Military achievement of Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan died in 1227, having spent most of his life in military combat. His military achievements were astounding and they were largely a result of his ability to innovate and transform different aspects of steppe combat into extremely effective military strategies.

1. The horse-riding skills of the Mongols and the Turks provided speed and mobility to the army.
2. Their abilities as rapid-shooting archers from horseback were further perfected during regular hunting expeditions which doubled as field manoeuvres.
3. The steppe cavalry had always travelled light and moved quickly, but now it brought all its knowledge of the terrain and the weather to do the unimaginable.
4. They carried out campaigns in the depths of winter, treating frozen rivers as highways to enemy cities and camps.
5. Nomads were conventionally at a loss against fortified encampments but Genghis Khan learnt the importance of seizing engines and naphtha bombardment very quickly.
6. His engineers prepared light portable equipment which was used against opponents with devastating effect.