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Genghis Khan

1162 CE – 1227 CE

Retrace Genghis Khan's life across the map — 16 events in chronological order, from a cinematic flythrough to a full timeline.

Life journey

1. Battle of Dalan Baljut1187 CE
   The Battle of Dalan Baljut was fought in 1187 between Temüjin and his blood brother Jamukha. Although Temüjin and Jamukha were close friends for many years, they began to drift apart as time went on. Central to this split was the political system each of them supported—Jamukha held up the traditional Mongol aristocracy, whereas Temüjin believed that a meritocracy would be best. Temüjin was able to find several successes, most notably in attracting a broad range of followers, a successful campaign against the Merkits and the shaman Kokochu proclaiming "... that the Eternal Blue Sky had set aside the world for Temüjin". In c. 1186, Temüjin was elected Khan of the Mongols, threatening Jamukha's power which led him to attack Temüjin with 30,000 troops the next year. Temüjin was decisively defeated in the ensuing battle and fled, with the next 10 years of his life unclear. After the battle, Jamukha boiled 70 young male captives alive, horrifying and alienating potential followers.
2. Battle of Chakirmaut1204 CE
   The Battle of Chakirmaut was the concluding battle of Genghis Khan's unification of the Mongol tribes. Temujin, as Genghis was then known, fought and defeated the combined forces of coalition of tribes led by the Naimans under Tayang Khan and his son Kuchlug and rival Khan claimant Jamukha. Tayang Khan died in battle, Kuchlug fled with a small force and Jamukha retreated but was later captured and executed.
3. Mongol invasion of China1205 CE
   The Mongol conquest of China was a series of major military efforts by the Mongol Empire to conquer various empires ruling over China for 74 years (1205–1279). It spanned over seventy years in the 13th century and involved the defeat of the Jin dynasty, Western Liao, Western Xia, Tibet, the Dali Kingdom, the Southern Song, and the Eastern Xia. The Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan started the conquest with small-scale raids into Western Xia in 1205 and 1207.
4. Mongol conquest of Western Xia1205 CE
   Between 1205 and 1210, and again in 1225-1227, the Mongol Empire embarked on a series of military campaigns that ultimately led to the destruction of the Tangut-led Western Xia dynasty in northwestern China. Hoping to both to plunder and acquire vassalage, Genghis Khan commanded some initial raids against the Western Xia before launching a full-scale invasion in 1209. This was the first major invasion conducted by Genghis, and his first major incursion into China.
5. Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty1211 CE
   The Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty, also known as the Mongol–Jin War, was fought between the Mongol Empire and the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty in Manchuria and North China. The war, which started in 1211, lasted over 23 years and ended with the complete conquest of the Jin dynasty by the Mongols in 1234.
6. Battle of Yehuling1211 CE
   The Battle of Yehuling, also known as the Battle of Wild Fox Ridge or the Battle of Badger Mouth, was fought between the Mongol Empire and the Jin dynasty in 1211, during the first stage of the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty. The battle took place in the northwest of present-day Wanquan District, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province. It concluded with a Mongol victory, hastening the decline of the Jin dynasty.
7. Siege of Zhongdu1215 CE
   The Sieges of Zhongdu took place in 1214 and 1215 during the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty. Zhongdu, the capital of the Jin dynasty and located in present-day Beijing, was progressively isolated by the forces of the Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan. After earlier Mongol incursions and the relocation of the Jin court to Kaifeng, the city endured prolonged blockade and famine before surrendering in June 1215. The Fall of Zhongdu marked a decisive blow to Jin authority in northern China and accelerated the dynasty’s decline.
8. Mongol invasion of Central Asia1216 CE
