Mongol invasion of Persia and Mesopotamia

Last updated

Mongol conquest of Persia & Mesopotamia
Part of the Mongol invasions and conquests
Fall Of Baghdad (Diez Albums).jpg
The Siege of Baghdad, in which the Mongols decisively secured their hegemony over Mesopotamia
Date1219–1258
Location
Central Asia, Khorasan, Mesopotamia, Persia
Result Mongol victory
Territorial
changes		 Iran and Central Asia subjugated to the Mongol Empire
Belligerents
Mongol Empire }}
Commanders and leaders
Casualties and losses
Unknown

The Mongol conquest of Persiaand Mesopotamia comprised three Mongol campaigns against islamic states in the Middle East and Central Asia between 1219 and 1258. These campaigns led to the termination of the Khwarazmian Empire, the Nizari Ismaili state, and the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad, and the establishment of the Mongol Ilkhanate government in their place in Persia.

Contents

Genghis Khan had unified the Mongolic peoples and conquered the Western Xia state in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. After a series of diplomatic provocations on the part of Muhammad II, the ruler of the neighbouring Khwarazmian Empire, the Mongols launched an invasion in 1219. The invaders laid waste to the Transoxianan cities of Bukhara, Samarkand, and Gurganj in turn, before obliterating the region of Khorasan, slaughtering the inhabitants of Herat, Nishapur, and Merv, three of the largest cities in the world. Muhammad died destitute on an island in the Caspian Sea. His son and successor, Jalal al-Din, tried to resist the Mongols, but was defeated and forced into exile. Genghis returned to his campaign against the Jin dynasty in 1223, only retaining governance of the northern Khwarazmian regions.

The war had been one of the bloodiest in human history, with total casualties estimated to be between two and fifteen million people. The next three decades saw conflicts of lesser scale but equal destruction in the region. Soon after his accession to the khaganate in 1227, Ögedei Khan sent an army under Chormaqan Noyan to end Jalal al-Din's renewed resistance and subjugate several minor polities in Persia. This was carried out gradually: al-Din was killed in 1231, with Isfahan and Maragheh being besieged and captured the same year; Erbil was captured in 1234; and Georgia was gradually subjugated and vassalised before Chormaqan's death in 1241. Several other Persian towns and cities, such as Hamadan, Ray, and Ardabil, were also captured by the Mongols.

The final stage began in 1254. On the orders of his brother, Möngke Khan, Hulagu systematically captured the fortresses of the Nizari Ismaili state in northern Persia, seizing their capital of Alamut in 1256. In 1258, Hulagu marched on the Abbasid Caliphate of Baghdad; capturing the city, he ended the 500-year-old Abbasid dynasty by killing the caliph Al-Musta'sim, marking the end of the Islamic Golden Age. Persia would later become the heartland of the Mongol Ilkhanate.

Background

Iran's military and political conditions before the invasion

Expansion of Shah Muhammad's territory and war with Abbasid Caliph Al-Nasir

The territory of the Tajik-Iranian Ghurid dynasty in (1201-1213) Iran-Ghurids.jpg
The territory of the Tajik-Iranian Ghurid dynasty in (1201-1213)

After the fall of the Seljuks of Persian Iraq, with the defeat of Toghrul III by Ala al-Din Tekish (the father of Shah Muhammad), a severe enmity arose over the governance of Western Iran between the Abbasid caliph Al-Nasir and Ala al-Din Tekish. These conflicts continued during the reign of Shah Muhammad, and Western Iran became the battleground of the Khwarazmian troops and the caliphate troops. In order to destroy the Khwarazmian Empire, Al-Nasir not only provoked the Ghurids and fanatical religious scholars from Transoxiana against it, but also asked help from the Nizari Ismaili state, the Qara Khitai and Mongol tribes. These actions eventually not only led to the overthrow of the Khwarazmian Empire, but also the subsequent overthrow of the Abbasid government. [1] : 338 

