Ulan Bator, Mongolia ? A Genghis Khan revival is under way in Mongolia where the deeds of the 13th century conqueror were celebrated Tuesday in festivities that mixed commercialism with appeals to nationalism.

President Nambaryn Enkhbayar, who usually wears a suit, was dressed in a traditional gold and cream silk robe for the 800th anniversary celebration at the capital’s Central Stadium.

“We Mongolians must be united and have one goal: to develop our country. Remember Genghis Khan and his great deeds,” Enkhbayar said.

Men dressed like warriors in Genghis Khan’s horde paraded on stout, brown horses. In one section of the grandstands, people held up cards to form pictures of the conqueror and the national flag. An actor played Genghis Khan in white robe and head gear, riding a white horse to cheers from the crowd.

The anniversary marks Genghis Khan’s unification of fractious Mongol tribes in 1206. The unification gave Mongolians a nascent national identity and put them on a course to build an empire that stretched from the Pacific to Central Europe.

Mongolians and their leaders are reveling in Genghis Khan to find a source of identity at an unsettling time.

Mongolian horsemen in traditional costumes perform during the Naadam opening ceremony Tuesday in Ulan Bator, Mongolia. Mongolians celebrated the 800th anniversary of Genghis Khan's march to world conquest Tuesday with festivities that mixed crass commercialism, genuine reverence and pure politicking.

The country is sandwiched between an economically voracious China and an assertive Russia. Domestically, Mongolia is coping for the first time with democracy and free markets that followed communism’s collapse in 1990. The new political and economic climate has created wealth for some but left a third of the 2.8 million people in poverty.

In the rush to capitalize on his name, Genghis Khan’s legacy as a brutal conqueror is being played down. Instead, he’s being cast as an agent of world change, a visionary statesman who promoted low taxes on trade, diplomatic immunity and religious tolerance.

“We are forefathers of globalization,” says one government slogan.