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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
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Key Figures
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire, is born as Temujin, the son of the warrior Yesugei and his captive second wife, Hoelun. Weatherford’s main hypothesis on Khan’s life is that his upbringing on the outside of Mongol society inspires him to radically alter the fabric of that society once he ascends to power and assumes the title of Khan. He gains influence by making strategic alliances with powerful warlords and eventually defeating them when they pose an obstacle to his rise. Weatherford portrays him as a thoughtful and deeply spiritual figure, a pious adherent to Mongol religious tradition, and a devoted father. In this account, Genghis is motivated towards the goal of world conquest not simply for reasons of power or personal wealth but to spread the Mongol ideals of equality and free thought across the world. Mongol spirituality—from which he takes the idea of the equality of all peoples under the Eternal Blue Sky—is key to his portrayal by Weatherford. The vast majority of the contributions of the Mongol Empire to world culture and the technological innovations made possible by its rise are all credited to Genghis in this account; Weatherford implies that by making such innovations possible, Genghis should be given the most credit for their monumental effects on world history.
Hoelun
As related in The Secret History of the Mongols, Hoelun was born into the Merkid tribe and betrothed to a warrior named Chiledu. While traveling with him, she is abducted by Yesugei of the Borijin clan, with whom she would father Temujin. After Yesugei’s death, Hoelun, Yesugei’s first wife, and the children of both women are forced to fend for themselves. She plans to marry her eldest step-son but Temujin murders him. She is ever-present in Temujin’s entourage as he consolidates power, begins his military career, and takes the name Genghis Khan. Throughout The Secret History of the Mongols, she is a major influence on her sons, mainly through her impassioned speeches, but is also very passive. Her story is one of possession by several different men who do not necessarily have her best interests in mind. She seems surprisingly willing to go along with the plans of the powerful men she lives with, especially in the episode of Temujin’s murder of Begter. While she is present in the background, so to speak, of momentous events, her power to change the course of those events seems slight.
Subodei
The most successful general under Genghis and Ogodei, Subodei “discovers” Europe for the Mongols when he travels up the west shore of the Caspian Sea during the Khwarizm campaign. He is portrayed as a wise and thoughtful veteran whose knowledge is invaluable to the inexperienced khans that succeed Genghis. His military success is arguably greater than any of Genghis Khan’s descendants, and his conquest of Eastern Europe establishes the deep influence that the Mongol Empire exerts on the West—a keystone of Weatherford’s argument.
Ogodei Khan
Ogodei succeeds Genghis as Great Khan. He had been appointed Genghis’s heir as a compromise in a dispute between Genghis’s other sons and his firstborn, Jochi, whose paternity was secretly in doubt. Ogodei differs from his father in his taste for luxury and his tendency towards drunkenness. He makes a major change in the administration of the Mongol Empire by establishing a permanent capital city, Karakorum, marking a major departure with previous nomadic tradition.
Guyuk Khan
Guyuk is elected Khan after the death of his father, Ogodei, due largely to the machinations of his mother, Toregene. His election is opposed by the widow of Genghis’s youngest son, Sorkhokhtani, and it is implied that she had a hand in his death shortly after his election.
Mongke Khan
Mongke, the son of Sorkhokhtani, is elected Khan after the mysterious death of Guyuk, which was probably arranged by his mother. Mongke is the favored candidate of Batu, Genghis’s grandson, who commands the Mongol territories of modern Russia. Despite the dubious circumstances of his election, Mongke’s reign becomes known for tolerance, peace, and prosperity. He rebuilds the capital city of Karakorum with help from skilled European craftsmen, ensures religious freedom among his subjects, and facilitates the free exchange of ideas. Under his reign, the empire reaches its territorial high-water mark. After assuming control of his brother Khubilai’s campaign in China, he dies of disease.
Khubilai Khan
Khubilai, who succeeds Mongke, is perhaps the most interesting—at least the most enigmatic—of the khans in Weatherford’s history. Whereas Genghis seems to have reached the conclusion that the only way to maintain domestic peace was through constant expansion and conquest, Khubilai concludes that the only way to keep control of an empire was to maintain a favorable public image. To that end, he conquers China by turning the hearts and minds of the Chinese people to his cause, and away from their corrupt rulers. However, even as he self-consciously presents himself as a Chinese ruler, he maintains many aspects of Mongol tradition. His Forbidden City within his capital of Khanbalik is the best example of this: the city was an enclosed private space in which he and his family still lived as the Mongols did before their wars of expansion. Khubilai embodies the tension between tradition and innovation so often described in Weatherford’s history.
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