Lisa and I went to the Denver Museum of Natural History with her sister and Mom last week. They are hosting an exhibition on Genghis Khan. I always find that kind of stuff interesting and this was no exception. I would like to now share some information I picked up during my visit. The big one I remember (and am not sure I believe) is the fact that a Mongol warrior actually fired his bows while all four feet of his galloping horse's hooves were off the ground for a more accurate shot.
Also, his name may be pronounced Chinggis but please don't call him that. Nothing is quite as annoying as hearing a museum full of people that just learned how to pronounce something carry on like he or she is the only one to have known this rare bit of information. It's perfectly correct to call him Genghis also.
Legend holds that Genghis's black horse survives in Mongolia today.
Today's Mongolia has all the amenities of any modern country. It's main population center, Ulaanbaatar even has cyber cafes (their idea of progress, not mine).
I picked up a lot of interesting information. Genghis developed a code of laws (the Yassa) that seemed to be pretty progressive. I say seem because only parts of the code remain and the details seem to vary depending on who you talk to. the exhibit gave examples that indicated Genghis Kahn promoted religious freedom, while the one on Wikipedia shows something different.
I also learned that the Denver Museum of Natural History is full of parents that do not believe in disciplining their monstrous offspring.
Mostly I learned the Khan was one together cat.
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