View source for Mongol invasion of Central Asia

{{Refimprove|date=April 2009}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict=Mongol invasion of Central Asia
|partof=the [[Mongol conquests]]
|image=
|caption=
|date=1216-1221
|place=[[Central Asia]], [[Iran]], [[Afghanistan]], [[China]]
|territory=Mongol Empire gains control of the Qara Khitai and Khwarezmia
|result=Decisive Mongol victory, destruction of the Qara Khitai and Khwarazmian dynasty
|combatant1=[[Mongol Empire]]
|combatant2=[[Qara Khitai Khanate]]
|combatant3=[[Khwarazmian dynasty]]
|commander1=[[Genghis Khan]]<br>[[Jochi]]<br>[[Chagatai Khan|Chaghatai]]<br>[[Ögedei Khan|Ögedei]]<br>[[Tolui]]<br>[[Subutai]]<br>[[Jebe]]<br>[[Jelme]]<br>[[Mukali]]<br>[[Khubilai]]<br>[[Kasar]]<br>[[Boorchu]]<br>[[Sorkin-shara]]
|commander2=[[Kuchlug]] {{executed}}
|commander3=[[Muhammad II of Khwarezm|Ala ad-Din Muhammad]]<br>[[Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu]]<br>[[Inalchuq]] {{POW}}, <small>executed</small><br>Temur Meliq
|strength1=100,000-150,000
|strength2=unknown
|strength3=400,000-450,000 men, however not organized into armies, majority unmobilized.
|casualties1=unknown
|casualties2=unknown
|casualties3=unknown
|notes=
}}
{{Campaignbox Mongol invasions}}
The '''Mongol invasion of [[Central Asia]]''' occurred after the unification of the [[Mongol]] and [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] tribes on the [[Mongolia]]n plateau in 1206. It was finally complete when [[Genghis Khan]] conquered the [[Khwarizmian Empire]] in 1221.

==Uyghurs, Qarluqs and Qara Khitai ==
{{Main|Mongol conquest of the Qara Khitai}}
The [[Uyghur people|Uyghurs]], [[Karluks|Qarluqs]] and local [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Tajik people|Tajik]] peoples submitted to the Mongolians.  The Uyghur state of [[Gaochang|Kara-Khoja]] was a vassal of the [[Qara Khitai]], but in 1210, the Uyghur ruler of Kara-Khoja, [[Baurchuk Art Tekin|Idiqut Barchuq]] appeared before the Khan to declare his allegiance to the Mongolians.<ref>{{cite book |title=A history of Inner Asia |author=Svatopluk Soucek |chapter=Chapter 4 - The Uighur Kingdom of Qocho |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-521-65704-0 }}</ref>  He was rewarded with the daughter of Genghis in marriage, and the Uyghurs served under the Mongols as bureaucrats.  A leader of the [[Karluks|Qarluq]] and Buzar, the [[warlord]] of [[Chuy Valley]], followed the Uyghur example.

The [[Qara Khitai]] (Black Khitan) were [[Khitans]] of the [[Liao Dynasty]] (907–1125) who were driven out of China by the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jurchens]] of the [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]].  In 1124 some [[Khitans]] moved westward under [[Yelü Dashi|Yeh-lü Ta-shih]]’s leadership and created the [[Qara Khitai Khanate]] (Western Liao) between in the [[Semirechye]] and the [[Chu River]].  They dominated Central Asia in the 12th century after they defeated the [[Great Seljuq Empire|Great Seljuk]] leader [[Ahmed Sanjar]] at the [[Battle of Qatwan]] in 1141.  However, their power was shattered in 1211 through the combined actions of the [[Khwārezm-Shah]] [[ʿAlāʾ ad-Dīn Muḥammad]] (1200–20), and [[Küchlüg]], a fugitive [[Naimans|Naiman]] prince in flight from [[Genghis Khan]]’s [[Mongols]]. Kuchlug was given shelter by the Qara Khiitai, but he usurped the [[Gurkhan]]'s throne in 1211.<ref>{{cite book |author=Biran, Michal. |title=The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History: Between China and the Islamic World  |publisher=Cambridge University Press |chapter=Chapter 3 - The Fall: between the Khwarazm Shah and the Mongolians |year=2005 |pages=60–90 |isbn= 0-521-84226-3 }}</ref>

Kuchlug attacked the city of [[Almaliq, Xinjiang|Almaliq]], and the Qarlugs there who were vassals of the Mongols appealed to Genghis Khan for help.<ref>{{cite book |title=A history of Inner Asia |author=Svatopluk Soucek |chapter=Chapter 6 - Seljukids and Ghazvanids |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2000 |isbn=0-521-65704-0 }}</ref>  In 1216, Genghis dispatched his general [[Jebe]] to pursue Kuchlug. The Mongols defeated the Qara Khitai at [[Balasaghun]], Kuchlug fled, but was later killed in 1218.<ref>{{cite book |author=Biran, Michal. |title=The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History: Between China and the Islamic World  |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |pages=84–85 |isbn= 0-521-84226-3 }}</ref>

== Khwarezmia ==
{{Main|Mongol conquest of Khwarezmia}}
{{Campaignbox Mongol Invasion of the Khwarezmian Empire}}
The Mongols' original conquest of all "people in felt tents", unifying the nomadic tribes in Mongolia and then the [[Turkmen people|Turcomen]]s and other nomadic peoples,{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} had come with relatively little bloodshed, and almost no material loss. It was not originally the intention of the [[Mongol Empire]] to invade the [[Khwarezmid Empire]], and according to [[Ata-Malik Juvayni|Juvaini]], Genghis Khan had originally sent the ruler of the Khwarezmid Empire, [[Muhammad II of Khwarezm|Sultan Muhammad Aladdin]], a message greeting him as his equal: "We now have the obligations of neighbors.  Human wisdom requires that both sides walk the path of concord and observe the duties of friendship." 