Simultaneously with the coronation of Shah Muhammad, the Ghurids captured the remaining lands of the Ghaznavids and Khorasan cities such as Balkh. Shah Muhammad defeated the Ghurid dynasty in 1212 and captured Ghazni in 1215, thus he extended the border of his territory to India from the east. In 1209, he conquered Mazandaran, which had been held by the Bavands for a long time. In the 12th century, a group of Khitan people from North China who were Buddhists, had formed a large political entity in the province of Kashgar and Hotan called Qara Khitai. In order to block their expansionism, the Khwarazmians had agreed to pay them a yearly tribute. This custom continued until the times of Shah Muhammad, but then he refused to pay tribute to the "polytheist" king. Shah Muhammad fought three times with the Qara Khitai. At last in 1210, the Shah asked for help from Kuchlug, a prince and leader of the Naimans, in order to defeat the Qara Khitai. Kuchlug defeated them in Transoxiana and conquered Bukhara and Samarkand, usurping the Qara Khitai Empire from his father-in-law Yelü Zhilugu. [2] : 22–25  [3]

After conquering Transoxiana, Kuchlug alienated both his subjects and the Khwarazmian Empire with anti-Muslim measures. As a Mongol detachment led by Jebe hunted Kuchlug down, he fled; meanwhile, Muhammad was able to vassalize the territories of Balochistan and Makran in modern-day Pakistan and Iran, and to gain the allegiance of the Eldiguzids. [4]

After extending the borders of the Khwarazmian Empire from the north-east and east to Kashgar and the Sindh, Shah Muhammad decided to conquer the west, i.e. Iraq. At that time, these lands were in the hands of the Eldiguzids and Salghurids, and the authority of the Abbasid caliph's clergymen remained partly in these two regions. Shah Muhammad was at enmity with the Abbasid caliph, because the caliph asked for help from the Ismailis and the Qara Khitai to overthrow his rule and also because the shah wanted the authority of the Khwarazmians sentence in Baghdad. As a result of this dispute and enmity, Shah Muhammad received a fatwa from the scholars of his country that "Bani Abbas" do not deserve the caliphate and one of "Husayni Sadat" (a person from the generation of Imam Husayn) should be chosen for this position. Therefore, he declared the caliph deposed and ordered that the name of the Abbasid caliph should not be mentioned in sermons and not be inserted on coins, and appointed one of the Termezi Alawi Sadats, as the caliphate. In 1217, Shah Muhammad marched towards Baghdad, but because it was winter, his troops suffered a lot from the snow and cold in the Asadabad pass between Kermanshah and Hamadan, and thus he returned to Khorasan. [2] : 22–25  [4]

The reasons for the invasion

The incident of killing the Mongol merchants in Otrar

Genghis Khan conquered Beijing after raiding northern China. Then he forced the Uyghur clans to obey him, Kuchlug Khan, the leader of the Naiman tribes, who had dominated the lands of the Qara Khitai tribes, was driven from there, and thus Genghis found a common border with the Khwarazmian Empire, whose eastern border had reached these areas. Genghis was very interested in the spread of commerce and the movement of merchants, therefore he encouraged commerce and tried to establish friendly relations with Shah Muhammad II, whom he considered as a powerful king. So, he sent a group of his merchants headed by Mahmud Yalavach with gifts to visit Shah Muhammad and inform him about the size of his country, prosperity of his possessions, and the strength of his army. Shah Muhammad, who was trying to expand Khwarazmia's territory, got angry that Genghis had called him "his son" in his letter, but Mahmud Yalavach quelled his anger and made him agree to establish friendly relations with Genghis Khan. [5]

In this way, the first ambassador of Shah Muhammad was accepted in Beijing, and Genghis declared trade between the Mongols and Khwarazmians as a necessity for establishing friendly relations. During this situation, a number of Muslim merchants from Shah Muhammad's territory took some goods to the Mongol Empire, and although Genghis treated them violently at the beginning of their arrival, he finally appeased them and sent them back with respect. At the time that they were returning in 1218, a number of Mongol merchants, whose number reached 450 and apparently most of them were Muslims, was sent by Genghis with some goods and a letter containing his advice and request to establish relations between the two governments. But Inalchuq, the ruler of Otrar who was the nephew of Terken Khatun (Shah Muhammad's mother) and supported by her, was greedy for the wealth of the merchants and arrested the Mongol merchants on the charge of espionage on the border of the territory under his rule, and then with the permission of Shah Muhammad, who was in Persian Iraq at that time, massacred all these merchants. [6] : 522  Then the officials of the Khwarazmian Empire sold the cargo of the caravan, which included 500 camels of gold, silver, Chinese silk artefacts, precious skins and such on, and sent the resulting amount to the capital of the Khwarazmian government. [7] : 701  [8]

When the news of Otrar incident reached Genghis Khan, he decided to control his anger and made his last attempt to gain satisfaction through diplomacy. He sent a Muslim, who was previously in the service of Ala al-Din Tekish and was accompanied by two Mongols, to protest against the performance of Inalchuq and requested to surrender him to the Mongols. [9] : 305  Shah Muhammad didn't want to surrender Inalchuq because most of the leaders of the Khwarazmian army were his relatives, and also Terken Khatun who had influence in the Khwarazmian court was supporting him. Therefore, Shah Muhammad not only did not accept Genghis Khan's request, but also executed his Muslim envoy who came to Samarkand, the capital of the Khwarazmian Empire, and sent his companions back to Genghis Khan with their beards and mustaches cut off. This bellicose behavior of Shah Muhammad accelerated the Mongol invasion of Central Asia. [7] : 701  [10] Historians cite the fact that Genghis was already bogged down in his war against the Jin in China, and that he had to deal with the Hoi-yin Irgen rebellion in Siberia in 1216, so he didn't want to start another war. [11]

Economic factors

The Mongols had a need for the goods of more advanced regions; therefore, it was very important for them to keep trade routes open since ancient times. [2] : 569  From the beginning of his monarchy, Genghis Khan attached great importance to commerce because he needed to procure weapons from India and Damascus; he also needed markets to sell Mongolian and Chinese products. But the conflict between Shah Muhammad and Kuchlug Khan, the leader of the Naimans, had caused the closure of the roads and the interruption between the east and west trade. At the same time as this interruption in the land routes, the sea route of the Persian Gulf was also blocked due to the war between the ruler of Kish and the ruler of Hormuz, which resulted in a trade crisis in the Central Asian region. The merchants wanted the end of the conflicts and the opening of the roads. Hence, during the Mongols' attacks, some Muslim merchants helped Genghis to progress to the west. To solve this crisis, Kuchlug Khan was killed by the Mongols in 1218. Shah Muhammad didn't care to the importance of trade relations with the Far East and the significance of the location of his lands on the Silk Road, and he was indifferent to the merchants' needs and Genghis' wishes, so after removing Kuchlug Khan, it was Shah Muhammad's turn. [12]

Genghis' army raid

ِDespite Muhammad II's apparent authority, he was unprepared to defend his polity in case of the Mongol attack. During preparations for the war, he collected taxes from his people three times in one year, causing dissatisfaction and unrest among the population. [7] : 707  Before the invasion, Shah Muhammad formed a council composed of his army commanders. Imam Shahab al-Din Khiyoqi, one of the famous jurists and teachers of Khwarazm, proposed to bring as many soldiers as possible from different corners of the empire and prevent Mongols from crossing Syr Darya (medieval Arabs called this river Seyhan) but the commanders of the Khwarazmian army did not fancy his plan. They suggested that they wait for the Mongols to arrive to Transoxiana and reach the difficult straits. They also proposed to attack the Mongols when they would be having certain difficulties considering their supposed lack of knowledge of the loсal terrain. The Shah didn't give importance to the counsel of Shahab al-Din, and accepted the plan of scattering his troops to protect major cities of the empire. In the meanwhile, Shah Muhammad left for Balkh. [2] : 39  [9] : 306 

