Genghis Khan originally known as Temujin was born in the north eastern area of today's Mongolia, around 1167 A.D. Temujin was born on the banks of the Onon river. At the age of nine, Temujin became an orphan. His father had died in a battle with the Tatars, another tribe in that area that had defeated the Mongols. Temujins" mother had been abandoned by her husbands followers, because another tribe had wishes to prevent Temujin from succeeding to his fathers position. This pressure made bringing up her family a hardship.
At a young age, in his teens, Temujin was taken prisoner by the clan who tried to keep him from taking up his fathers position, the Taichi"uts. Temujin escaped, and soon after became the apprentice of a leader of a central Mongolian Christian tribe, the Kereits. The leaders name was Toghril. Toghril and a young chieftain, Jamuka, helped Temujin rescue his recently married wife from the Merkits. Around the time that Jamuka and Temujins" friendship came to a halt, the name that would stick with Temujin for the rest of his life was given to him by Mongol princes who appointed Temujin with leadership of the Mongol. His name which means "Universal Monarch," was now Genghis Khan.
With Khans new control of his fathers tribe, he eventually conquers all of the tribes in Mongolia. He next starts his first foreign campaign. This campaign gains him respect for Mongolians and Asians alike. Genghis Khan may have created such a strong reputation because of how he was brought up, being the smartest child in his family, being a prisoner at a teen age, or maybe it was the determination to avenge his fathers death that inspired him to become such a strong figure in Mongolian past. Whatever people may believe, Genghis Khans" leadership sprouted from his background.
Genghis Khans did not have as many military accomplishments as he did nonmilitary accomplishments. His non-military achievements include the introduction of a writing system based on the Uigur script, still used in Inner Mongolia today, the idea of religious tolerance throughout the empire, the use of a decimal system in his army formation, and the achievement of tribal unity among the Mongol.
