| Revision as of 08:04, 2 February 2006 editZora (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers17,728 edits Rewrite, removing anecdotes taken from older references← Previous edit | Revision as of 08:06, 2 February 2006 edit undoZora (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers17,728 edits Fix formattingNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| The '''Battle of Baghdad''' in ] was a victory for the ] leader ], a grandson of ]. | The '''Battle of Baghdad''' in ] was a victory for the ] leader ], a grandson of ]. | ||
| ⚫ | {{Campaignbox Mongol invasions}} | ||
| <br> | |||
| ] was the ] of an ] state in what is now ] and parts of ]; it was ruled by ], then the ] ]. | ] was the ] of an ] state in what is now ] and parts of ]; it was ruled by ], then the ] ]. | ||
| Line 9: | Line 7: | ||
| 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. | 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. | ||
| ⚫ | {{Campaignbox Mongol invasions}} | ||
| 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 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. | ||
Revision as of 08:06, 2 February 2006
The Battle of Baghdad in 1258 was a victory for the Mongol leader Hulagu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan.
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.
| Mongol invasions and conquests | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||
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.