Genghis Khan
Voltaire
(1694-1778) French philosopher. He believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government. He also spoke out against the corruption of the French government, and the intolerance of the Catholic Church.
Ulugh Beg
Central Asian astronomer-king who brought about the creation of the Samarkand Tables, which compiled a very large amount of astronomic data.
Jochi
Eldest son of Genghis Khan and Borte. legitimacy was always questioned because of his conception time.
Hazara
Ethnic minority group of Afghanistan, descendants of Mongoloids, Shi'ite Muslims
Juvaini
wrote the first comprehensive account of the rise of the Mongols under Genghis Khan. His work inspired the work of Rashid al-Din, who produced a history of the world that was published in a number of beautifully illustrated editions.
Tamerlane
He is very much like Ghengis Khan; a military leader who conquered the lands of Persia; his empire was decentralized with tribal leaders.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Indian statesman. He succeeded Mohandas K. Gandhi as leader of the Indian National Congress. He negotiated the end of British colonial rule in India and became India's first prime minister (1947-1964).
Giovanni di Plano Carpini
John of Plano Carpini or Joannes de Plano, was a medieval Italian diplomat, archbishop and explorer and one of the first Europeans to enter the court of the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire
Ikh Khorig
Known from the secret history of the mongols, this is where Genghis Khan is buried
Ong Khan
Leader of the Kereyids that Temujin joins forces with after he is caught by his enemy
Juzjani
Minhajuddin bin Sirajuddin, was a 13th-century Persian historian born in the Ghurid capital city of Firuzkuh, which was located in Ghor Province. In 1227, Juzjani migrated to Ucch then to Delhi
Tatars
Mongols; captured Russian cities and largely destroyed Kievan state in 1236; left Russian Orthodoxy and aristocracy intact
Khuriltai
Name of the Mongols' assembly that gathered to acclaim the new leader after he had defeated his rivals. Not an electoral body.
Secret History of the Mongols
Primary source of Mongol history written by a Mongol who may have been close to Genghis Khan
Robert Chambers
Publisher. Published his own book that Darwin looked at but did not agree with its conclusion. Phrenologist - pseudoscience of skull size
Khubilai Khan
Reigned in China after establishing the Yuan Dynasty; he actively promoted Buddhism; descendant of Chinggis Khan.
Subutai
Subutai was a Mongolian general and the primary military strategist of Genghis Khan and Ögedei Khan. He directed more than 20 campaigns and won 65 pitched battles, during which he conquered or overran more territory than any other commander in history as part of the expansion of the Mongol Empire.
Ordu
A port city in Turkey
Burkhan Khaldun
god mountain; located in khentii range
Toregene
the Great Khatun and regent of the Mongol Empire from the death of her husband Ögedei Khan in 1241 until the election of her eldest son Güyük Khan in 1246.
Ogodei
the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan (Khagan) of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father. He continued the expansion of the empire that his father had begun, and was a world figure when the Mongol Empire reached its furthest extent west and south during the invasions of Europe and Asia.
Genghis Khan
Also known as Temujin; he united the Mongol tribes into an unstoppable fighting force; created largest single land empire in history.
Marco Polo
Venetian merchant and traveler. His accounts of his travels to China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated interest in Asian trade.
Fatima
Daughter of Muhammad
Temujin
Genghis Khan
Arik Boke
was the seventh and youngest son of Tolui and a grandson of Genghis Khan
Prester John
A mythical Christian monarch whose kingdom supposedly had been cut off from Europe by the Muslim conquests; some thought he was Chinggis Khan.
Jamuka
Genghis' friend; become enemies b/c he thought there should be aristocracy (hereditary) but Genghis wants meritocracy
Hulegu
Grandson of Chinggis Khan and ruler of Ilkhan khanate; captured and destroyed Abbasid Baghdad.
Guyuk
Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (1246-1248); son of Ogodei (Sent letters to pope of England)
Khwarizm
a Central Asian kingdom. Shows example of Chinggis's cruelty as the ruler offended Khan which led to their cities being destroyed and their civilians used as human shields
Sorkhoktani
a Keraite princess and daughter-in-law of Genghis Khan. Married to Tolui, Genghis' youngest son, Sorghaghtani Beki became one of the most powerful and competent people in the Mongol Empire.
Changhatai
a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan, second son of Genghis Khan and his descendants and successors
Guillaume Boucher
a goldsmith who lived during the early and middle decades of the thirteenth century; at one point went to Budapest from Paris; but then he got captured; they liked his talents and what-not, and decided to take him along with their various other skilled captives; he made a lot of pretty stuff and even though he was kind of a slave, he was still had servants and what-not; his wife was French
Assassins
a person who murders a public figure, such as a government leader
Keraits/Kereyids
one of the five dominant Mongol or Turco-Mongol tribal confederations in the Altai-Sayan region during the 12th century
Merkids
one of the five major tribal confederations of probably Mongol or Turkic origin later Mongolized in the 12th century Mongolian Plateau
Batu
ruler of the golden horde; one of Chinggis Khan's grandsons; responsible for the invasion of Russia beginning in 1236.
Tolui
the fourth son of Genghis Khan by his chief khatun Börte. His ulus, or territorial inheritance, at his father's death in 1227 was the homelands in Mongolia, and he also served as civil administrator until 1229
Oghul Ghaimish
the principal wife of Güyük Khan and ruled as regent over the Mongol Empire after the death of her husband in 1248. She was a descendant of the Mergid tribe.
