Chormaqan and the Mongol Conquest of the Middle East

HistoryNet.com ^ | Blast from the past | Timothy M. May

[indcons]

Chormaqan is a little known Mongol general...his splendid military achievements appear to have been overshadowed by Genghiz Khan's other great generals-Jebe Noyon, Subedei Bahadar, Tohuchor Noyon, and Muqali (among others).

A general in Genghis Khan's army would have worn a costume that was quite similar to this:

[indcons]

Last MilHist ping of the night....a profile of a great general in Genghiz Khan's all-conquering army.

[Fiddlstix]

BTTT

[patton]

LOL

[bahblahbah]

What about Hulagu?

"The caliph was not sure how to react to Hulagu's invasion, but weakly defended the city. Hulagu ordered various sections of Baghdad's population spared, such as learned men and Christians, but killed at least 250,000 people (contemporary sources say 800,000). Hulagu killed the caliph by wrapping him in a rug and having him either "beaten to a pulp" or trampled by horses. Marco Polo reports that Hulagu starved the caliph to death, but there is no corroborating evidence for that."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulagu

[CarrotAndStick]

After the Mongols wiped out Persia, they adopted Islam, and their descendents became the Mughals.

[SunkenCiv]

:')

[CarrotAndStick]

Wiki:

Hulagu, the child of Tolui and Sorghaghtani Beki, a Christian woman, was dispatched by his brother Mongke in 1255 to accomplish the destruction of the remaining Muslim states in southwestern Asia. First, the subjugation of the Lurs, a people of southern Iran; second, the destruction of the sect of the Assassins; third, the destruction of the Abbasid caliphate; and lastly, the destruction of the Ayyubid states in Syria and the Mamluk state in Egypt.

Hulagu marched out with perhaps the largest Mongol army ever assembled. Among his subsidiary generals was Kitbuqa, a Christian. Hulagu easily destroyed the Lurs, and his reputation so frightened the Assassins that they surrendered their impregnable fortress of Alamut to him without a fight.

Hulagu probably always intended to take Baghdad, which the Mongols had been meaning to attack for over ten years (see Eljigidei), but he used the caliph's refusal to send troops to him as a pretext for conquest. Hulagu sent a message to the caliph, Al-Musta'sim, containing the following (trans. John Woods):

"When I lead my army against Baghdad in anger, whether you hide in heaven or in earth
I will bring you down from the spinning spheres;
I will toss you in the air like a lion.
I will leave no one alive in your realm;
I will burn your city, your land, your self.
If you wish to spare yourself and your venerable family, give heed to my advice with the ear of intelligence. If you do not, you will see what God has willed."

[indcons]

Only one of the four branches: the Ilkhans. In fact, this is fascinating....the Mongols were known for their religious tolerence. However, after conversion to Islam (Timur the Lame was the first prominent Ilkhanite), the Mughals became fully fanatical adherences of that pedophile prophet.

The other three branches of the Mongols (Batu's Golden Horde, Kublai's Sino-Mongol, and the Chagatai horde in Mongolia) retained their Mongol shamanite religion or adopted Tibetian Buddhism.

[jimtorr]

Ah, yes, Timur the Lame, also known in the West as Tamerlane.

Timur briefly controlled all of Asia except for Mongol China and SE Asia and southern India.

[PzLdr]

The Mughals were descended from Babur the Tiger, who came from Fergana. Timur was not a Mongol, he was a Turk, and could not be Quan [he was not a Chinnghisid]. Initially, as Vizier, he operated through a Quan, who was a Chinnghisid.

The first major Quanate to convert to Islam was the golden Horde. they did it under Berke, Batu's brother and successor. That conversion, coupled with contention for the rich pasture lands of Azerbaijan, and Hulegu's sack of Baghdad and killing of the Caliph, led to an intermittent war that broke out upon the death of Mongke QaQuan, and probably saved the Ummayid/ Mameluke dynasty in Egypt.

[PzLdr]

Subodei Bahadur. The greatest general in history. Period.

[Khurkris]

Fascinating thread...Thanks.

[indcons]

Agreed 100%

[japaneseghost]

bump for later

[indcons]

Timur was arguably the worst genocidal maniac in history (barring Mohammed of course). While Timur's ravaged Asia for about 40 years, Mohammed's death cult continues to massacre people today.

I don't know about control of Asia though...Timur was a terror and justifiably so. Many kingdoms in Asia collapsed after battles with his muslim turko-mongol hordes. I have always thought of Timur as a great plunderer and never as a ruler.

[indcons]

You're welcome....there are quite a few fans of the Mongol hordes and Genghiz Khan here on FR.

[dennisw]

Hulegu bump. He wasted Baghdad. He knew how to demolish the Muslims and their phony god

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulagu_Khan

[indcons]

Was Sabedei Bahadar ever in China? Any idea? I have followed his glorious career from the Khwarzaim campaign to his generalship of Batu Khan's Golden Horde in Hungary. However, I have never read anything about his role in the conquest of the Chin and the Sung dynasties. The general in China was Muqali (or Mugali) if I am not mistaken.

I was wondering if you had more info on Subedei's military exploits in China.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

The Uzbeks don't think Timur was Turkish.