Siege of Baghdad

The Siege of Baghdad , which occurred in 1258, was an invasion , siege and sacking of the city of Baghdad , the capital of the Abbasid caliphate at the time and the modern-day capital of Iraq , by the Ilkhanate Mongol forces along with other allied troops under Hulagu Khan . The invasion left Baghdad in a state of total destruction. A number of inhabitants ranging from 100,000 to 1,000,000 were massacred during the invasion of the city, and the city was sacked and burned. Even the libraries of Baghdad, including the House of Wisdom , were not safe from the attacks of the Ilkhanate forces who totally destroyed the libraries, and used the invaluable books to make a passage across Tigris River . As a result Baghdad remained depopulated and in ruins for several centuries, and the event is conventionally regarded as the end of the Islamic Golden Age .

The Siege of Baghdad , which lasted from January 29 until February 10, 1258, entailed the investment , capture, and sack of Baghdad , the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate , by Ilkhanate Mongol forces and allied troops. The Mongols were under the command of Hulagu Khan , brother of the khagan Möngke Khan , who had intended to further extend his rule into Mesopotamia but not to directly overthrow the Caliphate. Möngke, however, had instructed Hulagu to attack Baghdad if the Caliph Al-Musta'sim refused Mongol demands for his continued submission to the khagan and the payment of tribute in the form of military support for Mongol forces in Iran . Hulagu began his campaign in Iran with several offensives against Nizari groups, including the Assassins , who lost their stronghold of Alamut . He then marched on Baghdad, demanding that Al-Musta'sim accede to the terms imposed by Möngke on the Abbasids. Although the Abbasids had failed to prepare for the invasion, the Caliph believed that Baghdad could not fall to invading forces and refused to surrender. Hulagu subsequently besieged the city, which surrendered after 12 days. During the next week, the Mongols sacked Baghdad, committing numerous atrocities and destroyed the Abbasids' vast libraries, including the House of Wisdom . The Mongols executed Al-Musta'sim and massacred many residents of the city, which was left greatly depopulated. The siege is considered to mark the end of the Islamic Golden Age , during which the caliphs had extended their rule from the Iberian Peninsula to Sindh , and which was also marked by many cultural achievements. National Geographic , v. 191 (1997) Andre Wink, Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World , Vol.2, (Brill, 2002), 13. – via Questia (subscription required) The different aspects of Islamic culture: Science and technology in Islam , Vol.4, Ed.

The Siege of Baghdad was a siege that took place in Baghdad in 1258, lasting for 13 days from January 29, 1258 until February 10, 1258. The siege, laid by Ilkhanate Mongol forces and allied troops, involved the investment , capture, and sack of Baghdad, which was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate at that time. The Mongols were under the command of Hulagu Khan , brother of the khagan Möngke Khan , who had intended to further extend his rule into Mesopotamia but not to directly overthrow the Caliphate. Möngke, however, had instructed Hulagu to attack Baghdad if the Caliph Al-Musta'sim refused Mongol demands for his continued submission to the khagan and the payment of tribute in the form of military support for Mongol forces in Persia . Hulagu began his campaign in Persia against the strongholds of Nizari Ismailis , who lost their stronghold of Alamut . He then marched on Baghdad, demanding that Al-Musta'sim accede to the terms imposed by Möngke on the Abbasids. Although the Abbasids had failed to prepare for the invasion, the Caliph believed that Baghdad could not fall to invading forces and refused to surrender. Hulagu subsequently besieged the city, which surrendered after 12 days. During the next week, the Mongols sacked Baghdad, committing numerous atrocities; there is debate among historians about the level of destruction of library books and the Abbasids' vast libraries. The Mongols executed Al-Musta'sim and massacred many residents of the city, which was left greatly depopulated. The siege is considered to mark the end of the Islamic Golden Age , during which the caliphs had extended their rule from the Iberian Peninsula to Sindh , and which was also marked by many cultural achievements in diverse fields. National Geographic , v. 191 (1997) Andre Wink, Al-Hind: The Making of the Indo-Islamic World , Vol.2, (Brill, 2002), 13. – via Questia (subscription required) The different aspects of Islamic culture: Science and technology in Islam , Vol. 4, Ed.

1258 Mongol conquest of the Abbasid Caliphate For other uses, see Battle of Baghdad . The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258. A large army commanded by Hulegu , a prince of the Mongol Empire , attacked the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate after a series of provocations from its ruler, caliph al-Musta'sim . Within a few weeks, Baghdad fell and was sacked by the Mongol army—al-Musta'sim was killed alongside hundreds of thousands of his subjects. The city's fall has traditionally been seen as marking the end of the Islamic Golden Age ; in reality, its ramifications are uncertain. After the accession of his brother Möngke Khan to the Mongol throne in 1251, Hulegu, a grandson of Genghis Khan , was dispatched westwards to Persia to secure the region. His massive army of over 138,000 men took years to reach the region but then quickly attacked and overpowered the Nizari Ismaili Assassins in 1256. The Mongols had expected al-Musta'sim to provide reinforcements for their army—the Caliph's failure to do so, combined with his arrogance in negotiations, convinced Hulegu to overthrow him in late 1257. Invading Mesopotamia from all sides, the Mongol army soon approached Baghdad, routing a sortie on 17 January 1258 by flooding their opponents' camp. They then invested Baghdad, which was left with around 30,000 troops. The assault began at the end of January. Mongol siege engines breached Baghdad's fortifications within a couple of days, and Hulegu's highly-trained troops controlled the eastern wall by 4 February. The increasingly desperate al-Musta'sim frantically tried to negotiate, but Hulegu was intent on total victory, even killing soldiers who attempted to surrender. The Caliph eventually surrendered the city on 10 February, and the Mongols began looting three days later. The total number of people who died is unknown, as it was likely increased by subsequent epidemics ; Hulegu later estimated the total at around 200,000. After calling an amnesty for the pillaging on 20 February, Hulegu executed the caliph. In contrast to the exaggerations of later Muslim historians, Baghdad prospered under Hulegu's Ilkhanate , although it did decline in comparison to the new capital, Tabriz . There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or templates on this page, but the references will not show without a template or template (see the help page ).