In 1866, a volume was discovered in Beijing’s Imperial Palace Archives, believed to be written by a member of Chinggis Khaan’s clan. The Secret History of the Mongols documents the life of the most extraordinary military strategist the world has ever seen, who amassed the largest land empire in known history.
Its publication made Chinggis Khaan (also known as Genghis Khan, although this new spelling reflects how it has always been pronounced in Mongolian) known around the world; he still evokes an image of indomitable might, and remains synonymous with the country he ruled 800 years ago. “If people know nothing about Mongolia, they still know Chinggis Khaan,” said my guide for the week, Khaliun Dashtumur (whom I called “Hali”). “It’s a point of pride for us. We conquered half the world.”
