Also highlighted in this book is Genghis' estrangement from his eldest son Jochi (whose legitimacy Genghis doubts) and the strife within Genghis' family that this estrangement causes. Eventually the Xia kingdom capitulates and Genghis wins a princess of the city as his bride as well as many other spoils of war.įrom this point on, there is tension between Borte (Genghis' first wife) and Genghis' second wife. Having crossed the desert the Mongol hordes attempt to take the kingdom of Xi Xia, the Mongols inexperience in siege craft shows when they are held at bay by the walls of Xi Xia, the division between the kingdom of Xi Xia and the Chin empire is also highlighted at this time. Facing them is the arduous crossing of the Gobi desert.
The entire Mongol nation then begins to march southwards, to take the kingdom of the Xia. As well as military support, Genghis negotiates that his shaman and his brother Temuge be taught to read and write. As the price for this support, Genghis promises the Khan of the Uighars that he will march against the Xia, and the Uighars will receive the assorted libraries of the conquered people. Their Khan submits privately to Genghis, which is taken as even more binding than the public oaths the entire Mongol nation takes under a ceremony presided over by the shaman.
Genghis uses his sword to cut the Khan's thighs, so he cannot stand in return.Ĭlose to the end of the summer, the Uighurs arrive. Almost everyone has their honour satisfied, except for Temuge, who complains that he was made to kneel. Genghis shows up on the scene, and tries to sort out the situation. When his brother, Temuge, tries to intervene, he is forced to his knees. He is helped by the young Tsubodai, who is rewarded later in the book. In one incident, Genghis' brother Khasar is forced to defend his honour against the sons of a lesser Khan. While stuck in one place, the new Nation becomes impatient and tempers flare. They are anxious to be off, but he is determined to wait for the Khan of the Uighur to show up with the five thousand soldiers he wishes to have. The following summer sees the tribes gathered, waiting for Genghis to lead them where he will. Genghis orders all of the tribes to assemble the following summer in the pastures around the Black Mountain. After the killing of the Khan of the alliance, the defeated shaman decides to tie his fate to that of the new Mongol nation. Under the name Genghis, the protagonist unites the Mongol tribes, finally defeating the last alliance against his rule. The book follows Genghis' completion of the consolidation of the disparate Mongol tribes and subsequent campaigns against the Western Xia and Jin empires. Lords of the Bow (known as Genghis: Lords of the Bow in America) is the second book of the Conqueror series, based on the life of Mongol warlord Genghis Khan by Conn Iggulden.
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