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Baghdad ii. From the Mongol Invasion to the Ottoman Occupation

Encyclopaedia Iranica

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  1. Military events · 29 January-10 February 1258

    Siege and Fall of Baghdad

    Medieval Baghdad city area on the Tigris · Iraq

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    Why editors use it here

    Scholarly reference on Baghdad before the invasion, the conquest, population and administrative change, and the city's later revival.

    1. Quick read

      In early 1258, an army led by Hülegü surrounded Baghdad after the Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim rejected demands to submit.

      Reviewed 5 August 2026
    2. Trigger and conditions

      Negotiations failed after al-Musta'sim did not meet Hülegü's demands.

      Reviewed 5 August 2026
    3. Uncertainty

      Sources agree on the conquest and severe destruction but give incompatible casualty totals.

      Reviewed 5 August 2026
    4. Why it matters

      The fall of Baghdad transformed political authority across the Islamic world and became a durable symbol of cultural catastrophe.

      Reviewed 5 August 2026