Genghis Khan

founder of the Mongol Empire

c. 1162 – 1227 · 65 years · Mongolian steppe · Asia

Unified the Mongol tribes and launched the conquests that created the largest contiguous land empire in history.

Portrait: Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Contemporaries around the world

Philip II Augustus — king who took Normandy from the Plantagenets, 3 years younger
John Lackland — King of England who sealed Magna Carta, 4 years younger
Francis of Assisi — saint, founder of the Franciscans, 20 years younger
Averroes (Ibn Rushd) — philosopher, commentator on Aristotle, 36 years older
Frederick II — "Wonder of the World", polyglot emperor who regained Jerusalem without a fight, 32 years younger
Henry II — first Plantagenet, builder of the Angevin Empire and of common law, 29 years older

Vsevolod the Big Nest — grand prince under whom Vladimir became the strongest power in Rus, 8 years older
Andrey Bogolyubsky — prince who moved the centre of Rus to Vladimir, 51 years older
Yuri II of Vladimir — grand prince of Vladimir killed fighting the Mongols on the Sit, 27 years younger
Yaroslav II of Vladimir — first Russian prince to receive a patent to rule from the Horde, 29 years younger