Chinggis Khan loomed large in the nightmares of medieval Europe and his image haunts the conscience of European and American leaders today as they instigate the return of Mongol troops to the ruins of Baghdad in what some see as a re-run of history. The man who became the myth lives on through a legacy which is very much alive and thriving today in a multitude of conceptions throughout the lands where he and his immediate descendants first established their writ. Beyond his military accomplishments, Chinggis Khan also advanced the Mongol empire in many ways. He decreed the adoption of the Uyghur script as the Mongol empires writing system. He also practiced meritocracy and encouraged religious tolerance in the Mongol Empire, and unified the nomadic tribes of Northeast Asia. Present –day Mongolians regard him as the founding father of Mongolia. Although known for the brutality of his campaigns and considered by many to have been a genocidal ruler, Chinggis Khan is also credited with bringing the Silk Road under the cohesive political environment. This brought communication and trade from North East Asia into Muslim Southwest Asia and Christian Europe, thus expanding the horizons of all three cultural areas.