Siege of Samarkand (1220) 1220
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 1220 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Uzbekistan | 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 | 39.6542, 66.9597 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Samarkand took place in March 1220 after Genghis Khan, founder of the Mongol Empire, had launched a multi-pronged invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, ruled by Shah Muhammad II. The Mongols had laid siege to the border town of Otrar, but finding its defences obdurate, a large force commanded by Genghis and his youngest son Tolui detached from the vanguard and set off southwards, towards Transoxiana.
Samarkand 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 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 Otrar, 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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Samarkand (1220) (revision 1381060454), 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 Samarkand (1868) 1868 · 0 km
- Siege of Samarkand (1497) 1497 · 0 km
- Siege of Samarkand (1490s) 1494 · 0 km
- Siege of Samarkand (1501) 1501 · 0 km
- Battle of Qatwan 1141 · 17 km
- Battle of the Defile 731 · 40 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 Gurganj 1220
- Siege of Khujand (1220) 1220
- Siege of Nishapur (1221) 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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