on genghis khan

on genghis khan

although he arose out of the ancient tribal past, genghis khan shaped the modem world of commerce, communication, and large secular states more than any other individual, he was the thoroughly modern man in his mobilized and and professional warfare and in his commitment to global commerce and the rule of international secular law. what began as a war of extinction between the nomad and the farmer ended as a mongol amalgamation of culures. his vision matured as he aged and as he experienced different ways of life, he worked to create something new and better for his people. the mongol armies destroyed the uniqueness of the civilizations around them by shattering the protective walls that isolated one civilization from another and by knotting the cultures together.

the great actors of history cannot be neatly tucked between the covers of book and filed away like so many pressed botanical specimens. their actions cannot be explained according to a specific timetable like the coming and going of so many trains. although scholars may designate the beginning and ending of an era with exact precision, great historical events, particularly those that erupt suddenly and violently, build up slowly, and, once having begun never end. their effects linger long after the action faded from view, like the tingling vibrations of a bell that we can still sense well after it has stopped ringing, genghis khan has long passed from the scene but his influence continues to reverberate through our time.

(genghis khan and the making of modern world – jack weatherford -- three river press  -- 2004 – page 207)