7 The 100 Most Influential World Leaders of All Time 7Mongols, was poisoned by a band of Tatars, another
nomadic people, in continuance of an old feud. With
Yesügei dead, the remainder of the clan—led by the rival
Taychiut family—abandoned Yesügei’s widow, Höelün,
and her children, seizing the opportunity to usurp power.
Temüjin was later captured by the Taychiut, who, rather
than killing him, kept him around their camps, wearing
a wooden collar. One night, when they were feasting,
Temüjin knocked down the sentry with a blow from his
wooden collar and fled. Although the Taychiut searched
all night for him, he was able to escape.
Temüjin rose to defeat several rival clans, including the
Merkit, Jürkin, Kereit, and the formidable Tartars, ruth-
lessly crushing them and leaving him master of the steppes.
In 1206 a great assembly was held by the River Onon, and
Temüjin was proclaimed Chinggis Khan. The title proba-
bly meant Universal Ruler. He distributed thousands of
families to the custody of his own relatives and compan-
ions, replacing the existing pattern of tribes and clans by
something closer to a feudal structure.
The year 1206 was a turning point in the history of the
Mongols and in world history, when the Mongols were
first ready to move out beyond the steppe. Mongolia itself
took on a new shape. The petty tribal quarrels and raids
were a thing of the past. A unified Mongol nation came
into existence as the personal creation of Chinggis Khan
and has survived to the present day, despite many chal-
lenges. Chinggis Khan was ready to start on his world
conquest, and the new nation was organized, above all, for
war. His troops were divided up on the decimal system,
were rigidly disciplined, and were well equipped and sup-
plied. The generals were his own sons or men he had
selected and were absolutely loyal to him.
The great conquests of the Mongols, which would
transform them into a world power, were still to come. For