The Battle of Parwan was fought between Sultan

Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu Jalal al-Din Mangburni ( fa, جلال الدین مِنکُبِرنی), also known as Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah (), Minkubirni or Mengu-Berdi (c.1199 – August 1231), was the last Khwarazmshah of the Anushteginid dynasty. The eldest son and succ ...

of the

Khwarezmid Empire The Khwarazmian or Khwarezmian Empire) or the Khwarazmshahs ( fa, خوارزمشاهیان, Khwārazmshāhiyān) () was a Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire that ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran in the app ...

and the

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...

ruled by Genghis Khan in September 1221 CE at

Parwan Parwan (Dari: ), also spelled Parvan, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 751,000. The province is multi-ethnic and mostly rural society. The province is divided into ten districts. The town of Imam Abu Hanif ...

, north of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, in present-day

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. Jalal ad-Din had previously attacked a detachment of Mongols near Wilan, which provoked Genghis Khan into sending an army of 30,000 troops under Shigi Qutuqu. As a result of the tactics adopted by Jalal ad-Din, the Mongol army was destroyed in a two-day battle. As news of the Mongol defeat spread, several cities, including

Merv Merv ( tk, Merw, ', مرو; fa, مرو, ''Marv''), also known as the Merve Oasis, formerly known as Alexandria ( grc-gre, Ἀλεξάνδρεια), Antiochia in Margiana ( grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐν τῇ Μαργιανῇ) and ...

and

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

, which had previously surrendered and accepted Mongol rule, rebelled. In response, Genghis Khan moved to battle Jalal ad-Din, who had lost half of his troops to desertion due to a quarrel over the division of spoils after the battle, and was forced to move to

Ghazni Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...

to prepare to retreat to India. Genghis Khan intercepted Jalal ad-Din's army as he was preparing to cross the Indus River, and in the ensuing

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

he lost his army, treasury and family, but survived to eventually establish a power base in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising a ...

and Sindh.

Background

Genghis Khan invaded the Khrarezmian Empire to avenge the murder of a Mongol trade caravan by the government of

Otrar Otrar or Utrar ( kk, Отырар, ''Otyrar'', otəˈɾɑɾ otk, 𐰚𐰭𐱃𐰺𐰢𐰣, Keŋü Tarman), also called Farab, is a Central Asian ghost town that was a city located along the Silk Road in Kazakhstan. Otrar was an important town ...

and the subsequent refusal of Shah

Ala ad-Din Muhammad II Ala ad-Din Muhammad II (Persian: علاءالدین محمد خوارزمشاه; full name: ''Ala ad-Dunya wa ad-Din Abul-Fath Muhammad Sanjar ibn Tekish'') was the Shah of the Khwarazmian Empire from 1200 to 1220. His ancestor was Anushtegin Ghar ...

to bring the governor of Otrar to task for his crime. Genghis Khan commanded a skilled, disciplined, combat-proven army of 150,000 to 200,000 soldiers, mostly Mongols and other allied tribes who were well-drilled in their method of warfare. The army also included a corps of Chinese

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while oth ...

ers. Genghis Khan was a charismatic, inelegant and experienced leader, his sons Jochi, Chagatai, Ogedei and

Tolui Tolui (also Toluy, Tului; , meaning: "the mirror"; – 1232) was a Mongol khan, the fourth son of Genghis Khan by his chief khatun, Börte. At his father's death in 1227, his ''ulus'', or territorial inheritance, was the Mongol homelands on t ...

were competent generals, and he was also served by brilliant generals like

Jebe Jebe (or Jebei, mn, Зэв, ''Zev''; birth name: Jirqo'adai (Modern Mongolian: Zurgadai), mn, Зургаадай, ) (death: approximately 1224) was one of the most prominent Noyans (generals) of Genghis Khan. He belonged to the Besud clan, ...

and Subutai, adept in employing flexible and innovative tactics. The Shah may have been able to mobilize a mercenary army numbering 200,000 to 400,000 men but his Turkish soldiers were undisciplined, and unity was lacking between the Turks, Iranians, Arabs and Afghans in the army. The mistrust that the Shah had for his

