Genghis Khan | Timeline

Genghis Khan or Chinggis Khaan (c. 1162 – August 18, 1227), born Temüjin, was the Great Khan and founder of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribesof Northeast Asia. After founding the Empire and being proclaimed "Genghis Khan", he launched the Mongol invasions that conquered most of Eurasia. Campaigns initiated in his lifetime include those against the Qara Khitai, Caucasus, and Khwarazmian, Western Xia and Jin dynasties. These campaigns were often accompanied by large-scale massacres of the civilian populations – especially in the Khwarazmian and Western Xia controlled lands. By the end of his life, the Mongol Empire occupied a substantial portion of Central Asia and China. (Intro from Wikipedia)

January(?) 1(?), 1162 - Delüün Boldog, Burkhan Khaldun, N Mongolia - Temüjin is born

January(?) 1(?), 1177 - Temüjin is captured by his father's former allies, the Tayichi'ud, and enslaved
January(?) 1(?), 1178 - Along the Senggür River - 16-year-old Temüjin marries 17-year-old Börte, from a friendly tribe to the Borjigin, into which Temüjin was born

January(?) 1(?), 1180 - Temüjin and his half brother Qasar kill Behter, the third half-brother
January(?) 1(?), 1181 - Onon River | Khilok River - Börte is kidnapped by Merkit raiders and give to one of their warriors. In the same year, Temüjin attacks the Merkit alongside the Khilok River, with the help of Tooril Khan and his "brother" Jamukha, and rescues Börte
January(?) 1(?), 1182 - Khamag Mongol, Eastern Mongolia - First son, Jochi, is born (unclear if the father was Temüjin or a Merkit captor)
December 22, 1183 - Second son Chagatai is born

January(?) 1(?), 1186 - Khamag Mongol - In 1186, Temüjin is elected Khan of the Borjigin clan. Third son Ögedei (future Ögedei Khan) is born =(START)

January(?) 1(?), 1187 - Dalan Balzhut - Jamukha attacks Temüjin with an army of 30,000 troops. Temüjin gathers his followers to defend against the attack, but is decisively beaten in the Battle of Dalan Balzhut. He retreats and hides out in a valley. Jamukha has 70 of Temüjin's soldiers boiled alive (an atrocity that would work against him in the future)

January(?) 1(?), 1197 - The Jin initiate an attack against their formal vassal, the Tatars, with help from the Keraites and Mongols. Temüjin commands part of this attack, and after victory, he and Toghrul are restored by the Jin to positions of power
January(?) 1(?), 1201 - The combined forces of Temüjin and Ong Khan soundly defeat Jamukha and absorb most of his army
January(?) 1(?), 1203 - Ong Khan's son, Senggum, convinces his father to turn on Temüjin. Both of them attack Temüjin, but the latter manages to counterattack and defeat them

January(?) 1(?), 1204 - Temüjin subdues the Ongud, a Mongol tribe helping the Jin Dynasty guard its northern border

January(?) 1(?), 1206 - Representatives from every Mongol tribe assemble in a "Kuriltai" (large meeting). Temüjin is proclaimed "Genghis Khan", ruler of all the Mongols, marking the official start of the Mongol Empire

January(?) 1(?), 1207 - Wuhai, Inner Mongolia, China - Genghis Khan invades Western Xia and sacks Wuhai
January(?) 1(?), 1208 - Mongolia - Genghis Khan withraws to Mongolia

January 1(?), 1210 - Yinchuan, China - The Walls of Yinchuan are almost breached, after the mongols attempt to divert the river and its network of irrigation canals into the city

January(?) 1(?), 1211 - Along the Kherlen River - The Mongols join Western Xia and begin a 23-year-long campaign against Jin

March 1(?), 1211 - The Mongols rally 90,000 men for a campaign against the Jin Dynasty

June 1(?), 1211 - Battle of Wusha Fortress - Most of the Jin army is wiped out.

August 1(?), 1211 - NW of Wanquan District, Zhangjiakou, Hebei - Battle of Yehuling - Genghis Khan sends his general Muqali to lead the Balu Unit to launch a surprise cavalry charge on the enemy via a passage at Huan'erzui. Before the battle, Muqali promises Genghis Khan, "I will not return alive if I do not defeat the Jin army!" The Mongol army's morale surges. Because of the mountainous terrain, the Mongols are unable to deploy their superior cavalry to its full advantage, hence they dismount and fight on foot. High on morale, the Mongols defeat the Jin forces and fight their way towards Wanyan Chengyu's main camp. Eventually, the Jin army becomes disorganised, loses its morale, and starts breaking up. The Jin army's field commander, Wanyan Jiujin, is killed in action. The entire 300,000-strong Jin army is destroyed

