10 Brutal Facts About the Merciless Genghis
Khan 10. Genghis Khan Had Molten Silver Poured Into
an Enemy Leaders’ Eyes and Ears There are many stories about the legendary
brutality of Genghis Khan and his murderous exploits. Most of them tell a similar story of the khan
asking enemies to surrender, and then completely annihilating them and their families and friends
if they refused. The khan was proud of his murderous rampages
and felt that the terror they inspired should be helpful in causing more enemies to join
his side without him losing any men. While these campaigns of terror were business
as usual for the khan, many people didn’t realize that if you made him feel personally
insulted, he could be even more brutal and punishing than you could imagine. A large city led by a noble named Inalchuq
was in the way of the khan’s conquest, and the khan was in a very, very incensed mood. Years before, he had sent a large caravan
of 500 men in the hopes of creating more trade routes in the region. Inalchuq had had the entire caravan decimated
and spurned the khan’s peace offering completely. So it was that the khan killed the entire
civilian population, utterly wrecked all remnants of the city, and killed the hated leader by
having molten silver poured into his eyes and ears. This is perhaps one of the oldest examples
of someone being brutally punished for shooting the messenger — something the khan clearly
would not tolerate. 9. The Mongols Could Not Shed Noble Blood, but
the Alternatives Were More Brutal The Mongols may have been known for killing
scores of people without even trying and for their brilliant combat tactics, but they also
had certain honor rules even in times of war and murder. One of these ancient rules was that they could
not spill “noble” blood. They took this very seriously and if someone
they had captured was of noble birth, they would not stab them, slash them, or kill them
in any other normal wartime manner. However, this by no means meant that the noble
was spared an awful and gruesome death. In fact, it would almost seem as if the Mongols
followed the letter of the rule but were showing their open contempt for it by trying to creatively
punish their enemies as much as possible. If a noble was lucky, the Mongols who captured
him would simply snap his neck — quick, clean, and simple. However, that was one of the rare methods. They also liked to suffocate nobles, which
is much more painful and prolonged than a quick beheading. These may not seem that bad, but the most
brutal was when they captured a large Russian force that had surrendered to them. Most of them were nobles so they could not
execute them in the normal manner. Instead, they confiscated their helpless enemies’
weapons, laid their captives under a wooden platform, and then stood on top of the platform
and literally partied their enemies to death. We can’t even imagine how horrific such
a death would be, but it certainly sounds like one of the most metal things ever. 8. Genghis Khan Killed his Half Brother as a
Child Over a Hunting Dispute When Genghis Khan was a child, his family
was at odds with their clan and they were basically living on their own. His mother was taking care of four of her
own children and two stepchildren — struggling just to make sure that everyone was fed. From a young age Genghis, known in his early
days as Temujin, learned that he would have to fight and kill for what he needed to get
by. While Genghis helped feed his family, he didn’t
always agree with how food should be apportioned, and he especially found himself fighting with
his half brother — a child near his own age. One day the two of them had a serious argument
over some food that young Genghis had caught, and he took the dispute to their mother. To the anger of young Genghis, his mother
actually sided against him, and he left in a cold rage. While his half brother was minding his own
business with no idea what was coming, Genghis and his younger brother snuck up on their
half brother and killed him with their bows. When their mother found out she was devastated
and furious, but there were never any consequences for their actions. Genghis is said to have never had any remorse
whatsoever for the murder. In his eyes, it was justified — it was also
likely the first taste of what would become a habit that he simply couldn’t stop. 7. The Khan Left a Greater Death Toll in his
Wake than Joseph Stalin Genghis Khan is not always as remembered as
many brutal historical figures. Many people forget that the great khan’s
rampage left such a path of destruction that he irrevocably destroyed entire empires and
enormous populations as a matter of habit. In recent days people have pointed out that
Stalin was responsible for somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 million deaths, which would
make him more brutal than the Nazis. But he doesn’t even hold a candle to the
brutality of the Mongols under the leadership of the khan. According to historical estimates, the khan
was responsible for the deaths of roughly 40 million people, and he was glad to boast
of these numbers whenever he got the chance. He likely felt that advertising his brutality
was actually a good way to keep people afraid and more likely to submit. However, despite being an incredibly brutal
murderer, the khan was not entirely without mercy. He preferred to win without a blow simply
by using his reputation, so he would always give his enemies a chance to join his empire
first. In some cases he even sent multiple emissaries
before he went on a rampage and massacred their civilians and everything that had ever
been a part of their culture or existence. The directive from the khan was simple — join
him or die. Many chose to defy this mandate from Genghis
Khan, and he made them and their entire populations pay with their lives. 6. The Khan Turned a Dangerous Enemy Archer into
a Useful Long-term Ally Before long, the khan’s brutal multi-continent
spanning rampage was becoming a thing of legend, and his reputation began to precede him wherever
he went. In battle he was known for being an insanely
fierce warrior and nigh untouchable in skill. There are many versions of the following legend,
but they all are about an enemy archer named Jebe who caught the eye of Genghis Khan. The Mongols were fighting against an enemy
clan when disaster nearly struck. An arrow struck the khan’s horse — putting
him in a very dangerous position. However, the Mongols quickly turned the tide
and sent the enemy clan running in fear for their lives — except for the archer who
had nearly shot the khan himself. He rode bravely and boldly into the camp,
asking to address the khan himself. He admitted that he himself shot the khan’s
horse and that he would accept his death for this deed if he wished — but if he were
to spare him, he would serve him as a loyal warrior. Some versions of the story claim that the
arrow actually hit and injured the khan himself, or at least struck his armor, and some even
claim that the khan lied to protect his pride, and the archer was bold enough to correct
him. Whichever version of events is correct, it
is known that the khan decided to spare the archer and kept him in his army as one of
his top commanders from that day. While the khan may have been extremely brutal,
and often merciless, he was smart enough not to turn down an amazing ally when he had one. 5. One of his Mongol Enemies was Known for Boiling
Captured Generals Alive While Genghis Khan was known for being many
things, merciful was certainly not one of them. As we have mentioned, he was all too happy
to brutally murder enemies and civilians who had peacefully surrendered. However, before Genghis Khan united the Mongols
and began his true reign of conquest, he had rivals among the Mongols for leadership, and
some of them were just as insane and barbaric as he was. One of them was known as Jamukha, and once
after achieving great victory it was said that he burned the enemy generals in seventy
cauldrons. Some scholars are unsure whether that’s
supposed to be an exact number, whether the cauldrons only held one person each, or whether
it was simply meant to suggest “a lot.” Either way, the cruelty was so legendary that
it supposedly caused some people to turn their support to Genghis despite his own brutality. This could be because burning alive, while
fitting within the rules of a way to kill “nobles,” is actually much more drawn
out and horrific than Genghis’ usual punishments for nobles. The khan had enemies’ backs broken, there
was the molten silver incident, and the mass trampling, but arguably all of these are less
barbaric than boiling your enemy alive. It’s been described as being so horrific
that many watching in Europe when it was first instituted as a punishment fainted in shock
and had to be carried away. The screams were allegedly horrific and the
sight of what it did to the human body was something that most people could not stand
to watch. 4. Genghis Khan Humiliated and Enslaved People
of Other Religions Many people like to point out that Genghis
Khan actively talked to and sought advice from holy men of all different religions,
including Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Taoism. Some people like to claim this as evidence
of him being more of a humanitarian. However, in this case people are forgetting
that the man was a brutal and merciless tyrant. While he may have been smart enough to learn
about his enemies and all of their ways, he never showed any evidence in his life or rule
of having the slightest bit of religious tolerance whatsoever. In fact, he had especial contempt for Jewish
and Muslim people, who he openly referred to as slaves, and humiliated by not allowing
them to follow their own customs. He proclaimed that the Mongolians had conquered
them, but they refused to eat Mongolian food. To the khan, this was a complete affront to
him — he had conquered them and allowed them to live within his kingdom, but they
would only prepare food and eat it their way. He forbade them to eat any food that was not
prepared by Mongolians, disallowing them from their customs. Muslims were not allowed to kill a sheep — and
if they were caught they would be guilty of a serious crime. Jewish people were also forbidden from following
their practice of circumcision. As far as the khan was concerned, if you lived
in his kingdom, you followed his rules. It was likely that his study of other religions
was mostly about learning how to better rule his enemies, as he had no patience for coexisting
with other religions’ quirks and differences. 3. He Had his Men Use Captured Enemies as Body
Shields in Combat In relatively recent history, Stalin used
captured enemy soldiers, as well as his countries own convicted prisoners, as human shields
in combat during World War II. While diabolical and evil, it was also an
effective strategy for the ruthless tyrant. During a very expensive war, he was able to
rid himself of prisoners of all kinds who would be expensive to hold, and use them instead
as a way to win battles. While this may seem like one of the worst
things done in history, it’s certainly not the first time people have used human shields
in combat. Throughout history there have been many examples
where prisoners or captured populations are forced to fight at the frontlines of wars. But before many of them had ever considered
it, the khan had already used and perfected the strategy. The khan was selective when it came to who
he would use as human shields for combat. Sometimes he would execute enemy soldiers,
who had surrendered expecting good treatment. And other times if they were truly skilled
and had the right attitude, he might let them join his army. However, when he was in the mood he would
have his men take large numbers of surrendered enemy soldiers and force them to fight at
the front lines. His men would goad the captured soldiers to
fight as well as possible, and if they did not they were put to the sword. They could prolong their deaths only by fighting
for the khan and his forces as well as they possibly could — and perhaps if they truly
showed their worth, they could earn a rightful place in his forces. 2. While Massacring a City and its Population,
he Declared Himself Sent by God to Punish Them While on his brutal rampage through the Khwarezmia
Empire, he came upon the city of Samarkand. He was in an angry mood and ready to pounce
and destroy anyone who got in his way. He had just come from the city of Otrar, where
he had killed Inalchuq with molten silver — in his rage he also declared to the inhabitants
that he had been sent by God himself to punish them. He then absolutely annihilated all of the
population and wiped the city off the face of the earth. When he came to Samarkand he met heavy resistance
by well over 100,000 soldiers, but he eventually managed to wear them down by cutting off their
water supply, bringing them down by slow attrition and eventually breaking into the city proper. Some accounts claim that when Genghis Khan
and his men razed the city, the soldiers found any pregnant women and stabbed and removed
the fetuses they found within. This could possibly be hyperbole by the writers
of the story, hoping perhaps to make the khan look evil — either to increase his reputation
or to hurt it — but it would not be unsurprising if true considering the Mongols’ overall
brutality. Some reports say nearly half a million people
were either killed or forced to flee the city, and when the Mongol rampage was finished,
not even ruins remained. 1. The Sacking of Urgench was Arguably the Most
Brutal and Thorough Massacre in History Urgench was the last stop on the great khan’s
slaughter of the Khwarezmia Empire,1 and they put up an absolutely ferocious fight. Normally the khan could dominate his enemies
in a short amount of time, but the battle dragged on for six months. Records say that even after they actually
got inside the city, they were unable to begin looting and plundering as they normally did. The inside of the city was fortified and the
enemy fought using guerilla warfare techniques from every house in the city. The Mongols quickly grew tired of this, and
decided that they needed to take more drastic measures. They decided that if they couldn’t find
all of the men who were hiding inside the city, they would just burn the entire city
down. Upon the city being turned into a burned hunk
of its original glory, the surviving enemy soldiers still continued to defy the khan’s
forces. They knew that ignominious death awaited them
if they were captured by the Mongol forces, so they continued their defense to the death. The khan allegedly had a dam diverted to flood
and destroy what was left, and decreed that any remaining civilian or soldier still alive
was to be murdered, with no exceptions whatsoever. While it’s unclear whether it’s hyperbole
or not, some sources say that the final massacre amounted to over a million people. If this is true, it would be one of, if not
the, most massive genocides in a short period in the history of mankind.
