how was genghis khan a barbarian?

He wasnt strictly speaking, Barbarian was a term coined by the Romans for the German tribes across the Rhine. The Romans called them Barbarians or Bahbahrians because they said the german language sounded like the bleating of sheep. Khan was asiatic a horseman from the steps and so could not have been a Barbarian.

Genghis Khan is called a barbarian because his descendants didn't write the histories.

He conquered more land (almost 1/4 of the land surface) than any other leader. He made no assertions of divinity, he did it because he saw a need. He ruled by merit. soldiers advanced because of their ability to do what needed to be done, their tactical and strategic skill, not because they 'knew someone'.

The great Khan also changed the psyche of many of the people he conquered. The Russians were never the same after the Mongol invasions. The Finns and the Hungarians (in part) are Europeans because of the Mongol invasions.

Genghis Khan also unified the the Kingdoms of China, started the Yuan dynasty in China. He Started the Mogul dynasty in India and influenced the Turks.

He was a tactical genius and had an ego to match. He was ruthless in his pursuit of his goals and would do things to the bodies of his enemies that had been unacceptable in the past because he understood terror and the power it held.

I wish I could pull the information out of my memory, but it seems to have gone very deep just now! Age does that to me sometimes. But I would recommend that you do a little reasearch into this amazing person. He was amazing and I haven't found many in history who could even come close to his accomplishments and his power.