At the Merkit(蔑兒乞惕) camp in the mountains of northern Mongolia, Temujin(鐵木真) went looking for his wife.

"We made the Merkits pay for their deed. We destroyed their families and emptied their breasts."

Temujin, the man who was to become Genghis Khan, was barely 20 and he'd already eliminated one of Mongolia's great tribes.

In those early days, Temujin and Jamuqa (扎木合) shared the leadership of the tribe. Yet, even as they celebrated the victory over the Merkits, there was a hidden tension between them. At the root was a fundamental question--- how to measure a man's worth? Both Temujin and Jamuqa were the sons of tribal leaders, Mongolian aristocrats. But only Temujin had experienced a childhood of real adversity and learned from it.

"Now I cared only for the strength in a man's heart. A warrior does not win a battle by virtue of his birth."

Temujin rewarded ability and loyalty alone. One of his most promising warriors was Subedei(速不臺), the son of a humble herdsman. But this attitude flew in the face of Mongol tradition. Jamuqa's noble birth led him to believe that high rank should be reserved only for Mongol aristocrats. But now, his blood brother was throwing out the old ways. The gulf between Temujin and Jamuqa widened still further until a prophecy of the Mongol holy man brought their relationship to a crisis.

"The shaman (薩滿) said he had ascended into heaven in a holy trance where the Supreme God told him that he would give to me and to my sons the whole surface of the world."

adversity: a state, condition, or instance of serious or continued difficulty or adverse fortune

by virtue of: because of , due to; based on

fly in the face of: defy, clearly disobey

shaman: tribal priest or priestess who uses supernatural forces to heal illness or predict the future