Genghis Khan: Leader, Warrior, Conqueror

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ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST

The story of the Mongols and Genghis Khan may resonate with you positively or negatively. These are the reasons to view it in a negative way. Genghis Khan allowed his men to pillage and loot from conquered cities. Genghis Khan was merciless in his dealings with enemies, and some may believe that it could have been handled in a more humane way. Genghis Khan may be viewed as bloodthirsty, due to the conquest of the Mongols killing 40 million people (about 10% of the entire world's population). Genghis Khan killing his brother may be viewed as an abhorrent action, understandably this murder is occasionally forgotten in the sea of 40 million other ones.

There are also reasons to admire Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire, here are a few. The Mongol empire was built on the shoulders of an exiled boy forced to fend for himself and his family, this rise from a tribal boy to a "universal ruler" may be viewed as an act of triumph. His pragmatism and strategy is something also to be commended, his understanding of his enemies finds many parallels in Sun Tzu's "Art of War"- such this quote: "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.". While the Mongols are commonly viewed as merciless, the Mongols showed mercy to all those who did not make themselves an enemy of the Mongols-as demonstrated by the Yasa. The Mongols also built: the foundation of much of our economy (paper currency), the first modern army, a secure connection of trade and culture between Eurasian civilizations and unified much Eurasia into the gargantuan Mongol empire.

CONCLUSION

It is up to you (the reader) to decide on your opinion of the Mongols and Genghis Khan, objectively he has done both good things and bad. However, it is important that you have knowledge about a subject before jumping to a conclusion about it (be it about ancient emperors or a new guy at work). Learning about something can enhance your experience with it such as (in this case): gaining that new guy at work as a close friend or acquiring a deeper appreciation for humanity's history. It goes without saying that the Mongols had a tremendous impact on history, whose impact is still seen in this day and age. It is believed that Genghis Khan's DNA is found in considerable amounts of the world's population, so perhaps you might have just learned about your legendary ancestor.

Works Cited

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