After his father Tekish died, Muhammad succeeded him. Right after his accession, however, his domains were invaded by the two Ghurid brothers Ghiyath al-Din Ghori and Mu'izz al-Din. Within weeks, the two brothers had moved their armies westwards into Khorasan. Once they had captured Nishapur, Mu'izz al-Din was sent on an expedition towards Ray, but he let his troops get out of control and got little further than Gurgan, earning criticism from Ghiyath which led to the only reported quarrel between the brothers.[2][3]
Ghiyath died at Herat in 1203 after months of illness. Muhammad II used this opportunity to invade the domains of the Ghurid Empire, and besieged Herat. Mu'izz, however, managed to repel him from Herat and then pursued him to Khwarezm, besieging Gurganj, his capital. Muhammad desperately requested aid from the Kara-Khitan Khanate, who sent an army to aid Muhammad. Mu'izz, because of the pressure from the Kara-Khitans, was forced to relieve the siege and retreat. However, on his way to his domains in Ghur, he was defeated in Battle of Andkhud in 1204.[4][5] Mu'izz al-Din was later assassinated in 1206, throwing the Ghurid Empire into a civil war. During the civil war, Ghiyath al-Din Mahmud managed to emerge victorious.
However, Ghiyath's Turkic general Taj al-Din Yildiz seized Ghazni from the Ghurid rulers of Bamiyan, but shortly recognized the authority of Ghiyath. Ghiyath, not glad about Tajuddin controlling Ghazni, and not daring to leave Ghur unprotected, requested help from the Muhammad II. Muhammad, however, instead invaded the domains of Ghiyath, capturing Balkh and Tirmidh.[6] However, during his invasion he was captured by the Kara-Khitan Khanate. Thirteen months later, Muhammad was freed from captivity, and once again invaded the domains of Ghiyath, and captured Herat. Muhammad then invaded the Ghurid heartland of Ghur, and captured Ghiyath. Ghiyath then agreed to recognize Muhammad's authority.
A coin of 'Ala al-Din Muhammad II citing Abbasid caliph al-Nasir and minted in the newly conquered Ghurid capital of Ghazni.
Muhammad II then captured Samarkand in 1207 from the Kara Khitay, Tabaristan in 1210 from Bavandids and Transoxiana from Western Karakhanids. He pursued expansionist policy and conquered Tashkent and Fergana from Western Karakhanids and regions of Makran and Balochistan from Ghurids and Atabegs of Azerbaijan become his vassals in 1211. He finally destroyed Western Karakhanids in 1212 and Ghurids in 1215 annexing with their remainder territories. During 1212 the city of Samarkand revolted killing 8,000–10,000 Khwarezmians living there. Muhammad, in retaliation, sacked the city and executed 10,000 citizens of Samarkand.[7]
By 1217, he had conquered all the lands from the river Jaxartes to the Persian Gulf. He declared himself shah and demanded formal recognition from the caliph in Baghdad. When the caliph an-Nasir rejected his claim, Ala ad-Din Muhammad gathered an army and marched towards Baghdad to depose an-Nasir. However, when crossing the Zagros Mountains, the shah's army was caught in a blizzard.[7] Thousands of warriors died. With the army decimated, the generals had no choice but to return home.
FallEdit
In 1218, a small contingent of Mongols crossed borders in pursuit of an escaped enemy general. Upon successfully retrieving him, Genghis Khan made contact with the Shah. Having only recently conquered two-thirds of what would one day be China, Genghis was looking to open trade relations, but having heard exaggerated reports of the Mongols, the Shah believed this gesture was only a ploy to invade his land. Genghis sent emissaries to Khwarezm (reports vary – one stating a group of 100 Muslim merchants with a single Mongol leading them, others state 450) to emphasize his hope for a trade road. The Shah, in turn, had one of his governors (Inalchuq, his uncle) openly accuse the party of spying, their rich goods were seized and the party was arrested.[8]
Trying to maintain diplomacy, Genghis sent an envoy of three men to the Shah, to give him a chance to disclaim all knowledge of the governor's actions and hand him over to the Mongols for punishment. The shah executed the envoy (again, some sources claim one man was executed, some claim all three were), and then immediately had the Mongol merchant party (Muslim and Mongol alike) put to death and their goods seized.[9] These events led Genghis to retaliate with a force of 100,000 to 150,000 men that crossed the Jaxartes in 1219 and sacked the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, Otrar and others. Muhammad's capital city, Urgench, followed soon after.