The conquest of Transoxiana

In September 1219, Genghis Khan arrived at Otrar, on the border of the Khwarazmian territory, and divided his forces into three parts; He assigned one part to his sons Ögedei and Chagatai to besiege Otrar, sent another part under the command of Jochi to take the cities around the Syr Darya towards the city of Jand, and he himself moved towards Bukhara with his son Tolui at the head of the main forces. [7] : 702  Genghis always used the services of advisers, roadmen and merchants during his campaigns. Therefore, there was always a group of Muslim merchants who were familiar with the roads of Khwarazmia, and were in his camp for their advice. [13] Also, after the start of the invasion, some of the commanders of Khwarazmia who were hostile to the Shah, like Badr al-Din Omid, whose father and uncle were killed by the order of Shah Muhammad, also joined the Mongol army and gave a lot of information to Genghis Khan about the situation in the Shah's court and the roads. From the method of attack, the division of the army and other decisions of Genghis Khan, it can be said that Genghis was really well familiar with the geographical situation of Transoxania. [2] : 41, 91 

The conquest of Bukhara, Samarkand and Otrar

In 1220, Genghis Khan attacked Bukhara with the main forces of his army. Shah Muhammad was caught completely unaware. He had anticipated that Genghis would attack Samarkand first, where both his field army and the garrison stationed at Bukhara would relieve the siege. The Khan's march through the Kyzylkum Desert had left the Shah's field army impotent, unable to either engage the enemy or help his people. [14] The Khan faced strong resistance from the defenders of the city; But this resistance did not last long. The city fell in less than two weeks, because the city's communication routes were cut off from all sides, and so they Inevitably gave up their resistance. After capturing Bukhara, the Mongol invaders killed thousands of unarmed and defenseless citizens and took the rest as slaves. [3] : 34  [7] : 702  [15] : 133  Genghis Khan summoned the elders of Bukhara and told them that the purpose of summoning them is to collect the assets that Shah Muhammad had sold to merchants (The Otrar Incident), because these objects belonged to the Mongols. They brought all the property they had from the Otrar caravan and handed them over to Genghis Khan. [2] : 44  Then they took the road to Samarkand.

Shah Muhammad greatly emphasized the defense of Samarkand and had gathered a large force in this city and the fortifications of the city had been repaired. According to various historians, between 50,000 and 110,000 soldiers had gathered in Samarkand to defend the city. It seems that the city could have resisted the siege for several years. On the third day of the siege, a group of the city's defenders came out of their positions and attacked the enemy. They killed some of the Mongol soldiers, but then they were surrounded by the enemy, and most of them perished on the battlefield. This unsuccessful attack had an unfortunate effect on the morale of the defenders. Some influential people of the city decided to surrender and sent the qadi and Shaykh al-Islām of the city to Genghis Khan to talk about surrender. Finally, they opened the gates of the city to the enemy, and Genghis' army entered the city and massacred and looted the people. After the attack, the city of Samarkand became a ruin and was deserted. [7] : 703  [14] Mongol soldiers took the city of Otrar after a decisive attack, but the fortress of Otrar resisted for a month (according to some documents, six months). After taking the fortress of Otrar, Mongols killed all the defenders of the city and the fortress. [7] : 702  [9] : 307 

Related Research Articles

The Kara-Khanid Khanate, also known as the Karakhanids, Qarakhanids, Ilek Khanids or the Afrasiabids, was a Karluk Turkic khanate that ruled Central Asia from the 9th to the early 13th century. The dynastic names of Karakhanids and Ilek Khanids refer to royal titles with Kara Khagan being the most important Turkic title up until the end of the dynasty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Qara Khitai</span> Historical sinicized empire in Central Asia

The Qara Khitai, or Kara Khitai, also known as the Western Liao, officially the Great Liao, was a dynastic regime based in Central Asia ruled by the Yelü clan of the Khitan people. Being a rump state of the Khitan-led Liao dynasty, Western Liao was culturally Sinicized to a large extent, especially among the elites consisting of Liao refugees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anushtegin dynasty</span> 1077–1260 Persianate Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin

The Anushtegin dynasty or Anushteginids, also known as the Khwarazmian dynasty was a Persianate Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic mamluk origin from the Bekdili clan of the Oghuz Turks. The Anushteginid dynasty ruled the Khwarazmian Empire, consisting in large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan and Iran in the approximate period of 1077 to 1231, first as vassals of the Seljuks and the Qara Khitai, and later as independent rulers, up until the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire in the 13th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muhammad II of Khwarazm</span> Khwarazm Shah

'Alā' al-Din Muhammad was the Shah of the Khwarazmian Empire from 1200 to 1220. His ancestor was Anushtegin Gharchai, a Turkic Ghulam who eventually became a viceroy of a small province named Khwarizm. He was subjected to the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire, which resulted in the utter destruction of his empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Indus</span> 1221 Mongol victory over the Khwarazmians

The Battle of the Indus was fought on the banks of the Indus River, on 24 November 1221, between the armies commanded by Jalal al-Din of the Khwarazmian Empire, and Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire. The battle, which resulted in an overwhelming Mongol victory, was the concluding engagement in the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire.

The Battle of Parwan was fought between Sultan Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu of the Khwarazmian Empire and the Mongols ruled by Genghis Khan in September 1221 AD at Parwan, north of Kabul, in present-day Afghanistan. Jalal ad-Din had previously attacked a detachment of Mongols near Wilan (Waliyan), which provoked Genghis Khan into sending an army of 30,000 troops under Shigi Qutuqu. As a result of the tactics adopted by Jalal ad-Din, the Mongol army was destroyed in a two-day battle. As news of the Mongol defeat spread, several cities, including Merv and Herat, which had previously surrendered and accepted Mongol rule, rebelled. In response, Genghis Khan moved to battle Jalal ad-Din, who had lost half of his troops to desertion due to a quarrel over the division of spoils after the battle, and was forced to move to Ghazni to prepare to retreat to India. Genghis Khan intercepted Jalal ad-Din's army as he was preparing to cross the Indus River, and in the ensuing battle he lost his army, treasury and family, but survived to eventually establish a power base in Punjab and Sindh.

Khwarazmshah was an ancient title used regularly by the rulers of the Central Asian region of Khwarazm starting from the Late Antiquity until the advent of the Mongols in the early 13th-century, after which it was used infrequently. There were a total of four families who ruled as Khwarazmshahs—the Afrighids (305–995), Ma'munids (995–1017), the line of Altuntash (1017–1041), and the most prominent ones, the Anushteginids (1097–1231). Like other contemporary Central Asian titles, such as Afshin and Ikhshid, the title of Khwarazmshah is of Iranian origin.

Kuchlug was a member of the Naiman tribe who became the last emperor of the Western Liao dynasty. The Naimans were defeated by Genghis Khan and he fled westward to the Qara Khitai, where he became an advisor to his future father-in-law Yelü Zhilugu. He later rebelled, usurped the throne and took control of the empire, putting an end to the rule of the House of Yelü. He was killed in 1218 by the Mongols and the domain of the Qara Khitai was absorbed into the Mongol Empire.

Between 1219 and 1221, the Mongol forces under Genghis Khan invaded the lands of the Khwarazmian Empire in Central Asia. The campaign, which followed the annexation of the Qara Khitai Khanate, saw widespread devastation and atrocities. The invasion marked the completion of the Mongol conquest of Central Asia, and began the Mongol conquest of Persia.

Mongol campaigns in Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on the Mongolian plateau in 1206. Smaller military operations of the Mongol Empire in Central Asia included the destruction of surviving Merkit and Naimans and the conquest of Qara Khitai. These were followed by a major campaign against Khwarazm. Expansion into Central Asia began in 1209 as Genghis Khan sent an expedition to pursue rivals who had fled to the region and threatened his new empire. The Uyghur kingdom Qocho and leaders of the Karluks submitted voluntarily to the Mongol Empire and married into the imperial family. By 1218 the Mongols controlled all of Xinjiang and by 1221 all the territories of the former Khwarazmian Empire. In 1236, the Mongols defeated the eastern portions of Cumania and swept into Eastern Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jalal al-Din Mangburni</span> Shah of the Khwarazmian Empire from 1220 to 1231

