Jack Weatherford: evaluation

Transcript context

…Yeah, in that relationship, there’s a contrast because Chinggis Khan did not accumulate riches or accumulate power in a way that was for the sake of the riches or for the sake of the power. He was always very practical in what is the way to maximize the success of this operation. Yes, yes. I often wonder, what happened to the gold belt? It disappeared from the story. And a gold belt doesn’t just disappear. What happened to that? It’s so interesting because Temüjin was never interested in material goods. And when as Chinggis Khan, as the ruler, in some ways you could say, became the richest man in the world, because he controlled the most wealth flowing through him. But he always dressed simply. He always lived in the tent and he said, “I eat what my soldiers eat. I dressed the way my soldiers dressed. I lived the way my soldiers live. We are the same.” So, he had no interest in the wealth. And Jamakha, he had sided before with Wang Khan, which was very advantageous because they had more trade goods and wealthier people, and all. But he just didn’t have the temperament, I think, that was going to be helpful for Chinggis Khan’s continued rise. That is one of the powerful things about the Chinggis Khan stories. He came from nothing.…

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