Battle near the Irghiz River

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Battle near the Irghiz River
Part of Mongol conquest of Central Asia
DateApril 1219
Location
Irgiz (Turgay)
Result

Indecisive (Mongol army abandoned the field)

Khwarezmian victory[1][2]
Belligerents
The Khwarezmian Empire The Mongol Empire
Commanders and leaders

Muhammad II of Khwarezm

Jalal al-Din Mangburni

Subutai

Jochi

Jebe

Toquchar
Strength
10,000-60,000 10,000-60,000

The battle near the Irghiz river (also known as "The rendez-vous near the Irghiz River"[3]) was the first battle fought between the Khwarazmian Empire and the Mongol Empire. The battle was fought near the Irghiz River, in April 1219.

Background[]

Main article: Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire

After the defeat of the Kara-Khitans, Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire attained a border with the Khwarezmid Empire, governed by Shah Ala ad-Din Muhammad. Mergits, who were driven out of Mongolia by Chingiz Khan, had appeared in the country of the Qipchaqs and Genghis Khan ordered Subutai to attack the Olbari Kipchaks and to wipe out the remaining Merkits and to pursue Toqto'a,[4] the leader of the Merkits. Jochi was also sent with him while Jebe was sent to hunt down Kuchlug.[5] [6]

Subutai, Jochi and Jebe marched westward along the northern border of Khwarezmian Empire, through Kangly territory – perhaps November 1218. Divided into two, Jebe pursued Naimans and their prince Kuchlug, Jebe surprısed Kuchlug in Kashgar and chased him into Badakhshan where the locals captured Kuchlug and handed him to Jebe[7] while Subutai pursued Merkits. The two armies converged in Kara Khitai probably in March 1219. Jebe arrived at the destination through the Lake Balkhash while Subutai came from the north.[6]

Both the Kipchaks and the Naiman ruler Kuchlugh had been closely aligned to the Khwarezmian Empire. Shah Muhammad left Samarkand for Jand to find out what was going on. Muhammad II had to march for 4 months as his army could not cross the weakly frozen river thus. Returning to Jand, Shah Muhammad marched boldly into the plains, reaching the Irghiz River.

The Mongol army under the leadership of Subutai crushed the Kipchaks, enslaved some of their targets and was on the way to return to Mongolia. In April 1219, Muhammad II caught up with them after four months of marching. Muhammad II's appearance surprised the Mongols. The Mongol leaders did not see any need to fight the Khwarezmian army. They sent an envoy to assure Muhammad that they had no hostile intent and offered to hand over captives and booty in their possession. Muhammad rejected this offer and forced a battle. Ata Malik Juvaini states that the Khwarezmian shah intended to kill two hares at one blow.

Army strengths and formation[]

Modern scholarship varies on the number of soldiers each side showed up with.[citation needed]

Carl Sverdrup credits the Mongol side with at least 10,000 effectives on the eve of the battle. He credits the Khwarazmian side with similar to that of the Mongol side. It is possible that the Khwarezmians had relatively more heavy cavalry than the Mongols.

Jalal al-Din Mangburnu's secretary Nasawi states that the Khwarezmian Sultan arrived at the river with 60,000 soldiers.

Likewise, Frank Mclynn estimated the Khwarezmian army numbered 60,000 troops and the Mongol army numbered 20,000.

Richard A. Gabriel credits Jebe with 20,000 soldiers and Subutai with another 20,000 soldiers, making the total of Mongol army equal to 40,000 when they converged before they fought the Merkits. Similarly, Leo De Hartog also credit both Subutai and Jebe each with 20,000 soldiers (two toumans), equating the total Mongol army number into 40,000 at the time they were sent to their missions.[8]

Some[who?] historians propose that Jochi similarly might have had another 20,000 soldiers, thus also crediting the Mongol army with 60,000 soldiers, making it equal to that of the maximum number estimated for the Khwarezmian army. In the article named "Sübe'etei Ba'atur, Anonymous Strategist", Sverdrup states that Jochi arrived from Mongolia with additional forces at the same time Subutai and Jebe converged.[9] The idea that Jochi joined Subutai later rather than accompanying him from the beginning is supported by Qu Dafeng and Liu Jianyi as well in their article about Jochi's lifetime.[10]

Jochi commanded the right flank of the Mongol army, Jebe commanded the left flank and Subutai, alongside Toquchar, was in the middle. Muhammad II was in the centre of the Khwarezmian army; his 20 years-old sons Jalal al-Din Mangburnu commanded the right flank. There was a small river between the two armies.[3][5][11]

Skirmish[]

Seeing the fight was inevitable, the Mongol army's left flank (under the leadership of the eldest Mongol Prince, Jochi) began the battle. Jochi attacked the Khwarezmian army's left wing and inflicted severe damage. Likewise, the right flank of the Khwarezmian army (under the leadership of the eldest Khwarezmian Prince, Jalal al-Din Manguburnu) wiped out the Mongol army's left-wing.[11] Jalal al-Din took a fraction of his flank, and his special forces (consisting of 300 bodyguards), and went as a reinforcement to the left flank. Jalal al-Din repelled repelled Jochi back[12] and returned to the right flank, leaving his soldiers on the left flank.

