History UsefulNotes / GenghisKhan

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Whilst he did indeed introduce some progressive policies for the time, his conquests caused the deaths of as many as 60,000,000 people (which is almost as many as died in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII) if you go with a high estimate and 30,000,000 if you go low (still more than died in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.) 60,000,000 in the Middle Ages would have been 17.1% of the world's total population. However, many still remember Genghis with admiration.

* He appears in ''Series/MarcoPolo'' in a flashback of his grandson's Kublai Khan's childhood, using birds with lit ropes tied to their feet to burn down a Chinese city.

[[http://temujin.smackjeeves.com/news/ Here's a webcomic about his childhood]], by the unequalled Phobs.

Also, [[http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2010/08/1-in-200-men-direct-descendants-of-genghis-khan/#.V8jgyK2LCwg you might be related to him]].

* Mongolian folk metal band The HU devotes one of their singles for him, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD1gDSao1eA The Great Chinggis Khaan]]." The focus is on Genghis [[HistoricalHeroUpgrade as a unifier and lawgiver]].

* He appears in the prologue of the ''WesternAnimation/BobMorane'' episode "The Crown of Golconda". His name is typically mispronounced as it is in the west and he neither has the red hair or green eyes he actually had, but rather the stereotypical black hair and dark eyes.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest conquerors who ever lived, this guy did the impossible. He united the UsefulNotes/{{Mongol|ia}}s. After accomplishing that, he began the conquest of the rest of Asia and made it look easy. The military strategy and laws he laid down allowed the [[FamilyBusiness next generation to expand the empire]] until it ruled over 17% of all land on earth, from Kiev to Fusan (in Korea), the largest contiguous land empire in history. He and his people were [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szxPar0BcMo truly]] [[WebVideo/CrashCourse exceptional]].

He's mentioned far more in Chinese and ''especially'' Central Asian stories and culture than in Western Europe, the latter having had very little if anything to do with him. In Western European (and by extension North American) culture, [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation he is either shown as]] a tolerant and just ruler who helped bring order in a chaotic period, or as a [[BarbarianTribe ruthless barbarian who slaughtered swathes of innocents for personal gain]]. While it's easy to cherry-pick his deeds to make him look unambiguously like one or the other, the truth is a mixture of the two. He was a revolutionary conqueror in Asia for the time in that he allowed almost total freedom of religion, did not impose on the cultures of the defeated, and established a vast and effective trade and postal network that were of great benefits to most parts of Asia - particularly given the long disintegration and decline of the Southern Song dynasty under the strain of fighting their [[ForeverWar fifty-year stalemate war]] with the Jin dynasty founded by the Jurchens (a Tungusic tribe ancestral to the Manchus who had taken the entire north China plain from them, thus the 'Southern' Song). On the other hand, [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill he was absolutely ruthless]] to anyone who dared to resist his [[TheHorde Mongol hordes]]. He was noted to have used early forms of biological warfare, used living prisoners as {{human shield}}s, and massacred civilian populations as punishment for resistance. The Iranian plateau lost three-quarters of its population during his conquest and didn't fully recover until the mid-20th century. Entire cities were leveled to the ground [[MakeAnExampleOfThem as examples]]; to this day, some areas in Central Asia are disproportionately populated compared to their surroundings thanks to these ''13th century'' tactics.

* ShootTheMessenger: Averted '''HARD'''. Not only did he ''not'' kill messengers, he crushed the Khwarazmians for killing his messengers, a practice he spread to the rest of the Mongols even after his death.

* He's a minor character in ''Series/TheLegendOfTheCondorHeroes2008''.

* ShootTheMessenger: Averted '''HARD'''. Not only did he ''not'' kill messengers, he crushed the Khwarazmians for killing his messengers.

He's mentioned far more in Chinese and ''especially'' Central Asian stories and culture than in Western Europe, the latter having had very little if anything to do with him. In Western European (and by extension North American) culture, [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation he is either shown as]] a tolerant and just ruler who helped bring order in a chaotic period, or as a [[BarbarianTribe ruthless barbarian who slaughtered swathes of innocents for personal gain]]. While it's easy to cherry-pick his deeds to make him look unambiguously like one or the other, the truth is a mixture of the two. He was a revolutionary conqueror in Asia for the time in that he allowed almost total freedom of religion, did not impose on the cultures of the defeated, and established a vast and effective trade and postal network that were of great benefits to most parts of Asia - particularly given the long disintegration and decline of the Southern Song dynasty under the strain of fighting their [[ForeverWar fifty-year stalemate war]] with the Jin dynasty founded by the Jurchens (a Tungusic tribe ancestral to the Manchus who had taken the entire north China plain from them, thus the 'Southern' Song). On the other hand, [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill he was absolutely ruthless]] to anyone who dared to resist his [[TheHorde Mongol hordes]]. He was not above biological warfare or using living prisoners as {{human shield}}s. Plus, they would often massacre people who resisted. The Iranian plateau lost three-quarters of its population and didn't recover until the mid-20th century. Entire cities were leveled to the ground [[MakeAnExampleOfThem as examples]]; to this day, some areas in Central Asia are disproportionately populated compared to their surroundings thanks to these ''13th century'' tactics.

