Wow...Grampa versus
Grandson.
In this case, I have to throw my opinion behind
Gramps (Genghis.)
Both of the men had certain successes to
lay claim to, but I think that Genghis' are greater in certain
ways:
1) Genghis was the one who set the Mongol expansion
in motion, while Kublai came into a situation in which the Mongols were already
dominant. Genghis was the one who was able to unite the Mongols (by friendship or
force.)
2) Genghis came up with the idea of utilizing his
defeated enemies and incorporating them into his own forces rather than killing or
disbanding them, making him much stronger.
3) Genghis began
to use a system of promotion by merit rather than family ties, thus strengthening his
army.
4) Genghis created the YASSA, the military/civilian
law that governed people's lives,
5) Genghis delegated well
in his military, trusting his loyal commanders rather than micromanaging
them,
6) Genghis allowed a good deal of religious freedom
in his empire, which reduced tensions.
In contrast, Kublai
did some great things for the Mongols, but they were already dominant at this time and
so came to play for a "winning team". His big claim to fame was making some big
conquests for the empire and solidifying Mongol dominance of China. That was actually
pretty important, but he came to power through what amounted to a quasi-civil war as he
was not really the favored one to take over things.
So, in
short, Genghis did more of the leg work than Kublai, and though both had successes, the
reality is that Genghis' successes would exist even with no Kublai, but Kublai's
successes could not have been possible without Genghis.
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