The Khwarezmian army's flanks started to chase Jochi and other deserting Mongol forces per commands given by the Shah and his generals, but prince Jalal ad-Din stayed back with his 700 bodyguards. The desertion by the Mongol soldiers turned out to be a trap. Subutai counter-attacked on the center of the Shah's army and almost breached it, nearly capturing the Shah. Having regrouped his flank's soldiers, Jalal al-Din with his 700 bodyguards served as reinforcement to the center, forcing Subutai to retreat. He is credited to have saved the Khwarezmians from defeat with his individual brilliance.[a] Dmitry Timokhin, a Russian expert on Eastern Studies, states that medieval authors state that this was the battle Jalal al-Din managed to prove himself.[13]

As the night fell, both armies returned to their camps. The Shah was confident the battle would go on the next day, but they realized the Mongols abandoned the battlefield the next dawn. As camouflage, Subutai left a small number of soldiers to keep burning fires so that their retreat would go unnoticed.

Aftermath[]

After the battle, it is reported by Juvayni that Jochi was praised by Genghis khan for his bravery and wisdom.[14]

Though the battle could have been propagated as a technical victory by the Khwarezmian Empire, the Shah spread the word that he was not involved in the battle, and that he did not authorise the battle. The Shah was deeply shaken by the ferocity and fighting spirit of the Mongol army. As Juvayni reports, modern historians consider this battle the reason the Shah decided against an open field battle against the Mongols when the Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia started.[15] The Khwarezmian propaganda about the Shah not being present at the battle allowed Genghis Khan not to construe the Khwarezmian offensive as a personal insult and considered the battle inconsequential.[11] However, Genghis Khan was forced to wage war against the Khwarezmian empire as the word of the way the Shah treated the Mongol ambassadors before the battle arrived and spread in the Mongol Empire.

In popular culture[]

A Turkish-Uzbek TV series Mendirman Jaloliddin's first season ends on the eve of the battle near the Irghiz river.

The battle also features in a historical fiction book by Yavuz Bahadıroğlu about the fall of the Khwarezmian empire. The novel differs from the historical narratives in many ways. Contrary to historical accounts, in the novel, the Mongol army's chief general is Jochi rather than Subutai, and the army that initiated the skirmish is the Khwarezmian army. In contrast, in historical accounts, it was Jochi who initiated the attack. Unlike historical accounts, Jochi fled, leaving burning fires and tents behind before the skirmish began, drew the Khwarezmian army into the river and trapped them there. In the novel, Timur Malik rescued the Shah from getting captivated by Subutai. In the novel, the Shah attacked the Mongol army's centre, whereas, in the historical accounts, it was vice versa.[16]

A 2004 Chinese television series on the life of Genghis Khan also features this battle. In the TV series, Inalchuq Kadir Khan also participated in this battle whereas Jebe and Jochi, without Subutai, is depicted from the Mongol side.

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ 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[]

  1. ^ Bozan, M. Jalaluddin of the Kharzemshah the Siege of Ahlat and Responses. Dicle Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, cilt 14, sayı 2, 2012
  2. ^ https://www.dailysabah.com/portrait/2017/05/06/defeated-yet-proud-jalal-al-din-khwarazmshah
  3. ^ Jump up to: 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b Barthold, W. (1968). Turkestan down to the Mongol Invasion. Great Britain: Love and Brydon (Printers) Ltd.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Gabriel, Richard A. (2004). Subotai the Valiant Genghis Khan's Greatest General. ISBN 0-275-97582-7.
  7. ^ Atwood, Christopher (2004). ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MONGOLIA AND THE MONGOL EMPIRE. The United States of America: Facts On File, Inc. p. 265. ISBN 978-1-4381-2922-8.
  8. ^ De Hartog, Leo (2004). Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. New York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. p. 89. ISBN 1-86064-972-6.
  9. ^ Sverdrup, Carl (2013). "Sübe'etei Ba'atur, Anonymous Strategist". Journal of Asian History. 47 (1): 36.
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b c Mclynn, Frank (2015). Genghis Khan His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy. De Capo Press. p. 255. ISBN 978-0-306-82396-1.
  12. ^ Lamb, Harold. Genghis Khan Emperor of all men. London: Thornton Butterworth, Ltd. pp. 129–131.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Dafeng, Qu; Jianyi, Liu (1998). "On Some Problems Concerning Jochi's lifetime". Central Asiatic Journal. 42 (2): 285. JSTOR 41928156 – via Harrassowitz Verlag.
  15. ^ Wilson, Jack (September 2020). SUBUTAI BAATAR: GENERAL OF THE KHAN].
  16. ^ Bahadıroğlu, Yavuz. Buhara Yanıyor.
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