Qanqli The Kangly (康曷利; pinyin: Kānghélì; Middle Chinese ( ZS): /kʰɑŋ-ɦɑt̚-liɪH/ or 康里 pinyin: ''Kānglĭ'' < MC-ZS: /kʰɑŋ-lɨ^X/;

Bukhara, Benekat and Samarkand, trusting to the Mongol inexperience with siegecraft and their unfamiliarity with the terrain to delay their progress and give him the chance to offer battle at his own initiative. He planned to raise a new army beyond the

Amu Darya The Amu Darya, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...

near Kelif and then strike the Mongols in

Transoxania Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of ...

, or defend the Amu Darya barrier by preventing the Mongols from crossing the river, and if needed retreat to

and then to India.

Mongol campaign of 1219-1220

Genghis Khan invested Otrar with his entire field army in September 1219. After some time he divided his army, sending a detachment under his eldest son Jochi down the Syr Darya, another division to marched on

Banakat Banākat, Banākath, Fanākat, or Fanākath was a town on the upper Syr Darya in Transoxiana (present-day Tajikistan, Central Asia). The second part of these names, ''kat'' or ''kath'', is an Eastern Iranian (Soghdian) compound meaning ''town''. I ...

. Leaving Chagatai and Ogedei to maintain the siege of Otrar, Genghis Khan and Tolui crossed the

Kyzylkum Desert The Kyzylkum Desert ( uz, Qizilqum, Қизилқум, قىزىلقۇم; kk, Қызылқұм, Qyzylqūm, قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, i ...

to attack Bukhara, which fell on February 1220, and Samarkand, which was taken on March 1220. Banakat was also occupied, Otrar fell in April 1220 and the Mongol armies from Banakat and Otrar joined Genghis Khan near

Nasaf Qarshi ( uz, Qarshi/Қарши, ; fa, نخشب ''Nakhshab'') is a city in southern Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Qashqadaryo Region. Administratively, Qarshi is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Qashqadaryo. It ...

, where they spent the summer of 1220 resting the army and the horses. Jochi had taken all the towns along Syr Daria, including

Sighnaq Sighnaq ( kk, Сығанақ, Syğanaq; uz, Sigʻnoq) was an ancient city in Central Asia (in modern Kazakhstan, Kyzylorda Region), it was the capital of the Blue Horde (i.e., the White Horde of Persian sources), although the city is almost unk ...

and Jend by April 1220, then camped on the Kipchak steppes. Several Mongol armies invaded

Tocharistan Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is an ancient Early Middle Ages name given to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources. In the 7th and 8th century CE, Tokharistan ...

Guzgan Guzgan ( fa, گوزگان, also known as Gozgan, Guzganan or Quzghan, in Arabic Juzjan or Juzjanan) was a historical region and early medieval principality in what is now northern Afghanistan. Etymology The area was known as "Guzgan" or in the ...

and

Gharchistan Gharchistan or Gharjistan also known as Gharj Al-Shar was a medieval region on the north bank of the Murghab River, lying to the east of Herat and north of Hari River. It corresponds roughly to the modern Badghis Province of Afghanistan ...

during the last eight months of 1220, collecting a rich booty in cattle and slaves. Genghis Khan sent a 30,000-40,000 man army led by

and Subutai and his own son-in-law Toghachar to hunt down the Shah. The rapid fall of Transoxania further unnerved Shah Muhammad II, who began to retreat west along with Jalal al-Din. He had halted for a while at Nishapur, but when the Mongol army under

and Subutai crossed the Amy Daria, the Shah moved across Persia, then eluded the Mongols by pretending to make for Bagdad, and eventually found refuge on a Caspian sea island, where he died in December 1220, naming Jalal ad-Din his heir. The Mongol army sacked several cities, including Zaveh,

Quchan Quchan ( fa, قوچان ' ; also Romanized as Qūchān and Quçan; also known as Khabushan, Gochan) is a city and capital of Quchan County, in Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. It is located due south of the border city of Ashgabat. At the 2006 ce ...

