Genghis Khan as a Person

[ptoss1]

I recently watched the film Mongol that came out in 2008 I think. It was a by a Russian director. I didn't know much about the Mongol nation before then and got pretty interested afterwards. I read a few books and apparently these guys were kind of a big deal. Why have I never heard these guys before?

btw I read the first 2 books of the Conqueror series by Conn Iggulden, on bones of the hills now

[taillesskangaru]

"Big deal" might be a bit of an understatement.

[Masada]

Never heard of G. Khan? 4srs.

(If I ever went into music I'd totally use that as my stage name).

[History_Buff]

Originally Posted by ptoss1

I recently watched the film Mongol that came out in 2008 I think. It was a by a Russian director. I didn't know much about the Mongol nation before then and got pretty interested afterwards. I read a few books and apparently these guys were kind of a big deal. Why have I never heard these guys before?

Because you've lived in a cave all your life?

Seriously though, the Mongols have had a huge impact on history. And it's not just Genghis either; his various successors have also been super important. Batu, Kublai, Temur, and Babur (the latter two more of spiritual successors) just to name who are probably the most important ones. They've shaped the course of nations.

[kittenOFchaos]

Originally Posted by ptoss1

Why have I never heard these guys before?

Interesting question.

Possible options:

1. You're not a civfanatic - you've clearly never played Civ.
2. You've been living under a rock.

[Glassfan]

Khan, of course, ruled much of the Earth in the 1990's, before being marooned to Ceti Alpha VI by Starfleet.

[TheLastOne36]

Originally Posted by kittenOFchaos

Interesting question.

Possible options:

1. You're not a civfanatic - you've clearly never played Civ.
2. You've been living under a rock.

3. Is American

[Lillefix]

Originally Posted by Masada

(If I ever went into music I'd totally use that as my stage name).

Try not to be confused with these guys then:


link to video.

or what is actually "Never heard of G. Khan" which would be you stage name?

[Lord Baal]

Originally Posted by Glassfan

Khan, of course, ruled much of the Earth in the 1990's, before being marooned to Ceti Alpha VI by Starfleet.

/thread.

On a serious note, the Mongols are... Somewhat important to world history. As in, ruled 50% of the Eurasian landmass and created the largest contiguous land empire in history with effects that still reverberate now. The creation of the modern Russian state, the destruction of the advanced irrigation systems in the Middle East and the rise of the British Raj in India, are just a few things that are somewhat directly linked to the Mongols. That last didn't even happen until several hundred years after their empire fell, by the way.

[KevinLancaster]

Originally Posted by Lord Baal

...and the rise of the British Raj in India, are just a few things that are somewhat directly linked to the Mongols. That last didn't even happen until several hundred years after their empire fell, by the way.

How? Please elaborate.

(I hope this is not considered de-railing the thread.)

[Owen Glyndwr]

Originally Posted by KevinLancaster

How? Please elaborate.

(I hope this is not considered de-railing the thread.)

He's probably referring to the co-opting/displacing of the Mughal dynasty.

[Cutlass]

I would suspect that the breaking of the previous power structure made the region vulnerable to a threat that, while having some advantages, really wasn't all that strong on its own, and certainly not strong enough to be dominant. Similarly, Western diseases introduced to the Americas crippled and devastated local powers and made it possible for fairly small forces to make huge inroads.

[History_Buff]

Originally Posted by KevinLancaster

How? Please elaborate.

(I hope this is not considered de-railing the thread.)

Without Mongol invasion, there likely would be no Temur. Without Temur, there is no Mughal Empire to dominate India, and then coincidentally collapse just as Britain starts to get established.

[Lord Baal]

Yeah, I'm refering to the British co-opting of the Mughal Empire of India, which existed in no small part due to Mongol conquests.

[Owen Glyndwr]

Originally Posted by Lord Baal

Yeah, I'm refering to the British co-opting of the Mughal Empire of India, which existed in no small part due to Mongol conquests.

Cha-ching! Next time I should make an unnecessarily long post explaining this process or something.

[Lord Baal]

That's what we have Dachs for.

[Dachs]

Saying that, without the Mongols doing what they did the way they did it, the British Raj would've developed differently/not existed, is like saying that the Northern Crusades conditioned the development of Petrine Russia. It's true in a roundabout way, but not really meaningful, because of the truly vast number of steps in between.

[Lord Baal]

Originally Posted by Dachs

Saying that, without the Mongols doing what they did the way they did it, the British Raj would've developed differently/not existed, is like saying that the Northern Crusades conditioned the development of Petrine Russia. It's true in a roundabout way, but not really meaningful, because of the truly vast number of steps in between.

Not unnecessarily long enough!

Obviously there are plenty of intermediate steps. But the British Raj as we know it existed in large part due to Mongol influence. Not nearly as direct as the rise of Muscovy, but then the whole point of my post was to show events progressively closer and closer to our own time.

[Dachs]

I just think it's a silly point to make.

[History_Buff]

Well, Dachs is correct in that the Mongol quality of the Mughals doesn't really mean much. Had there been some local polity that starting to implode just as Europeans arrived in force, the outcome likely would have been the same.