Jalal al-Din Mangburni, also known as Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah, was the last Khwarazmshah of the Anushtegin dynasty. The eldest son and successor of Ala ad-Din Muhammad II of the Khwarazmian Empire, Jalal al-Din was brought up at Gurganj, the wealthy capital of the Khwarazmid homeland. An able general, he served as second-in-command to his father in at least one battle; however, since he was the son of a concubine, he was challenged as successor by a younger brother, whose cause was supported by the powerful Queen Mother, Terken Khatun. Nevertheless, after the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire led to his father's flight and death on an island in the Caspian Sea, Jalal-al Din gained the loyalty of the majority of Khwarazmian loyalists.

The Khwarazmian Empire, or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic mamluk origin. Khwarazmians ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran from 1077 to 1231; first as vassals of the Seljuk Empire and the Qara Khitai, and from circa 1190 as independent rulers up until the Mongol conquest in 1219–1221.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mongol conquest of the Qara Khitai</span> 1218 military campaign

The Mongol Empire conquered the Qara Khitai in the year 1218 AD. Prior to the invasion, war with the Khwarazmian Empire and the usurpation of power by the Naiman prince Kuchlug had weakened the Qara Khitai. When Kuchlug besieged Almaliq, a city belonging to the Karluks, vassals of the Mongol Empire, and killed their ruler Ozar, who was a grandson-in-law to Genghis Khan, Genghis Khan dispatched a force under command of Jebe and Barchuk to pursue Kuchlug. After his force of over 30,000 was defeated by Jebe at the Khitan capital Balasagun, Kuchlug faced rebellions over his unpopular rule, forcing him to flee to modern Afghanistan, where he was captured by hunters in 1218. The hunters turned Kuchlug over to the Mongols, who beheaded him. Upon defeating the Qara Khitai, the Mongols now had a direct border with the Khwarazmian Empire, which they would soon invade in 1219.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terken Khatun (wife of Ala al-Din Tekish)</span> Empress of Khwarazmian Empire

Terken Khatun was the Empress of the Khwarazmian Empire by marriage to Shah Ala al-Din Tekish, and the mother and de facto co-ruler of Muhammad II of the Khwarazmian Empire.

Yelü Zhilugu was the third emperor of the Western Liao dynasty, ruling from 1177 to 1211. He was the final ruler of the Western Liao to come from the House of Yelü, as the throne would be usurped by his son-in-law Kuchlug in 1211.

The Irghiz River skirmish was a minor engagement fought between forces of the Khwarazmian Empire and the Mongol Empire during the early 13th century. While the occurrence of the skirmish itself is well-attested, its precise dating is uncertain, since the major chroniclers of the period give differing accounts. Modern historians have proposed two possible dates: 1209 or 1219. The background events are similar for each possible date: Genghis Khan, khagan of the Mongols, sent an army under his general Subutai to attack hostile forces in the former lands of the Qara-Khitai dynasty. Shah Muhammad, the ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire, received news of large armies operating along his northern borders and set out to confront them.

The siege of Bukhara took place in February 1220, during the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire. Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, had launched a multi-pronged assault on the Khwarazmian Empire ruled by Shah Muhammad II. While the Shah planned to defend his major cities individually, the Mongols laid siege to the border town of Otrar, and struck further into Khwarazmia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Gurganj</span> Seizure and destruction of Gurganj by the Mongol army

The siege of Gurganj was a siege that occurred during the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire. The siege's length is variable, with historians such as Rashid al-Din Hamadani stating that it lasted for seven months, but it is largely agreed that it ended with the defeat and annihilation of the city in April 1221. Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, had launched a multi-pronged assault on the Khwarazmian Empire, ruled by Shah Muhammad II. Through a combination of efficient planning and excellent manoeuvering, the Khan's army managed to take the border town of Otrar swiftly, followed by the large cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. The siege, among others, was witnessed by the Persian biographer Shihab al-Din Muhammad al-Nasawi, who recorded an account in Arabic c. 1241.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Samarkand (1220)</span> Seizure and destruction of Samarkand by Genghis Khans Mongol army

