12. A Gruesome Definition of Happiness
“The greatest happiness is to scatter your enemy and drive him before you. To see his cities reduced to ashes. To see those who love him shrouded and in tears, and to gather to your bosom his wives and daughters“. Genghis Khan (1162 – 1227), author of the previous quote, gathered to his bosom many conquered enemies’ wives and daughters: a 2003 genetic study revealed that about 38 million people, or 1 in 200 of the world’s population, is descended from him.
Born Temujin, he founded the Mongol Empire, the world’s largest contiguous empire, and was likely the most terrifying figure to emerge from the Steppe. His conquests were frequently accompanied by huge massacres, even genocide. The estimated 40 million deaths toll of the Mongol conquests initiated by him, viewed as a percentage of then-global population, would be equivalent to 278 million deaths if adjusted for the 20th century.