His name became a byword for barbarism and his horde terrorised the entire known world, but his exploits put him at the front rank of military leaders. As archaeologists claim to have found the site of his palace, Nick Morrison looks at the life and myths of Genghis Khan.

DURING the seven decades of Communist rule, mention of the name of Genghis Khan was outlawed in his homeland. When the country's second-highest ranking official proposed building a commemorative monument to the founder of Mongolia, he was removed from office and chopped to death with an axe.

Almost 800 years after his death, the Great Khan was still feared for his power to unite a nation.

Now, more than a decade after the Communists departed, the name of the warrior who built the world's largest empire is everywhere. There is a Genghis Khan brewery and nightclub in the capital, Ulan Bator. His picture adorns brands of vodka, cigarettes and chocolate, as well as stamps and bank notes. His name is now spoken aloud with reverence, rather than behind the hand with trepidation.

For a poor nation of 2.5 million people, surrounded by giant Russia and China, a man whose empire covered a quarter of the globe and who became the greatest conqueror in history has become a powerful symbol of long-lost days of glory.

Now, a team of Japanese and Mongolian archaeologists claim to have found the site of his palace, 150 miles east of Ulan Bator. Built on a grassy steppe in the shape of a simple square tent, or yurt, the palace is also thought to be near the site of his grave.

But much of our knowledge of the Great Khan is made up of myths and shadows. For hundreds of years, the only accounts of his life and conquests were those written by the peoples his armies had slaughtered. Not surprisingly, his name came to be synonymous with ruthless barbarity, endorsed by tales of how the Mongol horde blazed a trail of death and destruction across Eurasia.

It was only in the early 1800s that a manuscript of the one Mongolian version of his life, The Secret History of the Mongols, came to light, and his contribution to civilisation, not just in Mongolia, but also in China, Russia, India and the Middle East, took its place alongside the brutality and conquest.

Genghis Khan was born around 1162 - different accounts put it anywhere from 1155 to 1167 - the son of the chief of one of the many nomadic Mongol clans at the time. He was named Temujin, in honour of a Tartar enemy of his father, but before he reached his teens his father was murdered by his enemies.

The family was forced into exile, abandoned on the harsh steppes, and it is here that young Temujin is said to have learned to defend himself and to sharpen his wits.

By the time of his early teens, he had forged a reputation as a fierce warrior, and by the time he was 20 he had begun to bring the scattered tribes together, impressing them with both his fighting skills and the force of his personality.

He married Borte, the daughter of another clan chief, but it was when she was kidnapped by a rival tribe that his military prowess was put to the test in battle. Enlisting the help of one of his father's former allies, he hunted down his wife's abductors and slaughtered them.

This success drew other tribes to his side, and those who opposed him were defeated and subjugated, one by one, with survivors given the choice of join him or be put to the sword. Eventually, his allies turned against him; these too were brought to heel.

By the time he was 25, the Mongol tribes had been united under one banner for the first time, and he proclaimed himself Genghis Khan, meaning universal lord, rightful lord, or precious lord.

As the leader of all Mongols, Genghis Khan set about introducing the trappings of a nation: the first written laws; a political bureaucracy and record keeping.

The tribal system was reformed, to weaken clan ties and instead direct allegiance towards him; laws banned kidnapping women, stealing animals and theft; hunting was regulated to provide meat for everyone; all children were declared legitimate, whoever the mother, and leaders were chosen on the basis of achievement rather than birth.

He also improved military organisation, requiring each of the tribes to maintain a standing force, and he based his armies on units of ten: ten men in a squad, ten squads in a company, ten companies in a regiment, up to Tumens of 10,000 men.

Rigid training and discipline were enforced, creating tightly-knit and keenly motivated units of heavy cavalry, who made up almost half of the army, and light cavalry archers. The entire army moved on horseback, with spare horses carrying supplies and equipment. His force numbered as many as 250,000 men

With the Mongols united, the Great Khan turned his attention to China. He invaded in 1206, and within two years breached the Great Wall. By 1215, he had defeated each of China's three empires; three years later, he conquered Korea.

In a break in his Chinese campaign, Genghis Khan had directed his horde northwards, defeating the Russian Cossacks, then one of the most feared cavalry armies, and under a treaty with the Tsar, the Russians supplied a force to fight alongside the Mongols.

In 1219, the Mongols turned west, when, in retaliation for the murder of his envoy, Genghis Khan attacked Persia, capturing the region which now includes Iraq, Iran and western Turkestan. Three years later, he again invaded Russia, this time taking his empire to the Arctic Ocean.

The imminent arrival of his fearless army struck terror into the hearts of both opposing forces and civilian populations. The prospect of massacre encouraged many to flee without ever joining battle, but as the empire grew, Genghis Khan began to rule as well as conquer.

Mongol lieutenants were installed in newly-acquired cities, supported by indigenous leaders, to ensure the Great Khan could exercise control over his territory at the same time as keeping in touch with the native population.

The conquered were given the chance to give their allegiance to their new overlord as an alternative to death, and, although lands were plundered of riches, livestock and farmland were left intact.

Nor did Genghis Khan indulge in the torture and mutilation practised by many of his enemies, who dragged captured Mongols through their streets for sport.

Proficient at both open battle and the long siege, Genghis Khan ranks alongside Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and Napoleon as a military genius. By the time of his death, his empire covered a quarter of the world's land mass, was twice the size of any other conqueror's in history, and was increased still further by his grandson, Kublai.

Even Genghis Khan's death has its mysteries. Put at either 1226 or 1227, he is said to have fallen off a horse, or died during a journey back to Mongolia. He was taken to a secret place and buried, and the story goes that the 50-strong burial party was killed by 50 soldiers so they would not reveal its location, before the soldiers killed themselves. A baby camel was buried at the tomb in front of its mother, so the parent could lead Khan's family back to the grave.

There is also a tale that the tomb contains much of the booty which was shipped back to Mongolia from China and the Middle East, none of which has appeared since.

For the Mongols, Genghis Khan is a national hero, who will one day return to lead his people to a new glory. And his legacy is not just in the tales of slaughter and conquest, or even in the Mongol influence across the culture of Eurasia.

A study last year revealed that nearly eight per cent of men living within the boundaries of his empire share almost identical chromosomes, a lineage which can be traced to the Great Khan. This translates as approximately 16 million people, half of one per cent of the world's male population. Genghis Khan may not just have shaped our world: he may have helped populate it as well.