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Battle of Köse Dağ

Coordinates: 40°15′00″N 39°33′00″E / 40.2500°N 39.5500°E / 40.2500; 39.5500
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Battle of Köse Dağ
Part of the Mongol invasions of Anatolia

The Mongols chasing the Seljuqs. Hayton of Corycus, Fleur des histoires d'orient.
DateJune 26, 1243
Location
Kösedağ (about 60 km east of Sivas)[2]
Result Mongol-Armenian victory, see aftermath
Belligerents
Mongol Empire
Principality of Khachen
Georgian mercenaries[1]
Seljuq Sultanate of Rum
Georgian auxiliaries
Trapezuntine auxiliaries
Latin mercenaries
Commanders and leaders
Baiju Noyan
Hasan-Jalal I
Kaykhusraw II
Pharadavla Akhaltsikheli
Dardin Shervashidze  
Strength
30,000–40,000 60,000–80,000 (20,000–25,000 participated, the rest deserted)
Casualties and losses
750 approx. 3,000

The Battle of Köse Dağ [3]was fought between the Sultanate of Rum ruled by the Seljuq dynasty and the Mongol Empire on June 26, 1243, at the defile of Kösedağ, a location between Erzincan and Gümüşhane in modern northeastern Turkey.[4][5] The Mongols achieved a decisive victory.

Background

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In 1071, the Seljuk Turks decisively defeated the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert and quickly overran Anatolia. The Seljuk general Suleiman ibn Qutalmish (r. 1077–1086) soon established an independent state in the region; known as the Sultanate of Rum, it unified the native tribes and gained control of the entire region over the next 150 years. By the 1230s, aided by the collapse of Byzantine power, Rum had also attained significant maritime and commercial capabilities through their control of the key ports of Antalya and Sinope.[6]

The Mongol Empire was established in 1206 by Genghis Khan (r. 1206–1227). During his reign, the Mongols dismantled the Jin dynasty and the Western Xia state in northern China, the Qara Khitai in Turkestan, and the Khwarazmian Empire in Central Asia and Persia. Under Genghis's son and successor Ögedei Khan (r. 1229–1241), further military campaigns were launched against the remnants of the Jin, while another force invaded first the Russian principalities and then Europe itself between 1236 and 1242.[7]

One further army, commanded by the general Chormaqan, was dispatched in 1230 to eliminate the renegade Khwarazmian prince Jalal al-Din who had founded a state in western Iran. This mission was soon accomplished, with Jalal al-Din killed by a Kurd in August 1231.[8] Chormaqan set up his headquarters on the fertile Mughan plain, and for the next decade consolidated Mongol rule over western Iran and Transcaucasia.[9] With 30,000 men under his command, he marched every year against hostile fortresses in the Caucasus region, focusing especially on subduing the Kingdom of Georgia; by 1239 the Mongols had conquered much of its land and forced the remainder, ruled by Queen Rusudan, to become a vassal state.[10]

In the early 1240s, Chormaqan was incapacitated by either deafness[11], a form of paralysis,[12] or even both.[13] He was succeeded as regional commander by Baiju, his second in command.[14]

Prelude

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During the reign of Ögedei Khan, the Sultanate of Rum offered friendship and a modest tribute to Chormaqan, a kheshig and one of the Mongols' greatest generals.[15] Under Kaykhusraw II, however, the Mongols began to pressure the sultan to go to Mongolia in person, give hostages, and accept a Mongol darughachi.

Location

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The 13th-century Armenian historian Gregory of Akner writes that the battle took place in a field between Erzurum and Erzincan. At the same time Kirakos of Gandzak states that it took place close to a village called Chʻmankatuk, which may refer to modern-day Üzümlü (formerly Cimin) in the Erzincan Province of Turkey.[16] Rashid al-Din Hamadani. Other sources call the site of the battle Köse Dağ, which means "bald/beardless mountain" in Turkish.[16]

Battle

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Under the leadership of Baiju, the Mongol commander, the Mongols attacked Rum in the winter of 1242–1243 and seized the city of Erzurum. Sultan Kaykhusraw II immediately called on his neighbours to contribute troops to resist the invasion. The Empire of Trebizond sent a detachment, and the Sultan engaged a group of "Frankish" (Western European) mercenaries.[17] Due to internal disagreements about the war, King Hethum I of Armenian Cilicia delayed joining Kaykhusraw's army, which left without him.[16] A few Georgian nobles such as Pharadavla of Akhaltsikhe and Dardin Shervashidze also joined him, but most Georgians were compelled to fight alongside their Mongol overlords. The Georgian-Armenian contingent within the Mongol army included Hasan-Jalal I, the ruler of Khachen.[16]

Horseman with Anatolian Seljuk equipment, in Varka and Golshah, mid-13th century miniature (detail), Konya, Sultanate of Rum. These knights were equipped with long swords and bows, and for protection used large shields ("kite-shields"), lamellar amour and hauberk mail.[18][19]

