Genghis Khan left Beijing in the control of one of his generals and returned to his capitol at Karakorum. While there he sent a trade caravan to the Khwarezmian Empire, a newly formed empire between Persia and Afghanistan.
The sultan of this empire, Ala-ad-Din Muhammed, claimed that there were spies in the caravan. Genghis Khan sent envoys to respond to this accusation. The sultan killed the chief of the envoys and burned the beards of the others, which was a grave insult.
Genghis Khan responded by invading. The Khwarezmian armies were no match for his incredibly disciplined cavalry archers, and the empire fell in 1221.
One story of this conflict tells of the Caliph in Baghdad, ruler of the long-lived Abbassid Empire, sending Genghis Khan a group of European prisoners from the Crusades to assist in the conquest as he was an enemy of Ala-ad-Din Muhammed. Genghis Khan felt he had no need for the Europeans and freed them, allowing them to return home.
After conquering the Khwarezmian Empire, Genghis Khan sent armies further to the west, coming to Russia and Armenia in Eastern Europe. The armies conquered, as always, and by the time of his death in 1227 Genghis Khan had an empire spanning the entire Asian continent, from the Caspian Sea to the Pacific Ocean. He had created an army that was undefeated in battle during his lifetime, and would remain undefeated for years to come.
The Conquests of Genghis Khan
Before invading, Genghis Khan always offered his enemies a chance of peace. This chance was rarely taken, however, and when invading Genghis Khan and his armies fought mercilessly.
The Mongols were not completely barbaric, however. Although they would rape and pillage any city they conquered, Genghis Khan would make sure to spare the merchants as well as the artisans of the cities. He believed strongly in trade, and thought it was the most important part of his empire. He would have the artisans, architects and the like rebuild the cities he had conquered, and attempt to make them even more beautiful than they had been before.
One of the most important impacts of Genghis Khan and his Mongol Empire was its effect upon the Silk Road. For centuries the Silk Road had gone out of use, too dangerous for merchants to travel. Under Genghis Khan almost the entire Silk Road came under the control of the Mongols, and he protected the trade routes so that it could once more be used to trade between the east and the west. Two generations after Genghis Khan, Marco Polo of Italy would travel the full length of the Silk Road into China, and write of his travels there.