Siege of Gurganj 1220
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 1220 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Turkmenistan | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Mongol invasion of Khwarazmian Empire and Eastern Iran | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Khwarazmian Empire, Mongol Empire | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 42.3200, 59.1800 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Gurganj occurred during the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire. The siege's length is variable, with historians such as Rashid al-Din Hamadani stating that it lasted for seven months, but it is largely agreed that it ended with the defeat and annihilation of the city in April 1221. Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, had launched a multi-pronged assault on the Turkic Khwarazmian Empire, ruled by Shah Muhammad II. Through a combination of efficient planning and excellent manoeuvering, the Khan's army managed to take the border town of Otrar swiftly, followed by the large cities of Bukhara and Samarkand. The siege, among others, was witnessed by the Persian biographer Shihab al-Din Muhammad al-Nasawi, who recorded an account in Arabic c. 1241.
Genghis sent a detachment, led by his sons Jochi and Chagatai, northwest to lay siege to the former capital of Gurganj. Immensely wealthy, the city lay on marshy grounds on the delta of the Amu Darya, making it difficult to assault. Adapting to the lack of stones to use as projectiles, the Mongols cut down huge groves of mulberry trees, soaked the trunks in water to harden them, and used them as battering rams and catapult projectiles.
The siege was complicated by disagreements between the two commanding brothers. Eventually, Genghis sent Ogedai, his third son and eventual heir, as sole commander for the siege.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Gurganj (revision 1370741675), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Urgench 1379 · 2 km
- Siege of Gurganj (1204) 1204 · 2 km
- Siege of Khiva (1924) 1924 · 143 km
Other battles of the Mongol invasion of Khwarazmian Empire and Eastern Iran
- Irghiz River skirmish 1209
- Otrar Catastrophe 1219
- Siege of Bukhara 1220
- Siege of Khujand (1220) 1220
- Siege of Nishapur (1221) 1220
- Siege of Samarkand (1220) 1220
- Battle of the Indus 1221
- Siege of Bamyan 1221
- Siege of Herat (1221) 1221
- Siege of Merv (1221) 1221
All 11 battles of the Mongol invasion of Khwarazmian Empire and Eastern Iran →
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