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Changez Khaan

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17-Changez Khaan
1162 or 1167? - August 1227?

Genghis Khan or Changez Khaan (his given name Temujin) was from a Mongol tribe, and he founded the Khaan Dynasty in Mongolia. Legend says that the newborn Temujin had a blood clot in the palm of his hand, an omen that he was destined to be a hero. He is regarded as one of the prominent leaders in Mongolia's history. He had three brothers and one sisters and two half brothers. he was engaged at the age of 9 years and married at the age of 16 years. He had several wives and many children from the. On one hunting grip, when he was 10, he killed one of his half brothers. he was religiously tolerant and was always eager to learn about other religions for which he he learnt Muslim, Bauddh, Christian and Taoist.

His many invasions involved large scale slaughter of local population, As a result Changez Khaan and his empire have a fearsome reputation in local histories. He invaded several countries and conquered most of Eurasia. He united many kingdoms of North of China and proclaimed himself as Genghis Khan. In 1220 he gathered his forces in Persia and Armenia to return to Mongolia so he went through Afagaanistaan and Northern India while going towards Mangolia.  At the time of his death, the Mongol Empire stretched from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan. His Empire stretched from the Korean peninsula to almost to Kiev, and in the South to the Indus. It was the largest land empire ever seen.

Changez Khaan in India
After pursuing Jalaaluddeen into India from Samarkand and defeating him at the battle of Indus in 1221, Changez Khaan sent two Tumens (20,000 soldiers) to continue the chase. The Mongol commander Bala chased Jalal ad-Din throughout the Punjab region and attacked outlying towns like Bheraa and Multaan and had even sacked the outskirts of Laahore. Jalal ud-Deen regrouped, forming a small army from survivors of the battle and sought an alliance, or even an asylum, with the Turkish ruler Shamsuddeen Iltumish of Delhi Sultanate, but was turned down.

Jalaaluddeen fought against the local rulers in the Punjab, and usually defeated them in the open but could not occupy their lands. At last he proposed an alliance with the Khokhar chieftain of the Salt Range and married his daughter. The Khokhar Rai's son joined Jalaaluddeen's army along with his clansmen and received the title of Kalich (sword) Khaan. Jalaaluddeen's soldiers were under his officers Uzbek Pai and Hassan Qarlugh. Khokhar tribe of Panjaab was in alliance with Mongols during their invasion of India.

While fighting against the local governor of Sindh, Jalaaluddeen heard of an uprising in the Kirman province of southern Eeraan and he immediately set out for that place, passing through southern Baloochistaan on the way. Jalaaluddeen was also joined by forces from Ghor and Peshawar, including members of the Khilajee, Turkoman, and Gauree tribes. With his new allies he marched on Gazanee and defeated a Mongol division under Turtai, which had been assigned the task of hunting him down. The victorious allies quarreled over the division of the captured booty; subsequently the Khilajee, Turkoman, and Ghori tribesmen deserted Jalaaluddeen and returned to Peshaawar.

The Battle of Indus was fought at the river Indus in today's Pakistan in the year 1221 between Jelaaluddeen, the Sultaan of the Khwarezmid Empire and his only remaining forces of 5,000, and the Mongolian horde of Genghis Khan. Jalaaluddeen was fleeing to India with his men together with thousands of refugees from Persia, following the Mongol sacking of several cities, including Bukhaaraa and Samarkand, the latter being the Khwarezmian capital. After having won the Battle of Parwan in eastern Persia, Jalaaluddeen headed for India to seek refuge together with his army of some 50,000 men and several thousand refugees. However, the horde of Genghis Khan caught up with him when he was about to cross the river Indus, the border of India. The Sultaan posted most of his men in the way of the Mongols to let him and the refugees pass the river in safety. When the army who awaited the enemy was busy fighting the Mongolian vanguard, Genghis Khan led the main force towards the Sultaan who was trapped between the Mongols and the river.

The Sultan engaged the Mongols with his 5,000 men against the Mongols' over 10,000. This attempt failed however and the soldiers were soon separated from the refugees who were brutally slaughtered. When the Sultaan realized he was doomed, he and his closest followers crossed the river into India. Only a few of the refugees and probably none of the soldiers made it to the other side alive. Jelaaluddeen spent three years in exile in India before returning to Persia.

Some time after in 1235, another Mongol force invaded Kashmeer, and Kashmeer came under Mongolian dependency.

His Death
The reasons of his death are uncertain and the legends are many. Some historians maintain that he fell off his horse during a horseback pursuit from the land of present day Egypt due to battle wounds and physical fatigue, dying of his injuries. Others contend that he was felled by a protracted illness such as pneumonia. Some accounts say that he was castrated by a Tangut princess using a hidden knife, who wanted revenge against his treatment of the Tanguts and stop him from raping her. After his castration, Genghis Khan died, and the Tangut princess committed suicide by drowning in the Yellow River. When he died he was buried at an unknown location.

Several films have been made on Changez Khaan - one was released in 1957 "Changez Khan" by Kedar Kapoor.

Genghis Khan's name and likeness are endorsed on products, streets, buildings, and other places in Mongolia today. His face can be found on everyday commodities, from liquor bottles to candy products, and on the largest denominations of 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, and 20,000 Mongolian Togrog.

The Genghis Khaan's (or Changez Khaan) Statue is a 40-metre tall statue on a horseback, on the bank of the Tool River at Tsonjin Boldog (54 km East of the capital Ulan Bator), where according to a legend, he found a golden whip. The statue is covered in 250 tons of stainless steel is symbolically pointed South toward China. It is on top of the Genghis Khan Statue Complex, a visitor centre, itself 10 meters tall, with 36 columns representing the 36 Khaan from Genghis to Ligdan Khan. It was designed by sculptor D Erdembileg and architect J Enkhjargal and erected in 2008. Visitors walk to the head of the horse through its chest and neck of the horse, where they can have a panoramic view. The main statue area will be surrounded by 200 yurt camps, designed and arranged like the pattern of the horse brand marks that were used by the 13th century Mongol tribes. The cost of the complex is reported to be $4.1 million.

 

 

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Created by Sushma Gupta on 3/15/06
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Updated on 10/20/12