Mongolian tribes, although seen as primitive by the outsiders, had some interesting features that allowed them to succeed in battle and be as efficient as they were. For instance, given the fact they were mostly nomadic, it was impossible to speak about a unified Mongolian army until the arrival of Genghis Khan. The Khan served as the unifying figure who led all the Mongolian tribes scattered in the steppes to become the empire they were.
Likewise, the scarcity of resources in their homeland, along with the hard conditions on which the tribes lived allowed them to endure with relative ease the hardships of a military campaign, whereas their enemies resented such environments and were ill-suited to fight the Mongols’ continuous raids (Rossabi, 2011).
The retelling of Temujin’s birth seems rather mythical and adorned to fit the Mongolian cosmogony and its birth as a nation. Paul Kahn’s adaptation depicts Genghis’ birth as it follows “he was born he emerged clutching a blood clot the size of a knucklebone die in his right hand. They gave him the name Temujin, saying: “He was born when his father had captured the Tatar, Temujin Uge” (Kahn, 1984).
Nevertheless, it itself, the recount has to be taken with extreme caution due to its narration. Since many of its parts are highly embellished, it can be seen as semi-mythical, which trumps the possibility of finding real meanings or entirely true history within its pages. The History is the Mongol’s first book, yet despite the way they made a myth out of their leader, the recounts are almost honest and not devoid of criticism.
Ultimately, since the earlier sources on the “Golden Horde” are the recounts of their enemies, the Mongolian army has had a reputation of brutality throughout the years. Consequently, finding historiography that speaks about the Mongols in a neutral tone is incredibly hard to find. For that reason, The Secret History of the Mongols presents an excellent testimony about the golden era of the Mongolian civilization.
- Kahn, Paul, comp. The secret history of the Mongols: the origin of Chinghis Khan (expanded edition): an adaptation of the Yüan chao pi shih, based primarily on the English translation by Francis Woodman Cleaves. Boston: Cheng & Tsui Co, 1998. Print.
- Rossabi, M. The Mongols and global history: A Norton documents reader. New York: W.W. Norton, 2011. Print.