However, the Governor of Otrar refused to receive the mission and had all 450 of them killed, with permission from the Sultan. Upon hearing of this atrocity months later, Genghis Khan flew into a rage and used the incident as a pretext for invasion. The Mongol invasion of Central Asia however would entail the utter destruction of the Khwarezmid Empire along with the massacre of much of the civilian population of the region. According to Juvaini, the Mongols ordered only one round of slaughter in Khwarezm and Transoxiana, but systematically exterminated a particularly large portion of the people of the cities of [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]]. This earned the Mongols a reputation for bloodthirsty ferocity that would mark the remainder of their campaigns.

During the invasion of Transoxania in 1219, along with the main Mongol force, Genghis Khan used a Chinese specialist catapult unit in battle. They were used again in 1220 in Transoxania. The Chinese may have used the [[catapults]] to hurl [[gunpowder]] bombs, since they already had them by this time <ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esnWJkYRCJ4C&pg=PA58&dq=transoxania+chinese+gunpowder+catapult&hl=en&ei=pvLTTs3XH8Ho0QH866g4&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=transoxania%20chinese%20gunpowder%20catapult&f=false |title=Firearms: a global history to 1700   |author=Kenneth Warren Chase|accessdate=2011-11-28  |edition=illustrated |series= |volume= |date= |year=2003 |month= |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location= |language= |isbn=0-521-82274-2 |page=58 |pages= |quote=Chinggis Khan organized a unit of Chinese catapult specialists in 1214, and these men formed part of the first Mongol army to invade Transoania in 1219. This was not too early for true firearms, and it was nearly two centuries after catapult-thrown gunpowder bombs had been added to the Chinese arsenal. Chinese siege equipment saw action in Transoxania in 1220 and in the north Caucasus in 1239-40. }}</ref> While Genghis Khan was conquering Transoxania and Persia, several Chinese who were familiar with gunpowder were serving with Genghis's army.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgQXAQAAIAAJ&q=Though+he+was+himself+a+Chinese,+he+learned+his+trade+from+his+father,+who+had+accompanied+Genghis+Khan+on+his+invasion+of+Muslim+Transoxania+and+Iran.+Perhaps+the+use+of+gunpowder+as+a+propellant,+in+other+words+the+invention+of+true&dq=Though+he+was+himself+a+Chinese,+he+learned+his+trade+from+his+father,+who+had+accompanied+Genghis+Khan+on+his+invasion+of+Muslim+Transoxania+and+Iran.+Perhaps+the+use+of+gunpowder+as+a+propellant,+in+other+words+the+invention+of+true&hl=en&ei=TgfUTtqlEZLD0AHC95QD&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAA|title=The Mongol Warlords: Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan, Hulegu, Tamerlane  |author1=David Nicolle |author2=Richard Hook |accessdate=2011-11-28  |edition=illustrated |series= |volume= |date= |year=1998 |month= |publisher=Brockhampton Press |location= |language= |isbn=1-86019-407-9 |page=86 |pages= |quote=Though he was himself a Chinese, he learned his trade from his father, who had accompanied Genghis Khan on his invasion of Muslim Transoxania and Iran. Perhaps the use of gunpowder as a propellant, in other words the invention of true guns, appeared first in the Muslim Middle East, whereas the invention of gunpowder itself was a Chinese achievement  }}</ref> Historians have suggested that the Mongol invasion had brought Chinese gunpowder weapons to Central Asia. One of these was the [[huochong]], a Chinese mortar.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AzG5llo3YCMC&pg=PA474&dq=Indeed,+it+is+possible+that+gunpowder+devices,+including+Chinese+mortar+(+huochong),+had+reached+Central+Asia+through+the+Mongols+as+early+as+the+thirteenth+century.71+Yet+the+potential+remained+unexploited;&hl=en&ei=gQrUToDEO4Hz0gHfi-SyBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Indeed%2C%20it%20is%20possible%20that%20gunpowder%20devices%2C%20including%20Chinese%20mortar%20(%20huochong)%2C%20had%20reached%20Central%20Asia%20through%20the%20Mongols%20as%20early%20as%20the%20thirteenth%20century.71%20Yet%20the%20potential%20remained%20unexploited%3B&f=false|title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: Development in contrast : from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century |author1=Chahryar Adle |author2=Irfan Habib |editor1=Ahmad Hasan Dani |editor2=Chahryar Adle |editor3=Irfan Habib |accessdate=2011-11-28  |edition=illustrated |series= |volume=Volume 5 of History of Civilizations of Central Asia |date= |year=2003 |month= |publisher=UNESCO |location= |language= |isbn=92-3-103876-1 |page=474 |pages= |quote=Indeed, it is possible that gunpowder devices, including Chinese mortar (huochong), had reached Central Asia through the Mongols as early as the thirteenth century.71 Yet the potential remained unexploited; even Sultan Husayn's use of cannon may have had Ottoman inspiration. }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Mongol Empire}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mongol Invasion Of Central Asia}}
[[Category:13th-century conflicts]]
[[Category:Invasions by the Mongol Empire|Central Asia]]
[[Category:Wars involving the Mongols]]
[[Category:History of Kazakhstan]]
[[Category:History of Uzbekistan]]
[[Category:1210s in the Mongol Empire]]
[[Category:1220s in the Mongol Empire]]

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