Battle of Parwan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Battle of Parwan
Part of the Mongol invasion of Central Asia
Date1221
Location
Parwan, Khwarezmian Empire (present-day Afghanistan)
Result Khwarezmian victory
Belligerents
Mongol Empire Khwarazmian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Shikhikhutug Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu
Strength

30,000[1] - 70,000[2]

as many as 10,000 cavalries in total

30,000[3] - 120,000[1] 60,000 - 70,000[4]

As many as 15,000 in total (mostly infantry)
Casualties and losses
Over 50% of the army Unknown

The Battle of Parwan was fought in 1221 in Parvan, Khwarazmian Empire, between armies of its Sultan, Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu and the Mongol Empire commanded by Genghis Khan's adopted brother Shikhikhutag.[5]

Background[]

Main article: Mongol invasion of Khwarezmia

In late 1219, Genghis Khan started a campaign on the Khwarezmian Empire. As it became evident that the Mongols were coming, Jalal al-Din proposed to encounter them in one decisive battle near the Syr Darya, but Khwarezmshah Muhammad II instead used a passive defense,[a] relying on his fortresses without assembling his army. Khwarezmian cities fell one by one. Muhammad II started to retreat into the west after Bukhara and Samarqand fell in the beginning of 1220.

Muhammad II died in an island in the Caspian sea, but prior to his death he announced that Jalal al-Din would inherit the throne. Jalal al-Din went to Urgench but was ousted. He defeated the Mongols in several battles and then retreated into the Hindikush. In February 1221, Jalal al-Din went to Ghazni and assembled a coalition of Afghan and Turkic warriors. From there, he went first to Valiyan, which was under siege of the Mongols, defeated their two armies, under the leaderships of Tekejik and Molger, and seized Valiyan back.[6] Jalal ad-Din advanced into Parwan and defeated the Mongol detachment near Parwan.[7] A week later, Genghis Khan sent his chief justice Shikhikhutag to hunt down Jalal al-Din, but only gave the inexperienced general 30,000 – 50,000 troops.[b]

Army strengths[]

Modern scholarship differ on the strength of both armies while the medieval scholarship differ on the strengths of the Mongol army. Ata Malik Juvayni reports Shikhikhutug's strengths as 30,000, Juzjani reports it as 45,000 whereas Ibn Abd Allah al-Umari gives his strength as 70,000. Juzjani, Nasawi, Juvayni, Ibn al-Athir and Handmir all report the Khwarezmian strength as 60,000.[8]

Modern scholarship differ on the strength of both sides. The lowest estimate for Jalal al-Din's strength is 30,000[9] while the highest is 120,000. At the Harper's Military Encyclopedia, N. Trevor and Ernest Dupuy gives Jalal al-Din's force as 120,000.[c][1] Spencer C. Tucker similarly gives Jalal's strength as 120,000.[d][11]

Estimates for Shikhikhutug's strength range between 30,000[12] and 70,000.[8] Mclynn Frank estimates the Mongol forces were around 45 - 50,000 whereas he estimates Jalal had 60,000-70,000, he further adds that while the numbers are exaggerated, the proportion of Jalal's army's numerical superiority is probably accurate.[13] Carl Sverdrup on the other hand assesses that Jalal al-Din probably had 15,000 men in total whereas Shikhikhutug commanded as many as 10,000 men.[14] Khwarezmian army was ill-equipped and majority of them was consisted of infantries whereas the entire army of Shikhikhutug was well equipped cavalry.[7]

Battle[]

Shikhikhutag was overconfident after the continuous Mongol successes, and he quickly found himself on the back foot against the more numerous Khwarezmian force. The battle took place in a narrow valley, which was unsuitable for the Mongol cavalry.

Jalal al-Din had mounted archers, whom he ordered to dismount and fire on the Mongols. Jalal al-Din gave Saif al-Din Igrakh the command of the left flank and Malik Khan the right flank, consisted of 10,000 soldiers. On the first day of the battle, Malik Khan's division pushed the Mongol left into their base. Because of the narrow terrain, the Mongols could not use their normal tactics. On the second day of the battle, to deceive the Khwarezmians, Shikhikhutag mounted straw warriors on spare remounts, which may have spared him from a killing stroke, but Jalal al-Din was not fooled by the ruse. On the third day, the Mongol right flank charged on Igrakh's division, Ighraq's division responded by shooting arrows on foot to which the Mongols feigned flight. Ighraq's men charged but the Mongols suddenly counter-attacked and killed 500 men of Ighraq. Seeing this, Jalal al-Din personally attacked the Mongols and forced them to flight. Large number of the Mongols were captured alive, the Khwarezmians killed them by nailing stakes into their ears.[7] Shikhikhutug was driven off in defeat, losing over half his army.[15]

