvable, il vous est sptcialement adresst par l'auteur, par notre entremise.' In 1944 Professor Grousset also sent me his book Conquhant du Monde. After the war there was little opportunity for serious historical study. From 1972, however, I applied myself to acquiring knowledge about Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire. In the early period of my work I gained much useful information from Professor K. E. 0.Jahn and Dr Th. Raff. In 1976 I came into contact with Professor J. A. Boyle. During my correspondence with this scholar he regularly supplied me with invaluable advice when I was confronted with problems. It was a great disappointment to me when I heard in 1978 the sad news that he had suddenly died. Later I communicated with two prominent experts on the subject of the Mongol Empire: Professor Denis Sinor and Professor Bertold Spuler. From them I was informed of books and articles that had escaped my attention Finally I am grateful to Dr R. H. Poelmeijer who was prepared to read the translated typescript and offer comments on it. As the book is primarily addressed to the general reader, the common spelling Genghis has been used, instead of the more scholarly 'Chinggis'. March 1989 Yesiigei Shiban Genghis Khan (Temiijin) Mongke d. 1227 d. 1259 Qasar Qubilai d. 1294 Temiige d. c. 1247 Hiilagu d. 1265 Jochi d. 1256 Bochek Chaghatai Mo'etuken d. 1242 d. 1221 Baidar Tolui d. 1232 Koten Orda d. c. 1247 Batu Qadan d. 1256 Biiri Berke d. c. 1253 d. 1266 Genealogy of principal persons relevant to the text Mongolia on the eve of the birth of Asia's greatest son GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE Until the beginning of the thirteenth century the natural configuration of the country isolated that part of Central Asia which was the cradle of the Mongol Empire from the rest of the Asiatic continent. In the west lay two enormous mountain masses converging on each other, the Altai and the Tien Shan mountains, both of which made access to Mongolia difficult from the west. In the south the Gobi Desert formed another barrier. In the north extended the vast Siberian forests. The Mongolian plateau, largely shut off from the rest of Asia, lies at a height of about 1,200 to 1,800 metres; it is broken by a number of mountain ranges: the Sayan, the Hangay, the Yablonovy mountains and the Greater Khingan range. In the region between the forests and the steppes, the moist slopes and deep valleys were covered with trees such as fir, cedar and beech. Growing more densely in a northern direction, in the border region they usually followed the course of the rivers. Where the forests thinned out, the mountain meadows became thinner in places subjected to the dry winds from the Gobi Desert. The steppes changed their appearance each season. In spring, when plant growth began, they were covered with an immense green carpet, which blossomed with magni- ficent flowers later in the season and in early summer. The months of July and August brought a scorching heat that turned this colourful scene to that of the arid expanses of the steppes, which in October, when the snow began to fall changed to oppressive white mountain masses and plains where life was difficult for man and beast. In November all streams and rivers 2 Genghis Khan froze; it was not until the thaws of April that life began to stir again. In general the weather was characterized by extremes. In summer the temperature could climb to over 38 degrees centigrade and in winter it could drop to below -42 degrees. Unexpected changes in the weather occurred frequently. John of Plano Carpini records that on 29 June 1246 snow fell in the country of the aim an.' Throughout the year violent gales would suddenly rise, causing snowstorms or driving the burning sand before them. There were no barriers against the ice-cold winds from Siberia and the desert storms from the Gobi. The inhabitants - human and animal - of these regions were hardened by the circumstances in which they had to live, and were accustomed to a merciless struggle for existence. THE TRIBES Mongolia is the most easterly part of the Eurasiatic belt of steppes. These steppes have always been inhabited by various nomadic tribes - such as the Turks, the Mongols and the Tungus. These tribes, in many ways related to each other, were members of the same national and linguistic community, the Altai~.~ There is very little known about the tribes in Mongolia that first became famous with the rise of Genghis ~han.~The history of the Mongols before Genghis Khan is unknown, and unlikely ever to become known.4 The Mongol tribes consisted of two groups: the pastoral- nomads, who moved from one steppe pasture to another; and the forest-hunters, who also engaged in fishing.5 These contrasting ways of life explain why the most important region for the Mongol tribes lay on the border between the Siberian forests in the north and the steppes stretching south to the Gobi Desert. In general the forest-hunters did not go further than the country around Lake Baikal, the source of the Yenisey and the upper reaches of the Irtish. The pastoral-nomads occupied the territory south of this region in the foothills of the Altai mountains to Buyr or.^ The division between forest-hunters Mongolia on the eve of the birth of Asia's greatest son 3 and pastoral-nomads was not so sharp as the names might suggest.