History vs. Genghis Khan - Alex Gendler

Translator: Mehmet Sıddık Dilek Reviewer: ronya bewran

Serokekî navê wî pir tirsê derketiya,

He was one of the most fearsome warlords who ever lived,

waging an unstoppable conquest across the Eurasian continent.

gelek ji axa Ewrasya kiriya destê xwe.

Cengîz Xan barbar e,

But was Genghis Khan a vicious barbarian

or a unifier who paved the way for the modern world?

an Serokekî dîrokî ye?

We'll see in "History vs. Genghis Khan."

Binêrin "Dîrok û Cengîz Xan"

"Order, order. Now who's the defendant today?

" Bêje, îro kî heye?

Khan!"

Xan!"

"I see Your Honor is familiar with Genghis Khan,

''Hun jî Cengîz Xan nas dikin ,

the 13th century warlord whose military campaigns killed millions

di sedsala 13'an de bi mîlyonan însan kuştine,

and left nothing but destruction in their wake."

ji bilî wêrankirine tu tişt nekiriye."

" Na. Ya pêşî, Cengîz xan tê xwendin."

"Objection. First of all, it's pronounced Genghis Kahn."

"Really?"

" Bi rastî?"

"In Mongolia, yes.

''Di mongolî de, êre.

Regardless, he was one of the greatest leaders in human history.

Di dirokê de serokekî pir mezin e.

Born Temüjin, he was left fatherless and destitute as a child

Bi navê Temûçîn, zarokitîya xwe de sêwî û xizan bû,

but went on to overcome constant strife to unite warring Mongol clans

Lê yekîtiya hemû eşîrê Moxol pêk anî,

and forge the greatest empire the world had seen,

Bu serokê împatatorîya dîrokî ,

eventually stretching from the Pacific to Europe's heartland."

ji okyanûsa Pasîfîk heta Ewrûpa bi dest xist."

"And what was so great about invasion and slaughter?

''Çi başî di dagirkeriyê û kuştinê de heye?

Northern China lost 2/3 of its population."

2/3 gelê bakurê Çînê hat qetil kirin."

"The Jin Dynasty had long harassed the northern tribes,

Qralê Çîn'ê jî her tim zordarî li Moxola dikir ,

paying them off to fight each other and periodically attacking them.

bi pere ew di berdan hev û paşî êrîşê wan dikir.

Genghis Khan wasn't about to suffer the same fate

Cengîz Xan li dijî vê ,

as the last Khan who tried to unite the Mongols,

hemû eşîrên Moxol kirin yek.

and the demographic change may reflect poor census keeping,

Hejmera mirovên herêmê baş naye zanîn,

not to mention that many peasants were brought into the Khan's army."

Qala gundiyên tevlî artêşa Xan bûyî nake."

"You can pick apart numbers all you want,

" Tu çi dixwazî bêje,

but they wiped out entire cities, along with their inhabitants."

lê wî, bajar kavil kirin û gelê wan kuştin."

"The Khan preferred enemies to surrender and pay tribute,

" Xan dixwast dijmin teslîm bin û bijîn,

but he firmly believed in loyalty and diplomatic law.

lê bêhtir li zagonê xwe bawer dikir.

The cities that were massacred were ones that rebelled after surrendering,

Ew bajarê hatin xira kirin, piştî teslîm bûyî seri hildan,

û nûnêrê Xan kuştin.

or killed as ambassadors.

His was a strict understanding of justice."

Dadmendiya wî hinekî hişk bû."

"Multiple accounts show his army's brutality going beyond justice:

''Pir caran,zalimtiya wî dadmendî derbas kiriye.

ripping unborn children from mothers' wombs,

Zarok ji zikê jina derxistin.

using prisoners as human shields,

Dîl wek mertal bi kar anîn,

or moat fillers to support siege engines,

bi dîla kortê dora bajer dagirtin,

taking all women from conquered towns--"

û hemû jinê bajarê ku bi dest xistî...''

"Enough! How barbaric!"

" Bes e,evqas barbartî''

"Is that really so much worse than other medieval armies?"

" Serokê serdema navîn hemû zalim in.''

"That doesn't excuse Genghis Khan's atrocities."

" Ev mahna barbartiya wî pak nake.''

"But it does make Genghis Khan unexceptional for his time

''Hemû zerokên serdema navîn

rather than some bloodthirsty savage.

zordarî kirine.

In fact, after his unification of the tribes abolished bride kidnapping,

Xan revandina jinan xilas kir,

jinê Moxol behtir qedir dîtin.

women in the Mongol ranks had it better than most.

They controlled domestic affairs,

Jin jî dikarîbûn,

could divorce their husbands,

dev ji mêrê xwe berdin,

and were trusted advisors.

