Cold Open - Fall of Baghdad

It’s February 20th, 1258, in Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Empire.

Al-musta’sim, the ruler of the Abbasid Empire stumbles along the hallways of his palace, only remaining upright thanks to the two enemy soldiers grasping him firmly by his arms.

Smoke catches in his throat, and he hears the distant screams of his people being put to death. Baghdad has fallen.

For 500 years, Al-musta’sim’s predecessors ruled an Islamic empire that stretched across the Arab world. But a few decades ago, a new enemy emerged from Central Asia: the Mongols. The Abbasids were unable to match them in battle, and bit by bit the Mongols encroached on Abbasid territory. In January 1258, they reached the capital Baghdad. It didn't take long for the Mongols to breach the walls, and, for the last week, their soldiers have rampaged through the city, with Al-musta’sim hold up in the palace as a prisoner.

The soldiers escorting him open a gate and push Al-musta’sim into a courtyard.

Flames dance against the sky. The entire palace is burning. But that’s not what frightens Al-musta’sim. Standing in the courtyard on a fine rug looted from the palace is Prince Hulegu, the brother of the Mongol Empire’s leader and the architect of the siege of Baghdad.

Al-musta’sim is dragged before him, and in a ringing voice, Hulegu shouts taunts, but Al-musta’sim stays silent, knowing his life hangs in the balance. His lack of response though, only seems to antagonize Hulegu further.

He barks an angry command and one of his men steps forward and punches Al-musta’sim hard in the stomach. Al-musta’sim collapses to his knees and then a kick sends him sprawling onto the rug.

As Al-musta’sim gasps for air, the Mongol soldiers grab the edge of the rug beneath him - and start rolling Al-musta’sim up with it.

He can’t move. He can’t breathe. But he can hear.

Horses are approaching, half a dozen at least, their hooves pounding into the dust as they move closer and closer. With an overwhelming rush of dread, Al-musta’sim realizes what Hulegu has planned for him. He’s about to be trampled to death.

Al-musta’sim’s execution marks the end of Abbasid rule in Baghdad. It is yet another victory for the Mongols, who already control the largest empire the world has ever known and the Mongol armies will not stop at Baghdad. They will continue further west toward the Mediterranean, until they are finally defeated and their expansion stopped at Ain Jalut on September 3rd, 1260.

Introduction

From Noiser and Airship, I’m Lindsay Graham and this is History Daily.

History is made every day. On this podcast—every day—we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world.

Today is September 3rd, 1260: The Battle of Ain Jalut.

Act One: Sending a Message

It’s late spring 1260 in Cairo, the capital of the Mamluk Sultanate, two years after the fall of Baghdad.

38-year-old Sultan Qutuz adjusts his robes and makes himself comfortable on his ceremonial throne. As ruler of the Mamluk Sultanate, Qutuz knows it’s important to project power and authority, and he’s especially keen to exude that confidence today.

The Mamluk Sultanate has only ruled Egypt for ten years, and it's plagued by infighting. Qutuz himself usurped the throne from his predecessor only six months ago, and he's faced opposition from rivals who also have their eyes on the crown. Earlier today, though, Qutuz's position became even more precarious. Envoys representing the Mongol Empire have arrived in Cairo, and Qutuz is not expecting his visitors to offer a hand of friendship.

The Mongols are the most feared fighting force in the world. With a vast army of mounted archers, the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan and his successors have swept through Asia and the Middle East. In the space of just a few decades, they have taken control of a vast ground stretching from China to Eastern Europe. Two years ago, they seized Baghdad, causing the centuries-old Abbasid Empire to collapse. Then they moved further west, conquering Syria, and now the Mongols are nearing the shores of the Mediterranean.

Qutuz listens stoically as the Mongol envoys read aloud a letter from the warlord Prince Hulegu. As Qutuz predicted, Hulegu is threatening the Mamluk Sultanate with utter destruction. Hulegu claims that the Mongols are divinely ordained to rule the world, and there is no hope of defeating them in battle. The only sensible course of action is surrender.

Qutuz knows that many other leaders in similar situations have capitulated to the Mongols without a fight. They have often been spared the gruesome fates doled out to those who do resist. But Qutuz was raised as a warrior, and he is not so easily threatened. As a relatively new sultan with rivals still maneuvering against him, Qutuz also knows that he must appear strong to his subjects. So, rather than agree to the Mongol demand for surrender, Qutuz chooses to send the Mongol Empire a message of his own.

