| Revision as of 01:31, 2 February 2006 editOldwindybear (talk | contribs)5,177 editsNo edit summary← Previous edit | Revision as of 08:04, 2 February 2006 edit undoZora (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers17,728 edits Rewrite, removing anecdotes taken from older referencesNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| The '''Battle of Baghdad''' in ] was a victory |
The '''Battle of Baghdad''' in ] was a victory for the ] leader ], a grandson of ]. | ||
| {{Campaignbox Mongol invasions}} | {{Campaignbox Mongol invasions}} | ||
| <br> | |||
| ] was the ] of an ] state and was ruled by ], the current ] ]. The Abbasid state had been in existence for over 500 years, since the accesssion of the first caliph in Baghdad 751 CE following the defeat of the previously ruling ]s. In century or so before the Mongol invasion, the state had lost much of its former strength due to the increasing political dominance of its Mamluk troops. | |||
| ] was the ] of an ] state in what is now ] and parts of ]; it was ruled by ], then the ] ]. | |||
| The Abbasid caliphate had been in existence for over 500 years, since the accesssion of the first caliph in Baghdad 751 CE. The Abbasids were the second of the Islamic dynasties; they had defeated the ]s, who had ruled since the death of ] in 661. | |||
| Once mighty, the Abbasid caliphate had lost control over much of the former Islamic empire and had declined into a minor state. The caliph had become a figurehead, controlled by Mamluk or Turkic warlords. However, the caliphate still had great symbolic significance, and Baghdad was still a rich and cultured city. | |||
| The |
The Mongol army, led by Hulagu (or Hulegu) Khan set out for Baghdad in November of ]. Once near the city, Hulagu divided his forces, so that they threatened both sides of the city, on the east and west banks of the Tigris. The caliph's army repulsed some of the forces attacking from the west, but were defeated in the next battle. The attacking Mongols broke some dikes and flooded the ground behind the caliph’s army, trapping them. Much of the army was slaughtered or drowned. | ||
| The Mongols |
The Mongols then laid siege to the city, constructing a palisade and ditch, wheeling up siege engines and catapults. The siege started on ], after only a few days, by ] the Mongols controlled a stretch of the wall. Al-Musta'sim tried to negotiate, but was refused. | ||
| On ] Baghdad surrendered. The Mongols swept into the city on ] and began a week of massacre, looting, rape, and destruction. Many historical accounts detailed the cruelties of the Mongol conquerors. | |||
| On ] Baghdad surrendered. The Mongols swept into the city on ], which began a week of massacre, looting, and fire. The cruelty associated with the capture of the city has been chronicled many times in historical accounts of the invasion. The Grand Library of Baghdad, which contained countless precious historical documents and books on subjects ranging from medicine to astronomy, was destroyed, much as the library in the Byzantine capital of Constantinople had been fifty years previously. It was reported that the waters of the Tigris ran black with ink from the enormous quantities of books flung into the river by the Mongols. Massive loss of life resulted when citizens were killed by the Mongol army when they resisted or attempted to flee, while raping and looting destroyed order and defaced many architectural buildings within the city. Hulagu's legendary cruelty was never more in evidence than in the aftermath of the sack. From William Stearns Davis, ed., ''Readings in Ancient History: Illustrative Extracts from the Sources'', 2 Vols. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1912-13), comes a comment on the sack of Bagdad that sums up the horror of what the Mongols did to the City of Lights, "The bewildering extent of the blood-thirsty ferocity, insatiable thirst for massacre, and devastating destruction which brought unprecedented suffering for the greater portion of the civilized world, would be just impossible to believe, had the facts not been confirmed from different sources, both Eastern and Western." | |||
| * The Grand Library of Baghdad, containing countless precious historical documents and books on subjects ranging from medicine to astronomy, was destroyed. Survivors said that the waters of the Tigris ran black with ink from the enormous quantities of books flung into the river. | |||
| David Nicole described the scene in ''The Mongol Warlords'' where Hulagu Khan confronted the Caliph Al-Musta'sim and said (as he made the Caliph watch as the treasures of six centuries of Muslim rule were piled in a heap to be portioned out by the Mongol Khan), "you would have done better to have hired soldiers than horded jewels." The Mongols own histories report he was waving a jewel under Al-Musta'sim's face at the time. He then had all but one of the Caliph's sons killed. (the sole heir to the Abbasids was sent to Mongolia, where he reportedly was married to a Mongol woman, and disappeared from history) Hulagu Khan had his army divide the population of Bagdad into 100's and kill them, forcing the Caliph to watch. Historians now believe as many as 800,000 people may have been killed. Supposedly the Mongols, who had a religious fear of directly killing royalty, finally rolled the Caliph up in a rug, and rode their horses over him. There are mongol histories which claim Hulagu Khan first made him eat some of his jewels, and this is also reported in ''The Mongol Warlords'', and ''The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia'' by René Grousset and Naomi Walford. Thus ended the Abassid dynasty. Hulagu then had to move his camp upwind, as the stench was too much for even the Mongols, who had grown used to the smell of death. | |||
