Genghis Khan died in 1227 after falling from his horse during a military campaign in China. He was sixty years old. Custom dictated that he be buried in the Mongolian homeland so that his spirit could dwell among his people and guide them. As the cortége bearing his body wended its way northward, all who witnessed its passing were put to death so their souls could keep his company in the afterlife. As with all great Mongol chiefs, Genghis was buried in a secret place, probably on the top of a hill so that he would be close to heaven. His grave has never been found, nor has the burial site of the sixty horses and sixty virgin girls who were sacrificed to provide him with a herd and a harem for all eternity.

Genghis had four sons, who...