All language subtitles for Truthseekers.S01E09.Genghis.Khan.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DD+2.0.H.264-playWEB_track4_[eng]

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] A team of
truthseekers is on a mission.

Scientists.

Historians.

Archaeologists.

All on the trail
of history's enigmas.

[mysterious whooshing sound]

Searching for the truth
behind the greatest mysteries

known to humanity.

Genghis Khan is one
of the most famous rulers

of all time.

His fearsome reputation
is known the world over.

He was a conqueror
of almost mythic status

and the founding father
of the Mongolian nation.

Despite all this, we know very
little about how he died

and nothing about
his final resting place.

With no written record,
no mausoleum,

and little physical evidence,

can the tomb of one
of history's great men

ever be found?

In London, our team assemble.

Our four truthseekers
combine decades of experience

in different fields.

But they all have one goal:

to apply their knowledge
and reveal the truth.

There are mysteries,

and then there are mysteries.

I have always loved uncovering
the secrets of the past.

We need to go back

and unpick the untruths
from the truths.

Age-old problems that
we've been asking ourselves

for over 100 years, really,
can now be solved.

[narrator] They'll follow
the clues left behind.

Unravel the secrets
of the past.

Separate fact from fiction.

And together,
they'll uncover the truth...

...behind the greatest
mysteries ever.

[dramatic music playing]

[lock tumbler-like clicking]

[tense music playing]

[Tony] What's so incredible
about Genghis Khan is that

he led a people that, frankly,

nobody knew anything about
in Europe, in Asia.

They burst out of the steppe

and conquered
everything before them

with grim determination.

[dramatic music playing]

[Fern] When we think
about Genghis Khan,

he's a man of such a vast empire
and huge wealth.

If you were to find his grave,

it would be
a discovery of the ages.

[narrator] Genghis Khan is
one of the most famous

and infamous rulers
of all time.

And as the founding father
of the Mongolian nation,

he retains almost
mythic status even now.

He united the nomads

who populated the grasslands
of Eurasian Steppe

and set about
conquering the world.

[mysterious music playing]

[Tony] This is the story
of an empire

that burst out of nowhere,

led by an incredibly charismatic
figure, Genghis Khan,

who still fascinates us
down the centuries.

[narrator] Genghis Khan
changed the world

he was born into forever.

He ruled over more people
than any Roman Emperor

and was responsible
for more death

than any other man in history.

[shouting, weapons clanging]

There are several stories
about how the great warrior

finally met his end

and where he may be buried.

[dramatic music playing]

Our truthseekers
are going to find out.

Historian Tony McMahon
has been looking

at the early life
of Genghis Khan

and how it helped him
become a legend.

[soft, tense music playing]

[Tony] Genghis Khan created

the biggest continuous
land empire in history,

and for a century,

he was feared
across the world.

He struck terror
into his opponents.

And yet,
for somebody who was

such a titanic figure
of that time,

we have no image,

we have none of his words.

All we have is a record
of his mighty deeds.

[mysterious music playing]

[narrator] Very few
facts are known

about the life of Genghis Khan,

including the exact date
and place of his birth,

itself an event shrouded
in myth and mystery.

[eagle cries]

[Tony] The man who came
to be known to all of us

as Genghis Khan

was born in 1162
with the name Temujin.

And it's said
that as a baby,

he had a blackened blood clot
clenched in his little fist.

And this was seen by his people

as a foreshadowing
of future greatness.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Temujin was born
to a powerful father, Yesugei,

chief of the Borjigin clan

that was part
of the Khamag Mongol,

a loose confederation
of nomadic tribes

attempting to secure some peace

in an era dominated
by conflict.

[sharp clang]

[driving music playing]

[Tony] This is
an inhospitable landscape

that really forges the identity
of those who live on it.

And the tribes on the steppe

were forever
fighting each other,

and the Mongolian people knew
that in order to survive,

they had to trust each other.

They had to rely
on each other's loyalty.

[narrator] But this
wasn't some indication

of Mongolian savagery.

This was a time of warfare
across the known world.

[dramatic music playing]

The world that
Genghis Khan was born into

was one of extreme violence.

Europe was ravaged
by war and conflict,

and in the Middle East,

the Crusades were underway,

pitching Crusaders
against Saracens.

[shouting, weapons clanging]

[narrator] It was a brutal time,

and historically brutal times

create necessarily
brutal leaders.

[solemn music playing]

Temujin was only nine when the
truth of this

was brought into sharp focus.

[solemn music playing]

The young Temujin is taken
by his father Yesugei,

who is the tribal leader,

to meet his future wife.

