#khwarezm

'Ala al-Din Muhammad ibn Tekish was the penultimate ruler of the Khwarezmian Empire from 1200-1220. In the opinion of contemporaries like Ibn al-Athir, he was the most powerful Islamic monarch since the collapse of the Great Seljuqs, ruling a realm stretching from the Caucasus, today's Iran across Central Asia to the Syr Darya River. His armies were vast; Juzjani speaks of him (allegedly) raising 400,000 men and horse "arrayed in defensive armour," to send against Qara-Khitai (Juzjani/Ravery vol. 1, pg. 262-263). He greatly expanded the Khwarezmian realm, absorbing much of the lands of his dynasty's long-time rivals, the Qara-Khitai and the Ghurids. At the height of his confidence, he even marched on Baghdad itself, though a vicious winter storm while crossing the Zagros Mountains brought an end to that campaign. This did not stop his from styling himself "the Second Alexander [the Great]."

Of course, pride cometh before the fall. Muhammad II in many ways embodied all the characteristics of Anushteginid Dynasty of Khwarezm; an intelligence, well learned man, yet scheming, paranoid, cruel and expansionistic. The fact that in 1212 he carried out his own massacre of the population of Samarkand is often forgotten. He struggled to control his Qipchaq-Qangli relations, who formed not only an important military element of the empire, but an elite within it. He often feuded with his mother, Terken Khatun, and the actions of his uncle Inalchuq at Otrar to a group of merchants sent by Chinggis Khan —the infamous Otrar Massacre in 1218— forced Muhammad, reluctantly or otherwise, into war with the Mongol Empire. By the end of 1220 Muhammad was dead on a island in the Caspian Sea, his empire overrun by the Mongols.

I talk about Mongol heavy cavalry in the war against Khwarezm in my latest video:

Chorasmian frescoe from Kazakly-Yatkan (fortress of Akcha-Khan Kala, today Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan)

The Battle of Parwan, September 1221; This was Khwarezm-shah Jalal al-Din Mingburnu's victory over a Mongol army under Shigi Qutuqu, the adopted son/brother of Chinggis Khan. Jalal al-Din was a son of the late Khwarezm-shah Muhammad II, and had fled into what is now Afghanistan, rallying whoever he could for a resistance against the Mongols. After defeating a small vanguard force, Chinggis Khan ordered Shigi Qutuqu to bring Jalal al-Din to heel.

Jalal al-Din brought a substantially larger army than Shigi Qutuqu; according to Juvaini, one of our main sources for the battle, Jalal al-Din had 60-70,000 men compared to Shigi's 30,000. Jalal al-Din's army was of greatly varied background; Jalal al-Din commanded the centre, a mix of Khwarezmian and Ghuri troops; on his left wing, Amin Malik commanded a large Qipchaq contingent, and his right wind under Saif al-Din Ighraq was a host of Khalaj and Turkmen.

Despite the fact that much of the army usually fought from horseback, Jalal al-Din ordered them to fight dismounted. We might suspect this was the best way to reduce the chance of troops breaking rank to pursue the Mongols into feigned retreats, or to flee before them, while ensuring that his archer's had stable platforms with to pick their shots.

The battle took place over two days, with Jalal al-Din's men holding their ground; on the night of the first day, Shigi Qutuqu placed dummies on horseback in an effort to frighten the Khwarezmians into thinking Mongol reinforcements had arrived. The ploy nearly worked, but Jalal al-Din was made of sterner stuff and kept his commanders in line. Another fierce day of fighting followed, and Shigi Qutuqu sent an elite cavalry force to charge against the Khwarezmian left flank. Here, Jalal al-Din's archers, through volley after volley, broke the Mongol charge, and soon after Shigi Qutuqu took his army from the field.

I talk about Mongol heavy cavalry in the war against Khwarezm in my latest video:

JALAL AL-DIN RAIDING INDIA, 1222-1224

Chinggis Khan and Jalal al-Din Mingburnu, 1222

For all that you can say on Chinggis Khan, he respected acts of courage and daring escapes, having undertaken many of his own in his own difficult youth. After his forces defeated the Khwarezmian army under Jalal al-Din Mingburnu on the Indus River in 1222, Mingburnu rushed his horse off the cliff and into the water. Mongol archers made to pick him off, but Chinggis Khan himself stopped them, according to the Persian chronicler Juvaini (writing about 30 years later).

In the image above, the quote comes from the Russian translation of Juvaini. The more accessible English translation from J.A Boyle is a bit more restrained:

"From excess of astonishment he [Chinggis Khan] put his hand to his mouth and ket saying to his sons, "such a son must a father have!"" (Juvaini/Boyle, i, 134)

To further illustrate the sentiment, Juvaini then cites some verses of the Shahnama:

"When Isfandiyar gazed behind him, he descried him on the dry land on the far side of the stream.

He said: 'call not this being a man-he is a raging elephant endued with pomp and splendour.'

So he spoke, and gazed thitherwards where Rustam went seeking his way." (Juvaini/Boyle, i, 134-135)

Jalal al-Din escapes, and would continue to fight for another ten years (though mainly against other Muslims and the Kingdom of Georgia). Despite his respect for his adversary's deed, when Jalal al-Din's wives and children were captured after the battle, the sons, even those who infants, were killed. Those of his army who also sought to swim the Indus drowned or were sunk by Mongol arrows. Mingburnu's horse survived the jump, and he brought it with him for the rest of its life, treating it with respect and never riding it again.

THE MONGOL SIEGE OF GURGANJ, 1221

Juvaini on the Fall of Nishapur

Continuing our series on primary sources, in this video we look at the thirteenth century Persian historian Juvaini's description of the siege of Nishapur and ensuing massacre -also connecting to our video on Mongol Massacres in the Khwarezmain Empire.  Along the way, you get to see a bit on Mongol siege tactics, as well as Juvaini's rather flowery prose. 

 Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/jackmeister 

 Letters from Chinggis Khan and Qiu Chuji: https://youtu.be/Vo-yjB_KZak 

Mongol Massacres in the Khwarezmian Empire: https://youtu.be/9tVjMuKURxw 

Temur Malik: a Khwarezmian who Defied the Mongols: https://youtu.be/Z-X0VEDHMP4 

Jebe and Subtuai: Pursuit of the Shah and the Caucasus: https://youtu.be/Q-vJU_cIiL0

Why DIDN'T Chinggis Khan invade India?

In late 1221, Chinggis Khan defeated Khwarezm-shah Jalal al-Din Mingburnu on the borders of India: yet, India was spared the wrath of Chinggis Khan himself. Though Mongol armies would threaten the Delhi Sultanate later in the century, Chinggis Khan turned away from the subcontinent. Here, we look at the possible reasons Chinggis Khan did not invade India, as well as the impact his close presence did have, in the form of the fleeing Khwarezmian, Jalal al-Din.