Siege of Nishapur (1221) 1220
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1220 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Iran | 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 | 36.2133, 58.7958 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Nishapur (1221) (revision 1370744020), 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.
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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 Gurganj 1220
- Siege of Khujand (1220) 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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