This is a child marriage.

On his way home,

his father is poisoned
by the Tatars

in some kind of tribal conflict.

Hearing the news,
Temujin then returns home,

determined to claim
his birthright

to become the leader
of his people.

[narrator] But his people
had other ideas,

and on his return, they exile
him and his mother and brothers.

[Tony] They are cast
into utter poverty.

They're forced to live
on rats and rodents.

Things could not look more grim
for the young Temujin.

[dynamic music playing]

[narrator] Forced to scramble
for survival in the mountains,

this period of Temujin's life

would have a profound effect
on his future.

He would form an eternal bond
with Burkhan Khaldun,

the mountain
that sheltered his family

and protected them.

It became his most sacred place

and he would return here
throughout his life.

What he learned here
would determine the future

of much of Asia
for centuries to come.

[tense music playing]

[Tony] Life is utterly miserable
at this point.

But Temujin is bound
by the law of his people.

He adheres to their
code of honor.

And when he finds out
that his own half-brother

is concealing food
from him and the family,

he doesn't hesitate
in killing him.

And after committing
this deed,

he pledges to his mother,

"We will return
to claim what is rightly ours."

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] His mind was fixed.

Right and wrong,
black and white.

There was no gray, only red.

[tense music playing]

[Tony] True to his word,

Temujin returns to wreak a
terrible revenge on the Tartars.

He slaughters them,
he murders them,

for what they did
to his father.

[narrator] It was merely
a first step,

a first taste
of the river of blood

that was soon to follow.

[flames crackling]

Rarely in history
has the word "slaughter"

carried the weight it did
with Temujin.

His ultimatum was absolute:
bend or die.

[tense music playing]

Without total submission,

there would be
total annihilation.

Once-proud tribes wiped
from the face of the earth,

no mercy shown to the elderly,
women, or children.

[tense music playing]

Fear, however,
wasn't his only weapon.

As he set about uniting the
warring tribes

of the Mongolian Steppe,

he would seek alliances
with other tribes,

offering to spare their lives

if they swore loyalty
as his allies.

He would even invite
enemy generals

to be his own generals.

Anything that would
strengthen his forces

and expand his territory
and influence.

[dramatic music playing]

[Tony] It took Genghis Khan

as long to unite
the tribes around him

as it did
to conquer the world.

[narrator] To him, the Mongols
were one people,

and together
under his leadership,

they would be unbeatable.

Some surrendered,
some fought, many died.

But all eventually
fell into line.

[Tony] And at the age of 44,

he becomes the universal leader
of the Mongolian tribes.

And Europe is put on notice

that what is about to dawn

is the age
of the Mongolian Empire.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] It was then
that he took the name

we know him by today:

Genghis Khan,
or Universal Leader.

For the previously divided
people of Mongolia,

he changed everything.

A meritocracy was born

that saw low-
and high-born fighting

side by side
with their Great Khan.

With a united Mongolia
behind him,

Genghis had one of the world's
greatest fighting forces

at his disposal,

and the richest lands
all easily accessible

from their home on the steppe.

[dramatic music playing]

[Tony] The Eurasian Steppe

stretches from
the Hungarian Basin

all the way through to
the Pacific coastline of China.

And it's not savannah,
it's not grassland,

it's not desert, it's a kind of
combination of all three.

It's a featureless
and inhospitable landscape

that stretches
as far as the eye can see.

[narrator] And Genghis's eyes
were set on the riches,

trade, and learning that lived
just beyond the boundaries

of his tribal lands.

Europe and the Middle East were
settled agricultural societies

with growing towns and cities.

You could say
they'd gone soft.

They were civilized,

they were enjoying
the growing creature comforts

of everyday life.

Things couldn't have been
more different

for the Mongols
out on the steppe.

They were hard,

they were determined,

they were ruthless.

[narrator] In every way,

these were people
of extremes.

The Mongolian people were shaped
by their landscape.

Bonds of trust and loyalty
were not only important,

they were essential to survival.

People were either sworn friends
or sworn enemies

and treachery was punished
with the utmost severity.

People had to rely on each other
to survive on the steppe.

[tense music playing]

[narrator] And the steppe
brought them

one further advantage,

one that would play
a huge role

in their dominance
on the battlefield:

the horse.

[Tony] Horses were first
domesticated on the steppe,

and for those who lived
in that landscape,

the horse was everything.

It was their mode of transport.

It was even a source of food

in terms of the milk,
for example,

from which they
even distilled alcohol.

It was a form
of sustaining them

in their long journeys
in their military campaigns.

