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Mongol capture of Baghdad

Type Event Region Iraq Time 1257–1258

From late 1257 to early 1258, Hulegu's Mongol western expedition besieged the Abbasid capital Baghdad;…

Timeline

  1. 1257–1258Baghdad · IraqHulegu advanced on Baghdad with the Mongol western expedition and vassal forces, cutting off supplies and setting up siege engines. The last Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim refused to surrender, and the garrison and citizens held out for over a month under the pressure of the siege.
  2. 1258Baghdad · IraqThe Mongols breached Baghdad's defenses and the garrison collapsed. Al-Musta'sim came out and surrendered, politically ending more than five centuries of Abbasid rule. Hulegu promised to spare the citizens, but the situation soon spiraled out of control.
  3. 1258Baghdad · IraqThe Mongols carried out a massive sack of Baghdad, destroying scholarly institutions such as the House of Wisdom and losing vast quantities of documents. Al-Musta'sim was executed and Abbasid political power ended. Mesopotamia's population and urban civilization suffered heavily, and the center of power in the Islamic world shifted eastward.

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