   Mongol campaigns in Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on the Mongolian Plateau in 1206. Smaller military operations of the Mongol Empire in Central Asia included the destruction of surviving Merkit and Naimans and the conquest of Qara Khitai. These were followed by a major campaign against Khwarazm. Expansion into Central Asia began in 1209 as Genghis Khan sent an expedition to pursue rivals who had fled to the region and threatened his new empire. The Uyghur kingdom Qocho and leaders of the Karluks submitted voluntarily to the Mongol Empire and married into the imperial family. By 1218 the Mongols controlled all of Xinjiang and by 1221 all the territories of the former Khwarazmian Empire. In 1236, the Mongols defeated the eastern portions of Cumania and swept into Eastern Europe.
9. Mongol invasion of Khwarazmian Empire and Eastern Iran1219 CE
   Between 1219 and 1221, the Mongol forces under Genghis Khan invaded the lands of the Khwarazmian Empire in Central Asia. The campaign, which followed the annexation of the Qara Khitai Khanate, saw widespread devastation and atrocities. The invasion marked the completion of the Mongol conquest of Central Asia, and began the Mongol conquest of Persia.
10. Siege of Bukhara (1220)1220 CE
    The siege of Bukhara took place in February 1220, during the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire. Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, had launched a multi-pronged assault on the Khwarazmian Empire ruled by Shah Muhammad II. While the Shah planned to defend his major cities individually, the Mongols laid siege to the border town of Otrar, and struck further into Khwarazmia.
11. Siege of Samarkand1220 CE
    The siege of Samarkand took place in March 1220 after Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, had launched a multi-pronged invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, ruled by Shah Muhammad II. The Mongols had laid siege to the border town of Otrar, but finding its defences obdurate, a large force commanded by Genghis and his youngest son Tolui detached from the vanguard and set off southwards, towards Transoxiana.
12. Siege of Nishapur1220 CE
    The siege of Nishapur took place in April 1221, during the Mongol invasion of Khorasan. The siege was led by Tolui Khan, son of Genghis Khan, following the death of Genghis Khan's son-in-law Taghaqchar during an earlier engagement at Nishapur. The fall of the city resulted in a large-scale massacre and the near-total destruction of Nishapur.
13. Battle of Indus1221 CE
    The Battle of the Indus was fought on the banks of the Indus River, on 24 November 1221, between the armies commanded by Jalal al-Din of the Khwarazmian Empire, and Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire. The battle, which resulted in an overwhelming Mongol victory, was the concluding engagement in the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire.
14. Siege of Merv1221 CE
    The siege of Merv took place in April 1221, during the Mongol invasion of Khorasan. In 1219, Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, invaded the Khwarazmian Empire ruled by Shah Muhammad II. While the Shah planned to defend his major cities individually and divided his army to station in several garrisons, the Mongols laid siege to one town after another deep into Khorasan, heart of the Khwarazmian Empire.
15. Siege of Bamyan1221 CE
    The siege of Bamyan took place in the spring of 1221 A.D. during the Mongol invasion of Khorasan by an army under the leadership of Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, who was in pursuit of Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni, the last ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire. Genghis Khan crossed the Hindu Kush and after that besieged the citadel of Shahr-e-Gholghola near Bamyan, northwest of Kabul, in present-day Afghanistan. The siege had led to a devastating attack that left the city in ruins.
16. Siege of Izmail1790 CE
    The siege of Izmail, also called the storming of Izmail, was a military action fought in 1790 on the Danube near the Black Sea during the Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792) and simultaneously the Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791). The Russians were led by Alexander Suvorov, who had defeated the Ottoman Turkish forces at Kinburn, Focsani, and Rymnik, as well as participating in the siege of Ochakov. The Black Sea rowing flotilla was commanded by the Spanish admiral José de Ribas who was in the service of the Russian Empire. In preparation for the storming, Suvorov personally trained his soldiers and, approaching Izmail Fortress at a distance of a gunshot, explained to senior officers how and where to act during the assault. It is regarded as one of Suvorov's finest victories and one of the greatest deeds in world military history.

Event data from Wikipedia/Wikidata (CC-BY-SA). Spotted a mistake? Email [email protected].