û dibûn şewirmend.

Temüjin remained with his first bride all his life,

Temûçîn,her tim bi jina xwe ya peşî re ma,

even raising her possibly illegitimate son as his own."

û zarokên xwe yên din jî xwedî kir."

"Regardless, Genghis Khan's legacy was a disaster:

''Çawa be, jî Cengîz Xan felaket bû:

up to 40 million killed across Eurasia during his descendents' conquests.

Nêzîkê 40 mîlyan mirov kuştin,

10% of the world population.

ev dibe 10% gelê dinyaye .

That's not even counting casualties from the Black Plague

Ji bilî van, nexweşiya Weba jî

brought to Europe by the Golden Horde's Siege of Kaffa."

li Ewrûpa belav kir.

"Surely that wasn't intentional."

" Ev bêhemdî wî çêbû''

"Actually, when they saw their own troops dying of the Plague,

" Dema dîtin ku leşker ji Weba mirin,

they catapulted infected bodies over the city walls."

laşê mirî avêtin nav bajer."

"Blech."

" Eeeqq''

"The accounts you're referencing

" Ev tişt, sed sal

were written over a hundred years after the fact.

piştî bûyera hatin nivîsandin.

How reliable do you think they are?

Kî dizane ku rastin?

Plus, the survivors reaped the benefits of the empire Genghis Khan founded."

Ya din jî, gel ji desthilatiya wî feyde dît''

"Benefits?"

'' Feyde?"

"The Mongol Empire practiced religious tolerance among all subjects,

" Moxol bi xweşbînî nêzikî dîn bûn,

they treated their soldiers well, promoted based on merit, rather than birth,

di nav leşkerê xwe de dadmendî saz kirin,

established a vast postal system,

pergela postaye çê kirin,

and inforced universal rule of law,

zagonê gerdûnî pêk anîn,

not to mention their contribution to culture."

û piştgiriya çandê kirin."

"You mean like Hulagu Khan's annihilation of Baghdad,

" Tu qala Bexda'yê dike?

Pirtûkxane,nexweşxane

the era's cultural capital?

Libraries, hospitals and palaces burned, irrigation canals buried?"

û hemû bajar hat şewitandin?"

"Baghdad was unfortunate,

"Bexda bêsiûdî bû,

but its Kalif refused to surrender,

lê Xelîfe teslîm nebû,

and Hulagu was later punished by Berke Khan for the wanton destruction.

û ji bo xirakirinê, Berke Xan hat ceza kirin.

It wasn't Mongol policy to destroy culture.

Talankirina çandê ne rêbaza Moxola bû.

Usually they saved doctors, scholars and artisans from conquered places,

Pir caran bijîşk,zanê û hunermed rizgar kirin,

and transferred them throughout their realm,

ew şiyandin bajarên din

spreading knowledge across the world."

lewra zanistî belav bû"

"What about the devastation of Kievan Rus,

" Werankirina bajarê Kîev,

leaving its people in the Dark Ages

heta Ronesans li Ewrûpa derket jî

even as the Renaissance spread across Western Europe?"

gelê bajer ma di darîtiyê de.''

"Western Europe was hardly peaceful at the time.

" Xan li rojhilatê Ewrûpa aramî çê kir.

The stability of Mongol rule made the Silk Road flourish once more,

Bi aramî,Riya Hevrîşimê carek din şixulî,

allowing trade and cultural exchange between East and West,

bazirganî di navbera rojhilat û rojava de geş bû.

and its legacy forged Russia and China from warring princedoms

Şerê mîrê Rûs û Çîn rawestiya

into unified states.

aşitî pêk hat..

In fact, long after the Empire,

Zarokê Cengîz Xan,

Genghis Khan's descendants could be found

di nav hemû gele Ewrasya de

among the ruling nobility all over Eurasia."

bûn mîr û rêveber."

"Not surprising that a tyrant would inspire further tyrants."

" Ne ecêb e,Zordar ji zordara be."

"Careful what you call him. You may be related."

" Hay ji xwe jî hebe''

"What?"

" Çi?"

"16 million men today are descended from Genghis Khan.

" 16 mîlyon mirovê îro dîjin, ji Cengîx Xan in.

That's one in ever 200."

Ev jî dibe ji 200'î 1.

For every great conqueror, there are millions of conquered.

Her serdemê bi mîlyonan serok derdikevin.

Whose stories will survive?

Çîroka kîjanî yê bidome?

And can a leader's historical or cultural signifigance

Xizmetên çandî yên serokekî ,

outweigh the deaths they caused along the way?

di pîvanê de ji kuştine wî girantir in?

These are the questions that arise when we put history on trial.

Ev pirs tên hole, dema em qala serokêkî dikin.