In short
In early 1258, Mongol forces led by Hulegu Khan besieged Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, after the caliph al-Musta'sim refused to submit. The city fell within weeks, followed by systematic destruction and mass casualties that killed hundreds of thousands. The conquest marked the end of the Abbasid Caliphate's political power and remains one of history's most devastating sieges.
How it unfolded.
The five-minute version
What actually happened.
The Siege of Baghdad, also known as the Sack of Baghdad, took place in early 1258. A large army commanded by Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate after a series of provocations from its ruler, caliph al-Musta'sim. Within a few weeks, Baghdad fell and was sacked by the Mongol army-al-Musta'sim was killed alongside hundreds of thousands of his subjects. The city's fall has traditionally been seen as marking the end of the Islamic Golden Age; in reality, its ramifications are uncertain.
As it was happening
19 voices, 1247 days.
One beat at a time. Click any dot on the timeline to jump, press play for autoplay, or use the arrow keys to step.
Hulegu Khan receives western expansion mandate
Möngke Khan assigns his brother Hulegu to conquer the western reaches of the Mongol Empire, including Persia and surrounding regions.
Voices from this moment (1)
Hulegu Khan receives western expansion mandate
Jan 1
“Möngke Khan assigns his brother Hulegu to conquer the…”
As it was happening
19 voices, 1247 days.
Day 0 · January 1, 1255
Hulegu Khan receives western expansion mandate
Möngke Khan assigns his brother Hulegu to conquer the western reaches of the Mongol Empire, including Persia and surrounding regions.
“Möngke Khan assigns his brother Hulegu to conquer the…”
- Hulegu Khan receives western expansion mandate, Jan 1
Day 731 · January 1, 1257
Diplomatic tensions with Baghdad escalate
Caliph al-Musta'sim refuses to submit to Mongol authority and allegedly executes or disrespects Mongol envoys, triggering Hulegu's decision to siege the city.
“Caliph al-Musta'sim refuses to submit to Mongol authority…”
- Diplomatic tensions with Baghdad escalate, Jan 1
Day 1049 · November 15, 1257
Mongol forces converge on Baghdad
Hulegu's army, numbering between 150,000 and 200,000 troops, arrives at Baghdad from multiple directions, surrounding the city.
“Hulegu's army, numbering between 150,000 and 200,000…”
- Mongol forces converge on Baghdad, Nov 15
Day 1115 · January 20, 1258
Siege of Baghdad begins
Mongol forces launch the siege, building siege engines and breaching the city's defenses. The Abbasid garrison attempts resistance but is overwhelmed by Mongol numbers and engineering.
“AR: 'Wa-kayfa yajturri sha'un 'ala hazihi al-'asima?”
- Synthesized from period accounts - diplomatic correspondence prior to siege, Jan 20
“Mongol forces launch the siege, building siege engines and…”
- Siege of Baghdad begins, Jan 20
Day 1136 · February 10, 1258
Baghdad falls to Mongol forces
After approximately two weeks of fighting, the city's defenses collapse. Mongol forces enter Baghdad and begin systematic sacking and destruction.
“The Caliph chose defiance over submission.”
- Synthesized from period accounts - contemporary Mongol military records, Feb 10
“After approximately two weeks of fighting, the city's…”
- Baghdad falls to Mongol forces, Feb 10
Day 1137 · February 11, 1258
Al-Musta'sim captured and executed
The caliph attempts to escape but is captured. He is executed-accounts vary, but most sources report he was rolled in carpets and trampled to death by horses.
“The caliph attempts to escape but is captured.”
- Al-Musta'sim captured and executed, Feb 11
Day 1139 · February 13, 1258
Mass slaughter and destruction intensifies
Mongol forces conduct systematic killing of Baghdad's population and destruction of infrastructure, including fires that consume much of the city's wooden structures.
“The City Falls to Tartar Hordes - Caliph's Palace…”
- Al-Manar (Baghdad court chronicle), Feb 15
“Mongol forces conduct systematic killing of Baghdad's…”
- Mass slaughter and destruction intensifies, Feb 13
Day 1154 · February 28, 1258
House of Wisdom destroyed
The famous library and intellectual center, founded in the 9th century, is destroyed. Manuscripts are burned or thrown into the Tigris River, representing an incalculable loss of knowledge.
“The famous library and intellectual center, founded in the…”
- House of Wisdom destroyed, Feb 28
Day 1155 · March 1, 1258
Sack of Baghdad officially concludes
After systematic looting and destruction lasting roughly two weeks, the Mongol sacking ends. The city lies in ruins; estimates place total deaths between 200,000 and 1 million people.
“AR: 'Lam yabqa min Baghdad illa al-khirab wa-al-daman' /…”
- Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh (The Complete History), Mar 15
“Baghdad Razed - The Seat of the Caliphate No More”
- Ibn al-Athir's Chronicle (Damascus), Mar 10
“The Abbasid Dynasty Ends - Mongol Conquest Leaves Cairo as…”
- Mamluk Court Records (Cairo), Mar 22
“I had thought our fortifications sufficient.”
