They came, they sapped, they burnt, they slew, they plundered and they departed.
- Juvaini, History of the World Conqueror
Chapter 4: The Conquering
Chinggis Khaan saw the potential that the Khwarezmid Empire had in becoming their trade partner using the Silk Road. However, to put it simply, the Khwarezmid Empire were not friendly towards him. Bad decision. In fact, such a bad decision that it would end their empire. The initial caravan of 500 men that Chinggis Khaan sent to establish official trade ties with was attacked on the orders of Inalchuq, a governor. The situation became worse when Chinggis Khaan's three ambassadors (one Muslim and two Mongols) went to see the Shah himself. The Shah had them shaved, and the Muslim beheaded, sending his head back with the two ambassadors. Chinggis Khaan considered this a great offense, and organized one of his largest armies ever with 20 tumen (200,000 soldiers), his best generals, and even some of his sons.
Through a series of wars, the Khwarezmid Empire came to an end. One of the final battles took place for the city of Ugrench. The city put up a good fight, but the Mongols came out on top. The sacking of Urgench is considered to be one of the bloodiest massacres in history.
Through the conquest of Khwarezmia, Chinggis Khaan exemplified what happened to those who did not submit to him.
Russia (1219-1224)
When members of the Khwarezmid Empire escaped, the Mongols chased them all the way to Kiev. This began a series of Russian campaigns which further extended the territory of the Mongols. Meanwhile, word of the Mongol terror spread throughout Europe.
None of these military campaigns would have been this successful without Chinggis Khaan's ingenious military tactics.
In 25 short years, Chinggis Khaan's army had conquered more land than the Romans did in their 400 year long rule. Their tactics played a huge part in this, which I will talk about in the next chapter.
China (1207-1227)
In 1207, China consisted of three separate states: Xi Xia, Jin, and Sung. He first forced the surrender of Xi Xia in 1209 despite the difficulties in capturing its well defended cities. This was a huge lesson in sage warfare for Chinggis Khaan.
He then conquered the Jin dynasty in 1215 after they made a crucial mistake by sending a messenger to him, who betrayed them and gave away the location of the Jin army.
Kuchlug, who was khan of the Naiman tribe which Chinggis Khaan had defeated, and absorbed into his Mongol Empire, fled west and became the khanate of the Kara-Khitan Khanate. Chinggis Khaan sent one of his younger generals, Jebe, with two tumen (20,000) soldiers. Because of the smaller army, Jebe resorted to inflicting internal conflicts between Kuchlug's followers. This led to their defeat, and furthermore, Kuchlug's execution. Conquering the Kara-Khitan Khanate extended the Mongol Empire's control so that it was bordering Khwarezmia, which they also conquered.
His sons and grandsons finished his conquest of China after he died.
Khwarezmia (1218-1220)
Khwarezmid Empire (1190-1220)