The famous Mongol commander Genghis Khan is one of the most odious rulers in world history. He was not only a brave character, but also a wise ruler. A striking example is his legacy. It consists of a set of rules based on moral principles.
The laws of Genghis Khan - Great Jasa
Psychologists advise raising children in love and surround them with care. But if you look at the history, the most outstanding people at a young age passed serious tests. For example, what is it like when a ruler dies, when his heir was only 13 years old, and then power actually passes into the hands of the leader of an enemy tribe? In the next 4 years, the heir with his family was forced to hide in the mountains, remaining in hunger and cold. Out of a huge 40,000th tribe, a regular tithe, lands and an uncountable amount of living creatures, only 8 horses remained, which were also stolen by thieves.
What is it: having nothing in your soul, to gather an army around you and at 17 years to withstand the first battle, where his 13,000th army destroyed the 40,000th army of the enemy in one night? Or does history know yet another commander whose army was capable of exterminating one and a half million people in 1 hour? According to historians, it has no analogues. And his name is Genghis Khan.
Genghis is a title, not a name. His name was Timuchin. Disputes are still ongoing regarding nationality. The reign is the beginning of the 11th century, in Mongolia. Not owning a letter and not having seen a single book in his harsh youth, he managed to conquer a significant part of the world and transfer his power to his son, who reigned after him for about a quarter of a century.
The scale of land capture is compared with Napoleon. But everyone knows that his empire broke up during his lifetime, and his son was deprived of the opportunity to participate in public affairs. Genghis Khan lived for 65 years.
How was it different?
He was a deeply religious person. The laws of Genghis Khan, built on the principles of justice, directly testify to this. Every day, sometimes several times a day, he ascended to a high place near his yurt and raised his hands to heaven. So he asked God to help gather loyal people around him.
Historians also note the unprecedented cruelty of the ruler. Genghis Khan's laws state that traitors, adulterers and thieves deserve the most severe punishment. There are also facts when he ordered the traitors to be thrown into the boiling liquid alive. But later, he backs away from the practice of painful punishments and even prohibits torture. But the death penalty was in effect. She had to be performed in such a way that the punished would not suffer, but die a quick death.
Great Kurultay
In 1206, the great Kurultai was held - a meeting of representatives from all the possessions of Genghis Khan. It was almost half the world: Russia, China, Turkic and Mongolian tribes, and many other small states. He was the only ruler who brought all the Mongol tribes together.
To keep everything under control, while maintaining strict discipline, helped the army, consisting of war veterans. The laws of Genghis Khan were called Yasa. Yasa touched almost all aspects of life. In it you can find both philosophical advice and simple recommendations to men about how important it is not to try to understand a woman with the mind.
About god
The Mongols at that time were pagans. Genghis Khan created an empire, which included peoples not only of different nationalities, but also religion. The code of laws of Genghis Khan called for believing in a single God who created the Earth and Heaven, who gives life to all living beings and takes it away at a certain hour. Thus, absolute and unity in God is emphasized.
In addition, a certain category related to ritual religious activities, and religious ministers of various faiths were exempted from taxes. This category included monks, priests, muezzins, folk healers, and those involved in funeral services. Nevertheless, religious ministers, along with all the others, had to obey the emperor implicitly. It was forbidden to assign titles and ranks to anyone, if he was not elected by the people.
About the military
Perhaps the laws of Yasa Genghis Khan would not have caused so much surprise on the part of modern historians if they did not have wise laws regarding military activity. He invented and introduced a system for dividing the army into Tumen - groups of 10, 100, 1000 and 10,000 soldiers with a commander at the head. Such a classification made it easy to keep records and quickly mobilize the army if necessary.
Behavior on enemy territory
The laws of Genghis Khan regulated the behavior of soldiers not only within their own tribe. A number of rules have been introduced regarding the lands, wealth and people located in the territories they conquered. First of all, robberies were prohibited until the receipt of the appropriate command. If such a command sounded, then the warrior had the right to take what he liked, but with the condition of paying tithing in favor of the khan's treasury. A separate person was appointed to raise funds and things.
The laws of Genghis Khan were distinguished by depth and wisdom. For example, he recommended that army commanders always consider the potential of warriors, think about them and take care of their health. For example, Genghis Khan had a warrior who controlled a dozen warriors, but was not averse to showing himself on a larger scale, controlling a hundred people or a thousandth army. The warrior himself was incredible endurance. Could day and night to conduct an active battle, despite the cold, hunger or wound on the body.
