Genghis Khan (#66, August 18th)

Background

Temujin was born in either 1162 or 1155 in what is now northern Mongolia. He was the third son of his father, Yesugei, who was the leader of the Kiyad tribe. The Kiyad tribe, like many others on the Mongolian plains, were nomads, surviving by raising horses. 

When Temujin was nine, his parents put him into an arranged marriage and Temujin's father delivered him to the Oniggirat tribe, where his wife-to-be lived. On the way back from delivering Temujin, Yesugei was captured by Tatars and died. Upon hearing the news, Temujin returned to his tribe to claim his position as leader, but the tribe refused to let the young boy rule, so Temujin, his mother, and his siblings were all abandoned by the tribe.

Temujin and his family lived in poverty, living off of wild fruit and small game that Temujin and his brothers hunted. In 1177, Temujin was captured and enslaved by the Tayichi'ud tribe, though with the help of a gaurd, Temujin was able to escape. Temujin led his family through the area, gaining followers as he went. Two of the most important allies that Temujin gained were Jelme and Bo'orchu, who would become major generals during Temujin's regin.

Temujin returned to the Oniggirat tribe, where he married the woman his was engaged to, named Borte. The two had four sons, and Borte remained as Temujin's only wife throughout his entire life.

Leadership

Temujin realized that to gain power, he must make alliances, so as the tribes of the Central Asian plateau began to form confederacies, Temujin offered his tribes aid to Toghryl, the leader, or Khan, of the Kerait tribe. Temujin rose in power through both skill in battle and by eliminating political opponents. Temujin was so set on gaining power that he even killed his childhood friend, Jamukha, in order to rise. By 1206, Temujin was the the Khan of all of Mongol plains, save the Naimans. The defeat of the Naimans by Temujin left Temujin as the sole ruler of a united Mongol nation. Temujin was given the name Genghis Khan, which meant ruler from one ocean to the next.

In 1206, Genghis Khan began to expand his new kingdom, and during this time of expansion, Genghis Khan's army would become the most powerful and the most feared army the world had ever seen. Genghis Khan began his conquests by attacking China, which was currently in three parts. By 1215, the great Khan had conquered the entire Western Xia Dynasty and had broken through the Great Wall of China and taken the Jin Dynasty as well. For the moment, the southern Song Dynasty was left alone, though it would eventually be conquered by Kublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis. From there, Genghis Khan moved west. Genghis would give each nation he encountered a choice. If the nation surrendered, he would add the nation to his ever-growing empire, but spare their lives. If the nation refused, Genghis would take them by force and raise their cities to the ground. By the time of his death, Genghis had taken all of central Asia, the Middle East, parts of Africa, and had even conquered eastern Europe and Russia.

Genghis Khan had created the largest empire that there had ever been. To this day, no nation or empire has ever matched the size of the Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan also successfully conquered Moscow and the rest of Russia, a feat that both Napoleon and Hitler were unable to accomplish. Genghis Khan was able to run his military machine by sparing farmland as he conquered. He would allow farmers to continue to farm if the gave some of their crops to the army. Genghis also allowed freedom of religion for those within his empire, and conditions, in many places, improved while under the protection of the Mongols.

The End

On August 18th, 1227, Genghis Khan died after falling off the back of his horse while in Egypt. The Great Khan's body was returned to Mongolia, and any living creature that crossed paths with the funeral procession was killed. Genghis Khan was buried somewhere in Mongolia, though his burial site was unmarked, and the exact whereabouts of the tomb remain unknown. Genghis Khan is on our list because he created the largest and fastest growing empire the world had ever seen and marks of his conquest can be seen all throughout the world.

Tamar the Great (#91)

Young Life

Tamar was born around the year AD 1160, the daughter of George III of Georgia. During her childhood, Georgia was in a state of upheaval. Many of the nobles of Georgia were rebellious and attempted to overthrow the king in 1177, but George quickly crushed the rebellion, and soon afterwards,  George decided to name Tamar as his heir. In 1778, Tamar was crowned as co-ruler of Georgia along with her father.

Ruled by the Nobles

In 1184, George III died, and Tamar became the sole ruler of Georgia. Along with inheriting the kingdom, Tamar inheritted her father's rebellious nobels, and they weren't too happy with having a female ruler. Tamar was the first ever female ruler of Georgia, and this led many nobles to question her legitimacy as queen. Tamar's claim to the throne was solidified only through Tamar's aunt Rusudan and the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, catholicos Michael IV Mirianisdze. Even so, Tamar's early rein was basically run by the nobles. The nobles made Tamar appoint Michael IV as chancellor, putting at the head Georgian politics and religion. The nobles also forced Tamar to dismiss several of her father's political officers, and they even chose Tamar's husband for her. In 1185, Tamar married the noble-chosen Yuri Bogolyubsky, the son of a prince from North Caucasus. 

Ruling the Nobles

Soon after the marriage, the chancellor and catholicos Michael IV died. Tamar quickly appointed her supporter, Anton Glonistavisdze, as chancellor. The death of Michael IV allowed Tamar to expand her power bases, taking more power away from the nobles. In 1187, Tamar had her divorce with Yuri approved on the basis of addiction to drunkenness and marital unfaithfulness. She then took David Soslan, an Alan Prince, as her husband. David Soslan was a very capable military commander and was a firm supporter of Tamar's rule. After the divorce, Yuri made two attempts at coup, but both were crushed by David. Tamar and David had two children during their marriage, both of whom would become rulers of Georgia. With her new power, Tamar revived the expansionist foreign policy of Georgia. Under David Soslan, Georgia was able to to take over several of the regional states, reduce Shirvan into a tributary state, and expand into the territory of the Great Seljuq Empire by 1204. In the same year, Tamar turned her attention to the southeast. The Byzantine Empire was very weak, partially due to the attacks by Muslim states in the Middle East, but mainly because of the Fourth Crusade that decided to attack Constantinople. Tamar took advantage of the Byzantines' weakness and helped to turn the Byzantine state of Pontic into the kingdom of Trebizond. Tamar had helped Trebizond because it gave Georgia a friendly neighbor to the south and it helped Georgia to affirm its position as the protector of Christianity in the middle east. Tamar was sending missionaries and supporting churches all the way to Cyprus, Egypt, and Bulgaria. Tamar also supported several monasteries within Jerusalem, and when Ayyubid sultan Saladin took Jerusalem in 1187, Tamar sent envoys to request that the the confiscated possessions of the Georgian monasteries be returned. Tamar created a friendly relationship with Saladin, and even when Western Europeans were not allowed into the holy land, Georgian pilgrims were. 

The End

Tamar died in 1213, shortly after her husband David Soslan had. Tamar is on our list because she was the first female ruler of Georgia. She also was able to take a kingdom on the verge of falling apart and turn it into an expansionist nation stronger than any of those around it. Also, as the Byzantine Empire deteriorated, Tamar turned Georgia into the leading Christian power within the Middle East, and while the Western Europeans continued to attack the Holy Land for the next 300 years, Tamar was able to get her pilgrims peacefully into Jerusalem whenever they wanted. Tamar is on our list because she made a small, obscure nation like Georgia into a thriving, strong power in the Middle East.