Genghis Khan Killed 1,748,000 People at Nishapur in One Hour

About Genghis Khan

Temujin, the actual name of Genghis Khan was the founder and emperor of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his demise. After founding the Mongol Empire and being proclaimed as "Genghis Khan" (meaning "Universal Ruler" in Altaic, his native tongue), he started the Mongol invasions and by the end of his life, the Mongol Empire occupied a substantial part of Central Asia and China.

Destruction of Nishapur

Nishapur is a Persian city (now located in what is called Iran) that was a busy cultural center during Genghis Khan's time. As was his invading habit, the Mongol emperor sacked the city and
controlled it with the help of his troops. But somehow, Khan's favorite son-in-law, Toquchar was killed by an arrow shot by a Nishapurian, which upset Khan's daughter badly. At the request of her revenge, that every last person in Nishapur must be killed, Khan's troops, led by his youngest son, Tolui went on a rampage, killing everyone they found, including women, children, infants, and even dogs and cats. On further orders of Khan's daughter who was worried if the people were just wounded and still alive, the people of Nishapur were beheaded, and their skulls were piled in pyramids that were built later. The cartoon picture shown in the image section below describes this beheading process, where Genghis Khan is shown to sit and watch people being beheaded.

However, it is not clear exactly how many people were killed by Genghis Khan's troops like this in Nishapur massacre. According to an estimate of the Persian historian Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, the Mongols killed more than 190,000 people in Nishapur. Coming to the claim in question, Genghis Khan killing 1,748,000 does not really mean he killed them all by himself, it refers to the number of people killed by his troops altogether. This is certain because the estimated population of Nishapur in April 1221 was in fact 1,748,000. So the above claim refers to say that the troops headed by Genghis Khan killed all people in the city of Nishapur - in an act of vengeance.