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Secondary sourcePainting1430

Temujin proclaimed Genghis Khan in 1206

Sayf al-Vâhidî · 1430

A 15th-century Persian miniature painting depicting Temüjin's proclamation as Genghis Khan at the great assembly of 1206.

Depicts the 1206 assembly at which Temüjin was proclaimed Genghis Khan, the founding moment of his empire.

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Miniature painting of a seated ruler on a gold and green throne under a green canopy, with a blue sky and flowering trees. Attendants in red, orange, blue and green robes and tall caps stand and kneel around him. A kneeling attendant holds a plate, and a table holds a blue and white vase and a gold ewer.
Sayf al-Vâhidî, Temüjin proclaimed Genghis Khan in 1206, from the Jami' al-tawarikh, Herat, c. 1430.

About this source

What it is

This is a miniature painting from a 15th-century copy of the Jami' al-tawarikh, a Persian historical manuscript, made around 1430 by the artist Sayf al-Vâhidî in Herat, Afghanistan. It shows Temüjin being proclaimed Genghis Khan in 1206, seated on a throne under a canopy surrounded by attendants.

Why it matters

The proclamation of 1206, when Temüjin was declared Genghis Khan by an assembly of Mongol leaders, marked the formal founding of the Mongol Empire. This painting, made over two centuries later in the Persian world that the Mongols had conquered, shows how later artists and historians in Islamic lands pictured this founding moment, blending memory, tradition and imagination rather than direct observation.

Look closer

  • Since this painting was made over 200 years after the event, what choices might the artist have made in imagining the scene?
  • What do the throne, canopy and attendants' clothing suggest about how the artist wanted to show Genghis Khan's authority?
  • Why might a Persian manuscript, from a region conquered by the Mongols, choose to depict this moment at all?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Genghis Khan on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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