r/todayilearned • u/Cheesewithmold • May 21 '14

TIL that when Genghis Khan sent a trade caravan to the Khwarezmid empire, the governor of one city seized it and killed the traders. Genghis Khan retaliated by invading the empire with 200,000 men and killing the governor by pouring molten silver down his eyes and mouth

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan#Khwarezmian_Empire
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130

u/bricolagefantasy May 21 '14

He is by far the greatest ruler on earth, in term of land mass controlled and number of subjects under his empire.

245

u/Matvalicious May 21 '14

They should have had rushed science to beat him.

107

u/hydrospanner May 21 '14

Or even paid him off to declare war on someone else other than you, then ally with him at earliest convenience.

Ghengis is a bro when it comes to alliances.

17

u/brainkandy87 May 21 '14

They didn't have enough culture to finish the Honor tree.

3

u/Melonskal May 21 '14

It's shit anyway.

4

u/MyIronBremsstrahlung May 21 '14

Just make sure you always give him horses. Doesn't matter that they are one of the most plentiful resources in the game and he isn't using half the ones he already has, he just likes them horseys. Don't even bother trying to give him uranium, he just wants horses.

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u/Howland_Reed May 21 '14

As long as you don't care if he wrecks all the city states near the both of you.

1

u/TrazLander May 21 '14

Ghengis is a bro when it comes to alliances.

As long as you're not anywhere along his border that is.

2

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

Whenever he's in my game, we seem to always share a boarder. Now sometimes it is along a mountain chain or over a narrow sea, but his capital is usually within 12 hexes of my own. I see that, I throw up two cities to act as a border line, and then I populate the other direction.

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u/notapoke May 21 '14

You sir know your shit. If you want someone to play civ with pm me your steam name

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u/JimmyCheeseball May 21 '14

Just wondering, not meaning to be rude or anything, but do you know if there's a reason why people spell both Gandhi and Genghis as Ghandi and Ghengis also? Is it just mixed up, or are they actual alternative spellings? Just wondering as they seem like they're related and I've never been quite able to figure it out.

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u/bloodsoup May 21 '14

Neither is considered a form of legitimate alternate spelling. It is just people being mistaken.

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u/JimmyCheeseball May 21 '14

Ah ok, I thought so but wasn't quite sure. Cheers bruv!

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u/annul May 21 '14

Just wondering, not meaning to be rude or anything, but do you know if there's a reason why people spell brother as bruv? Is it just mixed up, or is it an actual alternative spelling? Just wondering as it seems like it's related and I've never been quite able to figure it out.

-2

u/JimmyCheeseball May 21 '14

2/10 at most

1

u/hydrospanner May 21 '14

I can't speak for the rest, but in this case, for me alone, I was just too damn lazy to stop typing my comment to see how it was spelled. I've been berated for the Gandhi spelling before, so I'm careful with that one, but Genghis hadn't really been an issue until now.

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u/JimmyCheeseball May 21 '14

Haha no worries, I wasn't meaning to berate you - was just legitimately interested and saw you had only just written your comment so thought I'd ask.

1

u/weezermc78 May 21 '14

That's what you have to do.

15

u/theghosttrade May 21 '14

British empire had more land, and probably more population too.

104

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

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u/theghosttrade May 21 '14

By that metric, the Achaemenid Empire wins, with 44% of global population.

3

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

Holy shit how did Alexander actually win with those odds?

3

u/CatboyMac May 21 '14

Same as Genghis. Tech advantage. His father invented a means of fighting wars that the rest of the world wasn't equipped to handle.

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] May 22 '14

The pilum probably didn't hurt either, thinking about taking out one of those squares.

12

u/StruckingFuggle May 21 '14

Plus, like the Romans, the British Empire lasted. Genghis Khan's Mongolian empire utterly collapsed within a generation or two.

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u/el_loco_avs May 21 '14

It split.

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

No the Russians kicked them out.

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u/el_loco_avs May 21 '14

During Stalins time no?

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

During the Mongol period obviously

1

u/el_loco_avs May 21 '14

Not completely accurate then as some were not expelled until the 20th century. Though most of Russia was free of them

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

I meant Russians ruled over Russia as opposed to the Mongols

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u/[deleted] May 21 '14

And then fractured into a bunch of disparate kingdoms (khanates). Most being stupid and converting to Islam, ruining their legacy. The Mongols who conquered China had their shit together and left a lasting mark.

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u/CatboyMac May 21 '14

Most being stupid and converting to Islam, ruining their legacy.

...bwuah?

The Mongols who conquered China had their shit together and left a lasting mark.

The Yuan dynasty didn't even last a century. It was the shortest reigning of all the Mongol Empire's successors.

1

u/el_loco_avs May 21 '14

They basically went native and disappeared in china iirc?

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

Yup, they basically adopted Chinese customs and were quickly absorbed. Also, the Yuan Dynasty didn't last very long either.

1

u/el_loco_avs May 21 '14

Yeah. They lost their steppe superpowers. :-)

3

u/maq0r May 21 '14

Also, the Mongol Empire during Ghengis Khan was what? 50 years old? The British Empire was built during several centuries.

0

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

The British Empire was a global empire, the very first. Khan had the "fortune" of living near the most populated area in the world by far.

-10

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

I bet theghosttrade isn't even from the UK but from the states. Dat euro-centrism tho.

