Genghis Khan , Mongol conqueror and founder of the Mongol Empire, which reached from the the continent of Asia . Originally named Temujin, he was born on the banks of the Onon River, near the present day border between northern Mongolia and southeastern Russia. The newborn infant is said to have held in his hand a large clot of blood, showing the world his fate as a conqueror. Genghis Khan the thirteen century emperor, was infamous for his bloodthirsty ruthless campaigns, but he was also one of the great commanders of history. Though a master of terror his campaigns in northern China and Iran were brought by a level of terror and slaughter that was not seen again until the twentieth century. He was just and generous to his subjects. his ideas were ambitious strategies and elusive tactics were so far ahead of their time that they were acknowledged models for some of the most successful tank commanders of the Second World War. At the beginning of the thirteenth century Genghis khan united the nomad tribes of Mongolia turned them into a worthy army and led them to rule over the largest empire ever conquered by a single commander. By the time he died, in 1233, his empire stretched eastward from the Caspian Sea to the shores of Pacific Ocean. .
Genghis Khan succeeded his father Yekusai, as chieftain of a Mongol tribe and then fought to become ruler of a Mongol confederacy. After subjugating many tribes of Mongolia and establishing his capital at Karakorum, Ghenghis Khan and the Mongols held a great meeting and after much debating the Mongols assumed his title. He made a code of conduct and reorganized his armies. Ghenghis Khan trained his army for months and then attack the empire of Northern China and by 1215 he had occupied most of its territory, including the capital, Yenching which is knownow Beijing. From 1218 to 1224 he conquered Turkistan, Transoxania, and Afghanistan and raided Persia and Eastern Europe to the Dnepr Ghenghis Khan ruled one of the greatest land empires the world has ever known.