The interesting side of Genghis Khan is how he destroyed his family and tribe relationships. In his childhood, building relationships based on trust and choice was more important than having kinship. He killed his brother because his brother mistreated him. He took Temüjin’s (Genghis Khan’s birth name) prey for himself just because he was an elder and the leader of the family. This was the last drop for Temüjin to kill him after a lot of unfairness and rivalry between them. The importance of companionship was significant to him, and he trusted his friend (blood friend) and exchanged gifts, which was very rare at that time. That made me think about my kin and friends. Friendships are by choice; blood relations do not drive them. That’s why they are often stronger. For me, my friendships were always more substantial than my blood relationship. That was my choice; it’s not forced upon me. That form of love is always more robust, and we can also see the results in betrayals: it’s often more psychologically devastating to have a friend betray you than a family member betrayal. We frequently forgive family members but rarely show forgiveness to friends.
- Related Note(s):
- Source(s): Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford;
Preview: