[c. 1167–1227]

Mongol conqueror

The name of Genghis Khan (born Temüjin, son of Yisugei) is synonymous with bloodletting, barbarity, and wanton massacres in much of the Arab world, Europe, and the Americas. In Turkey and Central Asia, however, Genghis is not an uncommon name, and the legacy of his Turco-Mongol empire is viewed in a positive light. The globalization imposed by his Eurasian hordes in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries roused strong reactions. Those biases remain present in the early twenty-first century.

Temüjin's harsh rise to power was the catalyst that resulted in the formation of the largest-ever contiguous land empire. He was born around 1167 on the banks of the Onan River, Mongolia, reputedly clutching a clot of blood in his right hand. He emerged first as the young son who fought for the survival of his destitute family, abandoned by their clan after the murder of his father, a minor...