[narrator] There are legends
of warriors

who could ride for miles,

outflanking enemies

and relaying battlefield
messages at speed

over a tough terrain.

The people of the steppe
were literally

at one with their horses.

[narrator] It is said
they could ride at a gallop

before they could walk,

so skilled on horseback

that they could shoot birds
out of the sky

whilst riding at full speed.

This was an army
the likes of which

the world has never seen.

[Tony] The horse was
very literally

the warhorse
of the Mongolian tribes.

It allowed for war
at incredible speed and pace.

[dramatic music playing]

[sounds of battle]

[soft, tense music playing]

[narrator] And it
was that speed,

combined with battlefield flexibility,

that created
one of the most feared

military machines in history.

His battles in Mongolia

took him the best part
of two decades

with remarkably few defeats.

[yells]

[narrator] By 1206,

the army that emerged under him
was built in his image,

with codified values

of loyalty, meritocracy,
and ruthlessness.

[tense music playing]

Genghis Khan's
young Mongolian army

would go on to rout
nations and armies

that had been established
for centuries

and simply brush them aside.

They took the whole world
by surprise.

[dramatic music playing]

None of these people
had any idea

of the looming cloud
that was heading towards them

from the Eurasian Steppe,

from a place they had
no knowledge of.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Yet for someone who
made such sweeping changes

across much of the world,

we know little
about the man himself.

Could his brutal conquests
across Asia and Eastern Europe

hold the key
to understanding the man?

Will it help
to reveal the answer

to the biggest mystery of all:

the final resting place
of Genghis Khan,

the greatest warrior
of all time.

[dramatic music playing]

[crowd shouting]

[narrator] Genghis Khan,

who rose from
a childhood in exile,

avenged his father's death

and united the nomadic tribes
under his one banner.

[dramatic music playing]

His tactical brilliance
was matched

only by his
fearlessness in battle

and brutality in victory.

[dramatic music playing]

For centuries,

his name would command
fear and obedience

from the Pacific
to the Baltic.

[dramatic music playing]

But he has no mausoleum,

no gravestone,

no tomb.

His burial place
has been kept secret

for 750 years.

[dramatic music playing]

[soft, tense music playing]

Now, a team of historians
and scientists

has come together
to tease out the facts.

[Fern] I think the reason
why we're so fascinated

by Genghis Khan
and the Mongolian people

is the landscape
that they live in

and the wild pace
that they really conquer.

[narrator] At the
investigation headquarters,

Dr. Fern Riddell has been
looking at his life

and incredible
military success

to see what clues they hold.

[Fern] What fueled
the desire of Genghis Khan

and the Mongolian people

was the belief that their quest
for conquest was divine.

That this was something
they were supposed to do,

it was their birthright.

[soft drumming]

[narrator] And this
self-identity knew no limits

and held no esteem
for age-old customs

and long-held beliefs.

[Fern] The belief in their
divine right was so strong

that when they were contacted
by the Pope for an audience,

they believed that
he would be coming to them.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] The
unshakeable belief

that the world
belonged to them

and every person was theirs
to kill or command

saw the Mongol army
rampage across Asia,

dominating every foe.

Though history
has painted the horde

to appear as little more
than barbarians,

killing without thought
in a frenzy of bloodlust,

the truth was very different.

[Fern] When we hear the word
"horde,"

we tend to think of something
that's really disorganized

and quite ramshackle.

But the reality is,

they were the most
disciplined fighting force,

and there's no way they would
have been able to conquer

as many nations, armies,
and civilizations

if they hadn't had
that discipline.

Genghis Khan had a tried
and tested method of conquest.

First, he would establish
a network of spies

to assess strengths
and weaknesses,

and then he would send
an emissary with the message,

"Surrender or die."

[intense music playing]

[narrator] Their
military efficiency,

when faced with
the wealthy cities of Asia,

was nothing short
of miraculous

and borne largely
of the fear they instilled.

It's said that to Genghis,

enemy fighters
were prey to be hunted,

citizens, simply cattle
to be used or slaughtered.

[dramatic music playing]

When they attacked cities,

they did so without mercy.

Every man, woman,
and child was killed.

No one was missed,
and no one was spared.

[flames roaring]

[narrator] It was this
perfect blend of speed, skill,

and ruthlessness
of the Mongolian people,

all harnessed by Genghis Khan,

that made the Mongolian
Empire possible.

First, he had
united the tribes.

Now he was set
to conquer the world.

[all shouting]

[dramatic music playing]

[Fern] The first people
to fall victim

to Genghis Khan's expansion

were the Tangut of the Xi Xia,

and it took him four years
to conquer them.

But by the end,

he'd managed to win
their absolute loyalty

and the pledge
that if he ever needed them,

they would come
to his aid.

Genghis Khan then went
on a lightning rampage.

It took ten years,

but by the end of that,

across East Asia and China,

he had conquered
millions of people

and millions of square miles.

[narrator] And part of what
made his Empire possible

was the PR campaign that moved
ahead of the war machine.

Those who had escaped
the slaughter

spread the word across
Asia, Eastern Europe,

the Middle East,
and even Africa.

We talk about the Horde as being
utterly merciless and they were.

But part of that is the time
that they're living in.

And if you're going to go
on this massive expansion,

then you have
to have a reputation

that is deadly
and absolutely precedes you.

[shouting, flames roaring]

[narrator] This fearsome
reputation meant fewer battles.

When the price of defeat
is total annihilation,

surrender can become
more palatable.

Those that did surrender
found that Genghis Khan

was not perhaps
the devil they imagined.

[soft percussive music playing]

[Fern] In order to understand

why we've never been able
to find Genghis Khan's tomb,

we have to understand
the Mongolian way of life.

And part of that
is their code of conduct,

the Yassa.

It was a way of living,
a way of being,

not only that
your word was your bond,

but also,
a vast number of crimes

that you could be
executed for.

This code of conduct
was not just for them

but for everyone
they interacted with.

[narrator] This was
a text that controlled

every aspect of society,

determining everything
from how to wash

up to the regulation of the treatment

and execution
of defeated enemies.

The Yassa had similarities

to other legal systems
of the time,

with a basis
in the Ten Commandments,

and some of the rules

were surprisingly
forward-thinking.

[soft, tense music playing]

...and others
remarkably brutal

and show Genghis's intolerance

of the diktats of
the major world religions.

[soft, tense music playing]

[Fern] The Yassa code of conduct

might sound
incredibly restrictive,

but we also have to acknowledge
that the Mongolian Empire

was the first place
in the world

to have freedom
of religious expression.

Genghis Khan didn't mind
who you believed in

or what you believed in,

as long as you
bent the knee to him.

This reputation
for religious tolerance

is one of the reasons
why Genghis Khan

was able to expand
so quickly.

It gave him a reputation
as a just and strong leader.

[narrator] The Yassa
is known and understood

because it long
outlived its creator.

Aside from the code,

there are almost no
contemporary Mongolian accounts

of Genghis Khan's
dramatic rise,

deepening the mystery
and myth that surrounds him.

All that exists

is The Secret History
of the Mongols,

and it is brilliant
in its simplicity.

[dramatic music playing]

[Fern] Such is
the Mongolian pride

in their prowess in battle

that their only
written history

is just a simple list

of how many people
were killed

and how much land
was taken.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] These battles
that destroyed cultures

and civilizations,

or defined them
for centuries to come,

were the most
significant events

in the lives of
millions of people.

Terrifying events that
would go down in history.

But for the Mongols,

it was just another day.

[tense music playing]

[Fern] An attack
by a Mongolian army

was a truly fearful thing.

Wave after wave of horse,
a tsunami of arrows.

In fact, the massacres
that occurred

are rarely worth a mention
in the Mongolian histories.

[narrator] Not all who died
did so in battle.

The penalty for taking on
Genghis Khan was death.

[dramatic music playing]

Whether you were
a soldier or not,

there were
no innocent bystanders

in this new world order.

[dramatic music playing]

[tense music playing]

[Fern] At their peak,

the Mongolian army was
the most feared in the world.

Whole peoples would surrender

just to avoid
total annihilation.

And we know that during
their 20-year expansion,

roughly 20 to 70 million
people met their end.

[narrator] That equates
to around 20%

of the global population
at the time.

And news of the terror
from the East,

reached far beyond the borders
of Genghis Khan's empire.

[dramatic music playing]

Aside from all the
slaughter and bloodshed,

he was, above all else,
a unifying force.

The threat of annihilation

brought once-divided
people together

under the Khan's
single banner.

They exchanged goods,
knowledge, stories,

and songs.

[Fern] Genghis Khan's
empire was so vast

that at its eastern tip,

it stretched from
the Pacific Ocean in China

south to the Himalayas
in India,

and then west to
the Sea of Azov in Ukraine.

The lasting legacy
of Genghis Khan's empire

is the fact that
he united east and west,

allowing these
vast areas of land

to be at peace
for the first time.

That created trade routes
that we still use today.

[dramatic music playing]

[solemn music playing]

[narrator] The clarity
of history

has allowed us to take
a more objective view

of Genghis Khan's legacy.

The people of Europe
had no need to fear.

He wasn't coming for them.

With his sights set on
conquering the Middle East,

Khan called upon
his first subjects,

the Tangut, or Xi Xia,
to fulfill their obligation.

[soft, tense music playing]

[Fern] In 1227, the Xi Xia
refused to fulfill

their 20-year-old promise
of military aid

to Genghis Khan.

True to his word,
Genghis returned,

promising to annihilate them
from the face of the earth.

While he was
on this campaign,

Genghis Khan possibly
becomes ill or injured,

but he definitely dies.

And this is the moment

where myth
and legend combine.

[narrator] After 40 years
of almost ceaseless battle,

the journey of one of the
world's greatest ever warriors

is almost at an end,

but his death is merely
the beginning of the mystery.

Where was his body taken?

Was he ill or injured?

Had he been killed?

Why did he not receive
a lavish burial?

And can we ever
know for certain

where he might rest?

Genghis Khan,

the man who rose
from a mountain cave

to control the largest
land empire in history.

[dramatic music playing]

Unwavering in his belief
that the world belonged

to the Mongolian people,

he offered
a simple ultimatum

to everyone in his path:

Surrender or die.

His legendary ruthlessness
and brutality

left tens of millions dead

and entire civilizations
to crumble.

But he allowed self-rule,

religious freedom,

and protection
to all who submitted to him.

To those in his way,
he was the devil;

to his followers,
a living god.

[dramatic music playing]

But how can such a figure
disappear without a trace?

Where is the tomb
of Genghis Khan?

[soft, tense music playing]

Anthropologist
Karen Bellinger

is sifting through
the evidence.

[Karen] People
are always curious

about what becomes of
the great men of history.

And Genghis Khan,
who formed

the largest contiguous
land empire ever known,

certainly qualifies
as a big man.

So, how is it possible
we don't know

where he ended up
after he died?

[narrator] She is retracing
the Khan's steps,

seeing if his steadfast
beliefs could provide

the clues we need.

[tense music playing]

[Karen] It's August 1227,

and Genghis is in northwest
China with his troops,

and they're putting down
a rebellion among the Xi Xia,

who had failed to
support him militarily,

as they had promised to do so
many years before.

[narrator] Then, suddenly,

Genghis Khan
falls ill and dies.

The Secret History
of the Mongols says

he fell from his horse
while hunting

and succumbed
to his injuries.

Some say he was
assassinated by the Xi Xia,

others, that
he was mutilated

while engaging
with a concubine,

and one modern theory
claims compelling evidence

that he contracted
the bubonic plague.

The cause of his death
will forever be a mystery...

...unless, of course,
his tomb can be found.

[dramatic music playing]

[tense music playing]

We do, however,
know a little

of what happened
before he died.

On his deathbed,
as in life,

Genghis Khan controlled
the situation.

He gathered
his trusted advisors.

He delivered his wishes
for the succession.

[narrator] The Great Khan
divided his Empire

amongst his four sons,

entrusting overall leadership

to the second-youngest,
Ogedei.

[dramatic music playing]

He also left
explicit instructions

for the fate of the Xi Xia.

Despite the fact he'd softened
in his later years,

he could not forgive
their betrayal.

They were to be
exterminated completely.

No soul spared,
no mercy shown.

[Karen] After his death,

they accomplished his wishes
regarding the Xi Xia--

and more.

[dramatic music playing]

They conquered
the entirety of China,

under the Yuan Dynasty

which ruled
for two centuries,

and made incursions
into Eastern Europe

and the Middle East.

[narrator] Assured that his
wishes would be carried out

to the letter
after his death

just as they were
in his life,

Genghis Khan died
in enemy territory.

Is it possible
he was buried there?

[soft music playing]

[Karen] We know Genghis
was in China,

over 300 miles from home
when he died.

He hated China,

so it's kind of hard
for me to imagine

he would have allowed himself
to be buried there.

If he was aware enough
of what was happening

just before his death

to plan the succession,

I have to also think

he would have
directed his advisers

to get him home.

But when it comes to
this search for his tomb,

I have to feel,
as an anthropologist,

that we need
to look more closely

at beliefs around death

and burial rights
of his people.

And that hasn't really been
a focus to date,

and, honestly,
I don't know why.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Thanks to The Secret
History of the Mongols

and other surviving texts

from outposts of the
Mongolian Empire at the time,

we know a little about
their beliefs and practices,

and that death was not
a matter for discussion.

