Irghiz River skirmish
Irghiz River skirmish | |||||||
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Part of the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Khwarazmian Empire | Mongol Empire | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Strength | |||||||
Between 6,000 and 60,000 | Between 14,000 and 40,000 |
The Irghiz River skirmish was a minor engagement fought between forces of the
The Mongol army, which possibly also included the general
Chronology
The skirmish is described in varying levels of detail by four separate chroniclers, who all attest to different dates. The Arab historian
Some historians propose that the battle took place in 1209; drawing upon sources such as the
Other historians suggest that the battle took place in 1218/19, following the accounts set down by al-Athir and Juvayni: this version emphasises the
Battle
Regardless of the year, it is certain that the Shah, having received news of large armies operating near his borders, assembled a force of his own and rode to meet them. Juvayni records that he reached the Irghiz river the day after the Mongols had defeated their tribal enemies, catching them off their guard; he indicates that the Mongols, who had been instructed by Genghis not to engage any local forces, tried to exchange plunder for safe passage.[4] Muhammad refused and forced a battle by overrunning the Mongol camp.[16]
The precise size of each force is highly disputed, not least because it varies depending on the selected chronology. Chroniclers such as Nasawi place the Sultan's force at 60,000 and the Mongol force at 20,000.[2] Leo De Hartog has proposed that Jebe was not present at the battle but maintains the Mongol figure of 20,000.[17] Sverdrup has proposed much lower totals of between five and fifteen thousand soldiers on each side.[16] He theorizes that the Khwarazmian forces were slightly stronger than the Mongols and may in fact have been outnumbered.[18]
The dispositions of each force also depend on the selected chronology. While in both versions, the two overall commanders are the Shah and Subutai, in the 1219 version Jalal al-Din and Jochi would have commanded their respective right wings, with Jebe, if present, on the left.[13] When joined, the battle was fairly even, but both right flanks succeeded in pushing back their respective opponents. It is clear from both Juvayni and Nasawi that the Shah was left momentarily isolated in the centre; however, a cavalry charge from his right wing, possibly led by his son Jalal al-Din, managed to force the enemy back.[2][4] Subutai's biography in the Yuán Shǐn records that "Jebe fought an unsuccessful engagement".[19]
The indecisive engagement was stopped by the onset of night. The Shah believed that fighting would resume the next day but found at dawn that the Mongols had abandoned their camp and headed homewards;
References
- ^ al-Athir, p. 207.
- ^ a b c al-Nasawi, chapter 4.
- ^ Juzjani, 267.
- ^ a b c Juvaini, pp. 369–373.
- ^ Barthold 1968, pp. 365–366.
- ^ Barthold 1968, p. 367.
- ^ Jackson 2009, p. 31.
- ^ a b May 2018, pp. 58–61.
- ^ Buell 1992, pp. 8–9.
- ^ Atwood 2004, pp. 306–7.
- ^ Buell 1992, pp. 10–14, 24–26.
- ^ Dafeng & Jianyi 1998, p. 285.
- ^ a b Sverdrup 2017, pp. 187–190.
- ^ Buniyatov 2015, pp. 109–110.
- ^ Buell 1992, p. 24.
- ^ a b Sverdrup 2013, p. 37.
- ^ a b De Hartog 1989, p. 89.
- ^ Sverdrup 2010, pp. 109–117.
- ^ a b Buell 1992, p. 16.
- ^ Barthold 1968, p. 372.
Bibliography
Medieval
- al-Athir, Ibn. الكامل في التاريخ [The Complete History] (in Arabic). Vol. XII. Translated by Richards, Donald Sidney.
- Juvaini, Ata-Malik. Tarikh-i Jahangushay تاریخ جهانگشای [History of the World Conqueror] (in Persian). Vol. 2. Translated by Andrew Boyle, John.
- Juzjani, Minhaj-i Siraj. Tabaqat-i Nasiri طبقات ناصری (in Persian). Vol. XXIII. Translated by Raverty, H. G.
- al-Nasawi, Shihab al-Din Muhammad. Sirah al-Sultan Jalal al-Din Mankubirti [Biography of Sultan Jalal al-Din Mankubirti] (in Arabic). Translated by Buniyatov, Z. M.
Modern
- Atwood, Christopher P. (2004). "Khorazm". Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire. New York: Facts on File. OCLC 249678944. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
- OCLC 4523164.
- Buell, Paul D. (1992). "Early Mongol Expansion in Western Siberia and Turkestan (1207-1219): A Reconstruction". Central Asiatic Journal. 36 (1). Harrassowitz Verlag: 1–32. JSTOR 41927806.
- ISBN 978-9943-357-21-1.
- Dafeng, Qu; Jianyi, Liu (1998). "On Some Problems Concerning Jochi's Lifetime". JSTOR 41928156.
- De Hartog, Leo (1989). Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. ISBN 1-86064-972-6.
- ISBN 9781139056045.
- May, Timothy (2018). "The Mongols outside Mongolia". The Mongol Empire. JSTOR 10.3366/j.ctv1kz4g68.11.
- Sverdrup, Carl (2010). France, John; JSTOR 10.7722/j.ctt7zstnd.6. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
- Sverdrup, Carl (2013). "Sübe'etei Ba'atur, Anonymous Strategist". Journal of Asian History. 47 (1). Harrassowitz Verlag: 33–49. .
- Sverdrup, Carl (2017). The Mongol Conquests: The Military Campaigns of Genghis Khan and Sübe'etei. Helion & Company. ISBN 978-1913336059.