video I watched claimed he was the first. unless i'm mistaken and they only meant the first to exempt the poor. Khan was a ruthless bastard and a major dick in a lot of ways, but he was nice to his own people for the most part.
the only thing I remember him doing evil to his own people though, was those who set up his burial site was ordered to be killed afterwards then those that killed them where ordered to be killed, to make sure no one knew where he was buried.
First to exempt the poor makes more sense... He was a conqueror, in a time where a lot of leaders were brutal. Not sugarcoating it, but don't view him through modern sensibilities, either. He would be merciless to those who betrayed him or wronged him, but to those who surrendered and his own people, he was one of the best leaders you could've hoped for in that time period. Religious freedom, women having way more rights than anywhere in Europe, developed their written language and the first "pony express" to send mail over thousands of miles, plus made the Silk Road so safe to traverse that trade could flourish. Among other things. But murder his peaceful trade envoys and steal their goods...twice? Yeah, you done fucked up. It's worth noting that Genghis Khan was the first to truly use psychological warfare as a major part of his strategy. He *wanted* grossly embellished stories of the Mongols' destruction to spread. That'd scare people more and make them more likely to surrender without fighting. The supposed numbers of deaths his army caused to the cities of the Khwarazmian Empire are pretty clearly inflated heavily. The victims obviously want to exaggerate it, but unlike other victors, the Mongols themselves were fine with being portrayed as more vicious than reality.
For his funeral procession killing themselves afterward to keep the location secret, I'm pretty sure the ones who performed it volunteered to do so and knew what was required of them. Genghis Khan wouldn't have wanted people not committed to the task to be entrusted to it, and he certainly couldn't force them not to waiver from it from beyond the grave.
yeah most of what you said was in that video as well. I suppose I was viewing it from "modern sensibilities"
he just always came across to me as the type of guy whos great if you are on the same side, but god help you if you where not. ---
Cid- "looks like that overgrown lobster just got served!" Bartz-"with cheese biscuts AND mashed potatoes!"