1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: I guess, well, well, what's that mango. So did you 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:08,119 Speaker 1: know that Ben Franklin was this huge, huge fan of 3 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: Genghis Khan. I did not. He actually had these books 4 00:00:11,280 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: about Khan and they were popular during the day, and 5 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: he'd circulated them across the colonies. So Ben Franklin was 6 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: kind of Genghis Khan's book publicist. I guess, like, this 7 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,440 Speaker 1: seems like a pretty niche interest here if you if 8 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: you asked me, yeah, I mean. The funny thing is, 9 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 1: it wasn't just Franklin, like, it was a national obsession. 10 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:31,080 Speaker 1: So like Jefferson, he bought a ton of the copies 11 00:00:31,080 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: of this book. He gave him to relatives and gifted 12 00:00:33,360 --> 00:00:36,559 Speaker 1: him libraries. George and Martha Washington had the biography and 13 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: Mount Vernon like for some reason that's never mentioned in 14 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 1: Hamilton's think it is there were even like plays about 15 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: con that were put on stage at the time. But 16 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: this was a super peculiarly American obsession. And people in Europe, 17 00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:52,680 Speaker 1: I mean, they had some interest in Genghis Khan, but 18 00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:54,680 Speaker 1: I guess the reason it was so popular in the 19 00:00:54,760 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: US was they were really looking for new non European 20 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: heroes to look up to and also new models of government, 21 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: and weirdly enough, Genghis Khan kind of fit into both 22 00:01:04,760 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: those categories. But as we poke around his biography, we 23 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:10,320 Speaker 1: wanted to know how much of a hero was Genghis Khan, 24 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:14,280 Speaker 1: Like why was he so enamored with a meritocracy? And 25 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:17,360 Speaker 1: did he really invent the hamburger? So let's dive in 26 00:01:38,840 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: pay their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm 27 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:43,440 Speaker 1: Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good 28 00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:45,960 Speaker 1: friend Mangesh Ticketer and sitting on the other side of 29 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: the soundproof glass wearing yet another perfectly themed shirt. I mean, 30 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: this guy nails it every time. That's our friends and 31 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: producer Tristan McNeil. And actually I forget what it says exactly. 32 00:01:56,720 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: Can you show us, Tristan, it says if Genghis Khan 33 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: sokn you. I mean, you know, it's just spot on 34 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: mango that is so terrible and it almost feels like 35 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: a bad motivational poster. But I have a feeling that's 36 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: not an original Genghis Khan quote. No, I don't. I 37 00:02:12,960 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: don't think it is. It feels a little more Tristan, 38 00:02:15,200 --> 00:02:17,639 Speaker 1: if you know what I mean? But what's clear from 39 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:20,720 Speaker 1: this week's reading is that Genghis Khan didn't need motivational 40 00:02:20,800 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: phrases or a life coach to get things done. I mean, 41 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: this was a born go getter. And in roughly two 42 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: and a half decades, Genghis Khan and his army conquered 43 00:02:29,360 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: more lands and people than the Romans did over a 44 00:02:31,960 --> 00:02:35,480 Speaker 1: four hundred years span. I mean, that is just insane 45 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: to me, like four hundred years of Roman rule and 46 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:40,239 Speaker 1: and like they didn't accomplish what Genghis Kan did in 47 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 1: two and a half decades. But you know what's weird 48 00:02:42,720 --> 00:02:45,160 Speaker 1: and Gabe told us to me is that Genghis Khan 49 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,799 Speaker 1: was apparently a really good boss, which is just such 50 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: a funny idea to me, Like, I love the idea 51 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,080 Speaker 1: of Genghis just you know, sitting behind a desk pile 52 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: of paperwork, like sipping from his world's best boss mug. 53 00:02:57,840 --> 00:03:01,839 Speaker 1: But apparently this is true. He had all these progressive policies, 54 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:06,639 Speaker 1: like um, he granted universal religious freedom, he abolished torture. 55 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: Uh in just about every country the Mongols took over, 56 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: the quality of life actually improved for the citizens. I mean, 57 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,240 Speaker 1: as long as they pledged the loyalty to con things 58 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:17,360 Speaker 1: got better, and that's really what we wanted to get 59 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:19,840 Speaker 1: to the bottom of that today's show, like who was 60 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: the real Genghis Khan? Was he a super innovative, ahead 61 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: of his time mastermind or or was he just this 62 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: blood thirst deep barbarian who kind of cleverly slaughtered his 63 00:03:28,720 --> 00:03:31,640 Speaker 1: way to the top. Well, before we get into that debate, 64 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:33,360 Speaker 1: I feel like we should start with a little bit 65 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: of a recap on how Genghis rose to power, and 66 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: to do that, I feel like we really need to 67 00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 1: set the scene a little bit. So this may be 68 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:42,680 Speaker 1: a little bit weird, but Tristan, if you don't mind, 69 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: I feel like we need a little bit of mood 70 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:49,200 Speaker 1: music here. So picture life for a twelfth century Mongol 71 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:51,840 Speaker 1: And at the time there were about a million nomadic 72 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: people living on the Central Asian step and this is 73 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:58,040 Speaker 1: not too far from the border between modern Mongolia and Siberia. 