The siege of Samarkand (1220) took place in 1220 A.D. after

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

, founder of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire was the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in human history, history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Euro ...

, had launched a multi-pronged invasion of the

Khwarazmian Empire The Khwarazmian Empire (), or simply Khwarazm, was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate, Sunni Muslim empire of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. Khwarazmians ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran ...

, ruled by Shah Muhammad II. The Mongols had laid siege to the border town of

Otrar Otrar or Otyrar ( ; ), also called Farab, is a Central Asian ghost town that was a city located along the Silk Road in Kazakhstan. Otrar was an important town in the history of Central Asia, situated on the borders of settled and agricultural civ ...

, but finding its defences obdurate, a large force commanded by Genghis and his youngest son

Tolui Tolui (born ; died 1232) was the youngest son of Genghis Khan and Börte. A prominent general during the early Mongol conquests, Tolui was a leading candidate to succeed his father after his death in 1227 and ultimately served as regent of th ...

detached from the vanguard and set off southwards, towards

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

was the Shah's capital and the pivot of his defence — the city's garrison was large and its battlements were one of the strongest in the empire. Genghis, however, managed to isolate it by capturing and destroying

Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...

in a surprise manoeuvre, and then laying waste to the nearby Transoxianan towns. After repelling relief forces, the Mongol army, now reinforced after the capture of

, ambushed and massacred a sortie by the town's defenders. The citizens of the city soon surrendered at the instigation of the Muslim clergy; most were however enslaved or conscripted in traditional Mongol fashion. A small force held out in the citadel for around one month, after which around half managed to break through the Mongol lines and escape over the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

. Although the city was then comprehensively looted and pillaged, it revived slowly under the

Pax Mongolica The Pax Mongolica (Latin for "Mongol Peace"), less often known as Pax Tatarica ("Tatar Peace"), is a historiographical term modeled after the original phrase '' Pax Romana'' which describes the stabilizing effects of the conquests of the Mongol ...

, and then, in the late 14th-century, returned to worldwide prominence as the capital of the

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...

Background

Forces

While medieval chroniclers have attributed huge forces to both sides, modern historians are more conservative in their estimates, but precise numbers are still widely disputed; the only certainty is that the total Mongol force was larger than the Shah's army. The Shah, who distrusted his commanders and had not yet implemented his desired methods of administration, decided on a strategy of distributing troops inside his major cities, such as

Balkh Balkh is a town in the Balkh Province of Afghanistan. It is located approximately to the northwest of the provincial capital city Mazar-i-Sharif and approximately to the south of the Amu Darya and the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan border. In 2021 ...

and

. It is likely that he expected only a "normal-sized" Mongol raid, which would devastate the countryside but leave the cities unharmed. The Khwarazmids would only previously have fought nomads such as the Kangly, who had no knowledge of siege warfare; that these invaders were bringing a veritable army of

engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

who were skilled in siege warfare came as a great shock. In any event, estimates for the city's garrison vary widely.

Prelude

The first attack on the

made by the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

was at the town of

, whose governor had made the grievous mistake of insulting the Khan. This border city, however, was able to hold out for a surprising length of time, and so Genghis made the decision to split his forces to try to outmanoeuvre the Shah. He had learnt of the strength of Samarkand's defences at

, and thus made the decision to march through the Kizil Kum desert to Bukhara. The city was stunned by the Mongol approach, which had been through an area previously thought impassable, and, after a sortie was annihilated along the

, the lower town surrendered and was promptly pillaged. The inner citadel held out for less than two weeks, but after the Mongols breached the walls, all inside were massacred. Unlike during later campaigns, the Mongols were comparatively lenient with the citizens of Bukhara; however, a large number were conscripted to be used in the following sieges.

Events

By capturing Bukhara,

had split the forces of the Shah, which were located at

, and

Urgench Urgench (//, ; ; ) is a district-level city in western Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Xorazm Region. The estimated population of Urgench in 2021 was 145,000, an increase from 139,100 in 1999. It lies on the Amu Darya River and the Shavat canal ...

. The Mongols, having encircled the city, were engaged by the Turko-Iranian defenders. The sortie, which consisted of twenty war-elephants and a large body of cavalry, was ambushed and driven back. A sizeable section of the Samarkand garrison surrendered shortly afterwards, and were promptly executed, but the citadel, as in Bukhara, had to be taken by force. It held out for one month, before a small force managed to cut their way through the Mongol lines and escape over the Amu Darya. The Mongols released the elephants, which had survived, into the surrounding countryside, where they quickly died due to lack of food.

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

would restore the city after he made it his capital in 1370. He rebuilt the palaces and the city walls, which were still in ruins, and commissioned numerous mosques, gardens and pavilions to re-establish Samarkand's importance on an international level.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samarkand, Siege of

1220 in Asia 1220s in the Mongol Empire

Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire

Background

Forces

Prelude

Events

See also

References