The Mongols Take Maragha and Slaughter Its People

ملك التتر مراغة وقتل أهلها

c. 13 March 1221 CE · 4 Safar 618 AH

In Safar 618 the Mongols marched from the Georgian side into Azerbaijan; the lord of Tabriz placated them with money, garments and mounts, so they turned aside to Maragha and besieged it. It had no lord to defend it, its lord being a woman who resided in the fortress of Ruwindiz. They set up catapults and advanced. Their custom, when attacking a city, was to send the Muslim captives they had with them ahead to advance and fight; if the captives turned back, they killed them, so the killing fell on the captives while they themselves stayed out of reach. They camped before the city for some days, then took it by storm on 4 Safar and put its people to the sword, killing an uncountable number; they plundered what was useful and burned the rest. They would take captives and make them call out through the lanes that the Mongols had departed; whoever came out of hiding was seized and killed. Ibn al-Athir relates, from its people, that a Mongol man entered a lane where a hundred men were, and kept killing them one by one until he had finished them, and no one raised a hand against him, or humiliation would have been laid upon all people; and that a Mongol woman entered a house and killed a number of its people, who took her for a man. They then departed toward Irbil; news reached Mosul, and some of its people resolved to leave ¹.

Depth

At a glance

Era: The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
Region: Persia & Central Asia
Review: Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

In time

The Crusades, Ayyubids and Mamluks · The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era

Mongol invasions

Overview

In Safar 618 AH the Mongols marched from the direction of Georgia into Azerbaijan, besieged Maragha, took it by force on the fourth of Safar, and put its people to the sword. Ibn al-Athir relates this in "al-Kamil". ¹

Before the siege

The lord of Tabriz bought them off with money, clothes and animals, so they turned away from it toward Maragha. It had no lord to defend it, as its lady was a woman living in the citadel of Ruwindiz. They set up catapults against it and advanced. ¹

The assault

Ibn al-Athir says that it was their custom to put Muslim captives in front of them when they advanced. After some days they took the city, and killed of its people what "goes beyond counting", and plundered and burned. They ordered the captives to call out through the lanes that the Mongols had gone, and whoever came out of hiding was taken and killed. ¹

Ibn al-Athir reports two stories from its people: a Mongol man entered an alley where a hundred men were, and killed them one by one; and a woman among them killed a group while they thought she was a man. ¹

After Maragha

The Mongols moved toward Irbil, and news reached Mosul, and some of its people intended to leave. Badr al-Din Lu'lu, lord of Mosul, was told that the land feared him and that he had sent reinforcements. ¹

Date

Fourth of Safar 618 AH, with a Gregorian equivalent (around 13 March 1221 CE) that is derived. ²

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant: بدر الدين لؤلؤ صاحب الموصل

People and things also explored

The Mongols Enter Diyar Bakr and al-Jazira· Badr al-Din Lu'lu' takes Imadiyya and Harur· Badr al-Din Lu'lu' takes Shush castle· Badr al-Din Lu'lu' seizes Mosul, 621· Badr al-Din Lu'lu' Made Sultan at Mosul and the End of the Atabegid House in 631· al-Malik al-Salih Isma'il b. Lu'lu'· بدر الدين لؤلؤ صاحب الموصل· Jalal al-Din takes the city of Tiflis from the Georgians

Sources

al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 411-412
al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh of Ibn al-Athir , p. 411

Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “The Mongols Take Maragha and Slaughter Its People”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/mongol-sack-margha-618/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.

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The Mongols Enter Diyar Bakr and al-Jazira

In 628, after Jalal al-Din ibn Khwarazm-shah was routed by the Mongols at Amid, they plundered the countryside of Amid, Arzan and Mayyafariqin, then marched on the city of Sa'ird. Its people fought them until they were granted safe-conduct; they trusted and surrendered, and once the Mongols had them in their power they put them to the sword. Ibn al-Athir reports from a merchant that the dead were estimated at more than fifteen thousand. They did the same at Tanza, then went to the valley of al-Qurayshiyya, where a Kurdish group called the Qurayshiyya fought them, repelled them and held their ground, so the Mongols turned back without reaching their aim. They then marched unopposed to Mardin and plundered its countryside, while its people sheltered in the citadel; to Nusaybin of al-Jazira, where they stayed part of a day, plundered its environs and withdrew; to the mountains of Sinjar, the Khabur and 'Arabanan; and to the village of al-Mu'nisa, a day's march from Nusaybin on the way to Mosul, whose people took refuge in an inn, and the Mongols killed everyone in it. Ibn al-Athir also tells of a man who hid in a room full of straw and watched through a window: when they wished to kill someone, the victim said 'la billah' ('no, by God') and they killed him anyway. Later he saw them playing on horseback, laughing and singing in their own language, 'la billah'. He tells too of a man with seventeen companions who was met by a Mongol horseman ordering them to bind one another; none dared kill his companion until the man took a knife and killed him, and they escaped. They then went to Bidlis and burned the city after its people had fortified themselves in the citadel and the mountains; to Bakri, in the districts of Khilat, one of the strongest places, which they took by storm, killing all within; and to Arjish, where they did likewise in Dhu'l-Hijja. A group came from Azerbaijan into the districts of Irbil and on the way killed Turkmen of the Ayvā'iyya, Kurds and al-Jawzaqan, plundering the villages until they entered the land of Irbil. Muzaffar al-Din, lord of Irbil, marched out with his troops, seeking reinforcement from Mosul's forces; when he learned they had gone back to Azerbaijan, he stayed put and did not pursue them. The Mongols reached al-Karkhini and Daquqa and returned safely, no one having frightened them.