What Were Genghis Khan's Achievements

The Universal Ruler, Genghis Khan, stood on the battlefield with the rising sun illuminating the millions of imbrued bodies of the dead. Khan, his features defined with pride and triumph, snatches yet another victory from the hands of his foes. Genghis Khan’s unyielding determination was of a man who would never stop until the world was under one rule, his rule. Despite his time being so short, his legacy would outlive him even after the Mongol Empire fell. Genghis Khan, their most famous leader, led them not just to victory, but also assisted in the development of our world. The Mongols could be titled as a civilized nation because of their time of tranquility called Pax Mongolica, Genghis Khan’s religious tolerance, and their ingenious military

This time period called Pax Mongolica demonstrated the Mongols’ lifestyle as civilized people. For an example, Khan “suppress the traditional causes of tribal warfare, he abolished inherited aristocratic titles. He also forbade the selling and kidnapping of women, banned the enslavement of any Mongol and made livestock theft punishable by death”(Genghis Khan, History.com). Genghis established this system called Yassa because he wouldn’t stand for such violence to occur in his empire. Therefore, Yassa consisted of the Mongol’s standards for society; as shown in the quote, he prohibited more blood from shedding and certain crimes from being committed which resulted in the peace among his people. Pax Mongolica also inspired “rich cultural development for western Asia; that period is referred to as the Pax Mongolica. The arts flourished, especially the illuminating and illustration of sacred Islamic texts and works of secular scholarship. Artists blended such Chinese motifs as lotuses and dragons with typical Muslim styles and themes, which created a unique multicultural artistic blend”(Il-Khanid Dynasty, Blackwell). Pax Mongolica brought cultural diffusion to the Mongols; since it was a period of peace, the Mongols were able to explore the cultures of people who lived within the empire. Those who surrendered to the Mongols brought with them came their customs, religion, knowledge, and skill.

In one particular incident he said, “We mongols believe that there is but one god, by whom we live and by whom we die and towards him we have an upright heart, but just as god gave different fingers to the hand so has he given different ways to men”(William of Rubric, 1254). The quote was an excerpt of a letter Khan wrote to William of Rubric and it was meant to advocate his tolerance toward any and all religions. Khan uses a metaphor that many can understand and interpret his message with full clarity. Fritze demonstrates the Mongol’s elasticity for other religions by writing “Temples for the gods of 12 different religions were located there, along with two mosques and a Nestorian church. Buddhism became popular in Karakorum during Kublai Khan 's reign, and for awhile, the city was known as Erdeni Dzu, the Mongol word for Buddha.”(Karakorum, Fritze). The quote demonstrates the Mongols’ effort to build these sacred temples and mosques for people of different religions. The Mongols aren 't forcing the new comers to convert to their religion because if they had the freedom to still practice their own religion, they are less likely to rebel. Despite that many Mongols even ended up converting to one of the religions that appeared in their area, it allowed for understanding and some sort of similarity among the Empire. Over all, how the Mongols handled the religious situation was in a