Aftermath and Legacy[]

According to Ibn Al-Athir's account, after the battle of Parwan was won, Jalal al-Din sent a message to Genghis Khan, stating "In which locality do you want the battle to be, so that we may make our way to it?" On the evening the of the day the battle ended, a quarrel arose among the two main generals of Jalal al-Din, Sayf Al-Din Bugrakh and Malik Khan, and as a result 30,000 soldiers of Sayf Al-Din Bughrakh abandoned Jalal's army. Genghis Khan sent a large army, larger than the one in Parwan, under the leadership of his son Tolui,[e] Jalal al-Din met them in Kabul and defeated them again.[16]

The Khwarezmian prince did not prove himself as able in political leadership as he had been in military leadership. In a dispute over the spoils, a Mongolian white horse, between his father-in-law and a Khwarezmian chief, he sided with his father-in-law. Many of the Afghan warriors left their campfire burning and left the same night, despite being completely exhausted by the day's fighting.[12][17] Having been abandoned by many thousands of men, Jalal ad-Din retreated the next day towards the east.[18]

Jalal ad-Din left Parwan for the Punjab with only 30,000 men after the Afghans abandoned him.[12] When Genghis Khan heard of the news of the defeats, he immediately made forced marches to catch Jalal al Din before he escaped into India. Genghis marched with Shigi Qutugu and instructed him on where he had gone wrong at the battleground. The Shah attempted to cross Indus river to the area north of the present city of Kalabagh, Pakistan. However, the Mongols caught up with him on the banks of the Indus and defeated him what in now referred to as the Battle of Indus.[19]

The Battle of Parwan is considered a significant battle as it is considered the resurrection of Khwarezmians. The Battle of Parwan is considered the first serious defeat of the Mongols against the Khwarezmians. Medieval contemporary Muslim accounts all hailed this victory.[20][8] According to Rashid al-Din Hamadani's account, Genghis khan personally visited the fallen Mongol soldiers and the field the battle took place in and addressing Shikhikhutug Temuchin said the following:[21]

You did not know the place of battle, and you were both at fault.

The Khwarezmians started an insurgency after the news of Shikhikhutug's defeat at the battle of Parwan spread throughout the empire. Inspired by Jalal al-Din's several back-to-back victories against the invader Mongol army, Kush Tegin Pahlawan lead a revolt in Merv and seized it successfully. After capturing the city of Merv back, Kush Tegin Pahlawan made a successful attack on Bukhara, too. People in Herat also rebelled and disposed the Mongol vassal leadership. An insurgency leader named Muhammad the Marghani twice attacked the camp Genghis Khan accommodated at Baghlan and returned with some loots. As a response, Genghis Khan sent a large army under the leadership of Oghedei khan back to Ghazni.[22] The Battle of Parwan had grave repercussions in Afghanistan, Turkmenistan and Iran since the illusion of Mongol invincibility had been broken. Cities that had peacefully surrendered rose up in arms, which forced Genghis and his son Tolui to spend extra months to subdue the revolts.[23] Genghis Khan appointed Yelü Ahai to restore Mongol sovereignty order in Samarqand and Bukhara, Yelu Ahai managed to restore the order in the cities only in 1223.[22]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Historians agree that the choice of the Khwarezmshah Muhammad II was due to the Battle near the Irghiz River.
  2. ^ Modern scholarship varies on the number of soldiers each side had, with Mclynn Frank estimating the Mongol forces were reportedly around 45 – 50,000 whereas he estimates Jalal reportledly had 60,000 – 70,000 and he adds that while the numbers are exaggerated, the proportion of Jalal's army's numerical superiority is probably accurate.
  3. ^ "While Genghis was gathering his sons' contingents together for another campaign, Jellaluddin with 120,000 men defeated an advance Mongol force of three toumans (30,000 men)...""[1]
  4. ^ At the head of an army of about 120,000 men, Jellaluddin, son of Mohammad Shah, meets and defeats 30,000 of Genghis Khan's Mongols in the Hindu Kush in the Battle of Pirvan.[10]
  5. ^ Jalal al-Din's secretary Nasawi's account states the son who led the army against Jalal al-Din was Tolui, Al Athir does not give the name of the son

