Baghdad
Baghdad in 1258 was a metropolis without precedent in the known world. It was the epicenter of the Golden Age of Islam - a nearly five-century period of renaissance in domains like as medicine, military technology, philosophy, culture, and art, among others - and was easily the world's biggest and most affluent metropolis at the time.
The House of Wisdom, the city's major library, was considered to be the biggest store of knowledge ever assembled in one location at the time, encompassing information thought to be lost following the fall of ancient civilizations like as China, India, and Rome. Unfortunately, 1258 was also the year of Hulagu Khan, a fearsome-yet-brilliant Mongol leader, determined to invade the Levant, amassing probably the greatest Mongol army ever assembled to attack Baghdad.
For nearly a week following the invasion, Mongol forces raped, killed, and pillaged their way through Baghdad, destroying its world-class infrastructure. This was the destiny of most Mongol opponents who refused to surrender and instead opted to fight. The Caliph himself was rolled inside a carpet and crushed to death, bringing the glorious Islamic period and the Abbasid dynasty to a terrible and unexpected end.
By the end, the House of Wisdom, like most other structures in the city, had been completely destroyed, with all of its books either burned or thrown into the Tigris River. The devastation was so extensive that it would take generations to rebuild, much alone restore the city to its former splendour.
- Location: Baghdad, Iraq
- Stages: 29 January – 10 February 1258
- Deaths: N/A