^Mohammad Habib (1992). "THE KHWARAZMIAN EMPIRE". In Mohammad Habib; Khaliq Ahmad Nizami (eds.). A Comprehensive History of India: The Delhi Sultanat (A.D. 1206-1526). Vol. 5 (Second ed.). The Indian History Congress / People's Publishing House. p. 42. OCLC 31870180. Taksh's sucçessor, Alauddin Muhammnad Khwarazm Shah, styled "the Second Alexander (1200-20), was the Jast of the old type of Emperor-Sultans, for Timur does not belong to this category
^Ahmad Hasan Dani et al. History of civilizations of Central Asia, vol. IV, Delhi, Motilal Banarsidass Pub. (1999) ISBN81-208-1409-6, p182
^Man, John (2005). Genghis Khan: Life, Death and Resurrection. Bantam. p. 176. ISBN978-0-553-81498-9.
Further readingEdit
Bosworth, C. E. (1968). "The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World (A.D. 1000–1217)". In Frye, R. N. (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 5: The Saljuq and Mongol periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–202. ISBN0-521-06936-X.
muhammad, khwarazm, alā, muhammad, persian, علاءالدین, محمد, خوارزمشاه, full, name, dunya, abul, fath, muhammad, sanjar, tekish, shah, khwarazmian, empire, from, 1200, 1220, ancestor, anushtegin, gharchai, turkic, ghulam, eventually, became, viceroy, small, pr. Ala al Din Muhammad Persian علاءالدین محمد خوارزمشاه full name Ala ad Dunya wa ad Din Abul Fath Muhammad Sanjar ibn Tekish was the Shah of the Khwarazmian Empire from 1200 to 1220 His ancestor was Anushtegin Gharchai a Turkic Ghulam who eventually became a viceroy of a small province named Khwarizm He is perhaps best known for inciting the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire which resulted in the utter destruction of his empire Muhammad IIThe Second Alexander 1 Gold dinar of Ala ad Din Muhammad II struck at the Bukhara mintShah of KhwarezmReign1200 1220Coronation1200PredecessorTekishSuccessorJalal al Din MangburniCo rulerTerken KhatunBorn1169Died1220 aged 50 51 Abaskun Hyrcania Region near Caspian Sea now IranSpouseAy Chichek KhatunIssueJalal ad Din ManguberdiNamesLaqab Ala ad Din shortly Iskandar i SaniKunya Abul FathGiven name MuhammadTurkic nickname SanjarNasab Muhammad ibn Tekish ibn Il Arslan ibn Atsiz ibn Muhammad ibn AnushteginHouseHouse of AnushteginFatherTekishMotherTerken KhatunReligionSunni Islam Contents 1 Reign 2 Fall 3 Death 4 References 5 Further readingReign EditAfter his father Tekish died Muhammad succeeded him Right after his accession however his domains were invaded by the two Ghurid brothers Ghiyath al Din Ghori and Mu izz al Din Within weeks the two brothers had moved their armies westwards into Khorasan Once they had captured Nishapur Mu izz al Din was sent on an expedition towards Ray but he let his troops get out of control and got little further than Gurgan earning criticism from Ghiyath which led to the only reported quarrel between the brothers 2 3 Ghiyath died at Herat in 1203 after months of illness Muhammad II used this opportunity to invade the domains of the Ghurid Empire and besieged Herat Mu izz however managed to repel him from Herat and then pursued him to Khwarezm besieging Gurganj his capital Muhammad desperately requested aid from the Kara Khitan Khanate who sent an army to aid Muhammad Mu izz because of the pressure from the Kara Khitans was forced to relieve the siege and retreat However on his way to his domains in Ghur he was defeated in Battle of Andkhud in 1204 4 5 Mu izz al Din was later assassinated in 1206 throwing the Ghurid Empire into a civil war During the civil war Ghiyath al Din Mahmud managed to emerge victorious However Ghiyath s Turkic general Taj al Din Yildiz seized Ghazni from the Ghurid rulers of Bamiyan but shortly recognized the authority of Ghiyath Ghiyath not glad