Mongol conquestsWars and battles

Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire

Genghis Khan’s campaign against the empire of the Khwarazmshah Muhammad II: within two years the Mongols took Otrar, Bukhara, Samarkand and Urgench and destroyed one of the largest Muslim states.

Date: 1219–1221year known · duration: ≈ 2 years
Place: Otrartoday: Otrar archaeological site, Turkistan Region, Kazakhstan · Central and Northern Asia
Route: Otrar → Bukhara → Samarkand → Termez → Balkh → Bamyan → Ghazni → Bank of the Indus
Participants: Mongol Empire, Khwarazmian Empire, Genghis Khan, Muhammad II of Khwarazm, Jalal al-Din Mangburni, Jebe, Subutai
Threads: Mongol conquests
Also known as: Хорезмийский поход Чингисхана; Монгольское завоевание Средней Азии

The pretext for the war was the massacre of a Mongol trade caravan and envoys at Otrar in 1218. In the autumn of 1219 the Mongol armies invaded Transoxiana. The Khwarazmshah, who had dispersed his troops among his fortresses, fled and died on an island in the Caspian Sea; the chief cities of Central Asia and Khorasan were laid waste, and many of their inhabitants perished.

The last battle of the campaign was fought on the Indus in 1221. The detachments of Jebe and Subutai, sent in pursuit of the Khwarazmshah, rode far to the west — through Iran and the Caucasus into the Cuman steppes. On the map the campaign is anchored to Otrar, whose siege opened the invasion; the line shows the route of Genghis Khan’s main forces.

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Connections

Consequences

Battle of the Kalka River31 May 1223 · Eastern EuropeThe raid of Jebe and Subutai began as a pursuit of the Khwarazmshah

Includes

Siege of BukharaFebruary 1220 · Central and Northern Asia
Siege of SamarkandMarch 1220 · Central and Northern Asia
Battle of the Indusbetween 24 November and 9 December 1221 · South Asia

Related events

Battle of Köse Dağbetween 26 June and 3 July 1243 · Balkans and AnatoliaPursuing the Khwarazmshah Jalal al-Din, the Mongols reached the borders of Rum in the 1230s