Yesugei poisoned; Temujin's childhood ends

1171

Returning from betrothing his nine-year-old son Temujin to a neighboring tribe, the Mongol clan-head Yesugei accepted a meal from Tatar travelers and was poisoned. His family, cast out by their own kinsmen, spent years on the edge of starvation. The boy learned that nothing was owed. The hardship forged the future Genghis Khan's conviction that loyalty must be earned rather than inherited, a principle that would reshape his approach to tribal politics.