Genghis Khan and the quest for God : how the world's greatest conqueror gave us religious freedom / Jack Weatherford

Includes bibliographical references and index

The anger of the gods -- Becoming Temujin -- The teeth that eat men -- The golden whip of heaven -- Wisdom of the steppe -- Conflicting selves -- Becoming Genghis Khan -- Messenger of light -- Jesus of the steppe -- The making of the Mongol nation -- Guardians of the flame -- Becoming the world conqueror -- Wings of one bird -- God's omnipotence -- The thumb of fate -- Wild man from the mountain -- The Confucian and the unicorn -- Becoming a god -- The last campaign -- War, inside and out -- Burning the books -- Life after death -- The thunderbolt of God.

A biography that reveals how Genghis harnessed the power of religion to rule the largest empire the world has ever known. Throughout history the world's greatest conquerors have made their mark not just on the battlefield, but in the societies they have transformed. Genghis Khan conquered by arms and bravery, but he ruled by commerce and religion. He created the world's greatest trading network and drastically lowered taxes for merchants, but he knew that if his empire was going to last, he would need something stronger and more binding than trade. He needed religion. And so, unlike the Christian, Taoist and Muslim conquerors who came before him, he gave his subjects freedom of religion. Genghis lived in the 13th century, but he struggled with many of the same problems we face today: How should one balance religious freedom with the need to reign in fanatics? Can one compel rival religions - driven by deep seated hatred - to live together in peace? An anthropologist whose book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World radically transformed our understanding of the Mongols and their legacy, Jack Weatherford has spent eighteen years exploring areas of Mongolia closed until the fall of the Soviet Union and researching The Secret History of the Mongols, an astonishing document written in code that was only recently discovered. He pored through archives and found groundbreaking evidence of Genghis's influence on the founding fathers and his essential impact on Thomas Jefferson.

English.