Just going to leave this here.

This was inspired by a passage from *Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh* (*Compendium of Chronicles*), a history book by Rashīd al-Dīn Ṭabīb (Persian: رشیدالدین طبیب;‎ 1247–1318; a/k/a Rashīd al-Dīn Faḍlullāh Hamadānī, Persian: رشیدالدین فضل‌الله همدانی). In that book Rashīd al-Dīn quoted Genghis Khan asking “What is the greatest pleasure of men?” A Mongol general answered, “It is to go hunting on a spring day, mounted on a beautiful horse, holding a hawk or a falcon in one’s fist, and to see it kill its prey”. Other Mongol officers agreed with the general’s answer. Ghenghis Khan did not. “No, said Chinguiz-khan [Genghis Khan], the greatest pleasure of man is to defeat his enemies, to drive them before him, to take from them what they possess, to see their dear ones with their faces bathed in tears, to ride their horses, to press their daughters and their wives in his arms.” I feel like even this quote may have been cleaned up a bit. I wouldn’t be surprised if Ghengis Khan said “to rape their daughters and wives.” Rashid al-Din, the author of this history of the Mongols, was a statesman, historian, and physician in Ilkhanate Iran. Ilkhanate Iran was a Mongol khanate that at its core covered the lands now claimed by Iran, Azerbaijan, and Turkey, and at its peak covered much more than that. It comprised most of the southwest portion of Ghengis Khan’s empire. Oliver Stone, who wrote the script for the movie *Conan the Barbarian* and John Milius, who directed the film and co-wrote the script, borrowed from this story for their film.