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Genghis Khan Facts & Worksheets

Genghis Khan founded the Mongol Empire from small Mongolian tribes across the plain and neighboring territories.

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The famous Genghis Khan was the ruler and responsible for establishing the Mongol Empire. His cavalry captured more territory and people in under 25 years, more significant than the Romans did in four centuries. The most notable accomplishment of Genghis Khan is the unification of the Mongolian steppe under a vast empire that was able to contend with the strong Jin dynasty in China and conquer areas as far west as the Caspian Sea.

See the fact file below for more information about Genghis Khan, or download the comprehensive worksheet pack, which contains over 11 worksheets and can be used in the classroom or homeschooling environment.

Key Facts & Information

Early life

  • Temujin, who would eventually become Genghis Khan, was born in about 1162. According to legend, he was born with a blood clot in his right hand. His father, Yesukhei, had abducted his mother and forced her into matrimony. Hoelun, his mother, instilled in him the importance of forming alliances and the harsh realities of living in a chaotic Mongol tribal community.
  • Genghis Khan was not ethnically Han, but by founding the Yuan Dynasty, he and his descendants considered themselves genuine Chinese monarchs. He was also officially recognized as the founder, or Taizu, of Yuan.
  • Life for the Temujin was harsh and unpredictable at that period since hundreds of nomadic nations on the central Asian steppe were continuously warring and plundering one another. His father was poisoned to death by a rival clan before he reached ten. Temujin’s own clan abandoned him, his mother, and his six siblings so they wouldn’t have to provide for them.
  • Temujin united his people with the Konkirat nation when he married Borte at 16. Soon after, a chieftain from the opposing Merkit nation abducted Borte and gave her to him as a wife. She was saved by Temujin, and shortly after that, she gave birth to Jochi, her first son. 
  • Jochi’s birth was questioned because of Borte’s incarceration with the Konkirat nation, but Temujin claimed Jochi as his own. According to Mongolian tradition, Temujin had several offspring with other spouses in addition to his four sons with Borte. Only his sons who were born to him and Borte were eligible to succeed him.

Unification of the Mongols

  • Temujin was around 20 years old when he was seized and temporarily enslaved by the Taichi’uts. He escaped with the assistance of a friendly prisoner and formed a combat squad with his siblings and many other clansmen. Temujin began his long ascension to power by assembling a massive army of over 20,000 troops. He sought to abolish old tribal divides and unify the Mongols under his leadership.
  • Temujin decimated the Tatar army to revenge for his father’s murder. Temujin’s Mongols then crushed the Taichi’ut with a series of major cavalry attacks, including the boiling alive of all Taichi’ut chiefs. Temujin had also vanquished the formidable Naiman nation by 1206, ceding him sovereignty of central and eastern Mongolia.
  • The Mongol army’s early success was greatly attributed to Genghis Khan’s cunning military strategy and comprehension of his adversaries’ goals. He had a vast network of spies working for him and quickly adapted new technology from his adversaries. 
  • The attacks of the Mongols were catastrophic. They could control a galloping horse with just their legs, leaving their hands free to fire arrows. A well-organized supply system of oxcarts brought food for humans and animals, military gear, shamans for spiritual and medical support, and officials to record the loot that accompanied the entire army.
  • After defeating the other Mongol nations, Temujin was awarded the moniker “Genghis Khan,” which translates to “universal king.” As a result of the Great Khan’s announcement of divine status, religious tolerance was practiced across the Mongol Empire, as opposing the Great Khan was to reject the divine will.

Major Conquests

  • After two years, he compelled the kingdom of Xi Xia to submit after leading his soldiers against it in 1207. Genghis Khan’s army invaded the Jin Dynasty in northern China in 1211, drawn not by the architectural and scientific marvels of the major cities but rather by the seemingly endless rice fields and easy access to money.
  • The forces of Genghis Khan also engaged in combat with Muslim nations and border empires in the west. Genghis Khan initially utilized diplomacy to forge trade ties with the Khwarizm Dynasty, a Turkish-dominated kingdom that included Afghanistan, Turkestan, and Persia.
  • Genghis Khan oversaw the 1219 Khwarizm Dynasty raid, which consisted of a three-pronged assault by 200,000 Mongol forces. The Mongols broke through the defenses of every city with unrelenting ferocity. The Khwarizm Dynasty ended in 1221 when city after city was brought to its knees, and Shah Muhammad and his son were kidnapped and executed.
  • The Pax Mongolica is the name scholars gave to the time following the Khwarizm campaign. Genghis Khan’s conquests united the major commercial cities of China and Europe. Yassa was the name of the legal code that oversaw the empire. Genghis Khan created this code based on Mongol common law and comprised edicts forbearing blood feuds, adultery, stealing, and giving false testimony. Additionally, restrictions emphasizing Mongol regard for the environment were introduced, such as prohibitions against swimming in rivers and streams and directives directing soldiers to clean up everything discarded by their predecessors.
  • The conventional lines of ancestry or ethnicity were not used to determine advancement within the military or government positions; instead, merit was used. In addition to a degree of religious tolerance that mirrored the long-standing Mongol tradition of religion as a personal conviction not subject to legislation or intervention, there were tax exemptions for religious and professional leaders.
  • After destroying the Khwarizm Dynasty, Genghis Khan focused on China in the east. The Tanguts of Xi Xia were in a blatant uprising after disobeying his instructions to send men to the Khwarizm expedition. Genghis Khan routed opposing forces in a series of victories over Tangut settlements, taking Ning Hia’s palace with him. As soon as one Tangut official gave up after another, the resistance was broken. He decreed the imperial family’s execution, ending the Tangut dynasty.

Death & Legacy

  • During his reign, Genghis Khan was never defeated. Early in 1227, a horse knocked Genghis Khan to the ground, injuring him inside. He continued the campaign despite his health never fully recovering. On August 18, 1227, right before the Xi Xia was destroyed. 
  • According to his nation’s traditions, Genghis Khan was interred without markers close to his birthplace, near the Onon River and the Khentii Mountains in northern Mongolia. According to mythology, a river was rerouted across Genghis Khan’s grave, according to mythology, to make it hard to discover. The funeral escort reportedly slaughtered everyone and everything they came across to hide the location of the burial place.
  • The 61-year-old Khan convened a family kurultai in 1222 to talk about succession,  which of his four sons should succeed him as the Great Khan caused conflict. Jochi, the oldest, may not have been Genghis Khan’s son because he was born soon after Borje was abducted, and the second son Chagatai contested that claim.
  • Ogodei, the third son, was chosen as the new leader as a compromise. Six months before his father, Jochi went dead in February 1227. His father passed away on August 18, 1227.
  • East Asia, which would become Yuan China, was taken by Ogodei. Chagatai claimed Central Asia. The youngest, Tolui, claimed Mongolia itself. The sons of Jochi ruled over Eastern Europe and Russia.
  • Genghis Khan amassed money and fortune by capturing vast swamplands, valuable metals, and castles.
  • Genghis Khan was by far the greatest conqueror the world had ever known with an empire that included all of China, the Middle East, and Russia, as well as reaching from the Pacific to central Europe. He was a nomadic illiterate who became more famous than Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon combined.
  • In Mongolia, Genghis Khan changed conventional law and how society was organized. The smallest enslaved person might become an army commander in his egalitarian society if he displayed talent or valor.
  • Kublai Khan, the offspring of Genghis Khan’s youngest son Tolui, is one of the numerous descendants of the Mongol leader. After winning, Kublai was elevated to Great Khan and Emperor of the Chinese Yuan Dynasty.

Genghis Khan Worksheets

This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use Genghis Khan Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about Genghis Khan who founded the Mongol Empire from small Mongolian tribes across the plain and neighboring territories.

Download includes the following worksheets:

  • Genghis Khan Facts
  • The Great Khan
  • Things About Khan
  • The Mongol Empire
  • Horse Racing
  • Guess What?
  • The Next Khans
  • Art of War
  • Fact or Bluff
  • Conquest in History
  • Today, I Found Out

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Genghis Khan so famous?

The most notable accomplishment of Genghis Khan is the unification of the Mongolian steppe under a vast empire that was able to contend with the strong Jin dynasty in China and conquer areas as far west as the Caspian Sea.

Was Genghis Khan ever defeated?

During his reign, Genghis Khan was never defeated. Early in 1227, a horse knocked Genghis Khan to the ground, injuring him inside. He continued the campaign despite his health never fully recovering. On August 18, 1227, right before the Xi Xia was destroyed. 

How was Genghis Khan so rich?

Genghis Khan amassed money and fortune by capturing vast swamplands, valuable metals, and castles.

Was Genghis Khan a Chinese?

Genghis Khan was not ethnically Han, but by founding the Yuan Dynasty, he and his descendants considered themselves genuine Chinese monarchs. He was also officially recognized as the founder, or Taizu, of Yuan.

Who conquered most of the world?

Genghis Khan was by far the greatest conqueror the world had ever known with an empire that included all of China, the Middle East, and Russia, as well as reaching from the Pacific to central Europe. He was a nomadic illiterate who became more famous than Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon combined.

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