[soft, tense music playing]

[softly drumming]

[Karen] Even to this day,

Mongolians don't like to talk
about death a whole lot.

And the belief is that,
upon death,

the spirit leaves the body and
it enters the spirit banner,

and the body at that point

is expendable
and potentially dangerous.

It needs to be disposed of.

[soft, tense music playing]

[narrator] Their belief
was that as soon

as the spirit
left the body,

demons and evil spirits
would try to take its place.

Most burials would take place
shortly after death,

in simple, unmarked graves.

But this was the man
who created Mongolia,

who led his people
to a mighty empire.

Surely, it could not be
a shallow grave

left in enemy territory.

[soft, tense music playing]

Legend has it
that years beforehand,

Khan had given instructions
for his burial

and they would have been
carried out.

[soft, tense music playing]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Karen] Is it possible

his body was brought
back to Mongolia?

Well, we have an account
in the secret histories

that tells of a thousand people
who witnessed that procession

and were executed
because of it.

[narrator] Such was the desire
to keep Genghis Khan's

resting place a secret
that anyone who even

laid eyes on the coffin
was immediately put to death.

With this knowledge,

can we have any hope
of finding his tomb?

And would we know
what it looked like

if we found it?

[soft, tense music playing]

Let's say they did bring
Genghis back to Mongolia.

What then?

Well, we do have the example

of an ancestral group
called the Xiongnu,

who buried their elites
in elaborate tombs

20 meters underground.

They lined them with wood

and they filled them
with treasures

representing their
earthly accomplishments.

If Genghis were buried
in that fashion,

we could imagine indeed
it would be a wealthy trove.

[narrator] But despite
his vast wealth and power,

Genghis Khan never succumbed

to the temptations
of his riches...

[soft, tense music playing]

...still choosing to live
in traditional gers

rather than palatial luxury.

Legend has it

that he never set foot
in a building

in his whole life.

The traditional Mongol way

seems to have changed
little in his lifetime.

[soft, tense music playing]

[Karen] While it's
appealing to imagine

there is a lavish tomb
waiting to be found,

the fact is that burial
practices of the time

were much more tied
into nomadic lifestyles,

and the Mongols were
far more likely

to lash a body to a horse

and send it
off into the steppe,

or perform a sky burial.

Despite these
traditional options

that would have shaped

Mongolian approaches
to burial,

Genghis Khan being
Genghis Khan,

it's entirely possible
he came up with

a whole new solution.

And no one's going
to question the Great Khan.

[soft, tense music playing]

[narrator] Despite
the frustrating lack

of physical or
written evidence,

there are anecdotal accounts

that could bring vital clues
to help solve the mystery.

Though if one legend
is to be believed,

it's quite possible
that anybody who ever knew

where he was buried

didn't live long enough
to tell the tale.

[soft, tense music playing]

[wind gusting]

[Karen] The story goes that
he was buried in a tomb

and all those involved
were executed.

And when the
executioners returned

to the capital city
of Karakorum,

they in turn were killed.

As in everything,

control and secrecy
were paramount.

[narrator] If this is true,

if all involved in
the burial were killed,

then there can be no record
of the location.

The more we learn,

the greater
the challenge grows.

[soft, tense music playing]

If Genghis Khan was buried,

then it's likely to have been
a tomb of significant size,

matching his
unparalleled stature.

Given the Mongolian tradition
of unmarked graves,

it raises
the legitimate question

of how they would disguise

such a sizable
ground disturbance.

And one idea is that
a river was diverted,

or perhaps a thousand horses

were set to trample
over the site,

removing any traces
from the surface.

Archaeologists have
scouted some areas

that seem to fit
some of these descriptions,

but we're talking
about a landmass

the size of Germany,
France, and Spain combined.

It's a vast wilderness

with a population
of three million people,

none of whom
want Genghis Khan's

last resting place
to be found.

[narrator] And there is
one place in particular

that has been
the focus of attention

from archaeologists:

Khan's mystical mountain.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Karen] The Burkhan Khaldun

is a mountain
of great significance

to Mongolians,

and to Genghis, particularly.

It's the place
where he sought refuge

after his father was killed

and he'd been cast out
by his own tribe.

He returned many times
in his life to worship

and for contemplation,

and he even
allegedly once said,

"Bury me here
when I die."

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] Searching for
a tomb with no record?

On ground that may
now be under a river?

Or could have been trampled
by a thousand horses

many centuries ago.

An impossible mission.

But the obstacles
don't stop there.

If Genghis Khan
was indeed laid to rest

at his beloved
sacred mountain,

then there are two
very significant hurdles

to overcome.