The siege of Samarkand (1220) took place in 1220 A.D. after Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, had launched a multi-pronged invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, ruled by Shah Muhammad II. The Mongols had laid siege to the border town of Otrar, but finding its defences obdurate, a large force commanded by Genghis and his youngest son Tolui detached from the vanguard and set off southwards, towards Transoxiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otrar Catastrophe</span> Siege and capture of Otrar by Mongol Empire

The Otrar Catastrophe was a siege that took place between December 1219 and February 1220 during the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire at Otrar, a large trading city on the Syr Darya river. Inalchuq, the city's governor, had seized the goods of a Mongol trade caravan the previous year; after more provocations from Inalchuq's liege and ruler of the Khwarazmian Empire, Shah Muhammad II, Genghis Khan launched a full-scale invasion of the empire.

References

  1. ↑ Abbas Eqbal Ashtiani (1931). "The strange life of one of the Abbasid caliphs (Al-Nasir al-Din Allah)" زندگانی عجیب یکی از خلفای عباسی (ناصرالدین الله). Sharq (6).
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Abbas Eqbal Ashtiani (1985). The Mongol Historyتاریخ مغول. Negah Publishing House. ISBN   9789643514525.
  3. 1 2 Jackson, Peter (2009). "The Mongol Age in Eastern Inner Asia". The Cambridge History of Inner Asia. The Chinggisid Age: 26–45. doi:10.1017/CBO9781139056045.005. ISBN   9781139056045.
  4. 1 2 Rafis Abazov (2008). Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of Central Asia. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 43. ISBN   978-1403975423.
  5. ↑ Husayngoli Sotoudeh (1974). "The role of Persian people in defending against the Mongol invasion" (Collection of speeches of the first Iranian Research Congress) 2»نقش مردم ایران در مدافعه از تهاجم مغولان». مجموعه خطابه‌های نخستین کنگره تحقیقات ایرانی. ۲. University of Tehran Press. p. 406.
  6. ↑ Abdolhossein Zarrinkoob (1996). Other periods: periods of Iran: from the end of the Sassanids to the end of the Timuridsروزگاران دیگر: دنباله روزگاران ایران: از پایان ساسانیان تا پایان تیموریان. Sokhan Publications. ISBN   9789646961111.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bobojon Ghafurov (1998). "Tajiks". Ancient, ancient, medieval and modern history Book 1,2. Dushanbe.
  8. ↑ Leo de Hartog (2004). Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. Tauris Parke. pp. 86–87. ISBN   1-86064-972-6.
  9. 1 2 3 John Andrew Boyle (1968). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol Periods. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9781139054973.
  10. ↑ Ata-Malik Juvaini (c. 1260). Tarikh-i Jahangushay تاریخ جهانگشای[History of the World Conqueror] (in Persian). Vol. 1. Translated by Andrew Boyle, John. p. 80.
  11. ↑ May, Timothy (2018). "The Mongols outside Mongolia". The Mongol Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. pp. 44–75. ISBN   9780748642373. JSTOR   10.3366/j.ctv1kz4g68.11.
  12. ↑ Peter Avery (1959). "Investigating the factors of Genghis Khan's attack on Transoxiana" بررسی عوامل حمله چنگیز خان به ماوراءالنهر. Quarterly Magazine Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, University of Tehran (1): 42–45.
  13. ↑ "Iran – The Mongol invasion". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  14. 1 2 Sverdrup, Carl (2017). The Mongol Conquests: The Military Campaigns of Genghis Khan and Sübe'etei. Helion & Company. pp. 151–153. ISBN   978-1913336059.
  15. ↑ David O. Morgan, Anthony Reid (2008). The New Cambridge History of Islam, Volume 3: The Eastern Islamic World, Eleventh to Eighteenth Centuries. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521850315.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.