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Mongol Conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire

Also Known As Mongol Invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire
Medieval

The Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire (1219 to 1221) was Genghis Khan's destruction of the Khwarazmian Empire under Shah Muhammad II, prompted by the massacre of a Mongol trade and diplomatic caravan at Otrar. Mongol armies took Otrar, Bukhara and Samarkand in swift succession, using a celebrated crossing of the Kyzyl Kum desert to reach Bukhara by surprise, and the shah's son Jalal al-Din Mangburni continued resistance after his father's death. Medieval chroniclers' city-by-city death tolls are regarded by modern historians as exaggerated by orders of magnitude, though the conquest was undeniably devastating. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Start Year
1219 2
End Year
1221 2
Combatants
Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan against the Khwarazmian Empire under Muhammad II and later his son Jalal al-Din Mangburni. 2
Outcome
Decisive Mongol victory. The Khwarazmian Empire was conquered and annexed. 2
Classification
Conflict Type
Interstate War 1
Connections

Associated With

Mongol Bow, Weapons Systems

The Mongol composite bow was the core weapon of the horse archers who carried out the conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire.

Source Wikipedia: Mongol bow

Commanders and Forces

Mongol Army, Armed Forces and Units
Source Wikipedia: Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire
Subutai, Commanders

Subutai served as one of Genghis Khan's principal generals in the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire

Source Wikipedia: Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire

Led By

Genghis Khan, Commanders
Source Wikipedia: Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire

Open Questions

Why do medieval death-toll figures for the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire differ so drastically from what modern historians consider plausible?, Open Questions
Source Wikipedia: Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire
In the Other Atlases

Is Discussed By

The Mongol Conquests

Also in History Atlas: which discusses this subject.

Source Wikipedia: Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empiretier 4
Sources
1. Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire (Wikipedia)
Lead text
Quote, Lead text
Between 1219 and 1221, the Mongol forces under Genghis Khan invaded the lands of the Khwarazmian Empire in Central Asia.
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire
Wikipedia
  • body text, Bukhara campaign
    traversed 300 miles of the seemingly impassable Kyzyl Kum desert by hopping through the various oases
  • Lead section
    Between 1219 and 1221, the Mongol forces under Genghis Khan invaded the lands of the Khwarazmian Empire in Central Asia.
  • Infobox: result
    Mongol victory
  • opening paragraph, alternate title phrasing
    Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire
  • Article text
    This further inflamed the existing divisions in the Khwarazmian Empire, and probably prevented the senior commanders from unifying their forces. Genghis then compounded the damage by repeatedly issuing bogus decrees in the name of either Terken Khatun or Shah Muhammad, further tangling up the already divided Khwarazmian command structure.
  • Led By: Genghis Khan, infobox
    Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan
  • Commanders and Forces: Mongol Army, infobox
    Mongol Empire under Genghis Khan (with Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedei, Tolui, Subutai, Jebe, Shigi Qutuqu)
View the Source
Wikipedia: Siege of Samarkand (1220)
WikipediaBattles and Campaigns: Siege of Samarkand (1220), infobox
Quote, Battles and Campaigns: Siege of Samarkand (1220), infobox
Samarkand, Khwarazmian Empire
View the Source
Open Questions (1 open question)
Why do medieval death-toll figures for the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire differ so drastically from what modern historians consider plausible?

Medieval chroniclers gave city-by-city death tolls historians regard as impossible given known population sizes: Ibn al-Athir claimed 700,000 killed at Merv while Juvayni recorded 1,300,000; Juvayni separately reported 1,747,000 for Nishapur and a claim of 1.2 million for Gurganj that is treated as almost certainly an exaggeration. Modern historians hold that affected cities could only have supported a fraction of these reported populations.

What would resolve this A reassessment of thirteenth-century Central Asian urban populations against archaeological and administrative evidence, and a critical study of the medieval chroniclers' own methods and motives for such figures.
Historical demographyWikipedia: Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire
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