>>14005413>>14005292>>14005470>>14005497– Siege Of Baghdad (1258) – From 200,000 to 2,000,000 Massacred
Bagdad1258
Mongols besieging Baghdad in 1258. From the collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.
Another part of the Mongol Invasion of Hulagu Khan, the Siege of Baghdad was ten days of restless destruction. Caliph Al-Musta’sim at first had a chance to save his city, but as he refused to pay tribute to the Mongols the fate of one of the most important Muslim centers was sealed.
On 29 of February 1258, Hulagu Khan besieged the city of Baghdad, with a force of almost 150,000 men, including Shiite Muslims, who were not happy with the Caliph.
After five days, during which the city’s defenses were breached, no pleas for mercy or a peace treaty were heard. All nobles who tried to do it were brutally murdered. Another five days later, the city capitulated, and on the 13th day of February, the true horror began. Every building was sacked and destroyed, including the Grand Library of Baghdad. Every small treasure was looted, and in the meantime, no life was spared.
The city was completely depopulated, with losses estimated to go up to 2,000,000 civilians, including women and children, and all military units ( around 50,000). The Mongols ravaged, pillaged, plundered, sacked, raped and destroyed. The Caliph himself did not meet a quick end. He was dragged, tortured and trampled by the horde, and his children were brutally murdered. Only one of his sons was sent to Mongolia, but he did not live a meaningful life. At the end of the complete annihilation, the city was said to stink so much of death and decay that Hulagu Khan had to move his camp away.
http://www.armenophile.com/img-detail/139/armenians-and-the-siege-of-baghdad-by-hulagu-khanSiege of Baghdad
1258
The mongol emperor Hulagu Khan campaign and siege of Baghdad was reinforced by 12,000 Armenian cavalry and 40,000 Armenian infantry.
