Genghis Khan has such a bad rep, and I can't figure out why.
When you think about it, but really think, he was, like, THE most progressive ruler of his times and even today he wouldn't be particularly backwards. Sure he'd make a bloody example of you if you opposed him, but that's not uncommon nowadays either, and other than that... The man was the first to ban torture, he welcomed all religions within his empire, he insisted that the scribes write down everything he does...
@ThatCrazyDude Napoleon wasn't bad in this regard either, but progress can't be forced upon society in a centralised manner — it starts waning when you loose the grip. Also, centralisation itself isn't very progressive — it works well during a series of successful battle conquests, but when you run out of luck or room for expansion and start attempting to exist peacefully, it all fails spectacularly, see Russia. This is why "unification" and "gathering of lands" never ends well.
