1219–1221Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented
The Destruction of the Khwarazmian Empire
On the timeline · around 1219–1221 ·
What happened
When the Khwarazmian shah, ruler of a vast realm across Central Asia and Persia, executed a Mongol trade caravan and envoys, Genghis Khan unleashed a war of annihilation. Between 1219 and 1221 the Mongols stormed the great cities of the Silk Road — Bukhara and Samarkand among them — massacring populations and razing whole towns in a campaign of extraordinary devastation.
Why it matters
The obliteration of Khwarazmia announced the Mongols as a world power and became a byword for terror. Its brutality was partly deliberate policy: cities that resisted were annihilated as a warning to others.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Genghis Khan · Reputable source
- World History Encyclopedia. Mongol Empire · Reputable source
Related timelines
- The Silk Road → — The Silk Road cities the Mongols destroyed