The decisive battle was fought at Kösedağ on June 26, 1243. Various figures are given in the primary sources for the size of the opposing armies, all with the Seljuqs outnumbering the Mongols:[20] 160,000 or 200,000 for the sultan's army (which are certainly exaggerations[citation needed]) and 30,000 or 10,000 for the Mongol force.[16] 80,000 and 30,000 for the sizes of the Seljuq and Mongol armies, respectively, are the more likely numbers.[16] Baiju brushed aside an apprehensive notice from his Georgian officer regarding the size of the Seljuq army, stating that they counted as nothing the numbers of their enemies: "the more they are, the more glorious it is to win, and the more plunder we shall secure".[21]

Kaykhusraw II rejected the proposal of his experienced commanders to wait for the Mongol attack. Instead, he sent 20,000 men, led by inexperienced commanders, against the Mongol army.[22] The Mongol army, feigning retreat, turned back, encircled the Seljuq army, and defeated it.[23]

When the rest of the Seljuq army witnessed their defeat, many Seljuq commanders and their soldiers, including Kaykhusraw II, started to abandon the battlefield.[22] Eventually, the Seljuq army was left without leaders, and most of their soldiers deserted without seeing any combat.[22][23]

Aftermath

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After their victory, the Mongols took control of the cities of Sivas and Kayseri. The sultan fled to Ankara but was subsequently forced to make peace with Baiju and pay a substantial tribute to the Mongol Empire.[16]

The defeat resulted in a period of turmoil in Anatolia and led directly to the decline and disintegration of the Seljuq state. The Empire of Trebizond became a vassal state of the Mongol Empire. Furthermore, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia became a vassal state of the Mongols.[24] Real power over Anatolia was exercised by the Mongols.[25]

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ John Freely, Children of Achilles: The Greeks in Asia Minor since the Days of Troy, (I.B. Tauris, 2010), p. 143.
  2. ^ Enver Behnan Şapolyo: Selçuklu İmparatorluğu tarihi, Güven Matbaasi, 1972, p. 191 (in Turkish)
  3. ^ "Today in Middle Eastern history: the Battle of Köse Dağ (1243)".
  4. ^ Anthony Bryer and David Winfield, The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos, vol. 1, (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1985) 172, 353.
  5. ^ Köy Köy Türkiye Yol Atlası (Istanbul: Mapmedya, 2006), map p. 61.
  6. ^ Atwood 2004, p. 555; Chrysostomides 2009, pp. 11–13, 25–27.
  7. ^ Atwood 2004, p. 365; Dunnell 2023.
  8. ^ Atwood 2004, p. 106; Dashdondog 2011, pp. 52–53; Manz 2022, p. 202.
  9. ^ May 2016, p. 23—24; Jackson 2017, pp. 82–83.
  10. ^ Melville 2009, p. 53; Atwood 2004, p. 106; Manz 2022, p. 203.
  11. ^ Atwood 2004, p. 106; Pubblici 2023, p. 711; Dashdondog 2011, p. 55.
  12. ^ Jackson 2017, p. 83; May 2016, p. 228.
  13. ^ Lane 2003, p. 61.
  14. ^ Lane 2004, p. 61; Jackson 2017, p. 83.
  15. ^ C. P. Atwood, Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, p. 555
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Dashdondog 2011, pp. 61–63, 76.
  17. ^ Claude Cahen, Pre-Ottoman Turkey: a general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history, trans. J. Jones-Williams, (New York: Taplinger, 1968) p. 137. [ISBN missing]
  18. ^ Gorelik, Michael (1979). Oriental Armour of the Near and Middle East from the Eighth to the Fifteenth Centuries as Shown in Works of Art (in Islamic Arms and Armour). London: Robert Elgood. p. Fig.38. ISBN 978-0859674706.
  19. ^ Sabuhi, Ahmadov Ahmad oglu (July–August 2015). "The miniatures of the manuscript "Varka and Gulshah" as a source for the study of weapons of XII–XIII centuries in Azerbaijan". Austrian Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (7–8): 14–16.
  20. ^ Claude Cahen, "Köse Dagh" Encyclopaedia of Islam, ed. by P. Bearman, et al. (Brill 2007)
  21. ^ Henry Desmond Martin, "The Mongol army", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1943/1–2, pp. 46–85
  22. ^ a b c Ali Sevim, Erdoğan Merçil: Selçuklu devletleri tarihi: siyaset, teşkilât ve kültür, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1995, ISBN 978-9751606907, p. 472 (in Turkish)
  23. ^ a b Nuri Ünlü: İslâm tarihi 1, Marmara Üniversitesi, İlâhiyat Fakültesi Vakfı, 1992, ISBN 9755480072, p. 492. (in Turkish)
  24. ^ İdris Bal, Mustafa Çufalı: Dünden bugüne Türk Ermeni ilişkileri, Nobel, 2003, ISBN 9755914889, p. 61.
  25. ^ Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach. Medieval Islamic Civilization: A–K, index, p. 442 [ISBN missing]

Sources

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40°15′00″N 39°33′00″E / 40.2500°N 39.5500°E / 40.2500; 39.5500