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Contributor: Brian Anthony. Lesson ID: 11462
Someone once said "There is no such thing as a bad boy." Did he ever meet Genghis Khan? Khan's name is synonymous with evil. Some say he brought benefits to the world. Learn how to best judge history!
If you get too close to any historical hero, you eventually find some information that doesn't fit the positive image you had held before. For example, Thomas Jefferson, the champion of civil liberties, owned slaves. Is it fair to judge someone like Jefferson based on the standards of our time?
Reflect on the following questions and discuss with your parent or teacher:
There are few people whose name is more associated with wickedness and destruction than Genghis Khan.
He was the ruler of a vast empire that covered most of the known world of the day, and is said to have been responsible for the demise of one-tenth of the human beings alive at the time. Would you be surprised to discover that there are some historians who say, "Well, he wasn't all bad!"
Let's learn some of the basic facts about the great Mongol leader's life and see if there is anything good to be mentioned. As you read the following article about Genghis Khan, write a three- or four-sentence summary for each section:
Read the article, Genghis Khan, Founder of Mongol Empire: Facts & Biography, by Owen Jarus, courtesy of Live Science. Compose your five short summaries, then share them and discuss the following questions with your parent or teacher:
You have gathered some of the basic facts of Genghis Khan's life. In the Got It? section, you will dive head-first into the debate about his life. You might be surprised how much you end up liking the guy!
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