Genghis Khan, the man, the myth, the legend was undoubtedly a fierce and ruthless warrior. The New York Times called him “the original bad boy of history” and tales of his conquests have inspired shock and awe for much of the last millennium. During his reign as Khan of the vast Mongol empire, as many as 40 million people were killed. That’s roughly 11 percent of the world population at the time. He showed no mercy to his enemies, wiping them out by the millions, sometimes slaughtering every man, woman, and child in the cities he conquered. But was he a bloodthirsty madman or an ingenious diplomat? Did you know that despite all the killing, Genghis Khan’s empire was far more civil than the rest of the world? Let’s fix that.

Sources: 

• History Channel "Genghis Khan"
• Metropolitan Museum of Art "The Legacy of Genghis Khan"
• Live Science "Who was Genghis Khan, the warrior who started the Mongol Empire?" 
• IFL Science "Fact Check: Are 1 in 200 people descended from Genghis Khan?"
• History Channel "10 things you may not know about Genghis Khan"
• American Museum of Natural History "Empire of the Horse"
• History Channel "8 brutal acts of Genghis Khan and his successors"
• How Stuff Works "Did Genghis Khan really kill 1,748,000 people in one hour?"
• Uncharted Territories "The Hidden Rule of Empire Size"
• Science Direct "The Genetic Legacy of the Mongols"
• Mongol History "The Rescue of Borte"
• Encyclopedia Britannica "Mongol Empire"
• The Life Guide "Genghis Khan Explained in 8 Minutes"

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