| * Citizens attempted to flee, but were intercepted by Mongol soldiers who raped and killed with abandon. The death toll has been variously estimated; Martin Sicker writes that close to 90,000 people may have died (Sicker 2000, p. 111). Other estimates go much higher. | |||
| Baghdad lost most of its population and prestige for the next three centuries, but was later rebuild by the Persian Safavid dynasty in 1526. | |||
| * The Mongols looted and then destroyed. Mosques, palaces, libraries, hospitals -- grand buildings that had been the work of generations were burned to the ground. | |||
| * The caliph was captured and forced to watch as his citizens were murdered and his treasury plundered. The caliph was killed by trampling. The Mongols rolled the caliph up in a rug, and rode their horses over him, as they believed that the earth was offended if touched by royal blood. | |||
| * It is said that Hulagu had to move his camp upwind of the city, as the stench was too much for even the bloodthirsty Mongols. | |||
| Typically, the Mongols destroyed a city only if it had resisted them. Cities that capitulated at the first demand for surrender could usually expect to be spared. The utter ferocity of the rape of Baghdad was to a great extent a military tactic: it convinced other cities and rulers to surrender without a fight. | |||
| Baghdad was a depopulated, ruined city for several centuries and only gradually recovered something of its former glory. | |||
| == References == | |||
| * Sicker, Martin -- ''The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna'', Praeger Publishers, 2000 | |||
| == External link == | == External link == | ||
| * |
* describing Hulagu's conquest of Baghdad, written by ], appeared in the April 25, 2005 issue of '']''. | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 08:04, 2 February 2006
The Battle of Baghdad in 1258 was a victory for the Mongol leader Hulagu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan.
| Mongol invasions and conquests | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
Baghdad was the capital of an Islamic state in what is now Iraq and parts of Iran; it was ruled by Al-Musta'sim, then the Abbasid caliph.
The Abbasid caliphate had been in existence for over 500 years, since the accesssion of the first caliph in Baghdad 751 CE. The Abbasids were the second of the Islamic dynasties; they had defeated the Umayyads, who had ruled since the death of Ali in 661.
Once mighty, the Abbasid caliphate had lost control over much of the former Islamic empire and had declined into a minor state. The caliph had become a figurehead, controlled by Mamluk or Turkic warlords. However, the caliphate still had great symbolic significance, and Baghdad was still a rich and cultured city.
The Mongol army, led by Hulagu (or Hulegu) Khan set out for Baghdad in November of 1257. Once near the city, Hulagu divided his forces, so that they threatened both sides of the city, on the east and west banks of the Tigris. The caliph's army repulsed some of the forces attacking from the west, but were defeated in the next battle. The attacking Mongols broke some dikes and flooded the ground behind the caliph’s army, trapping them. Much of the army was slaughtered or drowned.
The Mongols then laid siege to the city, constructing a palisade and ditch, wheeling up siege engines and catapults. The siege started on January 29, after only a few days, by February 5 the Mongols controlled a stretch of the wall. Al-Musta'sim tried to negotiate, but was refused.
On February 10 Baghdad surrendered. The Mongols swept into the city on February 13 and began a week of massacre, looting, rape, and destruction. Many historical accounts detailed the cruelties of the Mongol conquerors.
- The Grand Library of Baghdad, containing countless precious historical documents and books on subjects ranging from medicine to astronomy, was destroyed. Survivors said that the waters of the Tigris ran black with ink from the enormous quantities of books flung into the river.
- Citizens attempted to flee, but were intercepted by Mongol soldiers who raped and killed with abandon. The death toll has been variously estimated; Martin Sicker writes that close to 90,000 people may have died (Sicker 2000, p. 111). Other estimates go much higher.
- The Mongols looted and then destroyed. Mosques, palaces, libraries, hospitals -- grand buildings that had been the work of generations were burned to the ground.
- The caliph was captured and forced to watch as his citizens were murdered and his treasury plundered. The caliph was killed by trampling. The Mongols rolled the caliph up in a rug, and rode their horses over him, as they believed that the earth was offended if touched by royal blood.
- It is said that Hulagu had to move his camp upwind of the city, as the stench was too much for even the bloodthirsty Mongols.
Typically, the Mongols destroyed a city only if it had resisted them. Cities that capitulated at the first demand for surrender could usually expect to be spared. The utter ferocity of the rape of Baghdad was to a great extent a military tactic: it convinced other cities and rulers to surrender without a fight.
Baghdad was a depopulated, ruined city for several centuries and only gradually recovered something of its former glory.
References
- Sicker, Martin -- The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna, Praeger Publishers, 2000
External link
- An article describing Hulagu's conquest of Baghdad, written by Ian Frazier, appeared in the April 25, 2005 issue of The New Yorker.