Between 1206 and his death in 1227, the Mongol leader Genghis Khan conquered nearly 12 million square miles of territory—more than any individual in history. Along the way, he cut a ruthless path through Asia and Europe that left untold millions dead, but he also modernized Mongolian culture, embraced religious freedom and helped open contact between East and West. Explore 10 facts about a great ruler who was equal parts military genius, political statesman and bloodthirsty terror.
从1206年到1227年去世，蒙古领袖成吉思汗征服了近三百万多平方千米的土地——比历史上任何一个人征服的都要多。他在亚欧之间打开了一条血路，牺牲了千百万人的生命，但是他也使蒙古文化变得现代化，他拥护宗教自由，并促使了东方和西方的交流。我们将为您揭秘，这位伟大的军事家，政治家，嗜血恐怖统治者的10个事实。

1."Genghis" wasn't his real name.
1."成吉思"并不是他的真名。
The man who would become the "Great Khan" of the Mongols was born along the banks of the Onon River sometime around 1162 and originally named Temujin, which means "of iron" or "blacksmith." He didn't get the honorific name "Genghis Kahn" until 1206, when he was proclaimed leader of the Mongols at a tribal meeting known as a "kurultai." While "Khan" is a traditional title meaning "leader" or "ruler," historians are still unsure of the origins of "Genghis." It may have may have meant "ocean" or "just," but in context it is usually translated as "supreme ruler" or "universal ruler."
这位伟大的蒙古"可汗"，于1162年出生在翰难河岸，原名为铁木真，意为"好铁"或"铁匠"。到1206年才获得尊号"成吉思汗"，那时在一个部落会议即"库里台大会"上他被宣为蒙古领袖。"可汗"是意为"领袖"或"统治者"的传统称呼，然而历史学家还不确定"成吉思"的起源。也许是意为"大海"或是"正直"，但在文本中通常翻译成"至高统治者"或"世界统治者"。

2.He had a rough childhood.
2.他的童年并不快乐。
From an early age, Genghis was forced to contend with the brutality of life on the Mongolian Steppe. Rival Tatars poisoned his father when he was only nine, and his own tribe later expelled his family and left his mother to raise her seven children alone. Genghis grew up hunting and foraging to survive, and as an adolescent he may have even murdered his own half-brother in a dispute over food. During his teenage years, rival clans abducted both he and his young wife, and Genghis spent time as a slave before making a daring escape. Despite all these hardships, by his early 20s he had established himself as a formidable warrior and leader. After amassing an army of supporters, he began forging alliances with the heads of important tribes. By 1206, he had successfully consolidated the steppe confederations under his banner and began to turn his attention to outside conquest.
在年幼时，成吉思就不得不适应蒙古大草原上残酷的生活。在他九岁时，鞑靼人就毒死了他的父亲，他的部族后来流放了他的家族，只剩他的母亲独自抚养她的七个孩子。成吉思汗从小就打猎觅食求生，年少时，他在食物之争中杀掉了他同父异母的兄弟。他少年时期，死对头的家族绑架了他和他的妻子，他当了很长时间的奴隶，才敢逃出去。经历了这么多的磨难，他20出头时已然成为令人敬畏的战士和领袖。在聚集了一批支持者后，他开始和重要的部落领袖结成联盟。到1206年，他成功地巩固了草原上的同盟们，并开始将注意力转移到外围地区。

3.There is no definitive record of what he looked like.
3.关于他的长相，并没有清楚的记载。
For such an influential figure, very little is known about Genghis Kahn's personal life or even his physical appearance. No contemporary portraits or sculptures of him have survived, and what little information historians do have is often contradictory or unreliable. Most accounts describe him as tall and strong with a flowing mane of hair and a long, bushy beard. Perhaps the most surprising description comes courtesy of the 14th century Persian chronicler Rashid al-Din, who claimed Genghis had red hair and green eyes. Al-Din's account is questionable—he never met the Khan in person—but these striking features were not unheard of among the ethnically diverse Mongols.
对于成吉思汗这么有影响力的人，关于他的个人生活，甚至是他的长相都鲜为人知。他的任何当代画像或雕像都没有保存下来，而且历史学家掌握的些许信息经常是互相矛盾，亦或是不可靠的。大多认为他人高马大，长着一头浓密的头发，畜着长长的络腮胡。最令人惊讶的描述是来自14世纪波斯一位年代史编记者拉施德丁的记录，他称成吉思长着红色的头发和绿色的眼睛。拉施德丁的记录是有有问题的——他从未见过成吉思本人——但是这些突出的特征真是种族多元化的蒙古人的特征。

