Genghis Khan (ca. 1162–1227) and the Mongols are invariably associated with terrible tales of conquest, destruction, and bloodshed. This famed clan leader and his immediate successors created the largest empire ever to exist, spanning the entire Asian continent from the Pacific Ocean to modern-day Hungary in Europe.

Genghis Khan is famous for building the biggest empire in history up to that time. His territory included much of what is now modern China. He and his armies killed, reformed, and destroyed on an amazing scale. He’s famous as the world’s greatest conqueror.

Genghis Khan was best known for unifying the Mongolian steppe under a massive empire that was able to challenge the powerful Jin dynasty in China and capture territory as far west as the Caspian Sea.

(Hear how Genghis Khan has roughly 16 million descendants living today.) But the Mongol Empire left other legacies: the Silk Road and its history of trade; cultural development; and the potential for a modern era characterized by the unity of disparate peoples, and relative peace.

According to the national census of 2020, 51.7% of the Mongolians identify as Buddhists, 40.6% as unaffiliated, 3.2% as Muslims (predominantly of Kazakh ethnicity), 2.5% as followers of the Mongol shamanic tradition, 1.3% as Christians, and 0.7% as followers of other religions.

These terms should retire, but it also clearly isn’t a ‘Third World Country’ by common sense definition, and it would be uninformed to call it so. Mongolia is an “emerging country” or a “low-middle income country”. …

Crime: Mongolia is a relatively safe country for foreigners. Most street crime occurs late at night, often outside bars and nightclubs. Theft: Pickpocketing and bag-snatching can occur at any time, especially in crowded places like markets, train stations, and popular tourist attractions.

Mongolian

There is no definitive record of what he looked like. Most accounts describe him as tall and strong with a flowing mane of hair and a long, bushy beard. Perhaps the most surprising description comes courtesy of the 14th century Persian chronicler Rashid al-Din, who claimed Genghis had red hair and green eyes.