Mongol conquest of Western Xia
| Mongol conquest of Western Xia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Mongol invasion of China | |||||||||
 China c. 1141, with Western Xia depicted in green |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Mongol Empire |
a) Western Xia b) Western Xia Jin dynasty |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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a) Genghis Khan b) Genghis Khan (possibly †) Ögedei Khan Subutai Tolui Chagaan |
a) Emperor Huanzong (1205) b) Emperor Xianzong (1225–1226) Emperor Mozhu  (1226–1227) Asha |
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| Strength | |||||||||
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a) Total numbers unknown, over 30,000 in 1209 campaign b) 180,000 |
a) Total numbers unknown, over 270,000 in 1209 campaign b) Total numbers unknown, over 300,000 at Battle of Yellow River |
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Decisive Mongol victories:
a) Subjugation of Western Xia
a) Western Xia
a) Genghis Khan
a) Emperor Huanzong (1205)
Emperor Li Anquan
(1207–1208, 1209–1210)
Kao Liang-Hui
(1209–1210)
Wei-ming Ling-kung (1209–1210)
a) Total numbers unknown, over 30,000 in 1209 campaign
a) Total numbers unknown, over 270,000 in 1209 campaign
The Mongol conquest of Western Xia was a series of conflicts between the Mongol Empire and the Western Xia (Chinese: 西夏; pinyin: Xī Xià) dynasty, also known as the Tangut Empire, or Minya. Hoping to gain both plunder and a powerful vassal state, Mongol leader Genghis Khan commanded some initial raids against Western Xia before launching a full-scale invasion in 1209. This invasion marked both the first major invasion conducted by Genghis and the beginning of the Mongol invasion of China. Despite a major set-back during a nearly year-long siege of the capital, Yinchuan, when the diverted river accidentally flooded their camp, the Mongols convinced Emperor Li Anquan to surrender in January 1210. For nearly a decade the Western Xia served the Mongols as vassals and aided them in the Mongol–Jin War, but when Genghis invaded the Islamic Khwarazmian dynasty in 1219, Western Xia attempted to break away from the Empire and ally with the Jin and Song dynasties. Angered by this betrayal, in 1225 Genghis Khan sent a second, punitive expedition into Western Xia. Genghis intended to annihilate the entire Western Xia culture, and his campaign systematically destroyed Western Xia cities and the countryside, culminating in the siege of the capital in 1227 along with forays into Jin territory. Near the end of the siege, in August 1227, Genghis Khan died from an uncertain cause, though some accounts say he was killed in action against Western Xia. After his death, Yinchuan fell to the Mongols and most of its population was massacred.
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