Tomb of Genghis Khan

The site of Genghis Khan's tomb (who had died on August 18, 1227) has sparked considerable conjecture and study. The site's location is unknown; however, it is said to be somewhere near the Mongol sacred peak of Burkhan Khaldun in the Khentii mountain range.

Genghis Khan's Requests

Genghis Khan requested that he be buried without any marks or symbols. His body was repatriated to Mongolia when he died. In modern-day Inner Mongolia, the Genghis Khan Mausoleum is a shrine devoted to Genghis Khan, although it is not his burial place.

Burial Legends

Legend has it that 2,000 individuals attended his burial, following which his troops massacred them. His escort then murdered the soldiers, and the escort then killed everybody and everything that crossed their path to hide where he was buried. Finally, according to tradition, when they arrived at their goal, they committed suicide. Although it does not exist in modern sources, it was recounted by Marco Polo. According to mythology, the slaves who constructed the tomb were slaughtered when it was finished, and the soldiers; killed them who were also killed. As a result, everyone who knew where the site was was killed. A river was rerouted over his tomb, according to legend, to make it hard to discover (echoing the manner of burial of the Sumerian King Gilgamesh of Uruk or the Visigoth leader Alaric). Other legends claim that his tomb was stampeded over by a herd of horses, that trees were subsequently planted over the spot, and that permafrost also had a role in the burial place's concealment.

According to the Erdeni Tobchi (1662), Genghis Khan's casket may have landed in Mongolia empty. Similarly, the Altan Tobchi (1604) claims that he was merely buried with his clothing, tent, and boots in the Ordos. Another tale, according to Turnbull, is that the burial was rediscovered 30 years after Genghis Khan's death. According to legend, the Khan buried a baby camel, and the camel's mother was subsequently discovered crying at the tomb of her son.

Later Accounts

Even in the late 13th century, according to Marco Polo, the Mongols had no idea where the tomb was. The year of Genghis Khan's death is given in The Secret History of the Mongols, but no information about his burial is given. In his book "Travels of Marco Polo," Marco Polo writes, "it has been an invariable custom, that all the grand khans, and chiefs of the race of Genghis-khan, should be carried for interment to a certain lofty mountain named Alta, and in whatever place they may happen to die, even if it be at a distance of a hundred days' journey, they are nevertheless conveyed thither." Genghis Khan's death is described by Marco Polo as follows:

But, after those six years, he went up against a castle known as CAAJU, where he was injured in the knee with an arrow and perished. It was a big pity because he was a brave and smart guy.

More recent research reveals that Genghis Khan's grave is near the Mongol sacred peak Burkhan Khaldun (about 48.5°N 108.7°E). Only the Mongol royal family, or golden family, were allowed to enter the surrounding region, which became known as Ikh Khorig, or Great Taboo, after Genghis Khan came here to pray before beginning his conquering life. Only the Mongol royal family, or golden family, was allowed to enter the surrounding territory, known as Ikh Khorig, or Great Taboo, once the Mongol Empire rose to power. The Mongols completely encircled a 240-square-kilometre region, with trespassing punished by death. The region was nonetheless limited throughout the Soviet era for fear of the mountain becoming a pilgrimage destination or a focal point for Mongol national identification. As a result, western archaeologists have only had access to the area over the past 20 years. According to the Yuan dynasty, all the major khans of the Mongol empire are buried surrounding Genghis Khan's tomb, according to the Yuan dynasty, the part of the Mongol empire that reigned over China. Qinian valley was the Chinese name for the location. The exact site of the valley, however, is never recorded in any sources.

Rumours circulated about a standard holding location clues that the Soviets had taken from a Buddhist monastery in 1937, as well as a curse that claimed the lives of two (2) French archaeologists (which is comparable to the curse of the tomb of Tamerlane, Gur-e Amir). On May 10, 1920, the French diplomat Saint John Perse and Chinese Post general director Henri Picard Destelan and Dr Jean-Augustin Bussière embarked on the first trip into Mongolia in the footsteps of Genghis Khan. The palace of Genghis Khan was uncovered on October 6, 2004, which may lead to the discovery of his burial place. Maury Kravitz, an amateur archaeologist, spent 40 years looking to locate the tomb. In a French Jesuit's report, he discovered a reference to an early battle in which Genghis Khan, then known as Temüjin, scored a decisive victory. According to one version, he chose the junction of the Kherlen and "Bruchi" rivers, with Burkhan Khaldun looming over his right shoulder. Following his triumph, Temüjin said that this would be his favourite location forever. Sure that Temüjin's burial would be near the battleground, Kravitz set out to discover the "Bruchi" river, which became uncharted territory for cartographers. He did, however, uncover a toponym in the location in issue, "Baruun Bruch" ("West Bruch"), and was excavating there as of 2006, about 100 kilometres east of the Burkhan Khaldun (48°N 110°E, the larger area of Bayanbulag). Unfortunately, Maury Kravitz passed away in 2012 without ever discovering the grave. Albert Yu-Min Lin is the leader of a worldwide crowdsourcing initiative called the Valley of the Khan Project, which aims to find Genghis Khan's tomb using non-invasive technologies. His team employs ground, aerial, and satellite-based remote sensing technology platforms. He was named "2010 Readers Choice Adventurer of the Year" by National Geographic Adventure magazine for his efforts to safeguard a Mongolian territory via inquiry.

The University of California, San Diego, launched a study in January 2015, inviting anybody interested in designating probable burial locations using pictures obtained from space. Drones are now being used in new searches as of 2016. Two excursions in the Khentii Mountains in 2015 and 2016 headed by French archaeologist Pierre-Henri Giscard, a Mongolian archaeologist, and Raphal Hautefort, a scientific imaging specialist, corroborate the idea a tumulus at the top of the Burkhan Khaldun Mountain. Their drone-assisted non-invasive analysis revealed that the 250-meter (820-foot) long tumulus is of human origin and was most likely built on the model of the Chinese imperial tombs at Xi'an. Furthermore, the expedition adds that this mound is still the focus of religious ceremonies and pilgrimages among the locals.

Because the voyage was conducted without a license without alerting local authorities, Pierre-Henri Giscard did not publish any scientific findings. Indeed, aside from the fact that entry to the region surrounding Burkhan Khaldun is carefully regulated, the tomb's sanctity to the Mongolian government and populace renders exploration impossible. However, more facts regarding Pierre-Henri Giscard's study may be revealed after his death, according to him.