The Wrath of Khan...

Genghis Khan that is...

For those of you who didn't just get that joke (and I know it wasn't very funny), Star Trek named one of their evil characters Khan.  He was played by Ricardo Montalban and wasn't really based on Genghis Khan but I thought it was a cute title and might get me some readers who think I'm a trekkie.  Whew, if you have to spend that much time explaining a joke it must be a crummy joke!  Sorry.

Anywhoo, let's learn about the real Khan, Genghis Khan.  Actually, Temujin Khan, because Genghis is a title given to him not his name.  Temujin was born 1162-ish to a wealthy family of nomads.  When a rival tribe killed his father, he and his mother were abandoned by their tribe and lived for many years on their own.  He eventually joined another tribe and gained the power and position to not just overcome that hard childhood but conquer most of Central Asia and China!!  He joined the nomad tribes into one large and ruthless group that was a true force to reckon with.  He also was a great leader to his people and many important changes happened during his reign.  Religious freedom was allowed, in fact, it was referred to as Genghis Khan's insurance policy, that he allowed all religions hoping to please at least one diety.  Wonder how that worked out for him?  He also commissioned the development of a written language - the Mongolian Script.  He could not read or write it but probably wanted to make sure his story was documented.  Later, Mongolia fell under Soviet rule and today most Mongolians use the Cyrillic alphabet but Genghis Khan is still a huge figure in Mongolian history - as shown by this HUGE statue of him, located nearby the capital city of Ulaanbaatar...