MONGOL EMPIRE History of the Great Khans, 1206–1368

Hulagu Khan and the Sack of Baghdad (1258)

Ilkhanate · 5 min read

The sack of Baghdad by Hulagu Khan in 1258 was one of the most consequential events of the medieval period. The sack marked the end of the Abbasid Caliphate, which had been a major power in the Islamic world for five centuries, and it marked the beginning of a new era in the history of the Middle East. The sack of Baghdad was a major catastrophe for the Islamic world, and it is still remembered as a central event in the history of the Middle East.

The sack was carried out by Hulagu Khan, a son of Tolui and a brother of both Möngke (the Great Khan) and Kublai Khan. Hulagu was the commander of the Mongol western campaign, sent by Möngke to conquer the Islamic world. The campaign was launched in 1253 and culminated in the sack of Baghdad in February 1258.

The Background to the Sack

The background to the sack of Baghdad was the long series of Mongol campaigns against the Islamic world. The Mongols had been attacking the Islamic world since the 1220s, when they had conquered the Khwarezmian Empire. The Mongols had also attacked the Seljuk Sultanate and the Ayyubid Sultanate, and they had established a major presence in the Middle East.

The Abbasid Caliphate, which had been the major power in the Islamic world since the eighth century, was a relatively weak state by the time of the Mongol invasion. The caliphs had lost most of their political power, and they were largely figureheads in the politics of the Islamic world. The actual power in Baghdad was held by the caliph’s advisers and the military officers, who were often at odds with each other.

The last Abbasid caliph, al-Musta’sim, was reportedly a weak and indecisive ruler, and he was unable to organize an effective resistance to the Mongol invasion. The caliph was also reportedly unwilling to submit to the Mongol demands, and he refused to surrender the city. The refusal was a fatal mistake, and it led to the sack of Baghdad.

The Course of the Sack

The sack of Baghdad began on 15 January 1258, when the Mongol army began the siege of the city. The siege was a long, difficult affair, and the Mongol army had to use a variety of tactics to overcome the city’s defenses. The Mongols used siege weapons, including catapults and battering rams, and they used psychological warfare to encourage the defenders to surrender.

The city fell on 10 February 1258, after a siege of about a month. The Mongol army entered the city and began a systematic sack, which lasted for about a week. The sack was one of the most destructive in the history of the medieval world, and the death toll was enormous. The most famous of the victims was the caliph al-Musta’sim, who was reportedly rolled in a carpet and trampled to death by horses, in keeping with the Mongol custom of not spilling royal blood.

The Consequences of the Sack

The consequences of the sack of Baghdad were enormous. The sack marked the end of the Abbasid Caliphate, which had been a major power in the Islamic world for five centuries. The sack also marked the destruction of one of the most culturally rich cities in the medieval world, and the cultural treasures of the city were plundered or destroyed.

The sack of Baghdad was also significant for the political life of the Middle East. The sack marked the beginning of a new era in the history of the region, and it marked the rise of the Ilkhanate as the major power in the Middle East. The sack was also significant for the cultural life of the Middle East, since it marked the destruction of one of the major centers of Islamic learning and culture.

The sack of Baghdad was also significant for the European political and cultural life. The sack was a major shock to the European political and cultural establishment, and it led to a number of important changes in the European political and cultural organization. The most important of these changes was the increased interest in the Mongol world, and the increased willingness to engage with the Mongols as potential allies against the Islamic powers.

The Long Shadow of the Sack

The sack of Baghdad has had a long shadow in the historical memory of the Islamic world and of the world as a whole. The sack is remembered as a central event in the history of the Islamic world, and it is widely taught in Islamic schools as a major event in the history of the region. The sack is also remembered in the broader European tradition as a major moment in the history of the Mongol invasions.

The sack is also significant for what it tells us about the Mongol military tradition. The sack was a typical example of the Mongol use of siege warfare and psychological warfare, and it was a major demonstration of the effectiveness of the Mongol military tradition. The sack was, in this sense, a major factor in the success of the Mongol military, and it has been studied by military commanders for centuries.

Sources

  • George Lane, Early Mongol Rule in Thirteenth-Century Iran (London, 2003).
  • Linda Komaroff, ed., The Legacy of Genghis Khan (New York, 2002).
  • Peter Jackson, The Mongols and the West (London, 2005).

Sources

  • Reuven Amitai, Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260–1281 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), ch. 1.
  • David Morgan, The Mongols (2nd ed., Oxford: Blackwell, 2007), ch. 5.
  • Peter Jackson, The Mongols and the West, 1221–1410 (London: Pearson Longman, 2005), ch. 2.
  • John Andrew Boyle, trans., The History of the World Conqueror by Juvaini (2 vols., Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1958) — the principal contemporary account.
  • Steven Ward, Ammianus, Miskawayh, and the Representation of the Past in the Early Baghdad Histories (PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2014) — for the long-term historiographical context.
  • Dominique Sourdel, Le vizirat abbāside de 749 à 936 (Damascus: IFPO, 1959–60) — for the Abbasid administrative context.

See Also