Tus Tus or TUS may refer to: * Tus (biology), a protein that binds to terminator sequences * Thales Underwater Systems, an international defence contractor * Tuscarora language, an Iroquoian language, ISO 639-3 code Education * Technological Univ ...

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanization, Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Qazvin Province, Province of Qazvin in Iran. ...

and

Ardabil Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...

and then wintered in the Mughan steppes.

Sultan Jalal ad-Din's struggle

Jalal al-Din needed an army to confront the Mongols. The Sultan went to

Gurganj Konye-Urgench ( tk, Köneürgenç / Көнеүргенч; fa, کهنه گرگانج, ''Kuhna Gurgānj'', literally "Old Gurgānj"), also known as Old Urgench or Urganj, is a city of about 30,000 inhabitants in north Turkmenistan, just south fro ...

, a city reportedly housing 90,000 troops, but the city officials preferred his brother Uzlaq Shah as the Sultan. After discovering a plot against his life, the Sultan with 300 cavalry crossed the Karakum desert in 16 days, and defeated a Mongol detachment near

Nasa The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

to reach Nishapur. Jalal al-Din intended to raise an army at Nishapur, but abandoned the city when Mongols arrived unexpectedly. The Mongols chased the Sultan across Khuistan, but Jalal al-Din managed to elude his enemies to reach Bost. Here an army of 10,000 Turks commanded by his maternal uncle Amin Malik joined him, and the Sultan reached Ghazni after driving off a Mongol army from Qanhahar after a three-day battle.

Prelude

Jalal al-Din spent the summer of 1221 in Ghazni and assembled a coalition of Afghan and Turkic warriors. From there, he went first to Valiyan, which was under siege by the Mongols, defeated their two armies, under the leaderships of Tekejik and Molger, and took Valiyan back. Jalal ad-Din advanced into Parwan and defeated the Mongol detachment near Parwan. A week later, Genghis Khan sent his chief justice Shigi Qutuqu to hunt down Jalal al-Din, but only gave the inexperienced general 30,000–50,000 troops.

Army strengths

Modern scholarship differ on the strength of both armies while the medieval scholarship differ on the strengths of the Mongol army. Ata Malik Juvayni reports Shigi Qutuqu's strengths as 30,000, Juzjani reports it as 45,000 whereas Ibn Abd Allah al-Umari gives his strength as 70,000. Juzjani, Nasawi, Juvayni,

Ibn al-Athir Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab or Kurdish historian a ...

and Handmir all report the Khwarezmian strength as 60,000. Modern scholarship differ on the strength of both sides. The lowest estimate for Jalal al-Din's strength is 30,000 while the highest is 120,000. At the Harper's Military Encyclopedia, N. Trevor and Ernest Dupuy gives Jalal al-Din's force as 120,000. Spencer C. Tucker similarly gives Jalal's strength as 120,000. Estimates for Shigi Qutuqu's strength range between 30,000 and 70,000. Mclynn Frank estimates the Mongol forces were around 45 - 50,000 whereas he estimates Jalal had 60,000-70,000, he further adds that while the numbers are exaggerated, the proportion of Jalal's army's numerical superiority is probably accurate. Carl Sverdrup on the other hand assesses that Jalal al-Din probably had 15,000 men in total whereas Shigi Qutuqu commanded as many as 10,000 men. The Khwarezmian army was ill-equipped and majority of them was consisted of infantries whereas the entire army of Shigi Qutuqu was well equipped cavalry.

