Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia and Eastern Iran
| Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Mongol invasion of Central Asia | |||||||||
.PNG) Khwarezmid Empire (1190–1220), on the eve of the Mongol conquests |
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Mongol Empire | Khwarazmian dynasty | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
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Genghis Khan Jochi Chaghatai Ögedei Tolui Subutai Jebe Jelme Mukali Khubilai Kasar Boorchu Sorkin-shara |
Ala ad-Din Muhammad Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu Inalchuq  Temur Meliq |
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| Units involved | |||||||||
| Cavalry, mainly 80,000–100,000 mounted archers Non-Mongol auxiliaries, engineers, and specialists Siege engines, including Chinese gunpowder weapons Drafted Khwarizmian civilians |
Predominantly city garrisons | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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Disputed (see below). Estimates include:
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40,000–400,000 | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| unknown | 1.25 million killed including civilians (25% of the population) | ||||||||
Disputed (see below). Estimates include:
The Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia from 1219 to 1221 marked the beginning of the Mongol conquest of the Islamic states. The Mongol expansion would ultimately culminate in the conquest of virtually all of Asia (as well as parts of Eastern Europe) save for Japan, the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
It was not originally the intention of the Mongol Empire to invade the Khwarezmid Empire. According to the Persian historian Juzjani, Genghis Khan had originally sent the ruler of the Khwarezmid Empire, Ala ad-Din Muhammad, a message seeking trade and greeted him as his neighbor: "I am master of the lands of the rising sun while you rule those of the setting sun. Let us conclude a firm treaty of friendship and peace." or he said "I am Khan of the lands of the rising sun while you are sultan those of the setting sun: Let us conclude a firm agreement of friendship and peace" The Mongols' original unification of all "people in felt tents", unifying the nomadic tribes in Mongolia and then the Turcomens and other nomadic peoples, had come with relatively little bloodshed, and almost no material loss. The Mongol wars with the Jurchens however had shown how cruel the Mongols could be. Shah Muhammad reluctantly agreed to this peace treaty, but it was not to last. The war started less than a year later, when a Mongol caravan and its envoys were massacred in the Khwarezmian city of Otrar.
In the ensuing war, lasting less than two years, the Khwarezmid Empire was destroyed.
After the defeat of the Kara-Khitans, Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire gained a border with the Khwarezmid Empire, governed by Shah Ala ad-Din Muhammad. The Shah had only recently taken some of the territory under his control, and he was also busy with a dispute with the caliph in Baghdad, An-Nasir. The Shah had refused to make the obligatory homage to the caliph as titular leader of Islam, and demanded recognition as Shah of his empire, without any of the usual bribes or pretenses. This alone had created problems for him along his southern border. It was at this junction the rapidly expanding Mongol Empire made contact. Mongol historians are adamant that the great khan at that time had no intention of invading the Khwarezmid Empire, and was only interested in trade and even a potential alliance.
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