Siege of Nishapur (1221)
| Siege of Nishapur (1221) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Mongol invasion of Khorasan | |||||||||
Modern reconstruction of medieval Nishapur, based on the 1936 edition of History of Nishapur by Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri (10th century chronicler). | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Mongol Empire | Khwarazmian Empire | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Genghis Khan Tolui Taghachar † |
Sharaf al-Dīn Amīr Majlis (governor) † | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
| Horse archers, Siege engines, including Chinese gunpowder weapons | City garrison | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
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10,000-15,000 soldiers | Entire force including 48,000 archers | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Heavy | ||||||||
| Estimated up to 1,747,000 civilians killed | |||||||||
Nishapur Location of the siege on a map of modern Iran Nishapur Nishapur (West and Central Asia) | |||||||||
The siege of Nishapur (Persian:محاصره نیشاپور) took place in April 1221 (Muharram 618 AH), during the Mongol invasion of Khorasan. The siege was led by Tolui Khan, son of Genghis Khan, following the death of Genghis Khan's son-in-law Taghaqchar during an earlier engagement at Nishapur. The fall of the city resulted in a large-scale massacre and the near-total destruction of Nishapur.
The city of Nishapur was a major center of learning, trade, and culture in Khorasan. Located on the Silk Road, it thrived as a regional capital known for its bustling markets, pottery, and production of textiles and turquoise. Then it became part of the Khwarazmian Empire. In the spring of 1221 a Mongol force, estimated to number between 10,000 and 15,000 men and led by Tolui, son of Genghis Khan, besieged the city and after breaching its defences, the entire population was put to the sword and the city laid waste as an act of vengeance. According to the Persian chronicler Ata-Malik Juvayni, the settlement was so thoroughly destroyed that not even cats and dogs were spared, and its site was sown with barley.
Historical accounts state that Nishapurs population was massacred following its capture by the Mongols in 1221. Medieval sources, including Ata-Malik Juvayni, report death tolls exceeding 1,747,000 people, while some modern scholars call these exaggerations and estimate casualties between 100,000 and 200,000.