Battle

Shigi Qutuqu was overconfident after the continuous Mongol successes, and he quickly found himself on the back foot against the more numerous Khwarezmian force. The battle took place in a narrow valley, which was unsuitable for the Mongol cavalry. Jalal al-Din had mounted archers, whom he ordered to dismount and fire on the Mongols. Jalal al-Din gave Saif al-Din Igrakh command of the left flank and Malik Khan the right flank, consisting of 10,000 soldiers. On the first day of the battle, Malik Khan's division pushed the Mongol left into their base. Because of the narrow terrain, the Mongols could not use their normal tactics. On the second day of the battle, to deceive the Khwarezmians, Shigi Qutuqu mounted straw warriors on spare remounts, which may have spared him from a killing stroke, but Jalal al-Din was not fooled by the ruse. On the third day, the Mongol right flank charged on Igrakh's division, Ighraq's division responded by shooting arrows on foot to which the Mongols feigned flight. Ighraq's men charged but the Mongols suddenly counter-attacked and killed 500 men of Ighraq. Seeing this, Jalal al-Din personally attacked the Mongols and forced them to flight. Large numbers of the Mongols were captured alive, and the Khwarezmians killed them by nailing stakes into their ears. Shigi Qutuqu was driven off in defeat, losing over half his army.

Aftermath and legacy

According to

Ibn Al-Athir Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ash-Shaybānī, better known as ʿAlī ʿIzz ad-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr al-Jazarī ( ar, علي عز الدین بن الاثیر الجزري) lived 1160–1233) was an Arab or Kurdish historian a ...

's account, after the battle of Parwan was won, Jalal al-Din sent a message to Genghis Khan, stating "''In which locality do you want the battle to be, so that we may make our way to it''?" In the evening of the day the battle ended, a dispute over the division of the spoils, specifically a Mongolian white horse, led to the desertion of the Afghan contingent. Amin Malik, leader of the Turks and the Sultan's father-in-law, struck Saif al-Din Ighrak, leader of the Afghans, with a whip. Sultan Jalal ad-Din refused to discipline Amin Malik, and Ighraq reproached the Sultan, and he along with the Khalaj, Afghan and some of the

Qanqli The Kangly (康曷利; pinyin: Kānghélì; Middle Chinese ( ZS): /kʰɑŋ-ɦɑt̚-liɪH/ or 康里 pinyin: ''Kānglĭ'' < MC-ZS: /kʰɑŋ-lɨ^X/;

Battle of Indus The Battle of the Indus was fought on the banks of the Indus River, on 24 November 1221, by two armies commanded by Shah Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu of the Khwarezmian Empire, and Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire. The battle, which resulted in ...

. The Battle of Parwan is considered a significant battle, as it is considered the resurrection of Khwarezmians and the first serious defeat of the Mongols against the Khwarezmians. Medieval contemporary Muslim accounts all hailed this victory. According to Rashid al-Din Hamadani's account, Genghis Khan personally visited the fallen Mongol soldiers and the field the battle took place in and addressing Shigi Qutuqu Temuchin said the following: The Khwarezmians started an insurgency after the news of Shigi Qutuqu's defeat at the battle of Parwan spread throughout the empire. Inspired by Jalal al-Din's back-to-back victories against the Mongol army, Kush Tegin Pahlawan led an insurgency in

and seized it back successfully. After capturing the city of Merv back, Kush Tegin Pahlawan made a successful attack on Bukhara as well. People in Herat also rebelled and disposed the Mongol vassal leadership. An insurgency leader named Muhammad the Marghani twice attacked the camp Genghis Khan accommodated at

Baghlan Baghlan (Dari: بغلان ''Baġlān'') is a city in northern Afghanistan, in the eponymous province, Baghlan Province. It is located three miles east of the Kunduz River, 35 miles south of Khanabad, and about 500 metres above sea level in the ...

and returned with loot. As a response, Genghis Khan sent a large army under the leadership of Oghedei khan back to Ghazni. The Battle of Parwan had grave repercussions in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iran since the illusion of Mongol invincibility had been broken. Cities that had peacefully surrendered rose up in arms, which forced Genghis and his son Tolui to spend extra months subduing the revolts. Genghis Khan appointed Yelü Ahai to restore Mongol sovereignty in Samarqand and Bukhara. he managed to restore the order in the cities only in 1223.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parwan, Battle of 1221 in the Mongol Empire

Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire