Genghis Khan was a 13th century warrior from Central Asia who founded the largest empire in history, the Mongol Empire. The empire has controlled much of China and Central Asia and has reached as far as Kiev (modern Ukraine) .

Fact 1:

Genghis Khan was born in Mongolia with the name Temujin in 1162. He was born with a blood clot in his hand, a sign that he will become a leader, according to beliefs. He was married at the age of 16 but had taken wives later on. After his victories over the other Mongol tribe, leaders gave him the name “Genghis Khan” which means “universal ruler”.  The leading shaman declared him as the representative of Mongke Koko Tengri or the “The Eternal Blue Sky”, the ultimate god of the Mongols .

Fact 2:

According to the scientists of the University of Leicester, more than 800 million men today in modern Asia have descended from just 11 men including Genghis Khan. He was reputed to have fathered hundreds of children. They found that 37.8 percent of the 5,000 men they’ve studied belong to one of the eleven lineages. 16 million men are estimated to have been descendants of Genghis Khan.

Fact 3:

It has been reported that Genghis Khan had killed 75% of the Iranian population during his time after one of his three emissaries was killed. The emissaries were supposed to establish trade relations but instead were maltreated .

Fact 4:

Genghis Khan was a follower of Tengrism, a predominant religion among the Turks, Mongolians and Hungarians. It is an ancestor worship featuring shamanism, animism and totemism .  However, Genghis Khan was tolerant and learned moral lessons from other religions and consulted Buddhist and Taoist monks, Muslims and Christian missionaries .

Fact 5:

During the Battle of the Thirteen Sides in 1201, Genghis Khan was shot and wounded in the neck. After his recovery, he inquired on the identity of the person that shot  the neck of “his horse”. Zurgadai confessed and said it was Genghis Khan he was aiming and not his horse. He added that if he needs to be killed for what he did, it was for Khan to decide but if he will be spared, he will serve Khan. Genghis Khan admired loyalty and honesty, thus, he pardoned Zurgadai and gave him a new name, Jebe, meaning “arrow” and “rust” and became one of his best and loyal commanders.

Fact 6:

The Mongols, in their victory, would show a certain degree of respect on killing fallen nobles by not shedding their blood. A story mentioned that uncooperative Russian nobles were laid down on the ground and a heavy wooden gate were thrown on top of them. Tables and chairs were assembled on top where a victory party was held causing pressure below the platform  eventually leading to the nobles’ death from suffocation .

Fact 7:

Genghis Khan and his Mongol warriors had killed an estimate of 400 million people during the reign of his empire. According to the Carnegie Institution’s Department of Global Energy, that Khan’s massacre of civilizations cleaned the atmosphere from 700 tonnes of carbon monoxide. The amount equates to the carbon monoxide produced from global petrol consumption in a     year .

Fact 8:

Genghis Khan had four sons: Jochi, Chagatai, Ogodei and Tolui. His third son, Ogodei become his successor since he had no quarrels with his other brothers.  Upon the death of Genghis Khan, the empire was divided where Ogodei had East Asia; Chagatai had Central Asia; Tolui got the Mongolia proper and the sons of Jochi got  Russia and Eastern Europe .

Fact 9:

Genghis Khan died in 1227 where exact reasons for his death remained vagued. Some theorized that he fell from a horse and died from injuries while others claimed he died from a respiratory disease. He was buried in an unmarked grave. There are speculations that Genghis Khan was buried  close to his birthplace close to the Onon River and the Khentti Mountains. in northern Mongolia

Fact 10:

Genghis Khan did not allow his image to be painted, sculpted or engraved during his lifetime. It was only after his death that first images of him surfaced .