Genghis Khan--environmentalist (Mass slaughter appears to be an environmental plus)

American Thinker ^ | 01/26/2011 | Ethel C. Fenig

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Genghis did his share to repopulate the Earth too. It’s estimated that over 10% of Asians can trace their lineage back to him. He banged everything that moved.

Genghis Khan's progeny actually ruled most of the non-Western world for over a hundred years.

Before his death, Genghis Khan divided his empire among his sons Ögedei, Chagatai, Tolui, and Jochi (Jochi's death several months before Genghis Khan meant that his lands were instead split between his sons, Batu and Orda) into several Khanates designed as sub-territories: their Khans were expected to follow the Great Khan, who was, initially, Ögedei.

The following are the Khanates the way Genghis Khan assigned them:

* Empire of the Great Khan: Ögedei Khan, as Great Khan, took most of Eastern Asia, including China; this territory later to comprise the Yuan Dynasty under Kubilai Khan.

* Mongol homeland (present day Mongolia, including Karakorum): Tolui Khan, being the youngest son, received a small territory near the Mongol homeland, following Mongol custom.

* Chagatai Khanate: Chagatai Khan, Genghis Khan's second son, was given Central Asia and northern Iran.

* Blue Horde to Batu Khan, and White Horde to Orda Khan, both were later combined into the Kipchak Khanate, or Khanate of the Golden Horde, under Toqtamysh. Genghis Khan's eldest son, Jochi, had received most of the distant Russia and Ruthenia. Because Jochi died before Genghis Khan, his territory was further split up between his sons.

Batu Khan launched an invasion of Russia, and later Hungary and Poland, and crushed several armies before being summoned back by the news of Ögedei's death.

In Mongolia alone as many as 200,000 of the country's 2 million people could be Khan descendants.

In addition to most of the Mongol nobility up to the 20th century, the Mughal emperor Babur's mother was a descendant. Timur (also known as Tamerlane), the 14th century military leader, claimed descent from Genghis Khan.

With our Christian values, we in the West might look at Genghis Khan as a mass murderer.

But Genghis Khan is credited with bringing the Silk Road under one cohesive political environment.

This allowed increased communication and trade between the West, Middle East and Asia, thus expanding the horizons of all three cultural areas.

Some historians have noted that Genghis Khan instituted certain levels of meritocracy in his rule, was tolerant of different religions and explained his policies clearly to all his soldiers.

In Turkey, Genghis Khan is looked on as a great military leader, and it is popular for male children to carry his title as name.

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Thanks SeekAndFind.

• Was Genghis Khan history's greenest conqueror? (Mongol invasion scrubbed 700 million tons of carbon)

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