* In the Franchise/MarvelUniverse, the Marvel version of Literature/FuManchu (who's now ExiledFromContinuity), IronMan villain The Mandarin (and by extension his son Temujin), and 50s YellowPeril villain [[Comicbook/AgentsOfAtlas The Golden Claw]] all [[FamousAncestor claim descent]] from Genghis Khan and continue their ancestor's dream of world conquest, the first through a crime empire, the second through technological expertise rather than sheer force, and the third through an ancient conspiracy of companies and entities named "[[DevelopmentGag Atlas]]". Notably, in-story, only the last, the Golden Claw, has a claim to be the true heir of the Khan, as he possesses the spirit banner of Temujin himself, and later makes the hero Khan of the Atlas Empire.

* Franchise/DCUniverse villain ComicBook/VandalSavage, who is also immortal, has used [[JuliusBeethovenDaVinci multiple aliases throughout his history]] as a conqueror and villain, with "Genghis Khan" merely having been one of them.

He's mentioned far more in Chinese and ''especially'' Central Asian stories and culture than in Western Europe, the latter having had very little if anything to do with him. In Western European (and by extension North American) culture, [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation he is either shown as]] a tolerant and just ruler who helped bring order in a chaotic period, or as a [[BarbarianTribe ruthless barbarian who slaughtered swathes of innocents for personal gain]]. The truth is a mixture of the two. He was a revolutionary conqueror in Asia for the time in that he allowed almost total freedom of religion, did not impose on the cultures of the defeated, and established a vast and effective trade and postal network that were of great benefits to most parts of Asia - particularly given the long disintegration and decline of the Southern Song dynasty under the strain of fighting their [[ForeverWar fifty-year stalemate war]] with the Jin dynasty founded by the Jurchens (a Tungusic tribe ancestral to the Manchus who had taken the entire north China plain from them, thus the 'Southern' Song). On the other hand, [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill he was absolutely ruthless]] to anyone who dared to resist his [[TheHorde Mongol hordes]]. He was not above biological warfare or using living prisoners as {{human shield}}s. Plus, they would often massacre people who resisted. The Iranian plateau lost three-quarters of its population and didn't recover until the mid-20th century. Entire cities were leveled to the ground [[MakeAnExampleOfThem as examples]]; to this day, some areas in Central Asia are disproportionately populated compared to their surroundings thanks to these ''13th century'' tactics.

->''Conquering the world on horseback is easy.''
->''It is dismounting and governing that is hard.''

Want to know why you [[Film/ThePrincessBride never get involved in a land war in Asia]]? Genghis Khan[[note]]"Chinggis Haan" is a closer pronunciation of his name, primarily due to the fact that Mongolian and many Turkic dialects don't have a hard "c" sound, but generations of English-speakers have pronounced it "Genghis Khan" thanks to an incorrect translation of Persian, so "toe-may-tow/t'-mah-toe". However, the Chinese transliteration of his name is rather accurate: "Chengjisi Han" (成吉思 汗)。[[/note]] (circa 1162 – August 18, 1227), birth name Temujin, is why.

Want to know why you [[Film/ThePrincessBride never get involved in a land war in Asia]]? Genghis Khan[[note]]"Chinggis Haan" is a closer pronunciation of his name, primarily due to the fact that Mongolian and many Turkic dialects don't have a hard c sound, but generations of English-speakers have pronounced it "Genghis Khan" thanks to an incorrect translation of Persian, so "toe-may-tow/t'-mah-toe"[[/note]] (circa 1162 – August 18, 1227), birth name Temujin, is why.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest conquerors who ever lived, this guy did the impossible. He united the UsefulNotes/{{Mongol|ia}}s. And, after accomplishing that, began the conquest of the rest of Asia and made it look easy. The military strategy and laws he laid down allowed the [[FamilyBusiness next generation to expand the empire]] until it ruled over 17% of all land on earth, from Kiev to Fusan, the largest contiguous land empire in history. He and his people were [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szxPar0BcMo truly]] [[WebVideo/CrashCourse exceptional]].

He's mentioned far more in Chinese and ''especially'' Central Asian stories and culture than in Western Europe, the latter having had very little if anything to do with him. In Western European (and by extension North American) culture [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation he is either shown as]] a tolerant and just ruler who helped bring order in a chaotic period, or as a [[BarbarianTribe ruthless barbarian who slaughtered swathes of innocents for personal gain]]. The truth is a mixture of the two. He was a revolutionary conqueror in Asia for the time in that he allowed almost total freedom of religion, did not impose on the cultures of the defeated, and established a vast and effective trade and postal network that were of great benefits to most parts of Asia - particularly given the long disintegration and decline of the Southern Song dynasty under the strain of fighting their [[ForeverWar fifty-year stalemate war]] with the Jin dynasty founded by the Jurchens (a Tungusic tribe ancestral to the Manchus who had taken the entire north China plain from them, thus the 'Southern' Song). On the other hand, [[TheresNoKillLikeOverkill he was absolutely ruthless]] to anyone who dared to resist his [[TheHorde Mongol hordes]]. He was not above biological warfare or using living prisoners as {{human shield}}s. Plus, they would often massacre people who resisted. The Iranian plateau lost three-quarters of its population and didn't recover until the mid-20th century. Entire cities were leveled to the ground [[MakeAnExampleOfThem as examples]]; to this day, some areas in Central Asia are disproportionately populated compared to their surroundings thanks to these ''13th century'' tactics.

