Conquering the world on horseback is easy; it is dismounting and governing that is hard.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Conquering territory is easier than governing it effectively. Administration requires more skill than invasion.
- In plain terms
- Taking land is easy, but running it is hard.
- What can you take from it?
- Governing is harder than conquering.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What makes governance harder than conquest?
- How do you prepare for administration?
Another view
It oversimplifies the violence required to conquer.
More from Genghis Khan
If there is no means to prevent drunkenness, a man may become drunk thrice a month; if he oversteps this limit he makes himself guilty of a punishable offence.…
Permalink to quote #13 Despite all expectations, the time of my last campaign and of my passing is near. I wish to die at home. Let not my end disarm you, and on no account weep for …
Permalink to quote #15 Heaven has appointed me to rule all the nations, for hitherto there has been no order upon the steppes.
Permalink to quote #12
Related quotes
To govern men, you must either excel them in their accomplishments, or despise them.
Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli quote #1 Nor is it any longer possible for you to give up this empire ... Your empire is now like a tyranny: it may have been wrong to take it; it is certainly dangerou…
PericlesPericles quote #1 The principle of collective leadership is elementary for a proletarian party and for a party of the Lenin type. Nevertheless, we must emphasize this old truth,…
Anastas MikoyanAnastas Mikoyan quote #2