Everyone should listen to Dan Carlin's amazing Hardcore History series on Genghis Khan: http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-43-wrath-of-the-khans-

Everyone should listen to Dan Carlin's amazing Hardcore History series on Genghis Khan: http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-43-wrath-of-the-khans-i/ http://www.dancarlin.com/product/hardcore-history-43-wrath-o... He makes a case for not just Kahn and his descendants being a huge factor in history, but for every ruler who has gone in and shaken up the foundations of civilization through conquest. Khan, Alexander and Napoleon are prime examples given (and I'm avoiding another key example but you'll know who it is if you listen to the podcast). He speculates that at various times in history, civilization stalled out, but these rulers came in and got things moving again simply by clearing entire parts away and making room for new ideas and new forms of government. Its a fascinating theory and I think this data corroborates that.