The Mongol Siege of Baghdad and Its Aftermath

In 1258, Hulegu Khan's Mongol army sacked Baghdad, ending the Abbasid Caliphate and reshaping the Islamic world. But the victory sowed the seeds of the Mongol Empire's disintegration. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the siege itself—the river that ran black with ink, the caliph's mysterious death, the destruction of the House of Wisdom—and then trace how the conquest deepened the rift between the Jochids and the Toluid line. They examine the role of the Shi'a vizier Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, the Mongols' use of Chinese siege engineers, and the strategic blunder that left the Mamluks standing. They also consider the longer aftermath: the Ilkhanate's gradual adoption of Islam under Ghazan, and how the massacre of Baghdad became a symbol of Mongol brutality even as the empire fractured from within. Drawing on accounts from Rashid al-Din and Ibn al-Athir, they separate legend from evidence and ask whether the sacking of Baghdad was the moment Mongol unity truly died. #MongolEmpire #Baghdad1258 #HuleguKhan #AbbasidCaliphate #Ilkhanate #MongolSiege #NasirAlDinAlTusi #RashidAlDin #IbnAlAthir #SiegeWarfare #MedievalHistory #IslamicHistory #MongolConquest #ToluidCivilWar #JochidRift #CentralAsia #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo