On November 10 and 11 Mrs. Robinson’s AP World History classes performed their annual Genghis Khan Trial Reenactment.  The students worked hard over the weeks leading up to the event, working on their characters’ accents and costume.

Each student was assigned a character who had been affected by Genghis Khan and was to act as that character during the reenactment.  The characters ranged from humble peasants to historically-known explorers.  For instance, Graham Skrtic (10) played a man affected by the bubonic plague that was a consequence of Genghis Khan’s ruthless conquering.  Matthew Nguyen (10), played a Chinese peasant whose village had been overtaken by the Mongols.

Alula Kinfu (10), played Marco Polo, the Italian explorer who crossed paths with Genghis Khan.  Abdalla Badri (10), played Marco Polo’s rival explorer Ibn Battuta.  Tensions were high between the two explorers; at one point, Alula really tried to go after his rival, questioning his character as an explorer by saying, “Ibn Battuta, what’s good?”

There were lawyers from the defendant’s side of Genghis Khan and then the lawyers from the victims’ side.  Mrs. Robinson played the judge, and the jury was on hand to decide whether Genghis Khan was guilty of war crimes.  For the trial, the defendants sat on one side and the prosecution sat on the other. The witnesses sat in the back and watched the jury and Mrs. Robinson dissect the case.

All of the other students came up one at time as witnesses or defendants of Genghis Khan’s actions. Genghis Khan himself was played by Max Olarinde (10) who had a grand helmet and plenty of facial hair to conduct the part.  Noah Sedmak (10), who was part of the prosecution to prove that Genghis Khan was guilty, said, “It was a tough battle and I thought we won, but the jury thought otherwise.”

The event was a success, and likely will be a memorable event for all those who participated.  Mrs. Robinson said, “I’m really proud of my students—they worked really hard, and they did a great job on their research and performance.”

Connor Hines (11), who took AP World last year said, “Last year’s Genghis Khan trial was a great educational experience, we got to analyze different aspects of Genghis Khan and the Mongolians while also having a great time.”  Freshmen, if you like history, and this sounds like fun to you, consider signing up for AP World History next year!