Irghiz River skirmish
| Battle near the Irghiz River | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Mongol conquest of Central Asia | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| The Khwarezmian Empire | The Mongol Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Jalal al-Din Mangburni | Toquchar | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 10,000-60,000 | 10,000-60,000 | ||||||
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2021) |
The Battle near the Irghiz River (also known as Rendezvous near the Irghiz River[4]) was the first battle fought between the Khwarazmian Empire and the Mongol Empire. Occurring in April of 1219, the battle ended in victory for the Khwarezmian army after the Mongols abandoned their camp and yielded the field.
Background
After the defeat of the Kara-Khitans, Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire gained a border with the Khwarezmid Empire, which at the time was governed by Shah Ala ad-Din Muhammad. The Merkit tribal confederation, who had been driven out of Mongolia, migrated to the area of the Kwarezmids. Genghis Khan ordered Subutai and Jochi, two of his generals, to wipe out the Merkits and to attack the Kipchak people, two tribal groups which were closely aligned with the Khwarezmian Empire.[5][6][7]
Around November 1218, Subutai and Jochi were joined by Jebe, who was tasked with hunting down prince Kuchlug of the Kara Khitai. The three generals then marched westward along the northern border of the Khwaremian Empire through Kangly territory. Shortly after, Jebe split from the main force to pursue the Naimans and their prince Kuchlug. Jebe chased Kuchlug from Kashgar to Badakhshan, where he was captured by locals and turned over to the Mongols. The two armies then reconverged in Kara Khitai around March 1219, with Jebe arriving through Lake Balkash while Subutai came from the north.[7]
After the capture of Kuchlug, who had also been aligned with the Khwarezmids, the Mongol incursion caught the attention of Shah Muhammad, ruler of the Khwarezmid Empire. He left his capital of Samarkand for Jand to determine what exactly was going on. However, his route was complicated since his army could not cross a frozen river. Returning to Jand, Shah Muhammad eventually marched for the plains, reaching the Irghiz River.
Meanwhile, the Mongol army had crushed the Kipchaks and taken prisoners, beginning to make their way back to Mongolia. In April 1219, Shah Muhammad and his army finally caught up with them after four months of fighting. The appearance of the Khwarezmian army surprised the Mongols, who saw no need to fight. The Mongol generals sent an envoy to Muhammad to assure him that they had no hostile intents and offering to hand over the captives in their possession. Muhammad rejected their offer and moved to force a battle.
Order of Battle
The estimated number of soldiers present from each side varies wildly. Different sources place the number of Mongol troops anywhere from 10,000 to 60,000 men. Carl Sverdrup estimates that the Mongol forces consisted of at least 10,000 fighting men. Richard Gabriel and Leo de Hartog both posit that the two prongs of the Mongol army (one under Jebe and the other under Subutai) with 20,000 men each, giving a total of 40,000 fighting men once the army converged.[8] Carl Sverdrup proposes that Jochi also had 20,000 soldiers, giving a total of 60,000 as the theoretical maximum number of Mongols.[9] The idea that Jochi joined the main force later with reinforcements is supported by Qu Dafeng and Liu Jianyi as well.[10]
Sverdrup credits the Khwarazmian forces as being roughly equivalent to those of the Mongols, though he notes that it was possible that the Khwarezmians had relatively heavier cavalry than the Mongols. The Khwarezmian biographer Nasawi states that Shah Muhammad arrived to the battle with 60,000 soldiers, a claim corroborated by Frank McLynn.[citation needed]
The two armies were separated by a small river. On the Mongol side, Jochi commanded the right flank, Jebe commanded the left flank, and Subutai commanded the center. Shah Muhammad commanded the center of the Khwarezmian army and his son Jalal ad-Dinn Mangburni commanded the right flank.[4][6][11]
Battle
Seeing that battle was inevitable, the Mongol army's right flank under Jochi engaged the Khwarezmian left and inflicted severe damage. Likewise, the Khwarezmian right flank under Jalal ad-Dinn wiped out the Mongolian left.[11] Taking a fraction of his forces and 300 bodyguards, Jalal ad-Dinn reinforced the Khwarezmian left flank and was able to repel Jochi. He left his soldiers and returned to the right flank.[12]
The Mongols on the flanks began to flee and Shah Muhammad and his generals gave orders to pursue them, but Jalal ad-Dinn held back with 700 bodyguards. The retreat by the Mongol soldiers turned out to be a trap, and Subutai counter-attacked in the center, nearly breaking the line and capturing the Shah. Jalal ad-Dinn and his men reinforced the center, forcing Subutai to retreat. His tactical skills and individual brilliance are credited with winning the battle for the Khwarezmians,[a] and medieval authors state that this was the battle in which Jalal ad-Dinn managed to prove himself.[13]
As night fell, both armies returned to their camps. The Shah believed the battle would resume the next day, but at dawn he realized that the Mongols had abandoned their camp, leaving a small number of soldiers to keep fires burning so their retreat would go unnoticed.[citation needed]
Aftermath
Even though the battle was technically a victory for the Khwarezmians, Shah Muhammad spread the word that he was not involved in, nor did he authorize, the battle. Deeply shaken by the ferocity and fighting spirit of the Mongol army, modern historians postulate that this battle was the reason that the Shah decided against an open field battle when the Mongols invaded Khwarezmia later that year.[14]
After the battle, it is reported by Juvayni that Jochi was praised by Genghis Khan for his bravery and wisdom.[15] The Khwarezmian propaganda about the Shah not being present at the battle allowed Genghis Khan not to construe the attack as a personal insult.[11] However, he did eventually go to war against the Khwarezmian Empire after word of mistreatment of Mongol emissaries at the hand of Shah Muhammad reached the Mongol homeland.