October 1(?), 1211 - Huihe River (NW of Zhengzhou)(?) - Battle of Huihe Fortress - The entire Jin army is destroyed

January(?) 1(?), 1212(?) - Between grass and the Gobi Desert - Relaxation in the borderlands between grass and the Gobi Desert

March(?) 1(?), 1212 - Genghis Khan is wounded by an arrow in his knee

January(?) 1(?), 1213 - Zhongdu (Beijing, China) - The Mongol army besieges Zhongdu (Beijing)

November 1(?), 1213 - Juyong Pass | Zijing Gap (NNW of Beijing) - The mongol army breaks through Juyong Pass and Zijing Gap

January(?) 1(?), 1214 - Zhongdu (Beijing, China) - Genghis Khan surronds the court of the Golden Khan

May 31, 1215 - Zhongdu (Beijing, China) - Zhongdu (Beijing) falls to the Mongols

January(?) 1(?), 1219 - Karakorum - Genghis Khan launches his campaign against the Khwarazmian Dynasty in Central Asia

February 15, 1220 - Bukhara, Uzbekistan - Genghis and Tolui, at the head of an army of roughly 50,000 men, skirt the natural defense barrier of the Syr Darya and its fortified cities, and go westwards to lay siege to the city of Bukhara first. To do this, they traverse 300 miles of the seemingly impassable Kyzyl Kum desert by hopping through the various oases, guided most of the way by captured nomads. The Mongols arrive at the gates of Bukhara virtually unnoticed. Genghis Khan besieges Bukhara for 15 days. Bukhara was not heavily fortified, with a moat and a single wall, and the citadel typical of Khwarezmi cities. The Bukharan garrison is made up of Turkic soldiers and led by Turkic generals, who attempt to break out on the third day of the siege. A break-out force is annihilated in open battle. The city leaders open the gates to the Mongols, though a unit of Turkish defenders hold the city's citadel for another twelve days. Survivors from the citadel are executed, artisans and craftsmen are sent back to Mongolia, young men who had not fought are drafted into the Mongolian army and the rest of the population is sent into slavery. As the Mongol soldiers loot the city, a fire brakes out, razing most of the city to the ground. Genghis Khan has the people assemble in the main mosque of the town, where he declares that he is the flail of God, sent to punish them for their sins

March 16, 1220 - Samarkand, Uzbekistan - The Mongols conquer Samarkand
April(?) 1(?), 1221 - Termez (southern tip of Uzbekistan) - Genghis Khan takes Termez

May 1(?), 1221 - Bamyan, Afghanistan - Siege of Bamyan - During the siege Mutukan, the son of Chagatai Khan and favourite grandson of Genghis Khan, is killed in battle by an arrow from the besieged walls. This death, compounded by the heavy casualties sustained by his forces during the siege and the realization of his own mortality, angers Genghis to the extent that once he captures Bamiyan city he completely destroys the city and kills its entire and surrounding regions population. The destruction is so complete that even the Mongols referred to Bamiyan as "the city of sorrows"(ie. city of woe), while another title was "city of noise (or screams)" - in reference to the cries of its murdered victims

November 1(?), 1221 - near the Indus River, Pakistan - Battle of Indus - Mongol victory against Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, sultan of the Khwarezmid Empire

January(?) 1(?), 1225 - Western Xia (North-Central China - capital city: Yinchuan) - Genghis Khan attacks Western Xia with a force of 180,000

January(?) 1(?), 1226 - Khara-Khoto, near Juyan Lake Basin, Inner Mongolia, China - Genghis Khan takes Khara-Koto (Marco Polo's Etzina)

August 1(?), 1226 - Qilian Mountains - Genghis Khan escapes the heat by residing in the Qilian Mountains while his troops approach Wuwei

October(?) 1(?), 1226 - Wuwei - Genghis Khan rejoins his troops in the Autumn and takes Liangzhou (Wuwei district)
November 1(?), 1226 - Lingwu (S. of Yinchuan) - Genghis Khan lays siege to Lingwu - Battle of Yellow River - The mongols destroy the Western Xia army on the banks of the frozen river and canal systems. 300,000 dead Western Xia soldiers are counted.
January(?) 1(?), 1227 - Yinchuan, China - Genghis Khan lays siege to Yinchuan
April 1(?), 1227 - Liupan Mountains - Continues military operations around the Liupan mountains near Guyuan

August 18, 1227 - Yinchuan, China - Genghis Khan dies, aged 65, probably after falling from his horse while hunting =(END)

Bibliography
BANKSTON, John - "Genghis Khan"