Tamerlane's Siege of Baghdad: The River of Blood

In 1401, Tamerlane's army descended on Baghdad, then a jewel of the Jalayirid Sultanate. After a 40-day siege, the city fell, and a massacre followed that became legend: historians like Ibn Arabshah and the Zafarnama record towers of skulls and a river allegedly turned red. But how much of that story is fact, and how much is propaganda? In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the siege itself—the military tactics, the betrayal of the city's governor, and the deliberate terror that Tamerlane wielded as a weapon. They also explore the aftermath: the city's destruction, its partial rebuilding, and the long shadow this conquest cast over Iraq's history. Along the way, they touch on the Jalayirid ruler Ahmad Jalayir, the Mongol siege techniques adapted from the Yassa, and the contrast between Tamerlane's calculated cruelty and his patronage of arts in Samarkand. A nuanced look at one of the conqueror's most controversial campaigns. #Tamerlane #Baghdad #SiegeOfBaghdad #Jalayirid #AhmadJalayir #IbnArabshah #Zafarnama #Yassa #MongolSiegeTactics #RiverOfBlood #SkullTowers #MedievalWarfare #IraqHistory #Timurid #CentralAsia #History #FexingoHistory #SiegeWarfare Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo