by Talkie Toby • September 29, 2026
He lived a movie by the time he was 17 years old. No wonder Kenzo Kitakata is on his seventeenth book trying to tell the life of this man; he had the most eventful life in history, probably. So obviously, when I think of Temujin, there's a lot to think about and there's nothing quite like his story that engages me in the same way. He's taken over my mind like he took over the world eight centuries ago with nothing but a blood clot and a dream.
Borte was kidnapped and he got her back plus a baby. That's quite the plus one but if Temujin says that's his son, let's welcome the honored guest into the family. I can't even welcome a new bookmark into my arsenal without hazing it a little bit but Temujin was not a dude that relies on supplements to regulate healthy bowel movement. He was a strong warrior with a very charismatic personality, which is why he was able to establish connections with Ong Khan and later make Jamuka's followers follow him instead. Which really makes me wonder how cool of a dude he was. He lost a battle to Jamuka the first time, but seeing how badass Temujin was, Jamuka's followers just packed up their gers and joined in with Temujin's camp. Which to me was strange because Temujin valued loyalty the most and if the new followers could just change sides that easily, aren't they the least loyal? That's quite a conundrum but if Temujin says their his followers, let's welcome the honored guests into the camp.
And so I think on and on about this man's life and legacy while watching and reading videos and books about the empire he established and there's nothing else that my brain wants to handle but the story of the Great Conqueror. My brain then tricks me into thinking I'm related to him in some way. My brain tells me, "You're the reincarnation of Princess Kokochin" just because I was born exactly 700 years after her death. It's like I have a little Teb Tengri in my brain and I'm in dire need of Borte to tell me to part ways with the internal shaman. What's most tragic is that my brain didn't go for the more obvious "You are the reincarnation of Genghis Khan" route because that would be too much to bear. There's no way someone like me could share the same soul as the most brutal conqueror of all time and I subconsciously knew it. What a wimp. I mean you're reading about Genghis Khan and fantasize about his empire but not even in my own mind can I be the great leader. Although thinking that I am the reincarnation of a princess is very cool, I'd like to have the audacity to proclaim that I am the Great Khan reincarnated; at least in my dreams.
People that can imagine themselves as the Great Khan probably have great self confidence, which is something I admire in people. They probably believe they deserve all the good and forget about the bad and the cringe of their past. How nice it would be to race the great plains of Mongolia on a horse and get drunk on fermented mare's milk in the gers by moonlight. How nice, even in imagination, to be the khan of it all and have to answer to no one except a shaman that may be plotting against you, which is neither here nor there. But I am a princess that's left out of the story in many books. That's who I am and I know what it means. I'm a royal by blood and I am the beautiful princess of blue. At least that's what my own little Teb Tengri tells me.
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