The Mongol Sack of Baghdad: End of the Islamic Golden Age

In 1258, Hulagu Khan's Mongol army laid siege to Baghdad, the glittering capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. For nearly two weeks, they battered the city walls with trebuchets and mangonels. When the walls finally fell, the Mongols unleashed a seven-day sack that killed hundreds of thousands and destroyed the legendary House of Wisdom. This episode details the siege itself—the engineering, the tactics, the betrayal by the caliph's own vizier, Ibn al-Alqami—and its aftermath: the end of the Islamic Golden Age, the execution of Caliph al-Musta'sim (rolled in a carpet and trampled by horses), and the lasting scar on the Muslim world. We also explore what was lost: libraries, hospitals, canals, and centuries of accumulated knowledge. Lucas and Luna discuss the Mongol siege techniques, the role of the Tigris River, and whether the destruction was as total as the chroniclers claim. A dark, pivotal moment in world history. #Baghdad1258 #HulaguKhan #MongolSiege #AbbasidCaliphate #IslamicGoldenAge #HouseOfWisdom #AlMustasim #IbnAlAlqami #MongolCampaigns #SiegeWarfare #MedievalMiddleEast #TigrisRiver #MongolEmpire #History #FexingoHistory #MilitaryHistory #SiegeOfBaghdad #MongolDestruction Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo