War and Game

A sixteenth century Indian depiction of the Mongol army storming a Chinese city. The achievements of Genghis Khan remained a popular subject for stories and illustrations throughout the Turco-Persian world and the Mogul emperors of India looked to Genghis Khan as their great forebear.

Like the early caliphs of Islam, Genghis realized that in order to keep his following together he had to direct them against outside enemies; and so his career of conquest began. The tribes of the eastern steppes looked to China as the main outside power and it was natural that Genghis should turn his attention to the invasion of China for reasons of plunder and prestige. The first priority was to lead a raid which would result in the capture of flocks and herds as a visible reward for his followers. It was a propitious time for such an expedition. China was divided between two main empires, the Chin of the north and the Sung of the south. The Chin were themselves of nomad origin and their relationship with their Han Chinese subjects was uneasy: To the west of them lived a people the Chinese called the Xixia but whom others knew as the Tanguts. These inhabited the area immediately south of the Gobi Desert with their capital at Ningsia, on the Yellow River. Genghis knew he would have to subdue them to protect his right flank in any invasion of China. A campaign of 1207-8 was no more than a large-scale plundering raid which brought him the booty he needed to keep his followers satisfied. In 1209, however, Genghis embarked on a campaign of conquest of the Tangut Empire, his first operation outside Mongolia. It was also the first time the Mongols had attempted the capture of large fortified towns.

Having defeated the main Tangut army, they attempted to take the city of Ningsia by damming the river and flooding it. It was typical of the ambitious and labour-intensive siege works that the Mongols were to undertake elsewhere. However, in the end the dam broke and the Mongol camp itself was flooded. In January 1210 a peace treaty was made by which the Tanguts agreed to pay tribute. It was not a 'very auspicious beginning to Genghis's career of conquest.

After this, a successful assault on China itself must have seemed vital to preserve his status as a great war leader. He was well aware of the divisions among the Chin and their unpopularity with many of their Chinese subjects. In the spring of 1211 Genghis held a Kuriltay on the banks of the Kerulen River and a campaign was decreed. It was make or break for Genghis. The Chin maintained a formidable army and they were numerically far superior to the Mongols. A setback would certainly have resulted in rebellion by some of his recently subdued enemies in Mongolia itself. Genghis retreated to a mountain-top to pray to heaven while the Mongols fasted for three days and nights. He exhorted them to take revenge for past insults to the Mongolian peoples. The campaign was not easy and at one point Genghis himself was wounded by an arrow but by 1214 the I Mongol army was laying siege to the Chin capital Zhongdu, near Beijing. The fall of the city was followed by the first of the great massacres which the Mongols staged to impose their authority: By 1216 Genghis was back in Mongolia, quelling unrest among the remaining Merkit tribesmen, whom he ordered to be massacred to the last man.