Genghis Khan

Fourteen years after it was written, I finished the book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World . I was inspired to learn more about the Khan after listening to The Wrath of the Khans , a Hardcore History podcast. I highly recommend the podcast and the book. We can learn a lot from The Khan that can be applied to business and life.

Second only to Jesus, perhaps no other person has come from such low beginnings, faced extreme hardships, and significantly impacted the world. His father kidnapped his mother and forced her to marry him; his father was killed when he was young; he was abandoned by his tribe to live in poverty; he killed his older half-brother to survive; he was captured and enslaved before making a daring escape; but, he survived to live another day. It doesn’t matter where you came from or what you’ve been through. What really matters is where you’re going.

Genghis Khan revolutionized warfare, conquered nations, and created an empire by being hungry and nimble. He mostly rejected the luxury of palaces, choosing instead a tough life on the Steppe. He even refused to let anyone paint him or make statues in his likeness. But less than three generations later, his descendants lived a royal lifestyle—drunk and content—which led to the erosion of the Mongol Empire’s power. Don’t forget what made you great, and refuse to get drunk with your success.

The Great Khan conquered more nations in 30 years than the Roman Empire did in 400 years. Much of this success came because he thought and acted differently. When conquering lands, the Mongols embraced people, cultures, trade, and commerce. They rejected the age-old idea that members of the nobility were better than ordinary people. Challenge traditions, norms, and the way society views life.

There are a couple of things to note when considering these lessons learned. First, I look at them through the lens of my Christian faith, which makes these principles even clearer.

Second, it’s important not to take a romanticized view of Genghis Kahn. He was fierce and destructive. Some scholars believe the Mongols killed up to 40 Million people, or about 11% of the inhabitants of the earth. After he killed and pillaged, he would often take women as his wives; some estimate nearly 1 in 200 men in the world are his direct descendants. Let that sink in.

Nevertheless, his is a remarkable story. Before he became Genghis Khan, which means “universe ruler,” his birth name was Temüjin, deriving from Mongol words that mean “of iron” and “blacksmith.” In other words, he was an ironworker. That’s a fitting name for a man shaped by blunt force and who became an iron ruler.