[solemn music playing]

[Karen] The Burkhan Khaldun

has been designated
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

And that means that any kind
of archaeological exploration

is going to be
severely limited,

if allowed at all.

But more importantly,

the site is of great
cultural significance

to the Mongolian people.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] Could it be
that there is no hope

of finding the tomb?

That those who
buried Genghis Khan

did their job
of hiding it too well?

Or could their ancestors,
the Mongolian people,

prevent any significant
discovery from being made?

One man believes
he has all the answers,

including the final
resting place

of the leader
of the Mongols.

[suspenseful music playing]

Genghis Khan.

One of the greatest
military leaders

and empire builders
the world has ever seen.

His conquests are
the stuff of legend,

and took the lives
of up to 70 million people.

As many as 1 in 200
people alive today

are his direct descendants.

[suspenseful music playing]

Yet we have no
contemporary images of him.

No paintings,
no etchings,

no statues,
and no tomb.

We know how he lived,

we know where he died,

but can our experts
finally solve the mystery

of where he was buried?

[lively music playing]

[Mark] Most archaeologists
don't really devote themselves

to looking
for individual tombs

or individual kinds
of leaders in history.

But in the case
of Genghis Khan,

there are certainly
some individuals

among archaeologists

who are quite interested
in finding his tomb.

[narrator] Dr. Mark Altaweel
is an archaeologist

and data scientist.

[Mark] For most
of human history,

societies, countries,
large movements perhaps,

have influenced
historical dynamics

or history in general.

But in the case
of Genghis Khan,

he is one of those
rare individuals

where he himself had
a dramatic impact on history.

To this day,
we feel

the repercussions
of his actions

and an influence on history.

[flames roaring]

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] For Mark,

the scale of the Khan's
achievements in life

frame the questions around

what burial he may have had

and its location.

[Mark] In terms of where

Genghis Khan's burial
might be located,

one possibility
is Burkhan Khaldun,

a sacred mountain
to Mongolians.

The more likely possibility
in my opinion is, really,

a sky burial,
an open burial,

that would have meant

that his body
had disappeared,

that we will
not actually find

any evidence
of Genghis Khan,

given that his remains
were exposed to the elements.

[narrator] Even though
they viewed the body

as an empty vessel after death,

would the Mongolian
people have allowed

the body of their leader,
their hero,

to be left to the vultures?

[percussive music playing]

[Mark] Sky burials
are types of burials

that are located
often in high places

or even open places.

They're typical
among nomadic groups

that we find in Central Asia

and, really,
throughout even Eurasia.

So, among the Mongols,

this is quite
a typical type of burial.

The idea is that
once the body dies

or once the person dies,

effectively, they return
back to the elements.

So, in some ways,

it's comparable
to the idea in the West

that from the earth
we came from,

to the earth we return
after we die.

[narrator] Yet
despite a sky burial

fitting with the Mongol
traditions of the time,

and any lack of evidence
of a burial site,

there are some archaeologists
who believe there is a tomb,

and have become
obsessed with finding it.

[suspenseful music playing]

Some locals, however,
have had more luck.

[Mark] In 2004,

a joint Japanese
and Mongolian team

uncovered a palace about
150 miles east of Ulan Bator,

the modern capital
of Mongolia.

[suspenseful music playing]

Now this palace,
if it's true,

does seem to be
a contradiction.

That is, the idea was that we're
not supposed to find his tomb,

yet if there's a palace that
may date to this period

and may link to his tomb,

then potentially,

we've found a residence
that may be linked

to the burial
of Genghis Khan.

[narrator] Is it possible

that everything we thought
we knew was wrong?

The secrecy,
the executions,

the diverted river.

[suspenseful music playing]

Could that all
have just been cover?

Could a grand mausoleum
really have been built

for the Great Khan?

The team that
discovered the palace

believe so.

[soft, tense music playing]

[Mark] There are texts that
mentioned, for instance,

visits between
a tomb and a palace.

On the other hand,

there's no place of
veneration that we know of,

in other texts.

So, this is one possibility,

but yet at the same time,

contradicts
our previous knowledge.

[narrator] The balance
of probability

means that a tomb
attached to a palace

is highly unlikely.

Not only does it conflict

with everything we know
about Genghis Khan,

but for his tomb not
to have written evidence

of its construction

is difficult to reconcile

with the general view
of historical figures.

To this day, Khan is
venerated by his people.

A visible tomb would have
been a site of pilgrimage

for the last eight centuries,

not a buried ruin.

There is, however, one man

who believes he has
all the answers.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Mark] Alan Nichols
claims to have found

the mountain burial place
of Genghis Khan,

because he's basically
accounted for things like

the route, terrain, as well
as the specific mountain,

which he thinks
was a holy mountain.

He has called this mountain
Mountain X,

and he alone claims
to know where this site is.

[narrator] Alan Nichols is
a 92-year-old

American
author and lawyer

and an expert on Tibet,
China, and Mongolia.

He first heard of the search
for Genghis Khan's tomb

when he was cycling
the 4,000-mile route

through the Silk Road,

and he quickly
became obsessed.

[Mark] Allen Nichols claims

to be looking for
Genghis Khan's tomb

for educational purposes.

He wants to basically
elevate Genghis Khan

at the same level as Julius
Caesar or Alexander the Great.

He sees him as
one of these great conquerors

in history, a person who is
really a father figure

to a a nation,
to the Mongols.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Nichols
wouldn't be alone

in believing that Genghis
hasn't had the same recognition

as other historical figures,

reduced to a simple barbarian
in the eyes of the West.

But his impact
lingers to this day.

His last ruling
direct descendent died

only a century ago,

and the discovery of his tomb
would certainly prompt

a discussion about
his achievements and impact

on the modern world.

So, where is Mountain X?

Nichols claims that
the texts and the geography

all point to a mountain
in the Yin range,

near the Yellow River

and the capital city
of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot.

[suspenseful music playing]

He hopes to return
to the site

with ground x-ray
and magnetology tools

to prove his theory,

but he's unlikely to receive
any help to do so.

[solemn music playing]

[Mark] Now, the Mongolian
state is quite sensitive

about anyone
excavating or looking

for the tomb
of Genghis Khan.

We have to think
of Genghis Khan

as a really critical figure
in the history of Mongolia.

He is literally
the father of the nation.

He is the person who brought

the various tribes
and people together

to create a place
that we may call Mongolia.

[suspenseful music playing]

We can think of it as kind
of like a founding father,

such as George Washington.

For instance,
at Mount Rushmore,

if you look at his face,
it's about 60 feet tall.

A comparable example might be

the statue for Genghis Khan
in Mongolia,

where it's over
130 feet tall.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] Mark Altaweel
sees the search

for Genghis Khan's tomb

as an endeavor for
the Mongolian people alone.

He's their hero,
their Khan,

and they may not
want him found.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Mark] Can you imagine

if a place like
in the United States

would allow a foreign
team or foreigners

to come to investigate

and look for their
founding fathers' tombs,

such as George Washington
or Thomas Jefferson?

Imagine if we didn't know
where they were buried.

It's that kind of level.

It would be extremely
offensive, really,

for anybody else
to look for

a founding father
of a nation,

outside of the nation itself.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] With the message
from the Mongolian people

being loud and clear,

is it likely that the quest
to find his final resting place

will eventually
just fizzle out?

[Mark] Genghis Khan
is one of the world's

really great historical figures.

And because of this,

I don't think people will
stop looking for his tomb.

This is an unfortunate side
effect of being famous.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] Is it possible

that the Great Khan
foresaw this?

That a man who had made
such an impact in life

would never be allowed to
truly rest in peaceful death.

Did this mean he trusted
in the Mongol way,

and committed his body
to the sky?

[Mark] I don't think
we should be looking

for the tomb of Genghis Khan.

In many ways,

I find it a bit
of a vanity project

to really continue looking.

We should respect the wishes
of the Mongolian people.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] Our team has finished
their investigation.

The achievements of
Genghis Khan are astonishing.

Maybe the bigger mystery

is why he is not
widely recognized

as one of the greatest
military or national leaders

the world has ever seen.

Genghis Khan, for me,

is an absolutely
fascinating figure.

[narrator] But if
he even had a tomb,

which is far from certain,

it seems unlikely
the Mongolian people

will ever allow it
to be found.

[Karen] Some have
floated theories

that the Mongols have
somehow placed a curse

on Genghis Khan's tomb.

But, for me,
as an anthropologist,

it just comes down
to the fact

that the Mongolians have
a set of beliefs around death,

and venerated leaders
should just be left in peace.

[dramatic music playing]

[narrator] And perhaps finding
the tomb of the Great Khan

shouldn't be the focus
of archaeologists.

Perhaps we should look
more at the man himself.

The life of Genghis Khan
is far more interesting

than the death
of Genghis Khan.

[narrator] A man
who united his people,

gave them a place
in the world,

linked the East to the West,

and created the foundations
of the modern world.

Genghis Khan,
the Universal Ruler.

[suspenseful music playing]

[dramatic music playing]