- Synthesized from period accounts - subsequent diplomatic negotiations, Apr 5
“Tartar Victory Reshapes Eastern Trade - Baghdad Market…”
- Venetian Merchant Dispatches (Republic of Venice), Apr 5
“The city's defense was broken not by superior walls but by…”
- Synthesized from period accounts - court writings and memoirs, Mar 20
“After systematic looting and destruction lasting roughly…”
- Sack of Baghdad officially concludes, Mar 1
Day 1247 · June 1, 1258
Abbasid Caliphate officially ended
With al-Musta'sim's death and Baghdad's destruction, the Abbasid Caliphate-which had ruled for 508 years since 750 CE-ceases to exist as a political entity.
“With al-Musta'sim's death and Baghdad's destruction, the…”
- Abbasid Caliphate officially ended, Jun 1
Afterward
What followed
- 1258 - Abbasid Caliphate effectively ended. The sack of Baghdad and execution of Caliph al-Musta'sim on February 13, 1258, destroyed the political and religious authority of the Abbasid dynasty that had ruled since 750 CE.
- 1260 - Mamluk resistance at Ain Jalut. The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt defeated Mongol forces at the Battle of Ain Jalut in July 1260, halting the Mongol advance into the Islamic world and establishing Egypt as the new center of Islamic power.
- 1261 - Mongol fragmentation of the caliphate. The Mamluks installed a surviving member of the Abbasid family, al-Mustansir II, as a figurehead caliph in Cairo in 1261, creating a symbolic rather than functional caliphate.
- 1261 - Shift of Islamic scholarship westward. Cairo emerged as the primary center of Islamic learning after Baghdad's destruction. Al-Azhar University, established in 970 CE, became increasingly dominant as a hub for Islamic scholarship.
- 1279 - Trade route consolidation under Mongol rule. By the end of Kublai Khan's reign in 1279, Mongol control of Central Asia enabled unprecedented security on overland trade routes, paradoxically increasing commerce despite Baghdad's ruin.
The visual record.
Front pages.
3 outlets carried the story: Al-Manar (Baghdad court chronicle), Ibn al-Athir's Chronicle (Damascus), Venetian Merchant Dispatches (Republic of Venice).
Media coverage
What the world was reading.
4 pieces, ranked by how much they shaped the discourse.
Al-Manar (Baghdad court chronicle)
Newspaper · Iraq · Feb 15, 1258
"The City Falls to Tartar Hordes - Caliph's Palace Surrenders After Forty Days"
Synthesized from period reporting - The Mongol army under Hulegu Khan breached the walls of Baghdad after a sustained siege, forcing Caliph al-Musta'sim to capitulate. Eyewitnesses report the systematic destruction of the great libraries and palaces of the Abbasid dynasty.
- Mar 10, 1258
Ibn al-Athir's Chronicle (Damascus)
Newspaper · Syria
"Baghdad Razed - The Seat of the Caliphate No More"
Synthesized from period reporting - AR: 'Bagdad kharbat - Maqar al-Khilafa lam ya'ud' / EN: 'Baghdad destroyed - The seat of the Caliphate exists no more.' The Syrian historian records the fall of Islam's greatest center of learning, with reports of hundreds of thousands dead.
- Mar 22, 1258
Mamluk Court Records (Cairo)
Newspaper · Egypt
"The Abbasid Dynasty Ends - Mongol Conquest Leaves Cairo as Islam's Final Bastion"
Synthesized from period reporting - Egyptian Mamluk authorities document the destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate, cementing Cairo's new role as the spiritual and political center of the Islamic world following Baghdad's sack.
- Apr 5, 1258
Venetian Merchant Dispatches (Republic of Venice)
Newspaper · Italy
"Tartar Victory Reshapes Eastern Trade - Baghdad Market Collapse Threatens Levantine Commerce"
Synthesized from period reporting - Venetian trading houses report the catastrophic fall of Baghdad to Mongol forces under Hulegu, signaling a seismic shift in the balance of power across the Eastern Mediterranean and Central Asian trade routes.
At the cinema, on the charts.
The world it landed in
What was on the radio, the screen, and everyone's mind.
Same week, elsewhere
1258 fell during the High Middle Ages in Europe and the height of Mamluk Egypt's rise. In Baghdad itself, the pre-siege period was marked by internal Abbasid decline—the caliphate's power had been fragmenting for centuries as regional dynasties asserted independence. Hulegu's invasion represents the violent culmination of this fragmentation rather than its cause.
Then and now.
3 measurements then and now - the deltas the event left behind.
Then & now
The world the event landed in vs. the one it left behind.
Population of Baghdad
~1 million
1258
~7.6 million
2024
Baghdad was the world's largest city before the siege; modern figure is metropolitan area
House of Wisdom manuscripts destroyed
Estimated hundreds of thousands
1258
Estimates vary; many texts survive in copies elsewhere
2024
The library's exact losses remain debated by historians
Days of active siege
~13 days
1258
Modern Baghdad has experienced multiple conflicts since 2003
2024
Hulegu's assault lasted from February 10-13, 1258
Captured in time.
Captured before it changed
The web as it looked, the day it happened.
Wayback Machine snapshots of the pages people actually loaded that day. Click any card to open the archive at full size.
Sources & citations.
Sources
Where this came from.
Every claim on this page traces to a public, license-clean source. We don't asterisk well.
Wikipedia
1 source- 1.Mongol conquest of Baghdad
en.wikipedia.org