Siege of Merv (1221) 1221
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1221 | Wikidata P585 (point in 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 | 37.6628, 62.1925 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Merv (Persian: محاصره مرو) took place in April 1221, during the Mongol invasion of Khorasan. In 1219, Genghis Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, invaded the Khwarazmian Empire ruled by Shah Muhammad II. While the Shah planned to defend his major cities individually and divided his army to station in several garrisons, the Mongols laid siege to one town after another deep into Khorasan, heart of the Khwarazmian Empire.
The city of Merv was a major center of learning, trade and culture of Khorasan, then part of the extensive Khwarazmian Empire. A Mongol force, estimated to number between 30,000 and 50,000 men and led by Tolui, son of Genghis Khan, traversed the Karakum Desert after destroying the former imperial capital Gurganj in the north. According to several contemporary historians, Merv's defenders surrendered to Mongols within 7 to 10 days.
Historical accounts contend that Merv's entire population, including refugees, who had previously fled from other besieged towns of the empire, were killed. Mongols are reputed to have slaughtered 700,000 people, while Persian historian, Juvayni, as well as R. J. Rummel put the figure at more than 1,300,000, making it one of the bloodiest captures of a city in world history.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Merv (1221) (revision 1370743469), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Mongol invasion of Khwarazmian Empire and Eastern Iran
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- Siege of Nishapur (1221) 1220
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- Battle of the Indus 1221
- Siege of Bamyan 1221
- Siege of Herat (1221) 1221
All 11 battles of the Mongol invasion of Khwarazmian Empire and Eastern Iran →
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