Genghis Khan

About Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan, born Temüjin, was the founder and first Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which, upon his death in 1227, became the largest contiguous land empire in history. As a military strategist and political unifier, he orchestrated the Mongol conquests that spanned from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan, forever altering the political and cultural landscape of Eurasia. His foundational contribution to global military history and state-building is recognized by his exceptionally high ranking at #5 in MIT's Historical Popularity Index, placing him among the most influential figures ever recorded.

Despite his immense historical gravity, Genghis Khan's modern internet attention suggests a significant disconnect from his documented importance. He garnered approximately 4.0 million annualized Wikipedia views in 2025. To put this in perspective, the vastly less historically important figure of Bob Dylan (#736 importance) commanded over three times that traffic at 12.7M views. Indeed, the data indicates an "overattention" ratio of +3x for him relative to his historical rank, suggesting his online engagement far outstrips his measured global cultural impact, while figures like Gautama Buddha (#2 importance) barely register with 411K views.

While his standing is strong, the recent trend shows a slight cooling of interest; his 2025 Momentum indicates an 8% drop in engagement between Q1 and Q3, though his Year-over-Year change remains positive at +0.5%.