Day 4……..
The Siege of Baghdad (29 January – 10 February 1258)
From east to west…….
Who fought who: The Mongol Empire Vs Abbasid Caliphate
Casualties: The Mongol Empire – Minimal, Abbasid Caliphate – 50,000 soldiers and 800,000 civilians
Legacy: The Mongols secured the whole Arabian desert after the siege but were eventually forced to retreat east after flighting among themselves.
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| Hulagu’s forces outside the city walls |
By 1258 the Mongol army had swept through most of China, Persia and was now threatening the Middle Eastern kingdoms of the Islamic caliphates, leaving a trial of destruction and misery in its wake. Baghdad was a sitting oasis in the Arabian desert and it was too tempting for the leader of the Mongols, Hulagu Khan, to ignore. Assembling the largest Mongol army ever seen on one field, nearly one hundred and fifty thousand men, they raced to Baghdad and laid siege to the city. They choked off the supplies and began to build siege engines to destroy the walls.
The ruler of Baghdad, Al-Mustai’sim, was left to face the Mongols alone. In desperation he sent cavalry out to meet them, underestimating how adaptable and resilient they were when confronting enemy cavalry. The Mongols dug a ditch and flooded it, trapping their enemies between the water and the horde and butchered the calvary. They continued with the seige, destroying the city walls and taking the outskirts of the city. The defenders of the city fought with all their courage but the Mongols simply out numbered them.
Al-Mustai’sim tried to reason with Khan and offer terms, but they were refused, the city was sacked, the inhabitants murdered and raped. The level of destruction the Mongols brought was horrifying: some estimates have put the number of civilians killed between 2 and 8 thousands. Thousands of civilians were run down and killed as they fled, there was no mercy.
Before the Mongols, Baghdad was a city of learning and culture, and it’s grand library was the envy of the western world. Now the city lay in ruins with corpses littering the streets and the people left enslaved. The Mongols marched away to carry on their rampage leaving nothing but charred ruins.
Sources (because I don’t know everything):
All About History, Vol. 7
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