Genghis Khan was born with the name Temüjin around 1162 on the Mongolian steppe.

His early life was marked by extreme hardship, including the murder of his father and the abandonment of his family by their clan.

Through charisma, military skill, and ruthless determination, Temüjin built a network of alliances and defeated rival tribes.

He successfully unified the disparate and warring Mongol and Turkic tribes of Mongolia, a feat no one had achieved before.

In 1206, a great council, or 'kurultai,' proclaimed him 'Genghis Khan,' meaning 'Universal Ruler.'

He organized his army based on a strict decimal system (units of 10, 100, 1000) and demanded absolute discipline and loyalty.

He created a written legal code for the Mongols called the Yassa.

Genghis Khan launched a series of military campaigns that began the creation of the largest contiguous land empire in history.

His conquests began with the invasion of the Western Xia and Jin dynasties in northern China.

His rise from an outcast to the conqueror of a vast empire is one of the most remarkable stories in world history.