Siege of Baghdad

Beginning in the 8th century, Baghdad had become an epicenter of cultural development and scientific discovery within the Islamic world of the medieval era (5th century to 15th century). One hundred thousand men had painstakingly constructed its streets and grand libraries. For centuries, the descendants of Muhammed's bloodline ruled from within its walls as the Abbasid Dynasty. Enduring dissension and local Islamic rivalries, the Abbasid Caliphate's capital of Baghdad remained a beacon of Islamic progress until its last ruler made one fatal error: rejecting submission to the Mongol Empire and leading to the siege of Baghdad.

Map of the Siege of Baghdad

The city of Baghdad, located in modern-day Iraq, was a large, walled city located on the famous Tigris River. Together, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers streamed inland from the Persian Gulf to form the Fertile Crescent, a strip of land that supported the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations. The land acted as the final stronghold of the declining Abbasid Caliphate, a once mighty state that extended its land across the Middle East and North Africa. Despite this, Baghdad was still one of, if not the most illustrious city in the world by the mid 13th century.

Map of modern-day Iraq

To Baghdad's west was the Sultanate of Rum, a derivative state of the Seljuk Turks who had achieved victory against the Christian forces during the Crusades. To its north was the Caucuses, the land between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea that contained the states of Armenia and Georgia, among others. To the south were the independent Mamluks in Saudi Arabia and North Africa. To the east: the ruins of the Khwarazmian Empire, laid to waste when Turkic Sultan Muhammed II defied the (in this case, peaceful) will of Genghis Khan in the early 13th century.

Mongol Siege of Baghdad

Mongol forces had pressed into the Abbasid Caliphate before 1258, reaching the shadows of Baghdad's massive walls on more than one occasion. But the Caliph of Baghdad was confident in the city's defenses and repelled all incursions. When Hulagu Khan demanded submission from the Abbasid Caliph Al-Musta'sim, the ruler of Baghdad declined the Khan. Each faction was confident in their victory; would history repeat itself; would Middle Eastern defenders underestimate the unparalleled wrath of the Mongol Empire?

The Abbasid Caliphate Before the Siege of Baghdad

The Abbasid Caliphate was established in 750, the rebellious successor to the fraying Umayyad Caliphate. In 762, the Abbasid Caliph Al-Mansur moved the Abbasid capital from Damascus to Baghdad, centralizing his rule (both figuratively and literally, as Baghdad was now in the middle of his caliphate). Historians consider the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258) as the Golden Age of the Islamic world, characterized by its incredible advancements in science, medicine, math, astronomy, and more. The city had universities and learning centers, and the famous Grand Library of Baghdad, also known as the House of Wisdom.

Photograph of a medieval gate surrounding modern-day Baghdad

By the 13th century, the Abbasid Dynasty had greatly weakened in power. Even still, it possessed potentially powerful Islamic allies in the Mamluks and the Hashashin Assassins of the Nizari state. The deserts of the Middle East were the home of the Abbasid Caliphate; beyond Arabic Muslims, there lived many Jews, Christians, non-Arab Muslims, and peoples of less popular religions. With The Abbasid Caliphate still forming much of the connections between the western world of Europe and North Africa and the eastern world of Persia, China, and India, Baghdad was a rich and powerful city with a population in the millions.

The Mongols Before the Siege of Baghdad

The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206 when he united the disparate tribes of the Asian Steppe. Until his death in 1227, Genghis Khan led campaigns into the east and west, including China and the Middle East. After his death, his descendants inherited the increasingly divided sects of his mighty empire. Genghis's son Ogedei inherited the full leadership position of emperor-khagan in 1229, to be replaced by his nephew Mongke Khan in 1251. Under both of their reigns, the Mongols enjoyed victories in the Middle East, such as in the Battle of Kose Dag.

In the western reaches of the now divided Mongol Empire, the khaganate became known as the Ilkhanate, its appointed leader being Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan. Under the orders of Mongke Khan, Hulagu Khan entered the Arabic lands of the Middle East with an estimated army of 150,000 horseback arches, siege batteries, and allies. The Abbasid Caliphate had previously paid respect the Mongke's rule, but the khagan-emperor ordered Hulagu to crush their capital of Baghdad if they did not directly submit to him during his invasion.

