Makers of History
Genghis Khan
BY
JACOB ABBOTT
WITH ENGRAVINGS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
1901
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight
hundred and sixty, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the Southern District of
New York.
Copyright, 1888, by Benjamin Vaughan Abbott, Austin Abbott,
Lyman Abbott, and Edward Abbott.
INAUGURATION OF GENGHIS KHAN.PREFACE.
The word khan is not a name, but a title. It means chieftain or king.It is a word used in various forms by the different tribes and nationsthat from time immemorial have inhabited Central Asia, and has beenapplied to a great number of potentates and rulers that have from timeto time arisen among them. Genghis Khan was the greatest of theseprinces. He was, in fact, one of the most renowned conquerors whoseexploits history records.
As in all other cases occurring in the series of histories to whichthis work belongs, where the events narrated took place at such aperiod or in such a part of the world that positively reliable andauthentic information in respect to them can now no longer beobtained, the author is not responsible for the actual truth of thenarrative which he offers, but only for the honesty and fidelity withwhich he has compiled it from the best sources of information nowwithin reach.