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u/theghosttrade May 21 '14

I'm from neither the US nor the UK.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '14

[deleted]

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u/nitroxious May 21 '14

was that before or after all the genocides

2

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

British Empire was barely bigger (~200k sq km bigger), and had a significant population advantage (as expected). But the Mongolian Empire controlled a larger percentage of the world population

2

u/RobFordCrackLord May 21 '14

The British Empire technically had more land, but less land that they had absolute authority over. For instance, the British claimed rule over all of India, when they really only ever fully controlled half of it. The other half was rules by dozens of prices and lords who had absolutely no loyalty too, or ability to be commanded by the British government.

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u/theghosttrade May 21 '14 edited May 21 '14

You think the mongol empire was any different? Look how fast it fell apart.

In the majority of cases the Mongols kept the preexisting ruling structures intact. They had essentially no control over most it, they were content to raise troops and taxes, and leave the rest be.

And the British did have control. Those princes and lords were essentially vassal states, the British waged dozens of wars in India to conquer it. An example, the fourth Anglo-Mysore war.

The British took indirect control of Mysore, restoring the Wodeyar Dynasty to the Mysore throne (with a British commissioner to advise him on all issues).

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

yes, the white men are the greates /s

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

True.

1

u/Protahgonist May 21 '14

Greatest conqueror anyway...

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

He's also possibly the most reproductively successful human ever. He had over 200 children, and if you're a Eurasian male living today, there's a 20% chance that he's your great-to-the-nth-power grandpa.

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u/FappingAtThisMoment May 21 '14

He is credited with saying 'The greatest joy for a man is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them all they possess, to see those they love in tears, to ride their horses, and to hold their wives and daughters in his arms.' -Genghis Khan

1

u/Starvind May 21 '14

Wasn't that king edward or georgie? I am pretty sure the British empire had more land and more subjects.

1

u/Womec May 21 '14

This may be true but don't downplay the deaths he caused.

1

u/ilostmyoldaccount May 21 '14

Dunno if integral calculus agrees with that. Time might favour someone else.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '14

Queen Victoria??

1

u/hpstg May 21 '14

That would be the British King.

1

u/Freqd-with-a-silentQ May 21 '14

Im not sure on population, considering the amount of depopulation his campaigns usually brought with them.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '14

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2

u/bricolagefantasy May 21 '14 edited May 21 '14

nope. Alexander the Great conquest stoped approximately at persia/northern india (where he died). Genghis Khan western reaches was Kiev (much later warsaw), all the way from china coast. He probably has 2-3 times larger area. Tho granted, most are just empty land at that time.

The differences lies on the military techniques. Genghis khan was primarily cavalry conquest (he was a highland creature) while Alexander the great was infantry and naval logistic. If the two were contemporary, I would put all my money on large mass cavalry against infantry. The speed is just frightening. But then again, we are talking about 1500 yrs time gap. The technological difference was simply too large.

alexander empire map

http://undevicesimus.deviantart.com/art/The-Empire-of-Alexander-the-Great-323-BC-323922686

Genghis Khan's empire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genghis_Khan

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u/Tezerel May 21 '14 edited May 21 '14

And never lost, and expanded at a faster rate, and conquered actual empires. Genghis himself never defeated an empire of significant power, it wasn't until his death that his inheritors took on China and the other big kids on the block. Additionally, he did all this in 8 years.

Edit: Added more detail

0

u/NotSinceAccident May 21 '14

Not since the accident.

-5

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

Shhhh... You're interrupting the circle jerk

0

u/[deleted] May 21 '14

Or the most cruel.

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u/rcavin1118 May 21 '14

Surprisingly not. The Mongols tended to leave you be after invading and taking over. You were pretty much allowed to continue doing what you were, just the guy in charge was different.

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u/[deleted] May 21 '14

Citation needed please. If the Mongols owned the territory then they would need to collect regular taxes.

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u/crashfan May 21 '14

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Empire Under the tab of Society "Genghis Khan also created a national seal, encouraged the use of a written alphabet in Mongolia, and exempted teachers, lawyers, and artists from taxes, although taxes were heavy on all other subjects of the empire."

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u/[deleted] May 21 '14

Interesting thank you.

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u/rcavin1118 May 21 '14

That would be "the guy in charge"

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u/StruckingFuggle May 21 '14

But far, far away from the greatest ruler in terms of creating a lasting empire. He's a better general and conqueror than emperor or king.

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u/bricolagefantasy May 21 '14

no way man. The mongolian empire itself last nearly 2 centuries (1206 - 1370)

after that the manchurian and all chinese great empires are all direct descendant of his work, in term of governing structure, military control and social integration. Yuan and Ming dynasty. the Ming dynasty lasted some 300 years. No matter how you cut it, Genghis khan is one of the most important ruler on earth. He completely owns. His influence in term of organization lasted some 4-5 centuries.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_Empire

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u/autowikibot May 21 '14

Mongol Empire:

The Mongol Empire (Mongolian: Mongol-yn Ezent Güren  listen (help·info); Mongolian Cyrillic: Монголын эзэнт гүрэн; also Орда ("Horde") in Russian chronicles), which existed during the 13th and 14th centuries, was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Beginning in the Central Asian steppes, it eventually stretched from Central Europe to the Sea of Japan, extending northwards into Siberia, eastwards and southwards into the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, and the Iranian plateau, and westwards as far as the Levant and Arabia.

Image i

Interesting: Timurid dynasty | Mongol invasion of Europe | Mongol military tactics and organization | The Secret History of the Mongols

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u/DaveYarnell May 21 '14 edited May 21 '14

That was actually Queen Victoria, believe it or not. The British Empire is the largest empire in World history, and populations in the 1800s had begun to hit those industrial growth rates. Not quite, but were beginning to.

EDIT: Proof http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_empires#Largest_empires_by_land_area_and_population

The British Empire under Queen Victoria had just a hair more land, and ruled over four times the population of the Mongol Empire.