However, Genghis Khan refused him a promotion. The motive is approximately the following: he is strong, but he never realized that other warriors do not have such endurance. Using power, he could heavily burden his army with tests, which led to the loss of their strength and inability to effectively fight.
Big hunt
Particular attention was paid to the nutrition and training of warriors. As is known from the lessons of history, the Mongols ate meat and milk of animals. Hunting was a way of getting meat. Therefore, in the spring and summer, it was forbidden to kill animals in the forest, whose meat was appreciated as food. These types of animals included: hares, wild donkeys, goats, deer and roe deer.
The laws of Genghis Khan - the code of laws of Yasa in some places contains strange rules. For example, it is forbidden to cut the throat with a trophy if it is intended for human consumption. The hunter had to catch the animal, tie, cut the sternum and remove the heart by hand. According to psychologists, this approach was more likely to have psychological significance than practical.
Also, with the introduction of Yasa, it was possible to eat the entrails and blood of animals, which was previously forbidden.
Slave Order
Despite the fact that the laws of Genghis Khan were called one of the wisest laws in history, elements of feudalism were preserved in them. The slaves could be representatives of other nations who were defeated in the battle and accepted citizenship of the empire of Genghis Khan. But the Mongol could not be a slave in any case.
Slaves were brought from the conquered territories. The basic principle of slavery and the entire social system was reduced to one principle: mercilessly sacrifice all in favor of the Mongols.
The Mongols were forbidden to shelter, feed, help slaves. In case of disobedience, the death penalty awaited. This approach was supposed to prevent the escape of slaves.
Discipline
Discipline was encouraged in everything. But all the demands were made regarding men. They had to fight. Young men were called up for military service from the age of 13 and spent almost the rest of their lives in battles. Those who did not want to fight had to work for the state for free.
The military obeyed strictly established rules. The death penalty awaited those servicemen who did not respond to the call of the khan. This was especially true for the far parts of the empire.
In peacetime, the armor of the military was serviced by specially hired people. The military surrendered everything after the battle. The weapons were well guarded, and other hired people were cleaned and put in order. In peacetime, the military was not allowed to carry weapons with them. Genghis Khan understood the danger of the phenomenon when hundreds of thousands of well-trained and armed fighters can walk around the endless expanses of his possessions.
Family relationships
Genghis Khan laws briefly address issues of marriage and family. Each young man, after reaching a certain age (usually 15-17), had to find a bride. But the bride should not be a relative of the first or second circle. Polygamy was also permitted.
The obligations of men were only hunting and military affairs. Women were free in their actions. Basically, they were engaged in arranging the family hearth, they could trade at their discretion and raise children. One man was allowed to marry two sisters at once. Wives were also considered concubines.
If the concubine gives birth to a child, then he is recognized on an equal basis with children born to wives. But the right of inheritance was only for children from their first marriage. The inheritance was not shared between other children.
As the laws of the great Yasa of Genghis Khan indicate, the fate of the children in relation to marriage could be decided by the parents. They married when the boy and girl were very young, and married them when they came of age. The marriage contract between the parents was valid even if the groom died in the war without waiting for the wedding - his parents could take the girl to their home.
The boundaries of morality
There was a list of serious misconduct for which the death penalty relied. For example, this:
- adultery;
- theft of a horse or its bridle;
- general theft;
- betrayal of the emperor;
- witchcraft;
- disobedience to military commanders.
At the same time, historians note a special approach to the implementation of strict laws. “Justice is above the law” - Genghis Khan took this approach. He could have mercy on someone if circumstances forced him to commit a crime, but in general the laws were strictly observed.
Thunderstorm, water and the Mongols
Before the reign of Genghis Khan, the Mongols had a strange feature - they jumped into the water during a thunderstorm, as they were very afraid. The code of laws adopted by Genghis Khan forbade them to do this. After a considerable time, on another continent it was scientifically proved that a powerful discharge of electricity released during a thunderstorm has a high probability of landing in water than on land. But how could the leader of the nomadic tribes, who could not write and read, know about this? True, the writing appeared among the Mongols during the reign of Genghis Khan. But there was no science as such.
Curious facts from personal life
Recently, a group of scientists made a curious statement: every 200 modern inhabitants of the earth are descendants of Genghis Khan, since they have an identical DNA structure. Other scientists have calculated the required number of wives so that after 800 years his descendants inhabit the entire planet. It turned out that Genghis Khan needed to have about 1800 wives. But the story reports only about 3 women who are in official marriage with him. It remains only to assume that the remaining children could be born from concubines. According to another version of the scientists, the number of his children was about 20,000.