Question

How do later Mongol reflections on the yasa bring out the uneasy relationship they had with the memory of Genghis Khan?

Answer 1

During the quriltai or assembly of Mongol chieftains in 1206, Genghis Khan came up with the law of yasaq, which aimed at three things: obedience to Genghis Khan, binding together of different nomad clans and the merciless punishment for wrongdoing. However, after the death of Genghis Khan, his descendants gave a new meaning to this law. They started using a new term ‘yasa’, which meant the ‘legal code of Genghis Khan’. Its main aim was to impose Mongolian customs on all the annexed tribes and their population. The Mongols projected yasa as a sacred law that could not be undone. The respect that the later Mongols had for Genghis Khan was moulded to establish Mongolian supremacy. Using the name of the great ruler and re-constructing his idea to control their empire surely reflect the uneasy relationship the later Mongols had with the memory of Genghis Khan.