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Dam-Breach Tactics at Samarkand
During the 1220 siege of Samarkand, Mongol forces destroyed or breached irrigation dams and canals outside the city to cut off its water supply and s…
Timeline
- 1220Irrigation canals outside Samarkand · UzbekistanAt the start of the siege, the Mongol army occupied the irrigation canals and water sources outside Samarkand, preventing the defenders from obtaining fresh water supplies from outside. As an oasis city, Samarkand depended heavily on aqueducts for drinking water and agriculture.
- 1220Samarkand's dams and moat canals · UzbekistanThe Mongol army breached or destroyed the water-retaining dams outside the city, diverting or flooding the flow, submerging some positions outside the walls and worsening the water shortage within. Defender morale plummeted due to lack of drinking water and panic, and some commanders began secret negotiations with the Mongols.
Sources
- The History of the World-Conqueror — Ala-ad-Din Ata-Malik Juvayni
- Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World — Jack Weatherford (2004)