In popular culture
The first season of the Turkish-Uzbek television series Mendirman Jaloliddin ends just before the Battle near the Irghiz River.[citation needed]
The battle features in a historical fiction book by Yavuz Bahadıroğlu about the fall of the Khwarezmian empire which differs from historical narratives in many ways. In the novel, the Mongol army is led by Jochi rather than Subutai, the Khwarezmians initiated the battle insteads of Jochi, the Shah attacked the Mongol center instead of vice versa, and the Mongol flight from the battlefield was actually a trap to lure the Khwarezmian army into the river and trap them there. In the novel, the battle ends with Timur Malik rescuing Shah Muhammad from capture by Subutai.[16]
A 2004 Chinese television series on the life of Genghis Khan also features the battle. In the series, Inalchuq Kadir Khan also participated in this battle on the side of the Khwarezmians, while Subutai was omitted from the Mongol leadership, which was portrayed as led only by Jebe and Jochi.[citation needed]
See also
Notes
- ^ Juvayni, 13th century Georgian Royal Chronicles, some other contemporaries and modern scholars like Carl Sverdrup and Dmitry Timokhin credit Jalal al-Din with saving Khwarezmians from defeat. V. Bartold finds it dubious, stating that Nasavi, the biographer of Jalal al-Din Mangburni, does not mention this individual glory.
References
- ^ Bozan, M. Jalaluddin of the Kharzemshah the Siege of Ahlat and Responses. Dicle Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, cilt 14, sayı 2, 2012
- ^ Arslanbenzer, Hakan (May 6, 2017). "Defeated yet proud: Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah". Daily Sabah.
- ^ Toksoy, A. CELAL ED-DIN HAREZMSAH’S ACTIVITIES IN GEORGIA. Erzincan Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi Cilt-Sayı: 9-1 Yıl: 2007
- ^ a b Sverdrup, Carl (2017). The Mongol Conquests The Military Operations of Genghis Khan and Sübe'etei. West Midlands: Helion & Company Limited. ISBN 978-1-910777-71-8.
- ^ Atwood, Christopher (2004). ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MONGOLIA AND THE MONGOL EMPIRE. The United States of America: Facts On File, Inc. p. 306. ISBN 978-1-4381-2922-8.
- ^ a b Barthold, W. (1968). Turkestan down to the Mongol Invasion. Great Britain: Love and Brydon (Printers) Ltd.
- ^ a b Gabriel, Richard A. (2004). Subotai the Valiant Genghis Khan's Greatest General. ISBN 0-275-97582-7.
- ^ De Hartog, Leo (2004). Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. p. 89. ISBN 1-86064-972-6.
- ^ Sverdrup, Carl (2013). "Sübe'etei Ba'atur, Anonymous Strategist". Journal of Asian History. 47 (1): 36.
- ^ During the 1217- 1218 period, Jochi carried out his military action around Angara and Kemchik and then reached the Syr-Darya in order to meet with the Khwarezm-Shah - Dafeng, Qu; Jianyi, Liu (1998). "On Some Problems Concerning Jochi's lifetime". Central Asiatic Journal. Vol 42, No. 2: 287 – via Harrassowitz Verlag
- ^ a b c Mclynn, Frank (2015). Genghis Khan His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy. Da Capo Press. p. 255. ISBN 978-0-306-82396-1.
- ^ Lamb, Harold. Genghis Khan Emperor of all men. London: Thornton Butterworth, Ltd. pp. 129–131.
- ^ Timokhin, Dmitry (2013). "ХОРЕЗМИЙСКАЯ АРМИЯ ДЖАЛАЛ АД-ДИНА МАНКБУРНЫ В ПЕРИОД МОНГОЛЬСКОГО ВТОРЖЕНИЯ В ЦЕНТРАЛЬНУЮ АЗИЮ (Translation: Jalal al-Din Mangburnu's Khwaremian Army during the Mongol Invasion of Central Asia)" (PDF). ЗОЛОТООРДЫНСКОЕ ОБОЗРЕНИЕ. 2: 43.
- ^ Wilson, Jack (September 2020). SUBUTAI BAATAR: GENERAL OF THE KHAN].
- ^ Dafeng, Qu; Jianyi, Liu (1998). "On Some Problems Concerning Jochi's lifetime". Central Asiatic Journal. 42 (2): 285. JSTOR 41928156 – via Harrassowitz Verlag.
- ^ Bahadıroğlu, Yavuz. Buhara Yanıyor.