THE
ECHOES
 Genghis Khan left behind a legacy of skilled and
powerful military forces. On his death, the huge Mongol Empire was split among his three
surviving sons. Fortunately unlike some other royal families, they lived amicably, perhaps
as a tribute to the contributions of their great father. They networked their reigns
cooperatively to fulfill the incomplete task of ruling the entire world.
The descendant Mongol
leaders after Genghis, including the most powerful Ogodei Khan and Kublai Khan, followed
his path and tried to rule over the entire world. For the people they conquered, the
impacts on their lives were mixed. The Chinese grasslands turned into nomadic pasture,
adversely affecting the Chinese farmers and causing immense hardships. On the other hand,
the exchange of knowledge was encouraged and the distance amongst different and distant
races decreased. The Chinese people, the most affected by the series of conquests, became
acquainted with Mongol medical knowledge and astronomy. This knowledge propagated to the
Middle East via China.
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Before Genghis Khan’s reign, the Mongol people did not have a script of their mother tongue. Genghis promoted literacy, and consequently the alphabet of neighboring Uighur region was adopted as a base for the written Mongol language. In a stable empire, the economy developed to such an extent that Mongols started using currency for their day-to-day dealing. Having conquered such a vast dominion, he promoted different trades, supporting artists, craftsmen and merchants. The immense wealth of the Mongol Empire and the free passage from west to east attracted foreign merchants, adventurers and travelers. For the first time, rich European merchants, envoys, and ordinary travelers could travel in relative safety throughout Central Asia. The great explorer Marco Polo’s adventurous tales were the best example of Genghis and his descendants' strategy for foreigners. This strategy also inspired many others, including Christopher Columbus, to travel and explore new lands not only in Asia but in other continents as well. In 1634, a Frenchman Jean Nicolet left Quebec in search of wealthy China and discovered the Green Bay. In the same way, Columbus left his native to |
explore Cathay (the medieval name of northern China) and explored and
discovered a new continent – America. The Vatican Pope sent a Franciscan missionary
to seek Mongol support to compete against Islam. The missionary returned with a black
powder, which was used as the explosive in guns. Later, it was handed over to a fellow
Franciscan, the Oxford scientist Roger Bacon, who was the first in the world to
acknowledge it as an explosive.
 Plague – the most dangerous epidemic then,
was also an indirect ‘gift’ of Genghis Khan. Originating in the forests of
southern China and Burma, bubonic plague traveled north with Mongol troops. In 1347, the
epidemic reached Crimea from caravan to caravan, seizing entire Europe in its clutch. It
caused mass migration. Bereft of labor and talent, the hapless nations of Europe were
compelled to raise revenue by maximizing taxes. Meanwhile, bureaucracy and army atrocities
reached the nadir and it became impossible to control the perplexed masses.
At times, the process of
destruction is found to be inevitable for a new construction or creation to take place.
Although Genghis Khan and his descendants were considered responsible for great
destruction in terms of life and property, ultimately it paved a way for an era of
relative peace and security, increasing cross-cultural contacts.
The story of this child,
who lost his father, was thrown into poverty, and who rose to the greatest heights
imagined by a person of his time, will always ellicit a sense of awe in the hearts of
generations to come.
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