Most men forget that Chinngiz
Khan’s greatest general was one of the only two men to have struck him with an
arrow.
Jebe, the name given to this early
encounter of a rising Khan, was brought before him, and he confessed to having
shot the arrow (pre unification). The genius of Chinngiz Khan was that he
rewarded the man who had ‘shot his horse’ (for it was never admitted that the
arrow had hit the Khan, for obvious reasons) by appointing him his commander.
Jebe proved to be the most
effective and loyal of Mongols to the Khan. When his influence became a source
of worry, Jebe immediately met his Khan with 100 of the same horse he had shot,
as tribute of his loyalty.
His loyalty was never doubted again.
Of his total conquests, Jebe
accounted for the largest and most relevant foothold (and stranglehold) of the
Empire. He is considered by many war historians as having led the greatest
mobile cavalry campaign in history. He had Subodai, second only to Jebe amongst
the Khan’s generals, by his side.
The story of Chinngiz Khan and Jebe
is one of wisdom. It was the wisdom to
understand the very cream of your men. The Empire was the genius of Timujjin,
but Jebe was his greatest asset. He cultivated the best of warriors.
In that, lies of truth of
excellence; in warfare, business or life itself.
The second man to ever have shot
the Khan has never been identified, and his arrow killed one of the greatest
men to have lived.
Shahbaz Ali-Khan
November 16, 2012
Lahore
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