74 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,240 Speaker 1: And as you might imagine, life was pretty brutal, to 75 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 1: say the least, and you had dozens of different tribes 76 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: living in the same general area, all vying for these 77 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: same limited resources. That's funny because, like the way you 78 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:14,600 Speaker 1: described it started out so pastoral and romantic, and then 79 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:17,280 Speaker 1: it ended kind of like a really terrible game of Katan, 80 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: or like game of Throne. That's exactly what it sounds like. 81 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:24,080 Speaker 1: But so it was really a terrible time, and because 82 00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: of that scarcity, everyone was always drinking and fighting and 83 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: stealing from each other. People were afraid to go out 84 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,279 Speaker 1: after dark, and it was really just a chaotic way 85 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: of life by most accounts, at least, like I read 86 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:37,720 Speaker 1: that most people slept on top of their weapons just 87 00:04:37,760 --> 00:04:41,160 Speaker 1: in case anyone tried something during the night. And this 88 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: is the world Genghis Khan was born into in the 89 00:04:43,279 --> 00:04:46,920 Speaker 1: early eleven sixties. So according to the myths, he came 90 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,119 Speaker 1: out of his mother clutching a blood clot and his fist, 91 00:04:50,200 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 1: which is an odd detail and I don't really know 92 00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:55,400 Speaker 1: exactly what that means, but I guess it was supposed 93 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: to be a sign that he was destined to be 94 00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: a great leader. I love that that's the re sure, 95 00:05:01,920 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: which is a nice story. But you know, even without 96 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 1: that blood clot, the boy would have been in line 97 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:09,039 Speaker 1: for a pretty kush leadership role. So he was the 98 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:11,840 Speaker 1: son of a Mongol chieftain. He was the head of 99 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:16,400 Speaker 1: the Borgigan clan, and this was composed of around families, 100 00:05:16,400 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 1: and because Asia's feudal system was what it was, it 101 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,200 Speaker 1: favored class and ancestry, and that kind of set Genghis 102 00:05:22,279 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 1: up nicely well. And besides, his name was Genghis Khan, 103 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:29,040 Speaker 1: which literally translated means universal ruler. I mean, I think 104 00:05:29,040 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: if you have a kid with a name like that, 105 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 1: it's pretty clear what the plan is. Yeah, I mean, 106 00:05:34,320 --> 00:05:36,600 Speaker 1: you're right, that's what the name means. But the boy 107 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:38,960 Speaker 1: who would be Khan actually didn't go by that name 108 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,680 Speaker 1: until he was already in his forties. Before that, he 109 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: was actually called Timidgen, which was the Mongol word for blacksmith, 110 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: and his dad actually took that name from an enemy 111 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 1: chief that he'd recently captured, so he was named for 112 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: an enemy. Apparently it was this common practice in Mongol 113 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,160 Speaker 1: culture to name a newborn after some kind of important event, 114 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:01,839 Speaker 1: like something good that happened recently. So I guess you 115 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,400 Speaker 1: could say that like Timidgen wasn't so much named after 116 00:06:04,520 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 1: the father's enemy, but I guess the capture of that enemy, 117 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:09,960 Speaker 1: and I guess that makes a little more sense. It's 118 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: still a little but so if Timidgen's dad was this 119 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:16,480 Speaker 1: hot shot clan leader and the soldier. Does that mean 120 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: Genghis Khan was basically born into success and just kind 121 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:21,880 Speaker 1: of expanded the empire because I don't know, I always 122 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:23,839 Speaker 1: had this thought of him as as being more of 123 00:06:23,839 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: a self made man. Yeah, me too. But you know, 124 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: for the most part, Mongol leaders went through the same 125 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:31,320 Speaker 1: hardships as their people, So it's not like his family 126 00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,159 Speaker 1: status really put him on easy street or anything. But 127 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: Genghis's story actually takes a turn for the worst before 128 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: things start to go really well for him. So, when 129 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,679 Speaker 1: Timidgin was just nine years old, his father was poisoned 130 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:45,760 Speaker 1: to death by assassins from Arrival Klan, and since he 131 00:06:45,880 --> 00:06:48,720 Speaker 1: was so young, Timiden wasn't given the chance to take 132 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:51,360 Speaker 1: over for his father obviously, you know, like a nine 133 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: year old is not going to lead however many people. 134 00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:56,360 Speaker 1: But you know, instead of being able to live among 135 00:06:56,440 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 1: the tribe, the clan kind of saw his family as 136 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:01,320 Speaker 1: a burden now and that they'd have to be responsible 137 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: for feeding and housing. So instead Timagen, along with his 138 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: mother and their six siblings were banished from their own clan. Wow, 139 00:07:10,240 --> 00:07:12,239 Speaker 1: I mean this is honestly, it feels like the start 140 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: of I don't know, like a good superhero origin story. 141 00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,080 Speaker 1: Maybe it's because I saw the recent Spider Man movie, 142 00:07:17,120 --> 00:07:20,760 Speaker 1: but that just just feels that's coming, yeah, into the 143 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: Genghas verse. But you know, things don't get easier for 144 00:07:24,720 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: Genghas here. Like during his teenage years, they're spent mostly 145 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: hunting and foraging with his family. There's this really low 146 00:07:31,400 --> 00:07:34,679 Speaker 1: point in their situation where Timidgen actually murders his older 147 00:07:34,720 --> 00:07:38,200 Speaker 1: half brother because his brother isn't sharing the limited food 148 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: they have. I mean, that's how bleak things get. And 149 00:07:41,240 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: then after facing his mother and grappling with what he'd done, somehow, 150 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:49,320 Speaker 1: things even get worse for Timidgen. So while foraging for food, 151 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: he gets captured and enslaved by the same clan that 152 00:07:52,240 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: had banished him a few years earlier. Oh my gosh. 153 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: You know, you think about abandoning his family being bad enough, 154 00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:00,120 Speaker 1: But but what happened though? He must have escaped at 155 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,600 Speaker 1: some point, yeah, I mean pretty soon after his capture 156 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,520 Speaker 1: he got away, and it was kind of this morale boost, 157 00:08:06,520 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: strangely for him, because after that he decided he was 158 00:08:08,880 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: strong enough to return to society, and now he had 159 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:13,880 Speaker 1: kind of a chip on his shoulder, so he decided 160 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: to go in and asked to marry the woman that 161 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,239 Speaker 1: had been betrothed to them just before his father's death. 162 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: It's kind of a confusing image though, like so he 163 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:24,440 Speaker 1: just storms back into the village and makes these demands 164 00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:28,320 Speaker 1: and does that work or what? Yeah, So this is 165 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:30,600 Speaker 1: actually where things start to turn around for Timigen. So 166 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:33,280 Speaker 1: he convinces the tribe leader to honor this old agreement 167 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,960 Speaker 1: with his father, and Timidgen's allowed to marry the chief's 168 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:40,640 Speaker 1: daughter named Borte, And now Timidgen's honor is more or 169 00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:43,679 Speaker 1: less restored. He kind of has a place in society again. 170 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: And uh, you know, this is ancient Mongolia we're talking about, 171 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,960 Speaker 1: so so things don't stay that peaceful for long. Pretty 172 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,520 Speaker 1: soon after the wedding, this rival tribe goes on a 173 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,640 Speaker 1: raid and during the scuffle, Timidgen's bride is kidnapped and 174 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:58,080 Speaker 1: carried away on horseback. But it's like they can't get 175 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,160 Speaker 1: a break, like nothing is easy in this cult where 176 00:09:00,160 --> 00:09:02,600 Speaker 1: it seems like I know, and and he's he's kind 177 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,000 Speaker 1: of like the ziggy of Mongols like that thinks keep 178 00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:07,440 Speaker 1: happening to him. But this ends up being like the 179 00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:10,520 Speaker 1: last straw for Timogen. So right then, like backing down, 180 00:09:10,840 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: he rallies some friends and he rides out and he 181 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:17,160 Speaker 1: rescues Borte, and he kind of realized he's good at this. 182 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: And and with those connections established and he's got this win, 183 00:09:20,679 --> 00:09:24,079 Speaker 1: he starts to form alliances and then he attracts more followers, 184 00:09:24,120 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: and over the course of the next few years, this 185 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,040 Speaker 1: just keeps growing and growing, and he gradually consolidates all 186 00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 1: the various nomadic tribes one by one, until in twelve 187 00:09:32,240 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 1: o five when Timodgen best the very last of his rivals, 188 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:39,400 Speaker 1: Like he's now looking for more things to do, and 189 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:42,920 Speaker 1: and at this point, like the Mongols really have established 190 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:46,079 Speaker 1: their leadership, Like he's toppled the entire structure that I've 191 00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: been there before. The step tribes are all united for 192 00:09:48,960 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: the first time in history, and honestly, everything is about 193 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:56,120 Speaker 1: to change. And the following year, Timogen calls together representatives 194 00:09:56,120 --> 00:09:58,920 Speaker 1: from every part of the region, and once they're gathered, 195 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 1: he informs them there now all part of this brand 196 00:10:01,240 --> 00:10:04,319 Speaker 1: new nation. It's going to be organized by these universal laws. 197 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:07,360 Speaker 1: It's going to be overseen by a universal ruler him 198 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:10,079 Speaker 1: And at the end of the meeting, Timagen has proclaimed 199 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 1: Chengis Khan, or the universal Ruler, and uh, you know, 200 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: in the West this gets translated as Genghis Khan. Al Right, 201 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:18,880 Speaker 1: So just to kind of wrap my head around this 202 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,120 Speaker 1: whole thing, I mentioned that we're about a million people 203 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,800 Speaker 1: living on the step when Khan came to power. So 204 00:10:24,600 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, the prince, turned outcast, turned slave 205 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:31,920 Speaker 1: is now in charge of a million people. Is this right? Yeah? 206 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:35,840 Speaker 1: It is this miraculous return to grace. And and you 207 00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:37,360 Speaker 1: know he really meant it when he came out of 208 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,480 Speaker 1: the womb clutching that blood clout, I guess, because that 209 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: was just the start of it. But uh, you know, 210 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: with the tribe United, con spent the next two decades 211 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: just growing and growing this empire. And at the peak 212 00:10:49,280 --> 00:10:52,240 Speaker 1: of his power, the Mongol leader controlled roughly twelve million 213 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,600 Speaker 1: contiguous square miles, which was more than twice as much 214 00:10:55,679 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 1: land as any other person before or since. And at 215 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:02,640 Speaker 1: the heart of that conquest was this ferocious but highly 216 00:11:02,720 --> 00:11:06,199 Speaker 1: disciplined Mongol army composed of just a hundred thousand men. 217 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:09,440 Speaker 1: I'm curious to like, how could such a small army 218 00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: conquered that much territory? Like, I know it happened, but 219 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: it really feels impossible. Yeah, and I think it wouldn't 220 00:11:16,640 --> 00:11:19,000 Speaker 1: have been possible for most countries. But that's really where 221 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:21,800 Speaker 1: Genghis Khan's genius comes in. Like the innovations he brought 222 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,480 Speaker 1: to society and warfare really made it possible for his 223 00:11:24,520 --> 00:11:26,880 Speaker 1: people not only to conquer an empire, but to run 224 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:29,720 Speaker 1: it effectively once the fighting was done. And so what 225 00:11:29,800 --> 00:11:31,840 Speaker 1: kind of innovations are we talking about? Like, what what 226 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,120 Speaker 1: did Genghas do differently that made his reign so successful? 227 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,440 Speaker 1: I mean all kinds of things, but I'd say one 228 00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:39,839 Speaker 1: of the most important was the way he dealt with 229 00:11:39,880 --> 00:11:42,680 Speaker 1: the people in the places he conquered. Like his whole 230 00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: focus was expansion. He wanted to extend his empire and 231 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: grow his hoard, and that meant that wholesale slaughter was 232 00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:51,640 Speaker 1: really out of the question. And that doesn't mean he 233 00:11:51,679 --> 00:11:54,520 Speaker 1: didn't kill people. He killed plenty of people. It's just 234 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 1: that his army always needed new recruits, and any nation 235 00:11:58,120 --> 00:11:59,920 Speaker 1: that was conquered had plenty of them waiting in the way. 236 00:12:00,320 --> 00:12:02,079 Speaker 1: The only catch was that these people would have to 237 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:04,319 Speaker 1: be treated well enough that they wouldn't mind joining forces 238 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:08,079 Speaker 1: with him and also bending the need in So how 239 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:12,240 Speaker 1: did he make these people convert? Well, once he conquered 240 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,559 Speaker 1: a nation, he killed the leaders on the spot, but 241 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:17,440 Speaker 1: he had kind of like a weird justification for that, 242 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: like he thought those kings and royals or chieftains like 243 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,560 Speaker 1: they all deserved it for leading their people into a 244 00:12:22,600 --> 00:12:25,719 Speaker 1: war they couldn't win. And then he also killed off 245 00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,720 Speaker 1: the wealthy ruling class because on one hand he considered 246 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:31,480 Speaker 1: them soft, but he also figured he could never really 247 00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:35,559 Speaker 1: win their loyalty anyway. But everyone else, if they surrendered, 248 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,520 Speaker 1: they were spared, and anyone with useful skills was allowed 249 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:41,439 Speaker 1: to stay and essentially carry on with their lives pretty 250 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,600 Speaker 1: much as usual, though now with sort of greater security. 251 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 1: And this was for really any type of skills, so 252 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:51,640 Speaker 1: like basket weavers and and those with ability to write 253 00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: were essentially as valued as those who farmed or forged weapons. 254 00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:58,880 Speaker 1: All right, So what about the conquered citizens who didn't 255 00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: have certain skills, Like, what would happen to these people? Yeah, 256 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:04,800 Speaker 1: I mean they were spared as well. They were typically 257 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 1: forced into labor or or sometimes used as human chields 258 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:10,640 Speaker 1: in the army's next battle, which was I'm sure, a 259 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:13,320 Speaker 1: little less appealing for them. It's kind of a kind 260 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:15,920 Speaker 1: of a mixed bag for these people. Yeah, I mean, 261 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:18,280 Speaker 1: you might have been progressive, but he was still, you know, 262 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: a con but uh um, you know, Genghis was still 263 00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 1: this incredibly harsh and violent guy when he had to be. 264 00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 1: But before we get into the mass murder and the 265 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:30,520 Speaker 1: city burning, I do want to spend a little more 266 00:13:30,559 --> 00:13:34,040 Speaker 1: time building the case for Khan as a great progressive. Well. 267 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:35,400 Speaker 1: I can't wait to see what you come up with, 268 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:53,280 Speaker 1: but first, let's take a quick break. You're listening to 269 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:55,640 Speaker 1: Part Time Genius and we're talking about the softer side 270 00:13:55,640 --> 00:13:57,560 Speaker 1: of Genghis Khan. At least I think that's what we're 271 00:13:57,559 --> 00:13:59,280 Speaker 1: about to talk about. Yeah, it almost feels like a 272 00:13:59,320 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 1: Hallmark movie, right, it should be all right? Well, migo, 273 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:04,400 Speaker 1: before the break, you were playing devil's advocate for Khan 274 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:07,520 Speaker 1: and laying out some of the surprisingly tolerant views he 275 00:14:07,559 --> 00:14:09,400 Speaker 1: had held. But do you do you want to give 276 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,960 Speaker 1: us a few more examples of him. Yeah, definitely, so again, 277 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 1: so much of what he did differently came down to 278 00:14:14,880 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 1: how he treated his subjects, and those were really not 279 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: just his own people, but the people from the conquered territories. Basically, 280 00:14:22,280 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: he knew that if he kept people happy, they'd be 281 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:27,880 Speaker 1: less likely to rebel, and his empire would continue to 282 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:30,360 Speaker 1: grow as a result. So with that in mind, Khan 283 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:34,080 Speaker 1: created universal laws aimed at keeping the peace and preventing 284 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:37,600 Speaker 1: the infighting that had previously plagued his tribe. So first 285 00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:40,880 Speaker 1: and foremost, he granted religious freedom to everyone under his rule. 286 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,200 Speaker 1: This was super crucial because so many of his followers 287 00:14:44,280 --> 00:14:50,920 Speaker 1: practice completely different religions. So within his ranks you'd find Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhist, Taoists, 288 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,720 Speaker 1: and and even people who followed animistic traditions like the 289 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: shamanism Genghis Khan himself practiced. And then his new regions 290 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,840 Speaker 1: fell to the Mongol invaders, religious representation within a hoard 291 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: became more and more diverse. But you know, con didn't 292 00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 1: stopped just that tolerance. He he also rewarded piety by 293 00:15:08,520 --> 00:15:12,120 Speaker 1: exempting religious personnel and places of worship from paying taxes, 294 00:15:12,440 --> 00:15:15,880 Speaker 1: which is kind of a huge boon. And he also 295 00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:19,400 Speaker 1: exempted any person whose profession contributed to the common goods. 296 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 1: So if you think about it, like these are people 297 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 1: like teachers, doctors, undertakers, all of them were exempt as well. 298 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,880 Speaker 1: And uh, you know, as we mentioned earlier, Genghis also 299 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: outlawed other traditional practices at the time, like torturing prisoners, uh, 300 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,760 Speaker 1: kidnapping women, and taking other Mongols as servants or slaves. 301 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:40,960 Speaker 1: And as you might have noticed, that some of those 302 00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: decisions drew directly from his own life experiences. So his 303 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:46,720 Speaker 1: wife had been kidnapped, he himself had been slaved as 304 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: a teenager, and all this taught him firsthand that you 305 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 1: can't really build a healthy community or economy when fellow 306 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 1: citizens are living in bondage. Wow. I mean, those are 307 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:59,320 Speaker 1: great examples, and I feel like you make a compelling 308 00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 1: point here. But there was one example that I thought 309 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: you would include here, one of really I think his 310 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,400 Speaker 1: biggest achievements, and that is, of course, that he devised 311 00:16:07,440 --> 00:16:10,480 Speaker 1: one of the first international postal systems in the world. 312 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,600 Speaker 1: Like it was basically an early version of the Pony Express. 313 00:16:13,880 --> 00:16:16,800 Speaker 1: That's right. So here's a breakdown that actually saw on 314 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:19,200 Speaker 1: history dot com. I thought it would just read it directly, 315 00:16:19,240 --> 00:16:21,920 Speaker 1: so it says one of his earliest decrees as con 316 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,480 Speaker 1: involved the formation of a mounted courier service known as 317 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:29,080 Speaker 1: the Yam. This medieval express consisted of a well organized 318 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,600 Speaker 1: series of post houses and way stations strung across the 319 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: whole empire. By stopping to rest or take on a 320 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:39,120 Speaker 1: fresh mount every few miles, official writers could often travel 321 00:16:39,160 --> 00:16:42,120 Speaker 1: as far as two hundred miles a day. The system 322 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:46,320 Speaker 1: allowed goods and information to travel with unprecedented speed, but 323 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: also acted as the eyes and ears of the con 324 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:52,320 Speaker 1: Thanks to the Am, Genghis could easily keep abreast of 325 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:56,520 Speaker 1: military and political developments and maintain contact with his extensive 326 00:16:56,600 --> 00:17:01,080 Speaker 1: network of spies and scouts. I love that it's called 327 00:17:01,160 --> 00:17:05,159 Speaker 1: Yam first off, that feels like such a weird, fun branding, 328 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:08,560 Speaker 1: But I I think you're right that is way too 329 00:17:08,560 --> 00:17:11,240 Speaker 1: cool to leave out, especially since it's such a great 330 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:15,000 Speaker 1: example of like advantages that Khan's army had over other people. 331 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:17,479 Speaker 1: And speaking of advantage is one of my favorite things 332 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: about Genghis Kan's leadership style is the way he used 333 00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 1: his army's diversity as a strength. Like if you remember 334 00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,919 Speaker 1: all those skilled workers they accumulated from fallen cities, you 335 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:31,720 Speaker 1: know he had brought in these engineers, craftsmen, experts on 336 00:17:31,760 --> 00:17:36,320 Speaker 1: everything from like Chinese metallurgy to um to Arabian mathematicians. 337 00:17:36,600 --> 00:17:39,919 Speaker 1: And because Khan put all religions and cultures on the 338 00:17:39,920 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: same equal footing, he was able to wield this big 339 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:47,560 Speaker 1: melting pot of international expertise however he wanted, which is amazing. 340 00:17:47,600 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: But what did he do with this? Exactly? Like, I 341 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,280 Speaker 1: feel like the Mongols mostly fought on horseback with bow 342 00:17:52,359 --> 00:17:55,760 Speaker 1: and arrows, So how do you improve on that? Yeah, 343 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,640 Speaker 1: I mean that archer approach worked really well early, and 344 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: so when enemy is retreated behind city walls, Mongols could 345 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,520 Speaker 1: just aim higher and pepper them with arrows until they surrendered. 346 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,560 Speaker 1: But it got harder and harder as word got out, 347 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,800 Speaker 1: so you know, the nations started building up their defenses, 348 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,520 Speaker 1: walls got taller and stronger. It became clear that Mongols 349 00:18:14,520 --> 00:18:17,240 Speaker 1: would have to like change their tactics, and that's where 350 00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: the fleet of engineers and craftsmen really come in. So 351 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:23,919 Speaker 1: pretty soon the Mongols were catapulting these iron balls filled 352 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 1: with gunpowder over the walls or just straight up tearing 353 00:18:27,359 --> 00:18:30,600 Speaker 1: down the walls with grappling hooks, and on at least 354 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:33,320 Speaker 1: one occasion, the army diverted the flow of an entire 355 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:36,120 Speaker 1: river as a way to flood a walled city and 356 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,119 Speaker 1: force the people out. Isn't the insane It really is. 357 00:18:39,200 --> 00:18:41,200 Speaker 1: I mean, you look back at this and you think, 358 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:44,840 Speaker 1: not only is he building this huge and sweeping empire, 359 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,439 Speaker 1: but he's also changing the face of warfare. In the 360 00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:51,120 Speaker 1: process of all of this exactly. But beyond all these tactics, 361 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:53,760 Speaker 1: Con also changed the way armies were structured and ranked. 362 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:56,639 Speaker 1: So in the past, Mongol armies had been organized according 363 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,440 Speaker 1: to the same feudal system that governed society as a whole. 364 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:02,840 Speaker 1: Officers were appointed and promoted based on which class they 365 00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 1: belonged to or who they were related to. But again, 366 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: Genghis Khan was having none of this right, he had 367 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,439 Speaker 1: this traumatic childhood experience, so that really showed him the 368 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:14,000 Speaker 1: flaws of the system. So, rather than perpetuating something he 369 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:17,399 Speaker 1: saw and had experienced as broken, Con decided to up 370 00:19:17,480 --> 00:19:20,080 Speaker 1: end that too, and he started promoting his officers based 371 00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,720 Speaker 1: on individual merit and skill. And this setup, which feels 372 00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:26,440 Speaker 1: kind of obvious and almost American, you can see why 373 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:29,119 Speaker 1: all those founding fathers liked him. It really made his 374 00:19:29,200 --> 00:19:32,399 Speaker 1: soldiers work harder to distinguish themselves, since all of a 375 00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,000 Speaker 1: sudden they felt like they had this chance to improve 376 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: their standing and it was on them to do it. Yeah. 377 00:19:37,560 --> 00:19:39,840 Speaker 1: I was actually reading this week about how Khan was 378 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:42,360 Speaker 1: a big fan of meritocracy, which we kind of alluded 379 00:19:42,400 --> 00:19:44,560 Speaker 1: to earlier. But you know, it makes sense when you 380 00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:46,439 Speaker 1: look back at how he had to prove himself to 381 00:19:46,520 --> 00:19:49,400 Speaker 1: his fellow tribe members. But I feel like the clearest 382 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,679 Speaker 1: example of his philosophy is from this early encounter his 383 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:56,119 Speaker 1: army had with a rival tribe. So this enemy archer 384 00:19:56,200 --> 00:19:59,160 Speaker 1: managed to shoot down Genghis Khan's horse in the heat 385 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:02,119 Speaker 1: of battle, and when the horse fell, it nearly killed 386 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:04,639 Speaker 1: Khan on its way down. And in the end, the 387 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:08,640 Speaker 1: Mongols were victorious and the opposing soldiers were all taken prisoner. 388 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:11,760 Speaker 1: And so at this point Genghis demands to know who 389 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: the archer was that had shot his horse. I mean, 390 00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:17,680 Speaker 1: who knows if he actually expected anybody to raise their 391 00:20:17,720 --> 00:20:20,640 Speaker 1: hand and kind of cop to it. But he might 392 00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: have just been looking for an excuse to punish all 393 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,160 Speaker 1: of them. I guess, at least that's what I would 394 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:27,240 Speaker 1: have thought if I were in that position. And this 395 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,520 Speaker 1: is Genghis Khan we're talking about. But anyway, at any rate, 396 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,399 Speaker 1: after a pause, one soldier steps forward and admits to 397 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: having shot the arrow. And this kind of bravery actually 398 00:20:37,080 --> 00:20:40,520 Speaker 1: catches Genghis off guard, so rather than having the man 399 00:20:40,720 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 1: killed where he stood, Genghis immediately pardons him and makes 400 00:20:44,359 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: him a ranking officer in his army. In fact, contakes 401 00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:50,199 Speaker 1: to the guy so well that he even gives him 402 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:52,479 Speaker 1: one of those callback nicknames like he had when he 403 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 1: was a kid. So what do you mean, like he 404 00:20:55,760 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: he gets a name like almost shot me or something. 405 00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:01,359 Speaker 1: It's really not far from that. kN actually started calling 406 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,359 Speaker 1: him jeb A, which means arrow. And yeah, you might 407 00:21:04,400 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: assume that being renamed by a conquering warlord would rub 408 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,880 Speaker 1: this guy the wrong way, but Jeb didn't mind one bit. 409 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:14,040 Speaker 1: He remained loyal to Khan throughout his life and eventually 410 00:21:14,119 --> 00:21:17,719 Speaker 1: became one of his most successful and respected field commanders. 411 00:21:17,760 --> 00:21:21,680 Speaker 1: And in this entire vast army, Oh Jeffy, and I'm 412 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 1: surprised we don't hear that name more often. Well, don't 413 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,760 Speaker 1: sing his praises too much. Remember, being an effective general 414 00:21:26,880 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 1: really just means he was super good at killing people, 415 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: like a lot of people. Sure, So, now that we've 416 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:36,680 Speaker 1: covered what a tolerant, unifying statesman genghas Khan was we 417 00:21:36,720 --> 00:21:39,040 Speaker 1: should probably address the pile of dead elephants in the 418 00:21:39,119 --> 00:21:42,280 Speaker 1: room and talk about just how bloody his rise to 419 00:21:42,320 --> 00:21:45,280 Speaker 1: power really was. Yeah, I mean, the progressive policies were 420 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: great and all, but it's hard to get around the 421 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:49,960 Speaker 1: fact that Genghis Khan was also responsible for the deaths 422 00:21:49,960 --> 00:21:53,199 Speaker 1: of as many as forty million people. So I I 423 00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:56,000 Speaker 1: didn't realize the head count was actually that high. The 424 00:21:56,040 --> 00:21:58,960 Speaker 1: official number is forty million people. I mean, there's no 425 00:21:59,119 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 1: official numbers, not like anybody was keeping track out on 426 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:04,359 Speaker 1: the battlefield or anything like that. But the best guess 427 00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:07,520 Speaker 1: according to historians is that somewhere around forty million people 428 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,919 Speaker 1: were killed during Genghis Khan's conquest of Asia and of 429 00:22:10,960 --> 00:22:14,399 Speaker 1: course Europe. I mean that is staggering. So how are 430 00:22:14,440 --> 00:22:17,480 Speaker 1: they getting that sort of number if there's no written record. Well, 431 00:22:17,520 --> 00:22:19,720 Speaker 1: there's no written record from the battles, but that doesn't 432 00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:21,919 Speaker 1: mean there are no records at all. I mean, we 433 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,200 Speaker 1: actually have details sensus reports from the Middle Ages, and 434 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:28,640 Speaker 1: those show that the population of China dropped by tens 435 00:22:28,640 --> 00:22:32,040 Speaker 1: of millions during Khan's lifetime. So when you add up 436 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,640 Speaker 1: all the circumstantial evidence, it's likely that the Mongols rampage 437 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:39,960 Speaker 1: reduced as much as eleven percent of the entire world population. 438 00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: That is horrific. I feel like I can't even wrap 439 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,119 Speaker 1: my head around that amount of carnage. Yeah, I mean, 440 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:48,240 Speaker 1: it's definitely a lot to process. But on the bright side, though, 441 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:50,679 Speaker 1: there are these studies that show that something like point 442 00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:54,480 Speaker 1: five percent of the global population is descended from Genghis Khan. 443 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:56,919 Speaker 1: So I guess you could make the case that he 444 00:22:57,040 --> 00:23:00,639 Speaker 1: indirectly replaced all these lives that he took. But I 445 00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:02,639 Speaker 1: don't think you could really say that makes up for 446 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:07,080 Speaker 1: too much. What a hot take to make that case. 447 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:09,920 Speaker 1: But uh, you know, instead, let's take another quick break 448 00:23:10,119 --> 00:23:12,359 Speaker 1: and then when we come back, let's talk about how 449 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:31,840 Speaker 1: Genghis Khan might have affected climate change. Okay, well, so 450 00:23:32,160 --> 00:23:35,119 Speaker 1: was Genghis Khan a blood thirsty tyrant or was he 451 00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:39,439 Speaker 1: a progressive champion of the people? We need your take. Well, 452 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:40,640 Speaker 1: you know, at the end of the day, and I've 453 00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 1: been thinking about this, I'd have to say my answer 454 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,920 Speaker 1: is a resounding yes. Sure, So yes to both. I'm 455 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,399 Speaker 1: guessing yes to both. I mean, I don't know what 456 00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: the other conclusion you could draw, really, I mean, on 457 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:55,480 Speaker 1: the one hand, he was tolerant of other religions, other cultures, 458 00:23:56,480 --> 00:24:00,080 Speaker 1: relatively kind to women and prisoners, a staunch defender of 459 00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:02,680 Speaker 1: the rule of law. I mean, his life as the 460 00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:06,000 Speaker 1: underdog story for the ages. And it just so happens 461 00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,640 Speaker 1: that this really innovative and inspirational figure was also a 462 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:11,920 Speaker 1: mass murderer, like the likes of which the world had 463 00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:16,560 Speaker 1: never seen before and honestly hopefully we'll never see again. Yeah, 464 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,639 Speaker 1: he's definitely a difficult figure to pin down, but you know, 465 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:21,600 Speaker 1: in my mind, there are some things that do come 466 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:24,359 Speaker 1: across as kind of tough but fair. Like his laws 467 00:24:24,480 --> 00:24:27,960 Speaker 1: are incredibly harsh, but he does seem to like abide 468 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:31,240 Speaker 1: by them and enforce them in equal measure, which, if 469 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:34,840 Speaker 1: you look at like Europe and other places, his peers 470 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:37,159 Speaker 1: aren't doing this, Like they play fast and loose with 471 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:41,400 Speaker 1: laws and they rarely hold themselves or their friends accountable. Yeah, 472 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:42,919 Speaker 1: that's a good point. I mean. Another thing is that 473 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:46,919 Speaker 1: from everything I've read, Khan also seemed to be unfailingly loyal. 474 00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 1: Like as you were saying before, he was of course 475 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:52,040 Speaker 1: loyal to the law itself, but he was also loyal 476 00:24:52,119 --> 00:24:55,080 Speaker 1: to soldiers and to the people who followed him. So, 477 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:57,400 Speaker 1: for example, Ginghis Khan is often thought to be one 478 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:00,680 Speaker 1: of the richest people in history, if not the richest, 479 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:03,399 Speaker 1: and that's mostly because of the sheer quantity of land 480 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:05,639 Speaker 1: that he possessed, I mean, those twelve million or so 481 00:25:05,720 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 1: acres that we were talking about before. But the thing is, 482 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:11,359 Speaker 1: Kant never kept all the money and riches that he 483 00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:15,760 Speaker 1: won through the conquest for himself. Instead, he redistributed all 484 00:25:15,800 --> 00:25:18,240 Speaker 1: that wealth to his people, thereby ensuring that it would 485 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,879 Speaker 1: go right back into growing the nation's economy. And he 486 00:25:21,920 --> 00:25:24,359 Speaker 1: didn't just do that for the soldiers and craftsmen either, 487 00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:27,119 Speaker 1: like even widows and orphans were given a share of 488 00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:29,679 Speaker 1: the spoils. So in the end, here was a ruler 489 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:33,040 Speaker 1: who never built himself a palace, never ordered a monument 490 00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:35,440 Speaker 1: to be built in his honor, and instead he made 491 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:37,879 Speaker 1: sure that the weakest and most vulnerable members of the 492 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:41,920 Speaker 1: community were all provided for. And yet for all that good, 493 00:25:42,119 --> 00:25:43,960 Speaker 1: there was still a lot of blood and death. I mean, 494 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:46,480 Speaker 1: he's definitely president of contradictions. I mean, you know what's 495 00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:48,520 Speaker 1: funny is that you hear about Genghis Khan and even 496 00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,439 Speaker 1: though I knew how wide his empire was, I rarely 497 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,600 Speaker 1: compared it to Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great. I mean, 498 00:25:55,040 --> 00:25:57,240 Speaker 1: both of these guys. He really puts the shame, to 499 00:25:57,240 --> 00:26:00,000 Speaker 1: be honest. Yeah, you know, one thing I hadn't realized 500 00:26:00,320 --> 00:26:03,000 Speaker 1: was that there was this concerned effort from the Soviets 501 00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:05,960 Speaker 1: to stamp out the memory of Genghis Khan. And it 502 00:26:06,040 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: kind of sounds weird now because modern day Mongolia is 503 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:12,200 Speaker 1: right next door to Russia, but you know, Mongolians revere 504 00:26:12,359 --> 00:26:15,760 Speaker 1: Khan as kind of a national hero and founding father 505 00:26:15,920 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: all sort of rolled into one. But in the early 506 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:21,000 Speaker 1: twentieth century, when the region was still under Soviet rule, 507 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:23,880 Speaker 1: it was illegal to even mention the name Genghis Khan. 508 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:26,280 Speaker 1: And it wasn't just his name that was taboo either, 509 00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: Like the Soviets also removed con story from their textbooks, 510 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:31,879 Speaker 1: their history books. They it made it a crime to 511 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,120 Speaker 1: visit his birthplace. It was insane. Wow. So the Mongols 512 00:26:35,119 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 1: really did a number on Russia. I mean, if you 513 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,479 Speaker 1: think about all of those centuries later, they were still 514 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:43,240 Speaker 1: insecure about this defeat. Yeah, I mean, the crackdown was 515 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:46,480 Speaker 1: definitely fueled apart by hard feelings, but the bigger concern 516 00:26:46,600 --> 00:26:49,040 Speaker 1: was that the memories of Khan's conquest would ignite a 517 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: sense of nationalism in the Mongolians, and the Soviets really 518 00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:55,160 Speaker 1: wanted to like keep their thumb on the population, so 519 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:57,360 Speaker 1: it was kind of in their best interest to race 520 00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:00,600 Speaker 1: any connection to a hero or a figure who might 521 00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:03,880 Speaker 1: be inspirational to the Mongolians and give them any ideas 522 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,520 Speaker 1: of independence. Yeah. But once the Cold War ended and 523 00:27:06,600 --> 00:27:09,360 Speaker 1: the Soviet Union fell in the early nineties, Mongolia did, 524 00:27:09,480 --> 00:27:12,680 Speaker 1: of course become a sovereign nation again, that's right. And 525 00:27:12,720 --> 00:27:15,040 Speaker 1: when it did, the history of Genghis Khan was restored. 526 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:17,280 Speaker 1: And of course he's been a huge part of the 527 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 1: art and culture in Mongolia ever since. In fact, CON's 528 00:27:20,240 --> 00:27:23,879 Speaker 1: faces even featured on Mongolian currency. All right, So what 529 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,639 Speaker 1: about outside of Asia? Like, why do so many people 530 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 1: in Europe and the States have such a limited view 531 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 1: of Khan's accomplishments. I mean, I think a lot of 532 00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:35,680 Speaker 1: it comes down to this idea that Mongols were really 533 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:39,280 Speaker 1: barbaric and savage. But there are a lot of historians 534 00:27:39,280 --> 00:27:40,840 Speaker 1: out there who have made it their mission to set 535 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,119 Speaker 1: the record straight on Genghis Khan, and and chief among 536 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:46,400 Speaker 1: them is is this anthropology professor and this author named 537 00:27:46,480 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 1: Jack Weatherford. He's written multiple books on the life and 538 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,440 Speaker 1: exploits of Genghis Khan, and much of his work focuses 539 00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: on the duality we've been talking about today. But you know, 540 00:27:55,400 --> 00:27:57,199 Speaker 1: thanks to his efforts, a lot of people have this 541 00:27:57,359 --> 00:28:00,760 Speaker 1: much fuller picture of who Genghas Khan was. And as 542 00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:04,960 Speaker 1: a nice bonus, books have actually helped Mongolia's economy. Apparently 543 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:07,600 Speaker 1: tourism there has more than tripled in the decades since 544 00:28:07,600 --> 00:28:10,480 Speaker 1: his first book on Genghis was published. Wow, and does 545 00:28:10,520 --> 00:28:13,760 Speaker 1: he have a theory for wa Genghis isn't more celebrated. Yeah, 546 00:28:13,760 --> 00:28:15,600 Speaker 1: he does. I Actually, I've got a quote right here, 547 00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:17,600 Speaker 1: and this is from an interview he did two years 548 00:28:17,600 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 1: ago with the History News Network. So in it he says, quote, 549 00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:25,560 Speaker 1: contrary to common myth and cliche, history is written not 550 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,560 Speaker 1: necessarily by the victors, but by those who hold the 551 00:28:28,600 --> 00:28:33,080 Speaker 1: deepest grudges. The so called civilized world, Europe, the Middle East, 552 00:28:33,080 --> 00:28:36,720 Speaker 1: in China was not only defeated by, but humiliated by 553 00:28:36,760 --> 00:28:41,040 Speaker 1: its conquest by people whom they considered inferior barbarians. For 554 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: a long time, we have been unable to accept that 555 00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:47,240 Speaker 1: an Asian conqueror might have something to teach us. Still today, 556 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:49,800 Speaker 1: it is time to reconsider that legacy of Genghis Khan. 557 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 1: To label him an environmentalist, feminist, liberal, or democrat would 558 00:28:54,480 --> 00:28:57,720 Speaker 1: be silly and anachronistic. He was a conqueror, but he 559 00:28:57,800 --> 00:28:59,960 Speaker 1: was also more a man of the future than the past, 560 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 1: because we still not have been able to fulfill his 561 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 1: vision of a just world. I mean, it's it's weird. 562 00:29:06,400 --> 00:29:08,440 Speaker 1: I never would have guessed that Genghis Khan's vision was 563 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:12,200 Speaker 1: something to aspire to, but here we are. I mean, 564 00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:13,600 Speaker 1: I guess in the end, it all goes back to 565 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:16,000 Speaker 1: Tristan's T shirt. Like, if the world is heading in 566 00:29:16,040 --> 00:29:19,440 Speaker 1: the wrong direction and you don't feel like finding any 567 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:21,800 Speaker 1: longer to try and make it right, just remember if 568 00:29:21,840 --> 00:29:26,000 Speaker 1: Genghis Khan so kanu thanks Tristan. Yeah, truly words to 569 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:28,280 Speaker 1: live by. But before any of you go out and 570 00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:30,440 Speaker 1: change the world, we still got a few great facts 571 00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: to cover, so let's do this fact. One of the 572 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 1: weird things about Genghis Khan is that no one knows 573 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,480 Speaker 1: where he was buried. He he wanted to be placed 574 00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 1: in an unmarked grave. And there are all these theories 575 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,080 Speaker 1: of the people who buried him being killed so that 576 00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,960 Speaker 1: the secret died with them. There's another story that his 577 00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:57,800 Speaker 1: engineers diverted a river over his grave to cover it up. 578 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:01,560 Speaker 1: But whatever they did, it worked because even now this 579 00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,360 Speaker 1: many centuries later, we still don't know where his body 580 00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:07,760 Speaker 1: is actually. Speaking of devoting rivers, apparently it was a 581 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:12,040 Speaker 1: favorite trick of Genghis. After vanquishing one enemy, he diverted 582 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:15,080 Speaker 1: a river through the enemy's birthplace so that it would 583 00:30:15,120 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 1: be totally erased from the maps. So here's a fun one. 584 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:20,400 Speaker 1: Do you know that one of the world's hardest horse 585 00:30:20,520 --> 00:30:24,360 Speaker 1: races is directly inspired by Genghis Khan. Apparently as part 586 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,040 Speaker 1: of the Mongol derby, writers try to stay on these 587 00:30:27,120 --> 00:30:30,840 Speaker 1: half wild Mongols horses as they raced along Genghis's old 588 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: postal route, which was over six miles long. That's pretty cool. 589 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 1: One of the things we really didn't touch. I mean, 590 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,719 Speaker 1: we mentioned that forty million number, but we really didn't 591 00:30:40,760 --> 00:30:44,480 Speaker 1: touch on how brutal Khan could be. So after defeating 592 00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 1: a Russian army, he and the Mongols forced the Russian 593 00:30:47,440 --> 00:30:50,560 Speaker 1: army to lie on the ground and they basically threw 594 00:30:50,680 --> 00:30:53,280 Speaker 1: a party on top of them, like they put this 595 00:30:53,760 --> 00:30:58,040 Speaker 1: giant wooden gate, then chairs and tables, then feasted and 596 00:30:58,160 --> 00:31:01,040 Speaker 1: danced on their enemies, cru shing them beneath. I know 597 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:02,920 Speaker 1: we usually like to keep it kind of light and 598 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:05,320 Speaker 1: the fact off, but I felt like I had to 599 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:09,040 Speaker 1: mention this one. But how horrible is that? That is horrific? 600 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 1: You know. I feel like it's almost like when my 601 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 1: mom used to kill an ant in the kitchen and 602 00:31:12,800 --> 00:31:14,600 Speaker 1: then leave it there as a warning to all the 603 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:18,000 Speaker 1: other ants to see you. Both my mom and Genghis 604 00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:21,479 Speaker 1: Khan like to send a message. You know. Here's one 605 00:31:21,520 --> 00:31:23,920 Speaker 1: of the weirder theories I read about this week. The 606 00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:26,880 Speaker 1: Guardian had the story that because Khan killed so many 607 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: millions of people, he was actually an unintentional eco warrior. 608 00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:35,000 Speaker 1: Raid supposedly resulted in man made climate change cooling the 609 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,000 Speaker 1: planet and possibly scrubbing seven metric tons of C O 610 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,040 Speaker 1: two from the atmosphere. Yeah, I'm not sure I can 611 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,160 Speaker 1: get behind that argument. But that's that's pretty well well, 612 00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:47,400 Speaker 1: I will say. I know we've shared some pretty terrible 613 00:31:47,400 --> 00:31:50,560 Speaker 1: things about Genghis Khan, but one thing that does really 614 00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 1: kind of redeem him, to be honest, is the spread 615 00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,040 Speaker 1: of the Hamburger. So nat g O and first we 616 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,520 Speaker 1: Fees both trace the big mac back to Khan and 617 00:31:59,680 --> 00:32:03,000 Speaker 1: his squad. And that's because Mongolians would carry meat under 618 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,000 Speaker 1: their saddles to transport on the go, and this would 619 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,880 Speaker 1: tend arise the food. And they brought this technique to 620 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:11,760 Speaker 1: Russia they started eating steak tartar and from there it 621 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,960 Speaker 1: past to Germany where people started making these hamburg steaks, 622 00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:16,880 Speaker 1: and of course you fast forward from there and it 623 00:32:16,960 --> 00:32:19,800 Speaker 1: was finally slapped on buns and ordered animal style at 624 00:32:19,800 --> 00:32:23,480 Speaker 1: in and outs. I really hope someone comes up with 625 00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:25,960 Speaker 1: like a new fast food chain called Genghis Is for 626 00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:28,800 Speaker 1: you wait like three yards from the restaurant and they 627 00:32:28,840 --> 00:32:33,880 Speaker 1: just pony expressed that's a good thing. So good. But uh, 628 00:32:34,200 --> 00:32:36,440 Speaker 1: I do think you take the prize today. But you know, 629 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:38,240 Speaker 1: before we go, I I did want to give a 630 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:41,160 Speaker 1: special shout out to my wonderful sister in law. Even 631 00:32:41,160 --> 00:32:45,080 Speaker 1: though I've got this terrible voice, it's it's sincere Laura Cravis. 632 00:32:45,080 --> 00:32:47,120 Speaker 1: She's one of the world's best teachers. And if your 633 00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 1: kid is lucky enough to have her, your kids are 634 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:51,120 Speaker 1: gonna fall in love with history and reading and learned 635 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,400 Speaker 1: so much but you know, not only has she been 636 00:32:53,440 --> 00:32:55,680 Speaker 1: a big champion for mental floss over the years, but 637 00:32:56,320 --> 00:32:58,280 Speaker 1: essentially since the first time I've met her, she's been 638 00:32:58,280 --> 00:33:00,360 Speaker 1: telling me how we should do an article on Gangs Khan, 639 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:03,400 Speaker 1: or an issue one Genghis Khan, or make Genghis Khan 640 00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:06,040 Speaker 1: t shirts or poster her. She's been such a supporter 641 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:07,920 Speaker 1: and I never did any of it, so all this 642 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,280 Speaker 1: years later, this episode for her. Oh, we're a little 643 00:33:11,360 --> 00:33:14,160 Speaker 1: late on the execution here, I think that thank you 644 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 1: for listening to our little show. If you have thoughts 645 00:33:16,240 --> 00:33:18,080 Speaker 1: or comments, hit us up at part time genius at 646 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:20,400 Speaker 1: how stuff works, and if you really want to make 647 00:33:20,400 --> 00:33:22,680 Speaker 1: our year, give us a nice rating on the ratings thingies, 648 00:33:22,800 --> 00:33:24,880 Speaker 1: you know, and tell your friends about the show. But 649 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,800 Speaker 1: from Gabe, Tristan, Mango, and me, thanks so much for listening.