The Mongol Siege of Baghdad: Hulagu's Conquest of the Abbasid Caliphate

In 1258, Hulagu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, led the Mongol army to the gates of Baghdad, the jewel of the Islamic world and seat of the Abbasid Caliphate. This episode unpacks the siege itself — the engineering, the river diversion, the betrayal of the vizier Ibn al-Alqami — and its aftermath: the sack that killed hundreds of thousands, the execution of Caliph al-Musta'sim, and the end of an era. We explore Hulagu's motivations, the role of his Nestorian Christian wife Dokuz Khatun, and the strategic calculus that made Baghdad a target. Lucas and Luna also discuss the long-term consequences: the destruction of the House of Wisdom, the shifting of power to the Ilkhanate, and the Mongol conversion to Islam under Ghazan. This is a story of ambition, brutality, and a world turned upside down. #Baghdad1258 #HulaguKhan #AbbasidCaliphate #MongolSiege #Ilkhanate #CaliphAlMustaSim #IbnAlAlqami #DokuzKhatun #HouseOfWisdom #NestorianChristianity #MongolEmpire #SiegeWarfare #History #FexingoHistory #MedievalHistory #MiddleEastHistory #GenghisKhan #MongolConquests #SteppeWarriors #YassaCode Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo