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Genghis Khan's Rise · Acedra
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Genghis Khan's Rise
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0:00
The year is 1202, the dawn of a new century. Temüjin Khan now rivals Jamukha in power. The future of the Mongols could fall to either of them, and Temüjin, already a radical, is about to institute yet another set of revolutionary changes to a society that has hardly changed at all in a thousand years Music [Birth of the People]
0:27
One year after the defeat of the Taichiud, an aging Ong Khan sent Temüjin on a new campaign to once again plunder the Tartars Having now grown as a leader and a warrior, Temüjin introduced new changes and tactics which would forever alter the way battle was done on the steppe. See traditional Mongol raids had warriors rushing into camps while their victims either fled, or stayed to defend their possessions. The fighting would then devolve into chaos, as the raiders raced to loot and pillage,
0:56
trying to grab the best prizes for themselves, rather than chasing down enemy warriors. Temüjin realized that these acts of personal greed got in the way of a more complete victory, and left his troops vulnerable to counter-attack from resentful enemies. This raid would be different. He declared that no looting would take place until total victory had been accomplished. Looting would then be done in an organized fashion,
1:20
with all goods being brought to Temüjin and then redistributed among his followers, using much the same system that mountain hunters used to distribute kills at the end of a group hunt. Temüjin also ordered that a share of the wealth be allocated to anybody widowed or orphaned as a result of the raid. This ensured that what had happened to his mother when his father was killed, would never again happen to another Mongol family.
1:44
These changes guaranteed him the support of the poorest people in the tribe. And inspired loyalty among his soldiers, who now knew that their families would be cared for if they fell in battle. But these changes alienated some of his more well-off followers, as it denied them their traditional right to distribute prizes to their underlings as they saw fit. Still it was a trade worth the making, as this move greatly centralized the power of his rule and incentivized loyalty.
2:12
In enriching Temüjin, his followers were also enriching themselves. This new system was a resounding success. For the second time, Temüjin defeated the Tartars. And by postponing the looting until the end of the campaign, the army amassed more wealth than ever before. There was, however a new problem; In keeping with their usual policy of executing leaders and integrating everybody else, They had now captured almost an entire army and all of the civilians.
2:41
The old method had worked great when they were dealing with a clan of hundreds, but the Tartars numbered in the thousands. It was imperative to Temüjin to end the vicious, constant, conflicts between steppe lineages. And it seems to him that integrating everyone under one unified banner was the only way to achieve this. But in order to bring the numerous Tartars into his Khanate he would need the full support of his followers. He summoned a Kurultai to discuss a solution,
3:07
And the one they found was vicious, but effective. They summoned all of the Tartar men and ordered each one to walk by a cart. Every male taller than the linchpin, which held the wheels on the cart, was executed. Once the older and larger Tartar males were culled, the remaining men and their families were taken in as full members of his tribe. Temüjin adopted another Tartar orphan, and took two aristocratic Tartar women as additional wives.
3:34
That handled, Temüjin had yet more ancient traditions to abolish. If he really wanted to establish lasting peace among the steppe tribes, he would have to radically transform their military and tribal system. He would have to do away with the traditional system of kin groups altogether. He organized his warriors into squads of ten, who were then ordered to live and fight together. These groups were of mixed origin and lineage. By forcing people to serve as units rather than kin groups,
4:04
Temüjin managed to break their ancient lineages and ethnic identities. Each squad began with the oldest as their leader, but they could elect any man among them if they chose. Ten of these squads formed the company of one hundred men, one of whom they elected to be their leader. And ten of those companies formed a battalion of one thousand individuals. The leader of each battalion was chosen by Temüjin, further cementing his power. And, under the new system, all members of the tribe,
4:32
regardless of age or gender, had to perform public service for the benefit of the tribe, Including caring for herds, gathering fuel, cooking, repairing weapons or even performing music to entertain the troops. And just like that, there were no more lineages or classes. Everyone worked for the benefit of the tribe, and everyone reaped the rewards. Finally, Temüjin created a closed territory designated as the homeland of the Mongols.
5:00
For its location he chose the sacred site where he had hidden from the Merkit traders in his youth. And he closed it to all outsiders except the Mongol royal family, who would continue to bury their dead and conduct ritual gatherings there for the next two centuries. This land became the secret ritual center of the new Mongol identity. After almost 20 years of work, Temüjin now controlled most of the Mongols. But Jamukha was still a large and looming threat.
5:28
Ong Khan was getting older, but it was not yet clear who would take over for him, so Temüjin decided to force Ong Khan's hand, And proposed that his eldest son Jochi marry one of Ong Khan's daughters. This would be an acknowledgment of Temüjin as his heir. Ong Khan's eldest son, who had no following of his own, was envious of Temüjin's power and relationship with his father. And strongly encouraged Ong Khan to reject the proposal, Despite the fact that doing so would be a grave insult.
5:56
Ong Khan was swayed and he rejected Temüjin outright. Fearing a military response though, Ong Khan quickly devised a nefarious plot to rid himself of Temüjin through trickery. He sent Temüjin a message saying that he had changed his mind, setting a wedding date and inviting Temüjin to come alone to celebrate with the family. So Temüjin set out with a small band to see his patron, confident that he was about to secure his position to succeed Ong Khan as future ruler of the central steppes.
6:25
Then, just one day's ride from Ong Khan's court, one of Temüjin's allies rode up with terrible news; Ong Khan had an army nearby, preparing to wipe him out. Temüjin was trapped. Wildly outnumbered, separated from his allies with the enemy at his heels, He could not afford to fight. He did the only thing he could do; he ordered his small group to scatter in all directions and fled. Temüjin was devastated. This was supposed to be his moment of triumph.
6:55
When he reunited with his followers far from Ong Khan's territory, he found that only a few remained. Some of his relatives had deserted in a panic, others had simply gotten lost on the steppe. Now what few remained faced starvation in their remote exile, And his newly united people were now without their leader. Temüjin resolved to act quickly while Ong Khan basked in the glory of his victory. He sent messengers to his tens of thousands of followers,
7:23
Hoping that they would follow his order to assemble. And amazingly, they did. Imagine tens of thousands of people, Separated from their leader but still converging, maintaining order and discipline. This was the effect of Temüjin's new discipline, his new societal structure. This army thundered toward the unsuspecting Ong Khan, who feasted and celebrated in his palatial golden Yurt. Loyal followers had gone so far as to leave fresh horses for Temüjin's army along the way,
7:54
So they could continue night and day without resting. In the middle of the night, and without warning, Temüjin's army completely surrounded the enemy camp, And crashed down on Ong Khan's court, days before he thought they'd arrive. Nobles fled in all directions, Including Ong Khan and Jamukha, who managed to escape the fighting and flee to the nearby Naiman tribe, the greatest of the tribes not yet conquered by Temüjin. Jamukha made it safely across the Naiman border,
8:22
But Ong Khan was stopped by a guard, who couldn't believe that this hagered old man was the Great Khan he claimed to be, And killed him. Temüjin now turned his sights to the Naiman, Jamika's new ally. Now at last, the decisive battle against Jamukha had finally, finally come. For the first time, Temüjin's new military organization would be put to the test in an all-out battle. Squads of 10 advanced silently in the pre-dawn darkness,
8:51
so the enemy couldn't see how many people were attacking, or from which direction. The squads would then attack and then immediately flee in different directions, making retaliation impossible. After hours of these harrying hit-and-run attacks, Temüjin advanced with a long line of troops, who fired their arrows and then melted back behind the next line; their replacements. The Naiman attempted to counter this by spreading out a long thin line,
9:17
to meet the attacking archers and avoid being flanked. In response, Temüjin switched tactics yet again, rearranging his men into a narrow deep configuration, which allowed them to chisel through the thinned Naiman lines. Victory was swift and complete. Jamukha fled again, and in a poetic twist of fate, ended up hiding in the woods just as Temüjin once had as a boy. Himself now a disgraced outcast bandit at the age of 40. In time, his followers found and delivered him to Temüjin.
9:48
Jamukha asked only for an honorable death, which Temüjin granted. It was finally over. Temüjin had won. At long last, he was to become the Khan of all Mongols.
10:02
Music [The Infinite Steppe] Subscribe! <3
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