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d Dupuy & Dupuy 1993, p. 366.
  2. ^ Şahin. M. A "Resurrectıon Story: War Of Parwan", Turkish Studies – International Periodical for the Languages, Literature and History of Turkish or Turkic, ISSN: 1308-2140, Volume 11/16 Fall 2016,
  3. ^ De Hartog 2004.
  4. ^ Mclynn, Frank (2015). Genghis Khan His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy. Da Capo Press. p. 306. ISBN 978-0-306-82396-1.
  5. ^ Jaques 2007, p. 778.
  6. ^ Sverdrup, Carl (2017), The Mongol Conquests The Military Operations of Genghis Khan and Sübe'etei, West Midlands: Helion & Company Limited
  7. ^ a b c Atwood, Christopher (2004), Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, United States of America: Facts On File, Inc, p. 436, ISBN 978-1-4381-2922-8
  8. ^ a b c Şahi̇n, Mustafa (2016). "Bir Yeniden Diriliş Öyküsü Parvan Şavaşı". Journal of Turkish Studies. 11: 115. doi:10.7827/TurkishStudies.9728.
  9. ^ De Hartog 2004, p. 113.
  10. ^ Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2010). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Vol.I. ABC-CLIO. p. 273
  11. ^ A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle, Vol. I, ed. Spencer C. Tucker, (ABC-CLIO, 2010), 273.
  12. ^ a b c Tucker 2015, p. 117.
  13. ^ Mclynn, Frank (2015), Genghis Khan His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy, Da Capo Press, p. 306, ISBN 978-0-306-82396-1
  14. ^ Sverdrup, Carl (2017), The Mongol Conquests The Military Operations of Genghis Khan and Sübe'etei, West Midlands: Helion & Company Limited, p. 162
  15. ^ Tanner 2009, p. 94.
  16. ^ Al-Athir, Ibn (1231). The Chronicle of Ibn al-Athir for the Crusading Period from al-Kamil fi'I-Ta'rikh. Translated by D. S. Richards. Part 3. London and New York. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group. p. 229 ISBN 9780754640790
  17. ^ Asayesh 2017, p. 118.
  18. ^ McLynn 2015, p. 368.
  19. ^ Tucker 2010, p. 273.
  20. ^ Toshmurodova, Sarvinoz Quvondiq qizi (July 2021). "Jaloliddin Manguberdi is a Great Country Defender" (PDF). JournalNX. 7 (7): 47–48 – via Novateur Publications.
  21. ^ Sverdrup, Carl (2017). The Mongol Conquests The Military Operations of Genghis Khan and Sübe'etei. West Midlands: Helion & Company Limited. Page 158
  22. ^ a b Sverdrup, Carl (2017). The Mongol Conquests The Military Operations of Genghis Khan and Sübe'etei. West Midlands: Helion & Company Limited. pp. 29, 163, 168. ISBN 978-1-910777-71-8.
  23. ^ Saunders 2001, p. 61.

Sources[]

  • Asayesh, Maryam Ebadi (2017). Patriarchy and Power in Magical Realism. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-0082-2.
  • De Hartog, Leo (2004). Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. Londres; Nueva York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 978-1-86064-972-1.
  • Dupuy, Trevor N.; Dupuy, R. Ernest (1993). The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History. Harper Collins Publishers.
  • Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: P-Z. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33539-6.
  • McLynn, Frank (2015). Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4464-4929-5. A violent dispute arose between Ighrak and Temur Melik over the distribution of the booty and, in particular, over possession of a treasured white horse...
  • Tanner, Stephen (2009). Afghanistan - A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War Against the Taliban. Da Capo Press. p. 94.
  • Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2010). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Vol. Vol.I. ABC-CLIO. {{cite book}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  • Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2015). Wars That Changed History: 50 of the World's Greatest Conflicts. Santa Bárbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 117. ISBN 9781610697866.
  • Saunders, J. J. (2001). The History of the Mongol Conquests. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1766-7. He actually succeeded in routing a Mongol detachment at Parwan near Kabul in Afghanistan , 39 an event which raised many false hopes and led to fatal uprisings against Mongol rule in Mery , Herat and elsewhere in the autumn of 1221 .
Retrieved from ""