Dark Side History: 10 Dark Facts about the Mongol Invasions of the Middle East!

The Mongols, known as the great conquerors and destroyers of the Middle Ages that conquered far into even Europe, but what do you know about them and their invasions into the Middle East, such as the siege and sack of Baghdad in 1258? Here are 10 “dark”* facts you might not know about them regarding the Middle East and their effects upon the Islamicate world in the the 13th to the 14th centuries AD.
*Dark as in unknown and sometimes rather disturbing facts.
Please don't be afraid to comment or voice any questions as I love interacting with you my dear viewers and I will try to respond as quickly as possible to you. Also, please like, subscribe & click the bell icon as those actions helps this channel grow!
This video is part of the dark side history series • Dark Side History , And can also be seen in the all history playlist: • All history
Sources and further reading:
Avery,Peter (1959). "Investigating the factors of Genghis Khan's attack on Transoxiana" Quarterly Magazine Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, University of Tehran (1): 42-45.
Biran, Michal (2019). "Libraries, Books, and Transmission of Knowledge in Ilkhanid Baghdad". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 62 (2-3): 464-502.
Hildinger, Erik (1997). Warriors of the Steppe: a military history of Central Asia, 500 B.C. to 1700 A.D.. New York: Sarpedon
Jackson, Peter (2017). The Mongols and the Islamic world: from conquest to conversion. New Haven: Yale University Press
Jackson, Peter (2018). The Mongols and the West, 1221-1410. Second Edition Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
Lane, George (2003). Early Mongol Rule in Thirteenth-Century Iran: A Persian Renaissance. London
May, Timothy (2018). The Mongol Empire. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.Nicola, Bruno De; Melville (2016). The Mongols: Middle East
Smith, John Masson (1998). "Nomads on Ponies vs. Slaves on Horses". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 118 (1): 54-62.
Smith, J. M. (1975). Mongol Manpower and Persian Population. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 18(3), 271-299.
Smith, JM & Kwanten Luc Imperial Nomads: A History of Central Asia, 500-1500 (Leicester: Leicester University Press,. Pp. 367. International Journal of Middle East Studies. 1985[1979];17(1):138-139.
Smith, J. M. (1984). Ayn Jālūt: Mamlūk Sucess or Mongol Failure? Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, 44(2), 307-345.
Rossabi, Morris, (2011), The Mongols and Global History: A Norton Documents Reader
Ward, Steven R. (2009). Immortal: a military history of Iran and its armed forces. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press
#Mongols #MiddleEast #History #Sackofbaghdad #1258

[@theculturedjinni]

I hope you enjoyed this video of me discussing the Mongols in the Middle East. If you have any questions or other comments please do state them, a thought unsaid is a missed opportunity to learn more and I love to interact with you my viewers, push the like button if you found it good, also don't forget to subscribe and click the bell button for more content if you have not done so before!

[@beepboop204]

i remember reading something once to the effect that the Mongols pioneered murdering people en masse not for their religion, or their culture, or political beliefs, etc., none of that mattered, they did it for the terror it caused. erm way to see beyond religions, cultures and political beliefs? 😜

[@theculturedjinni]

@@beepboop204 Terror tactics taken to their natural extreme conclusion, though also helped by the fact that they were pastoral nomads and thus did not have to rely upon the logistics of the people they conquered and could thus be far more brutal without threatening their own logistics

[@AltaicGigachad]

There were 4 nations which have managed to defeat the 1200's Mongols in war; Javanese (Majapahit), Turks (Khalji & Bahri Mamluks), Japanese, Vietnamese (Dai Viet). Mongols of the first half of the 13th century however were unstoppable. Major nations conquered by the Mongols ; -Jin (Tungusic) -Khwarezmids (Turkic) -Souther Song (Sinitic) -Black Khitais (Khitanic) -Cumania(Turkic) -Kievan Rus(Germanic and Slavic) -Seljuk Rum (Turkic) -Abbasids (Arabic) -Western Xia(Qiangic) -Volga Bulgaria (Turkic)

[@theculturedjinni]

The great unstoppable horde that was only stopped either by the greatest middle eastern empire at its time (the mamluks) or by extreme weather such as in the case of the mongols trying to invade Japan or geography hindering the invasion of the dai viet and Majapahit. It truly says something about their success that the mongols went from being a fringe group into being the greatest empire in area ever and something that pretty much only the most advanced thing still around and the literal forces of nature could stop.

[@AltaicGigachad]

@@theculturedjinni yeah the Japanese were very lucky but to be honest if it was a pitched battle, in my view the Mongols would have won it.

[@AltaicGigachad]

@@theculturedjinni it was more indeed the rulers rather than the army who achieved the victory’s on the Mongols. Baybars and Alauddin Khalji for example compared to Mongols, Alauddin had less skilled warriors while Baybars’s army was similar to Mongols. But honestly those were great military genius’s.

