Fall of Baghdad ( Mongol Invasion)

The Mongol conquest of the Abbasid Caliphate culminated in the horrific sack of Baghdad that effectively ended the Abbasid Golden Age. For many historians, the arrival of the Mongols into the heart of Muslim faith and empire is the single most devastating moment in the history of the Muslim Middle East. Its easy to see whyand hard to argue otherwisebecause the Sack of Baghdad would mark the end of the Abbasid Golden Age. Rather than submit, the Abbasid caliph challenged the Mongols to try and storm his city, if they dared. The nomadic army from Asialed by Hulagu Khan, one of Genghis Khans grandsonsdid indeed dare. Doing what they are most famous for, the Mongols thrashed Baghdad. In 10 days of unremitting violence and destruction, Baghdad and its inhabitants were completely, and utterly vanquished. Almost without exception, the population was either put to the sword or sold into slavery. The River Tigris ran redto cite one of the most overquoted, and overwrought phrases in historywith the blood of sl