The Mongol Invasion of the Middle East http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/sources/mongolsinmiddle...

The Mongol Invasion of the Middle East (1258-1260), according to Rashiduddin Fazlullah Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures: Central Asian Sources

One of the most important accounts of the Mongol invasions of the Middle East was written at the turn of the 14th century. The Illikhan ruler, (1295-1304) commissioned his vizier, Rashiduddin Fazlullah (also spelled Rashid al-Din Fadhlullah Hamadani), to compile an aggregate history of all the peoples of the world. The result of this was the work which he entitled Jami'u't-tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles). This work, written in Persian, details the history of Turkish and Mongol peoples, the rise of and the Mongol conquests, as well as contains accounts of the histories of other nations, such as the Persians, Arabs, Greeks, Chinese, Indians, and Franks (Europeans).

The sections we are republishing are portions that describe of the Mongol invasion of the Middle East in the . The were led by , the grandson of Genghis. His brother Mangu, grand khan of the Mongols, directed him to quell a revolt in Persia. In 1256, in the course of his successful campaign, his forces virtually exterminated the powerful Assassin sect. Moving west to enlarge his conquests, he sacked and burned in 1258 (executing its last Abbasid caliph) and then captured and in 1260. Further advances were checked by the , who defeated the Mongols at the decisive battle of Ayn Jalut (Goliath’s Well) in . A more detailed analysis of the Mongol wars in the Middle East will be given in a forthcoming book by Peter Konieczny (editor of this website). The and capture of Baghdad in 1258 The capture of Aleppo and the surrender of Damascus in 1259-1260 The Battle of 'Ayn Jalut in 1260 An image from Rashiduddin's manuscript

All of these translated sections are from Jumi'u't-Tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles): A History of the Mongols, translated by W.M. Thackston (Sources of Oriental Languages and Literatures 45, 1998-9). We thank Professor Thackston and the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations of Harvard University for their permission to republish these sections. Return to the De Re Militari Homepage

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