[@theculturedjinni]

@@AltaicGigachad Indeed I agree, the mongols would have won against the Japanese and regarding leadership, this is actually the case in most step nomad polities, in that they are extremely centered around the personal skill & charisma of the leadership as they usually are so decentralized and hard to control, hence you need to be a great leader if you ever hope to "herd" these tribal pastoral groups in a unified direction. Add to this that we more or less only hear about pastoral nomads in history when they manage to unite under strong leadership, otherwise they are usually subjegated/harassed by stronger settled peoples. This ,as I have argued in a previous video, often leads us to misjudge pastoral nomads as appearing stronger, as a norm, than they mostly were throughout most of history when it was more about the strength of certain rulers who ruled through personal skill. And yes I agree regarding Baybars and Alauddin Khalji (though I know less about him) being great leaders and that was partially why they could defeat/repel the Mongols.

[@AltaicGigachad]

Baybars was also a consummate diplomat, able to negotiate treaties that harmed his opponents while benefiting himself. Furthermore, he was prudent in his choices, only engaging the Il-Khanate on his own terms and whittling away its cli- ents when the il-khan was occupied elsewhere. His actions were impressive by any standard, but when one considers that he did this while simultaneously jockeying the literally cutthroat world of Mamluk politics, one must rank him as one of the greatest leaders in world history even though relatively few people today know the name. Baybars.

[@theculturedjinni]

👍 Indeed, Baybars was a skilled political leader that is sadly underappreciated for his greatness and yes the mamluuk politics were so cutthroat that his ability to juggle that together with the going against the il-khanate is truly impressive.

[@AltaicGigachad]

@@theculturedjinni from slave to king, that’s very impressive too.. many people underestimate this.

[@theculturedjinni]

@@AltaicGigachad Yes, him and the rest of the slave soldier mamluks, though far from the only ones that did it as you did have the Ikshiids and tulunids before in Egypt and other dynasties elsewhere.

[@perniciousseizurehellio3438]

I would really appreciate a video on why you think the Middle East declined

[@theculturedjinni]

👍 I have one planed, the script is still not done, but it is in the works.

[@TOKMAKCI_BASPAPAZ]

Mangburni is considered a fearless leader and a great warrior. Harold Lamb describes Jalal al-Din as "valiant son of a weak father", Carl Sverdrup descibes Jalal al-Din as "brave and energetic" Jürgen Paul describes Jalal al-Din as "the mighty wall". About his battle against Genghis khan at the banks of the Indus, Osborne describes him as the first vigilante enemy of Genghis khan. While Timothy May describes him as the most stalwart enemy of the Mongols in West Asia untill the time of the Mamluk Sultanate, Modern scholarship credits him with halting the Mongol expansion by at least a decade.

[@theculturedjinni]

Yes, he was a very important part in delaying the mongols, I actually kind of did consider mentioning him, but decided that I would probably dedicate an entire video to him and that it was kind a side matter in regards to the greater things I wanted to speak about more focused on the Middle East rather than the Indian subcontinent, but certainly he was among the greatest of enemies of the mongols.

[@AltaicGigachad]

@@theculturedjinni he was a fearless warrior but sadly faced the greatest general in the history; Genghis Khan.

[@theculturedjinni]

@@AltaicGigachad and if not the greatest (as this is debatable, I would consider some others greater) certainly the greatest of his era. Sometimes you just have the poor luck facing such an enemy.

[@perniciousseizurehellio3438]

Great video

[@theculturedjinni]

👍 I am glad you liked it and wrote this comment!😃

[@beepboop204]

[@theculturedjinni]

👍👍👍👍

[@murasame5071]

Mongols sure where something special. cant even tell if they are more evil or more good.

[@theculturedjinni]

They sure were special, and their effects on history is not to be underestimated. I try to avoid issues of moral judgement in my history so I don't judge the Mongols as they were a product of their time, but their brutality cannot be understated, but likewise their large conquests also reshaped politics and history in ways that created the foundations for many later developments in the entire world none withstanding any moral judgements we have about these things.

[@perniciousseizurehellio3438]

Definitely more evil

[@theculturedjinni]

@@perniciousseizurehellio3438 Though I try to avoid terms like evil in history I will say that I am also on the side that thinks that the Mongols did destroy more than they created in terms of achievements in human history. There is this new trend in history to over focus on the more "positive" sides of the mongols such as the trade and exchange of ideas and culture that they facilitated which sometimes overshadows the fact that the mongols were among some of the most brutal conquerors of history.

[@murasame5071]

they are also single handedly responsible for diplomotic imunity as we know it.@@theculturedjinni

[@theculturedjinni]

@@murasame5071 Maybe, I have heard that claim before, but I would argue that there are enough other examples from both ancient middle eastern and European traditions regarding hospitality towards diplomats that I am not that sure about that.

[@MAGOCAL31]

That’s the only good video from the KZbin creator cafe discord server,keep it up amigo

[@theculturedjinni]

Thank you for the nice comment and I will keep it up! 👍

[@perniciousseizurehellio3438]

What’s the cafe discord server

[@theculturedjinni]

@@perniciousseizurehellio3438 it is a discord, social media site/app, server for various KZbinrs to socialize, exchange ideas, discuss video editing, and promote their work.

[@theculturedjinni]

@@perniciousseizurehellio3438 I always post the links to that place when I upload here on the channel so he probably saw it there.