Great Yasa of Genghis Khan

Questions for Further Study

• 1. Compare the Great Yasa of Ghengis Khan with another medieval law code, such as Wang Kon's Ten Injunctions or the Justice of the Rus. What cultural differences might account for differences in the law codes? What common concerns might account for any similarities?
• 2. To what extent might the nomadism that was prevalent in this part of the world at this time have contributed to the nature of the Great Yasa?
• 3. The name Ghengis Khan survives into the popular imagination of the twenty-first century as that of a cruel, violent conqueror, someone to be feared because he, in effect, plundered Asia. Based on what you have learned about the Great Yasa, do you think this view of Ghengis Khan is accurate?
• 4. There are no known surviving copies of the Great Yasa. The documents that survive are records that were kept by outsiders. How might this fact influence an interpretation of the Great Yasa? In what ways might it have been possible that the records that survive are biased?
• 5. Based on these excerpts from the Great Yasa, what was Ghengis Khan's attitude toward religion? Is his attitude surprising to you in any way? If so, how? If not, why not?