"Heaven and earth have agreed: Temujin shall be lord of the nation. He is appointed to be the sovereign over all peoples. His name shall be Genghis Khan... The greatest joy a man can know is to conquer his enemies and drive them before him, to ride their horses and take away their possessions, to see the faces of those who were dear to them bedewed with tears, and to clasp their wives and daughters in his arms."

The Secret History of the Mongols, composed c.1227–1240, authorship unknown. The only major literary work to survive from the Mongol empire in the Mongolian language. The second passage is attributed to Genghis Khan in conversation.