The Fall of Khwarzem

Miniature Folio: Changez Khan looks on as Sultan Jalal al Din flees across the Indus. Circa November, 1221.

Did you know that a king once saved his life by swimming across the Indus in his armour? It impressed Changez Khan so much that he forbade his soldiers from pursuing or shooting arrows at the said King. This anecdote is from the Battle of the Indus, between the Khwarzem Shah & the Mongols.

Jalal al Din, the son of Ala’adin Muhammad II was the eldest son and the crown prince of the Khwarzem Empire. Second in command to his father, he eventually became King. It did not come without struggles in court.  His mother, Ay Chichek, was a concubine. The Qipchak Princess and Walida-e-Sultan, Terken Khatun, favoured Jalal’s half-brother, Uzlagh, with Qipchak lineage instead. However, most loyalists to the throne pledged allegiance to Jalal al Din after the Empire began to collapse. 

Sultan Ala’adin had been engaged in a skirmish with the Mongol General, Jochi - a problem which sorted itself out, partly due to Jalal’s show of strategy, but led to distaste. When a Mongol trading caravan was seized in Otras, and envoys executed in the Capital, Gurganj, Changez Khan declared war on the Khwarzemshahis.  Sultan Ala’adin, as the king of a relatively nascent empire, still developing an administrative system, could have either gone to battle in an open field, and lost against Mongol might and discipline, or plan for defence. 

He decided to garrison troops in the major cities and raised a field army to harass the besieging Mongol forces. However, the Mongols tore through Khwarzem territory. Ostrar fell, followed by Bukhara and Samarkand.  General Jebeb and Subutai were dispatched by Changez Khan to pursue Sultan Ala’adin, who fled to Khorasan, only to meet his Creator soon after.

Jalal then took the throne, as the rightful successor, and returned to Gurganj to find the city in turmoil. He also received word that Tocharistan, Gharchistan and Guzgan had fallen. Meanwhile, Terken Khatun plotted a coup with the nobles, insistent on crowning Uzlagh.  Having been warned, Jalal al Din left the city with some 300 horsemen.

Whilst crossing the Karakum Desert, at Nesa, they attacked the garrison of a Mongol detachment. Two of Toghrachar’s brothers, son-in-law to the Khan, were slain in battle. Nishapur and Herat also fell, but in Ghazni, some 50,000 troops, loyal to Jalal al Din, assembled to greet him. His maternal uncle, Timur Malik, joined forces with Jalal, adding an additional 30,000 troops. Jalal also married his cousin, Timur’s daughter. To further strengthen the alliance. By this time, however, Balkh, Merv, and Gurganj had also fallen. 

Sultan Jalal al Aldin first rode to Qandahar, besieged by the Mongols, emerging victorious after two days of battle. He then moved towards the Hindukush, and the Battle of Wailiyan followed, just North of Charikar, where the Mongols were defeated once again. 

After that, in Parwan, the Shah fought the Mongols in a narrow valley - a strategic disadvantage to the Mongolian cavalry. After the battle however, Timur fell out with one of the Sultan’s commanders, Ighrak, and the infighting resulted in Jalal al Din losing half his army. Following Parwan and some other wins in the Hindukush, Sultan Jalal’s reputation was established, as was a fresh zeal to fight.

Kushtegin Pahalwan of Merv rebelled, and ousted the Mongol administration of the city. He and his men then marched on to successfully liberate Bukhara. Herat also rebelled.  Changez Khan marched to meet the Sultan from Bamiyan. Knowing that the chances of a win in an open battle were bleak, Sultan Jalal al Din took his men and moved towards the Indus, where battle followed.

Sultan Jalal al Din was defeated. The battle is believed to have been the last battle in the timeline of the fall of the Khwarzemshahis.  Jalal al Din escaped battle by swimming across the Indus, with some 4000 men. Whilst Changez Khan let him go, the rest of his troops, his harem, and his children were slaughtered. Merv was razed to the ground, never to breathe again. The defiance in Samarkand, Bukhara, and Herat was short-lived, and met with mass atrocities.