red Northern China, and whose ruler bore the
proud title of emperor, were the next to feel the power of his arms.
The dominions of the king of Hia, a vassal of the Kin emperor, were
invaded and his power overthrown. Genghis married his daughter, made an
alliance with him, and in 1210 invaded the territory so long held by the
Kins.

The Great Wall, which had so often proved useless as a barrier of
defence, failed to check the march of the great Mongol host, the chief
who should have defended it being bribed to desert his charge. Through
the opening thus offered the Mongols poured into the territory of the
Kins, defeated them in every engagement in the field, overran the rich
provinces held by them, and obtained a vast wealth in plunder. Yet the
war was now waged against a settled and populous state, with strong
walled cities and other fortified places, instead of against the
scattered clans of the steppes, and, despite the many victories of the
invading horde, it took twenty years of constant fighting to crush the
Tartar emperor of Northern China.

In truth, the resistance of the emperor of the Kins was far more
stubborn and effective than that of the nations of the south and west.
In 1218 Genghis invaded Central Asia, conquered its oases, and destroyed
Bokhara, Samarcand, and other cities. He next subjected the whole of
Persia, while the westward march of the armies under his lieutenants was
arrested only at the mountain barrier of Central Europe, all Russia
falling subject to his rule. In four years the mighty conqueror, having
established his rule from Armenia to the Indus, was back again and ready
to resume his struggle with the Kins of China.

He found the kingdom of Hia in revolt, and in 1225 assembled against it
the largest army he had ever employed in his Chinese wars. His success
was rapid and complete. The cities, the fortresses, the centres of
trade, fell in rapid succession into his hands, and in a final great
battle, fought upon the frozen waters of the Hoang-ho, the army of Hia
was practically exterminated. This was the last great event in the life
of Genghis Khan. He died in 1227, having by his ruthless warfare sent
five millions of victims to the grave. With his last words he deplored
the wanton cruelty with which his wars had been fought, and advised his
people to refrain in future from such sanguinary acts.

Thus died, at the age of about sixty-five years, one of the greatest
conquerors the world ha