Genghis Khan and Muslim Holocast
Shamaism can be co-related to Arab word for buddhists- Samani,which was derived from the Sanskrit -Shravana.
Most of us relate to Genghis Khan as a Muslim ruler, who was brutal, barbaric and apparently, whose genes are found in
6 million men living today. he wasn't a Muslim. Link
Title Khan( Link ) is of Mongol origin, given to warrior or head of all tribes. Genghis is said to have believed in Shamaism.
How Genghis Khan, a warrior and one of History's Immortals decided to take revenge from the Muslim world beyond Altai mountains and conquer territories is stuff history is made of.
It was initially surprising to read that an all conquering religious force and an advanced civilization ,could be crushed with such ruthlessness.
Genghis Khan or Temujin (his original name) was born in an extremely inhospitable environment, in an area - South of Siberia.
As a thirteen year old he had his half-brother brother killed, by shooting him with an arrow, all planned, in cold blood over a piece of meat.
During 1219 AD, Part of Muslim world i.e. Khwarezm comprised of Modern day Iran, Uzbekistan,Tajikistan Kyrgyztan, Kazakhstan .
However kingdom was divided among smaller kingdoms and most of the cities eg Samarkand ,Bukhara,Urgench,Nishapur,Otrar,Merv were between Amurdarya or Oxus valley(Tansoxania/Jaxartes) and Syr darya, lay within the Dominion of Khwarezm Shah,Mohammed.
This region was supplied well from Pamirs,and was a fertile land and part of the silk route.
Genghis by now was ruling Mongolia & parts of Northern China ( Beijing,Manchuria).
He sent a delegation of 450 merchants along with his ambassador to the court of Khwarezm Shah, to build trade and commerce.
Khwarezm Shah was a haughty, unscrupulous ruler who did not see what was coming.
He not only refused the offer to trade.Infact, went ahead to imprison the merchants and eventually had all of them, killed(apparently most of those merchants were Muslims).
When Genghis came to know of this act, he got really furious and decided to march to the Islamic world.
We need to remember that by this time he had the expertise of defeated Chinese army and its vast resources at his disposal.
The march to Khwarezmia started in 1219, leading his army west,with close to one hundred and fifty soldiers and each soldier with atleast 2-3 horses, with its ability to cover 100 kms in a day.
They had the best of Seige machinery.
Catapults(modern day artillery) with capability to fire 3 arrows in one go Naphta bombs and other Chinese inventions,accompanied by finest battle hardened nomadic cavalry.
Mongols used Composite_bow which was lighter and easy to manage than your English longbow.
So,what rolled for 2700 kms from Mongolia to Kharwzem was a Juggernaut.
Mongols could cover 800kms in 60 days(Amazingly swift).
Compare this with mechanised army on the move at speed. In Aug 1944, after D day landings of June, Americans under General Patton rolled along at 30 kms a day for 3 days, with virtually no opposition, over the long straight paved roads.
Mongols,initally attacked a city by the name of Otrar ,whose commander had killed their merchants and ambassador.
After having defeated the city and pouring molten gold down the throat of its commander, Genghis, ordered all the rich people of the city to gather in courtyard and announced to them, “He is the curse of God”.
Now he attacked the confederation of four cities, Samarkand,Bukara,Merv &Gurganj.
These four cities, all located on rivers running from Pamirs.
They were trade Emporia linking East and West.
Juvaini(a traveller and author) says 7000 soldiers killed 1.2 million citizens of Merv( pearl of central Asia.
More than 3 million people were massacred in a span of a year, while the remaining population turned into slaves.
For a Mongol, an unresisting prisoner was easier to kill, than a sheep.
You can cut a small hole in the chest,reach inside,grab the heart and stop it. To kill a man, was not more than a second's job. It’s possible for 7000 men to slaughter of a million would have been hard day's work.
Khwarezmian massacres can be easily equated to Nazi Holocaust,as there were similarities in the attitude of Mongol generals and the final solution.
Genghis believed Man's greatest fortune is to chase and defeat his enemy, seize all his possessions, leave his married women weeping and wailing, use the body of women as night shirts and supports, gazing upon and kissing there rosy breasts, such their lips which are as sweet as the berries of the breasts.
To capture fleeing Mohammed, task was given to Jebe and Subutai. (Two splendid generals in Genghis Khan's army).
Mohammed was hounded across present day Uzbekistan,Turkmenistan and Iran.
Genghis Khan, while chasing the son of Shah Mohammed, on the banks of Indus, however did not cross the river. He saw a Rhinoceros was told is a bad omen, so innocently, he turned back.
Mongol Empire was twice as large as the Roman Empire, Empire of Alexander(probably Alexander did was to defeat just one big ruler) and they conquered Russia in winters which neither Napoleon nor Hitler could do.(Russian story would be told sometime later in future).
The inspiration to write came from
John Man.