4.Some of his most trusted generals were former enemies.
4.他最信赖的一些大将，以前是他的敌人。
The Great Khan had a keen eye for talent, and he usually promoted his officers on skill and experience rather than class, ancestry or even past allegiances. One famous example of this belief in meritocracy came during a 1201 battle against the rival Taijut tribe, when Genghis was nearly killed after his horse was shot out from under him with an arrow. When he later addressed the Taijut prisoners and demanded to know who was responsible, one soldier bravely stood up and admitted to being the shooter. Stirred by the archer's boldness, Genghis made him an officer in his army and later nicknamed him "Jebe," or "arrow," in honor of their first meeting on the battlefield. Along with the famed general Subutai, Jebe would go on to become one of the Mongols' greatest field commanders during their conquests in Asia and Europe.
大可汗总能识别出人才，他经常根据将士的本领和经验来提拔他们，而不是根据等级、祖先甚至是以往的忠贞。在这个贤能社会中有这样一个有名的例子，说在1201年，和一个敌方部落的战争中，有一只箭从成吉思身下射出，成吉思汗差点死掉，不过最后是马死掉了。后来他问责俘虏，让他们说出这是谁干的，有一个士兵勇敢的站出来承认自己是那个射手。他的大胆让成吉思眼前一亮，成吉思任命他为军队里的士官，还给他起了个绰号"杰贝"或"弓箭"，来纪念他们在战场上的初次相遇。在和著名大将速不台一同征服亚欧时，杰贝成为蒙古最勇猛的战地指挥之一。

5.He rarely left a score unsettled.
5.几乎没他打不赢的仗。
Genghis Khan often gave other kingdoms a chance to peacefully submit to Mongol rule, but he didn't hesitate to bring down the sword on any society that resisted. One of his most famous campaigns of revenge came in 1219, after the Shah of the Khwarezmid Empire broke a treaty with the Mongols. Genghis had offered the Shah a valuable trade agreement to exchange goods along the Silk Road, but when his first emissaries were murdered, the enraged Khan responded by unleashing the full force of his Mongol hordes on the Khwarezmid territories in Persia. The subsequent war left millions dead and the Shah's empire in utter ruin, but the Khan didn't stop there. He followed up on his victory by returning east and waging war on the Tanguts of Xi Xia, a group of Mongol subjects who had refused his order to provide troops for his invasion of Khwarizm. After routing the Tangut forces and sacking their capital, the Great Khan ordered the execution of the entire Tangut royal family as punishment for their defiance.
成吉思汗总会给别的王国一个机会，让他们和平地服从蒙古的统治，但他也会毫不犹豫的对付任何反抗的群体。最有名的一次复仇战争发生在1219年，花刺子模帝国的伊朗国王违反了同蒙古的一项条约。成吉思跟伊朗国王达成了一项有价值的贸易条约，即通过丝绸之路进行货物交换，然而他的第一批使者被刺杀了，愤怒的可汗便派出蒙古部落全力进击花刺子模在波斯的领地。接下来的战争连带了数百万人的死伤，也使伊朗完全沦陷，但可汗并不止步于此。接着，他又一路向东杀了回去，并在西夏的党项发动战争，因为党项的蒙古国民拒绝向成吉思侵略花刺子模的军队提供供给。在党项发动战争并攻陷了它的首都后，可汗下令对党项所有皇室家族执行死刑，作为他们违背可汗的惩罚。

翻译：汤汤 来源：前十网