With him, the Khan brought Chinese engineers taken from eastern raids, and soon the Mongol warlord allied himself with the Kingdom of Georgia and Cilicia from the Caucuses and Antioch from the west. United with Christian warriors, Chinamen, and a Mongol host never seen before in the Middle East, Hulagu Khan advanced into the territories of the Abbasid Caliphate.

• The Abbasid Caliphate was a powerful but diminishing Islamic state in the Middle East. The city of Baghdad was one of the most impressive cities of its time, with a focus on cultural and scientific development.
• The Mongol Empire had fractured after Genghis Khan's death, but its khagan-emperor Mongke Khan still had influence. He ordered his brother Hulagu Khan to lead the Ilkhanate in conquest of the Middle East.

Siege of Baghdad 1258

The invasion of modern-day Iran had begun. A force of 150,000 Mongol horseback riders rode through the remnants of Khwarism, sending townsfolk and defenders fleeing into the west. The Mongols soon faced their first challenge: the assassins of the Nizari state. Situated in strategic mountain fortresses throughout Persia, the Hashashin order waged guerilla warfare against the Ilkhanate, including attempts to assassinate high-level Mongol generals. But the assassins failed, and the scattered Hashashin strongholds were crushed by Mongol artillery fire. The Hashashin leader was killed, their famous Alamut Castle base lying in ruins.

Art depicting the Mongol Siege of Baghdad in 1258

Initially, Hulagu opened peaceful negotiations to Caliph Al-Musta'sim, demanding the Arabic ruler to submit to Mongke Khan. The Caliph declined. As the Mongols marched toward Baghdad, Al-Musta'sim refused to call for aid from the Mamluks, and he ignored reinforcing his defenses. In his eyes, 60,000 defenders were more than enough to save the city.

The Thirteen Day Siege of Baghdad Begins

Confident in his success, Caliph Al-Musta'sim ordered 20,000 cavalrymen to meet the Mongol vanguard head on. The battle was fierce, and the Abbasid soldiers emerged victorious. Basking in their victory, they made camp and celebrated at the bank of the Tigris River next to the city. The Mongolian vanguard was only a fraction of the invading force, however. By the next day, the Mongols came in full force, crushing the Abbasid cavalrymen against the Tigris River, the same river that had nourished the first civilizations of man thousands of years before. With the Arabic cavalry defeated, Baghdad prepared for a full siege.

With Chinese-designed trebuchets and battering rams, the Mongols were predictably successful in breaching the city's defenses. In less than two weeks, the city surrendered. The Caliph and nobles attempted to open negotiations with Hulegu Khan, but the Mongol warlord denied them. The Mongols were ruthless in their destruction.

Effects of Mongol Siege of Baghdad

It is difficult to overexaggerate the extent of destruction within Baghdad caused by the Mongol invaders. There are tales and falsified reports, with often inflated casualty reports, but the devastation of the city itself is undeniable. Baghdad's dozens of libraries and colleges were ravaged, its famous House of Wisdom burnt to the ground. Thousands of pages of scholarly texts were ruined and thrown into the Tigris River. A popular report claims that the Tigris River flowed black with the ink of the books that were tossed in during the devastating siege.

Art depicting the Mongols breaching the gates of Baghdad in 1258 (notice the trebuchet in the bottom left corner)

The Mongols believed that spilling royal blood on the earth to be an omen, so they rolled Caliph Al-Musta'sim into a carpet and trampled him with horses (yes, really). The Abbasid Caliphate, already on its heels from centuries of decline, was brought to an end in February of 1258.

Significance of the Siege of Baghdad

Not only did the Siege of Baghdad mark the end of the Abbasid Caliphate, but also of the long lasting Islamic Golden Age. The destruction of the important city set the Islamic world back, as the knowledge accumulated from Baghdad's scholars safely spread throughout the Mediterranean and Western Europe. But all was not over for Dar Al-Islam. The Mongol victory soon tasted like defeat, as Berke, the Islamic Mongol Khan of the Golden Horde, declared war against the Ilkhanate for its destruction of the city. And in the power vacuum of the Middle East, new Islamic powers would rise, such as the impressive Ottoman and Safavid Empires.