Speaking of disproportionate population, in 2003 it was discovered that a y-chromosomal lineage found in about 8% of the population of his former territory (and .5% of the entire world) [[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/02/0214_030214_genghis.html probably came from him]]. His descendents -- the Genghisids -- made up a large part of the aristocracy of the various Imperial regions and vassals, and its successor states across Asia for centuries afterwards. Many leaders more dubiously claimed the "Golden Lineage" as a source of legitimacy, and the latest aspiring Khan ''in spirit'' was a mystically-minded Baltic German Tsarist, Baron UsefulNotes/RomanVonUngernSternberg.

Note: In Korea it is taught that after many consistent invasions and after fighting back and surviving their attacks, the Koreans grew tired of them, giving some of their land to them and then forming an "alliance". Though partially debatable, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Korea it's true that the Koreans survived their attack]] [[SerialEscalation 5 times]] and after the 6th they were "allies" with them. All of which extends to Japan, since the bulk of the army that attacked Japan consisted of Koreans under a Mongolian flag (who says being allies doesn't have its benefits?). However, that could also mean that the Mongolians didn't fail in their invasion of Japan, but Korea did. [[DependingOnTheWriter It all depends on who commissioned the historical text you're reading]].

* WeUsedToBeFriends: Was very close friends with Jamukha Gurkhan for much of his early life. They had a falling out when Temujin tried to be Great Khan. He eventually gave him a quick and honorable death, only at Jamukha's insistence that only one of them could live, and punished the men who betrayed him to him.

* MemeticBadass: In addition to actually cementing himself as this in popular folklore via spreading of rumors and actual war atrocities he committed in his conquests, Genghis Kahn is universally seen as one of the biggest FourStarBadass who ever lived in history. Often to the point of of both his supporters and haters genuinely admitting he was probably the best commander who ever lived in the Medieval period (or at least during his life time). Many authors and film directors often refer to the Khan's memetic folklore warrior image when portraying him in fictional works in which he destroys entire civilization within two weeks, if not several days, upon personally going to a region to take command of the local Mongol force. In so many fictional works taking place in the Medieval period when Khan was alive there is almost always gossip among bystanders in the story about how the world is ending because the Mongols might be coming to their town next to invade and many generals and officers in such stories are often spending a good bulk of their screentime trying to debate how to fight off a possible Mongol Horde invasion. Even video game portrayals imitate Genghis Khan's popular military image where the Mongols are portrayed as the LightningBruiser faction of the game and AI controlling Mongols (often under the same or similar name as the Khan) are often the most difficult to defeat.

* ShootTheMessenger: Averted '''HARD'''. Not only did he ''not'' kill messangers, he crushed the Kwarazmians for killing his messengers.
* TheScourgeOfGod: His quote about being "The punishment of God" sent to chastize the Kwarazmians for killing his emissaries, and much like Atilla the Hun many centuries before him, he was probably imagined it to have been this by his many, ''many'' victims. However, this specific quote comes from a historical record written by a Persian chronicler that was born 20 years after Genghis Khan had already died, so he had no way of witnessing this particular incident meaning that it's perfectly plausible that this would have been an embelishment.

The Mongols themselves only ever commissioned one major historical text, the ''Secret History of the Mongols'' written not long after Genghis Khan's death for the royal family. The original Mongolian script incarnation was lost but the text itself survived in transcribed form with Chinese characters. Only in the 20th Century did English translations (among others) finally become available. It has folklore elements but is considered actually pretty honest next to the sort of glorified flattery one might expect from such a work and is the now a major authority on details of Genghis Khan's life. Probably indirectly responsible for a fair bit of recent re-evaluations of the Mongols as more then blood thirsty barbarians.

* BadassPacifist: His son Jochi and grandson Kublai for a very loose TechnicalPacifist, but in comparison to most of their family's BloodKnight they had a particular emphasis on culture and administration while not really valuing WarIsGlorious. But Jochi was a competent military commander and Kublai was so effective he put down several civil wars, finished the conquest of China, defeated Burma and vassalized Korea.

* Although Genghis Khan doesn't appear in ''VideoGame/GhostOfTsushima'', as the game is set during the historical 1274 Mongol invasion of Japan, BigBad Khotun Khan proclaims himself as the warlord's grandson.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest conquerors who ever lived, this guy did the impossible. He united the UsefulNotes/{{Mongol|ia}}s. And, after accomplishing that, began the conquest of the rest of Asia and made it look easy. The military strategy and laws he laid down allowed the [[FamilyBusiness next generation to expand the empire]] until it ruled over 17% of the world's land, from Kiev to Fusan, the largest contiguous land empire in history. He and his people were [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szxPar0BcMo truly]] [[WebVideo/CrashCourse exceptional]].