H)+Mongol+Empire

The Mongolian Empire
Have you ever wondered why some of the people, who are ethnically Chinese, practice the religion of Islam? Or whatever happened to the world's largest contiguous empire? In order to answer these two questions, and a number of others, it is necessary for us to study the Mongol Empire. Although short-lived (less than one hundred years) the empire created by the great Genghis Khan was the largest the world has ever known!Named "Temujin" Genghis Khan was born to a leader of a small tribe in northeastern Mongolia. His father was poisoned when he was about 10 years old. In 1206, Temujin united the warring Mongol tribes and was proclaimed Genghis Khan ("universal ruler") of the Mongol chieftains. In 1207, Genghis Khan led the Mongols on the first of the series of destructive, bloody invasions that would result in the conquest of much of the Asian mainland, occupying Beijing (Peking) in 1215. Extending their expeditions to the shores of the Caspian Sea, the Mongol warriors penetrated the steppes of Russia and totally defeated the Russian army by 1223. They did not, however, follow up their victory with a conquest of the cities to the west; instead they returned eastward. The empire established by Genghis Khan eventually extended from the Pacific Ocean in the east to the Black Sea in the west. Genghis Khan will die in 1227, but the contributions made by his sons and his grandson, Kublai Khan will ensure a lasting legacy, documented in **The Travels of Marco Polo**.