Siege of Baghdad
1258 AD · Medieval
The Siege of Baghdad in 1258 was led by Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, who commanded the Mongol forces against the Abbasid Caliphate. After a brief siege, the city fell on February 10, 1258, resulting in the destruction of the House of Wisdom, the execution of Caliph Al-Musta'sim, and the end of the Abbasid Caliphate. This event is often considered to mark the end of the Islamic Golden Age.
Key Figures
Hulagu KhanCaliph Al-Musta'sim
Locations
Baghdad
Topics
crusadesmiddle-eastwarEurope
Connected Events — 3 Connections
Hulagu Khan's conquest of Baghdad destroyed the House of Wisdom's vast collection of Islamic scholarship, then immediately established Maragha Observatory in 1259 as a replacement intellectual center, relocating surviving scholars and manuscripts to continue astronomical and mathematical work under Mongol patronage First Star formed
Mongol expansion that destroyed Baghdad also opened the Silk Road trade routes that later carried plague-infected fleas from Central Asia to Europe, with Mongol military campaigns and enhanced trade networks creating the very pathways the Black Death would follow westward First Mammaliaforms Emerge
Rumi began composing in Konya just 14 years before the Mongols sacked Baghdad and ended the Abbasid Caliphate, making Anatolia a refuge for Islamic intellectual culture as the eastern centers were destroyed Rumi Encounters Shams of Tabriz and Begins Composing in Konya
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