Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 13.djvu/649

 JENGHIZ KHAN 621 Ching-sze, or &quot; perfect warrior &quot;). At this time there remained to him but one open enemy on the Mongolian steppes, namely, Polo the Naiman khan. Against this chief he now led his troops, and in one battle so com pletely shattered his forces that Kushlek, the successor of Polo, who was left dead upon the field, fled with his ally Toto, the Merkit khan, to the river Irtish. Having thus further consolidated his sovereignty, Jenghiz Khan now meditated an invasion of the empire of the Kin-Tatars, who had wrested northern China from the emperors of the Sung dynasty. As a first step in this programme he invaded western Hea, and, having captured several strong holds, retired in the summer of 1 208 to Lung-ting to escape the great heat of the plains. While there news reached him that Toto and Kushlek, the Merkit and Naiman khans, were preparing for war. He thereupon at once marched against them, and in a pitched battle on the river Irtish overthrew them completely. Toto was amongst the slain, and Kushlek fled for refuge to the Khitan Tatars. Satisfied with his victory, Jenghiz again directed his forces against Hea. There also good fortune attended him, and, after having defeated the Kin army under the leadership of a son of the sovereign, he captured the Wu-leang-hai Pass in the Great Wall, and penetrated as far as Ning-hea Fu in Kansuh. With unceasing vigour he pushed on his troops into the country, and even established his sway over the province of Leaou-tung. The saying that nothing succeeds like success was eminently true in his case. Several of the Kin commanders, seeing how persistently victory attended his banners, deserted to him, and garrisons surrendered at his bidding. Having thus secured a firm footing within the Great Wall, he despatched three armies in the autumn of 1213 to overrun the empire. The right wing, under the command of his three sons Juji, Jagatai, and Oghotai, marched towards the south ; the left wing under his brothers Hochar, Kwang-tsin Noyen, and Chow- tse-te-po-shi, advanced eastward towards the sea ; while Jenghiz and his son Tule with the centre directed their course in a south-easterly direction. Complete success attended all three expeditions. The right wing advanced as far as Honan, and after having captured upwards of twenty-eight cities rejoined headquarters by the great western road. Hochar made himself master of the country as far as Leaou-se; and Jenghiz ceased his triumphal career only when he reached the cliffs of the Shan-tung promontory. But either because he was weary of the strife, or because it was necessary to gain a respite that he might revisit his Mongolian empire, he sent an envoy to the Kin emperor in the spring of the following year (1214), saying, &quot; All your possessions in Shan-tuug and the whole country north of the Yellow river are now mine with the solitary exception of Yenking (the modern Peking). By the decree of heaven you are now as weak as I am strong, but I am willing to retire from my conquests ; as a condition of my doing so, however, it will be necessary that you distribute largess to my officers and men to appease their fierce hostility.&quot; These terms of safety the Kin emperor eagerly accepted, and as a peace offering he presented Jenghiz with a daughter of the late emperor, another princess of the imperial house, 500 youths and maidens, and 3000 horses. No sooner, however, had Jenghiz passed beyond the Great Wall than the Kin emperor, fearing to remain any longer so near the Mongol frontier, moved his court to Kai-fung Fu in Honan. This transfer of capital appearing to Jenghiz to indicate a hostile attitude, he again turned southward and once more marched his troops into the doomed empire. While Jenghiz was thus adding city to city and province to province in China, Kushlek, the fugitive Naiman chief, was not idle. With characteristic treachery he requested permission from his host, the Khitan khan, to collect the fragments of his army which had been scattered by Jenghiz at the battle on the Irtish, and thus having collected a considerable force he leagued himself with Muhammed, the shah of Khuarezm, against the confiding khan. After a short but decisive campaign the allies remained masters of the position, and the khan was compelled to abdicate the throne in favour of his late guest. With the power and prestige thus acquired, Kushlek prepared once again to measure swords with the Mongol chief. On receiving the news of his hostile prepara tions, Jenghiz at once took the field, and in the first battle routed the Naiman troops and made Kushlek a prisoner. A short shrift was given to the treacherous Naiman, and his ill-gotten kingdom became an apanage of the Mongol empire. Jenghiz now held sway up to the Khuarezm frontier. Beyond this he had no immediate desire to go, and he therefore sent envoys to Muhammed, the shah, with presents, saying, &quot; I send thee greeting ; I know thy power and the vast extent of thine empire ; I regard thee as my most cherished son. On my part thou must know that I have conquered China and all the Turkish nations north of it ; thou knowest that my country is a magazine of warriors, a mine of silver, and that I have no need of other lands. I take it that we have an equal interest in encour aging trade between our subjects.&quot; This peaceful message was well received by the shah, and in all probability the Mongol armies would never have appeared in Europe but for an unfortunate occurrence which turned Jenghiz s friendly overtures into a declaration of war. Shortly after the despatch of this first mission Jenghiz sent a party of traders into Transoxiana who were seized and put to death as spies by Inaljuk, the governor of Otrar. As satisfaction for this outrage Jenghiz demanded the extradition of the offending governor. Far from yielding to this summons, however, Muhammed beheaded the chief of the Mongol envoys, and sent the others back without their beards. This insult made war inevitable, and in the spring of 1219 Jenghiz set out from Karakoram on a campaign which was destined to be as startling in its immediate results as its ulterior effects were far reaching. The invading force was in the first instance divided into two armies : one commanded by Jenghiz s second son Jagatai was directed to march against the Kankalis, the northern defenders of the Khuarezm empire ; and the other, led by Juji, his eldest son, advanced by way of Sighnak against Jend. Against this latter force Muhammed led an army of 400,000 men, who after a bloody battle with the invaders were completely routed, leaving it is said 160,000 dead upon the field. With the remnant of his host Muhammed fled to Samarkand. Meanwhile Jagatai marched down upon the Jaxartes by the pass of Taras and invested Otrar, the offending city. After a siege of five months the citadel was taken by assault, and Inaljuk and his followers were put to the sword. To mark their sense of the crime of which it had been the scene, the conquerors levelled the walls with the ground, after having given the city over to pillage. At the same time a third army besieged and took Khogend on the Jaxartes ; and yet a fourth, led by Jenghiz and his youngest son Tule, advanced in the direction of Bokhara. Tashkend and Nur surrendered on their approach, and after a short siege Bokhara fell into their hands. On entering the town Jenghiz ascended the steps of the principal mosque, and shouted to his followers, &quot; The hay is cut; give your horses fodder.&quot; No second invitation to plunder was needed ; the city was sacked, and the inhabi tants either escaped beyond the walls or were compelled to submit to infamies which were worse than death. As a final act of vengeance the town was fired, and before the last of the Mongols left the district, the great mosque and