Memorable World History/Authors

Genghis Khan (Part XII)

Descent

In addition to most of the Mongol nobility up to the 20th century, the Mughal emperor Babur's mother was a descendant. Timur (also known as Tamerlane), the 14th-century military leader, and many other types of nobility of central Asian countries claimed descent from Genghis Khan. During the Soviet purge most of the Mongol nobility in Mongolia were purged.

Physical appearance

Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis, was noted not to have inherited his grandfather's red hair

Genghis Khan never allowed his image to be portrayed in paintings or sculptures. The earliest known image of Genghis Khan was produced half a century after his death, including the famous National Palace Museum portrait, produced by an anonymous author under the Yuan dynasty. Images depicting Genghis Khan were produced half a century after his death and each culture projected their own particular image of him.

The Persian chronicler Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani described Genghis Khan as "a man of tall stature, of vigorous built, robust in body, the hair of his face scanty and turned white, with cats' eyes, possessed of dedicated energy, discernment, genius, and understanding, awe-striking, a butcher, just, resolute, an overthrower of enemies, intrepid, sanguinary and cruel."

"Although the factual nature of the statement is controversial", the Persian historian Rashid al-Din stated in his Jami' al-tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles) that Genghis Khan and his male-line ancestors were tall, and red-haired. He also said that they had blue-green eyes, and that they had long beards. Rashid noted that Kublai Khan, Genghis' grandson, did not inherit the red hair. Rashid al-Din authored these statements under the auspice of Mongol emperor Ghazan Khan, with the assistance of Bolad.

Depictions in modern culture

There have been several films, novels and other adaptation works on the Mongolian ruler.

Films

· Genghis Khan, a 1950 Philippine film directed by Manuel Conde.

· The Conqueror, released in 1956 and starring John Wayne as Temüjin and Susan Hayward as Börte.

· Genghis Khan, a 1965 film starring Omar Sharif.

· Under The Eternal Blue Sky, a Mongolian film directed by Baljinnyam, which was released in 1990. Starring Agvaantserengiin Enkhtaivan as Temüjin.

· Genghis Khan, an unfinished 1992 film starring Richard Tyson, Charlton Heston, and Pat Morita.

· Genghis Khan – A Proud Son Of Heaven, a 1998 film made in Mongolian, with English subtitles.

· Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea, also known as The Descendant of Gray Wolf, a Japanese-Mongolian film released in 2007.

· Mongol, a film by Sergei Bodrov released in 2007. (Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film).

· No Right to Die – Chinggis Khaan, a Mongolian film released in 2008.

Television series

· Genghis Khan, a 1987 Hong Kong television series produced by TVB, starring Alex Man.