On Qutuz's orders, the Mongol envoys are dragged from his presence and put to death. Their bodies are cut in half and their severed heads are put on display outside Cairo’s city walls. Qutuz hopes that this will serve as a warning to the Mongols to leave the Mamluk Sultanate alone.

But his hopes are soon dashed. When the Mongol Prince Hulegu receives word that his envoys were killed, he’s outraged. He’s intent on exacting painful retribution for their murder and orders his forces to attack the Mamluk Sultanate immediately. But his armies are spread over a large area now, and their progress toward Egypt is slow. So, in Cairo, Qutuz uses this time to build an army of his own. But despite a rapid mobilization, Qutuz's Mamluk army is still vastly outnumbered by the Mongols. Going up against such a superior enemy seems to be suicidal.

But then Qutuz has a stroke of good fortune. News comes from the East that Hulegu’s brother, ruler of the Mongol Empire, has died. With no clear line of succession and the prospect of civil war growing, Hulegu decides to return to Central Asia with the bulk of his army. He leaves behind around 10,000 men under the command of his general Kitbuqa with orders to crush the Mamluks and avenge the deaths of the Mongol envoys.

But now, the Mamluk and Mongol armies are more evenly matched—and Qutuz decides he must take the opportunity he’s been given. Against the advice of many of his generals, Qutuz decides to go on the offensive. He moves his army north out of Egypt, and up the coast of the Mediterranean to attack the Mongols first. But without their usual advantage of superior numbers, the Mongols are reluctant to face the Mamluks in open battle. The Mongol General Kitbuqa withdraws from the towns his men have recently captured and tries to evade the Mamluk army instead.

But the Mamluk pursues their prey across the region, eventually reaching the valley of Ain Jalut. This area is believed to be the site of the legendary Biblical battle between David and Goliath. And it’s here that the Mamluks will finally force the Mongols into a fight. And just like when underdog David beat the fearsome Goliath, Sultan Qutuz will hope that he too will come out on top when he takes on the seemingly unstoppable might of the Mongol Empire.

Act Two: The Battle of Ain Jalut

It’s the morning of September 3rd, 1260, at Ain Jalut in Syria, six months after the execution of the Mongol envoys in Cairo.

Mamluk General Baibars presses his heels into his horse’s flanks, forcing his steed up a rocky path. Reaching the hilltop, he guides his horse to the edge of the cliff, and waiting there with his personal guard is Sultan Qutuz.

General Baibars is one of the few Mamluk officers who backed Sultan Qutuz's plan to go on the offensive against the Mongols. As a reward for his faith, he was given command of the Sultan’s army. So far the Mongols have avoided facing the Mamluks in open battle. But now, Baibars has come up with a way to trick the Mongols into a fight. General Baibars has positioned a small portion of his cavalry as bait to tempt the Mongols into an attack and should they engage, the Mongols will then be lured into a valley where they’ll be ambushed by the rest of the Mamluk army, concealed among the rocky hills.

General Baibars and Sultan Qutuz go over the plan one last time. They know it’s risky. They could lose many men and if the Mongols don’t take the bait, it will all be for nothing. But they’ve decided they have to do something to force a decisive battle.

Finally, in the distance, they spot a dust cloud. The Mongol army is approaching. Sultan Qutuz and General Baibars wish each other luck, then Baibars quickly returns down the hillside to take his place among the cavalry. He’s just in time. Because the attacking Mongol horsemen speed up, anticipating an easy victory. The Mamluks begin beating their own war drums in response. Baibars shifts his weight in his saddle, and he charges forward with his men to meet the Mongol attack.

The fighting is vicious. Storms of arrows fly through the air. Men tumble from their saddles. Horses scream in pain. And the dusty ground is soon stained dark with blood.

General Baibars and his men fight bravely, but the Mamluks are hopelessly outnumbered. Still, General Baibars knows that this part of the battle is only a feint. So, when he thinks his cavalry have put up a convincing enough fight, he sounds the call for a retreat. He turns his horse and leads the way, galloping toward the valley where the rest of his troops await. As he rides, General Baibars looks back to check that the Mongols are following—and he almost laughs with relief when he sees they are.

And as the Mongols stream into the valley, the Mamluks concealed on the hillsides emerge from their hiding places and crash into the Mongols from every side.

This pincer maneuver is devastating. The Mongols find themselves surrounded and outnumbered, but they live up to their reputation as skillful warriors and soon threaten to break through part of the Mamluk line.

From his vantage point on the hillside, Sultan Qutuz spots that this could allow the Mongol enemy to escape the trap. So, he rides into the fray himself with his personal guard, reinforcing the weak point in the Mamluk line and lifting his helmet to rouse the troops.

As it becomes clear that the battle is lost for them, many fighting in the Mongol army change sides. For decades, the Mongols have forced the people they defeat to join their army and fight for them in new wars of conquest. But now that it's the Mongols who face defeat, some of the soldiers who’ve been pressed into service take the chance to double-cross their oppressors.

Still, the Mongols make one last, desperate attempt to break through the Mamluk line and escape. The charge is led by General Kitbuqa himself. But when an arrow strikes his horse, he’s flung from his saddle. Within seconds, Kitbuqa is surrounded and hacked to death by Mamluk soldiers. After the loss of their leader, the Mongol defensive effort collapses. A few lucky men sneak through the Mamluk lines and escape to safety, but most of the Mongols' forces are killed. The battle becomes a rout.

Afterward, news of the Mongol defeat spreads rapidly. When Prince Hulegu hears about the failure, he’s enraged—but by then he’s too far away to do anything about it. For decades, the Mongols have been seen as unbeatable conquerors. Now, for the first time, they’re in retreat.

So soon, Sultan Qutuz will begin his journey home to Cairo. But he’ll never make it. Despite his spectacular victory against the Mongols, Qutuz will still have enemies—and his brief reign will come to a bloody end at the hands of the very same general who helped him win the Battle of Ain Jalut.

Act Three: Qutuz Assassinated

It’s October 24th, 1260, near Cairo, one month after the Battle of Ain Jalut.

A desert wind whistles through his tent as Sultan Qutuz pours over a map of the Mamluk Sultanate.

Since winning the Battle of Ain Jalut, Qutuz's army has pushed the Mongol Empire out of Syria and claimed territory there for themselves. But that’s created a new headache for Sultan Qutuz. General Baibars expects to be rewarded for the cunning battle plan that won victory over the Mongols—and he’s expressed his wish to be named a governor of the newly conquered land in Syria. But Sultan Qutuz worries that this will give General Baibars too much power. The Mamluk Sultanate has long been troubled by unrest and revolt, and Qutuz wants to avoid empowering a future rival.

Qutuz looks up from the map as the tensed canvas is pushed aside and General Baibars and several other officers enter. Qutuz is puzzled—there’s no conference planned right now. So, with an uneasy feeling, he greets the men. But General Baibars doesn’t say a word. He simply pulls a knife from under his tunic. Qutuz appeals for help, but the other officers are all in on the plot.

The assassination does not take long. When the officers emerge from the tent a few moments later, Qutuz is dead, and the Mamluks have a new Sultan: General Baibars.

He will rule for the next 17 years, bringing stability to the Mamluk Sultanate and establishing it as one of the mightiest powers in the region. But perhaps his greatest achievement will remain the victory he won before becoming Sultan.

The Battle of Ain Jalut was a pivotal moment in world history. For the first time, the relentless Mongol army was halted, and its veneer of invincibility was shattered. Had General Baibars and the Mamluks not prevailed, the largest empire the world had yet known might have become even larger. But instead, the Mongols’ westward expansion was stopped, and their Empire fell into civil war and decline in the years that followed the decisive Battle of Ain Jalut on September 3rd, 1260.

Outro

Next on History Daily. September 4th, 476 CE. Eleven-year-old emperor Romulus Augustulus is deposed by a barbarian chieftain, ending the Roman Empire in the West forever.

From Noiser and Airship, this is History Daily, hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Muhammad Shahzaib.

Sound design by Gabriel Gould.

Music by Thrumm.

This episode is written and researched by Ruben Abrahams Brosbe.

Edited by Scott Reeves.

Managing producer Emily Burke.

Executive Producers are William Simpson for Airship, and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.