about Tajuddin controlling Ghazni and not daring to leave Ghur unprotected requested help from the Muhammad II Muhammad however instead invaded the domains of Ghiyath capturing Balkh and Tirmidh 6 However during his invasion he was captured by the Kara Khitan Khanate Thirteen months later Muhammad was freed from captivity and once again invaded the domains of Ghiyath and captured Herat Muhammad then invaded the Ghurid heartland of Ghur and captured Ghiyath Ghiyath then agreed to recognize Muhammad s authority A coin of Ala al Din Muhammad II citing Abbasid caliph al Nasir and minted in the newly conquered Ghurid capital of Ghazni Muhammad II then captured Samarkand in 1207 from the Kara Khitay Tabaristan in 1210 from Bavandids and Transoxiana from Western Karakhanids He pursued expansionist policy and conquered Tashkent and Fergana from Western Karakhanids and regions of Makran and Balochistan from Ghurids and Atabegs of Azerbaijan become his vassals in 1211 He finally destroyed Western Karakhanids in 1212 and Ghurids in 1215 annexing with their remainder territories During 1212 the city of Samarkand revolted killing 8 000 10 000 Khwarezmians living there Muhammad in retaliation sacked the city and executed 10 000 citizens of Samarkand 7 By 1217 he had conquered all the lands from the river Jaxartes to the Persian Gulf He declared himself shah and demanded formal recognition from the caliph in Baghdad When the caliph an Nasir rejected his claim Ala ad Din Muhammad gathered an army and marched towards Baghdad to depose an Nasir However when crossing the Zagros Mountains the shah s army was caught in a blizzard 7 Thousands of warriors died With the army decimated the generals had no choice but to return home Fall EditIn 1218 a small contingent of Mongols crossed borders in pursuit of an escaped enemy general Upon successfully retrieving him Genghis Khan made contact with the Shah Having only recently conquered two thirds of what would one day be China Genghis was looking to open trade relations but having heard exaggerated reports of the Mongols the Shah believed this gesture was only a ploy to invade his land Genghis sent emissaries to Khwarezm reports vary one stating a group of 100 Muslim merchants with a single Mongol leading them others state 450 to emphasize his hope for a trade road The Shah in turn had one of his governors Inalchuq his uncle openly accuse the party of spying their rich goods were seized and the party was arrested 8 Death of Muhammad II of Khwarezm From Jami al tawarikh by Rashid al Din HamadaniTrying to maintain diplomacy Genghis sent an envoy of three men to the Shah to give him a chance to disclaim all knowledge of the governor s actions and hand him over to the Mongols for punishment The shah executed the envoy again some sources claim one man was executed some claim all three were and then immediately had the Mongol merchant party Muslim and Mongol alike put to death and their goods seized 9 These events led Genghis to retaliate with a force of 100 000 to 150 000 men that crossed the Jaxartes in 1219 and sacked the cities of Samarkand Bukhara Otrar and others Muhammad s capital city Urgench followed soon after Death EditAla ad Din Muhammad fled and sought refuge throughout Khorasan citation needed and later died of pleurisy on an island in the Caspian Sea near the port of Abaskun some weeks later citation needed References Edit Mohammad Habib 1992 THE KHWARAZMIAN EMPIRE In Mohammad Habib Khaliq Ahmad Nizami eds A Comprehensive History of India The Delhi Sultanat A D 1206 1526 Vol 5 Second ed The Indian History Congress People s Publishing House p 42 OCLC 31870180 Taksh s successor Alauddin Muhammnad Khwarazm Shah styled the Second Alexander 1200 20 was the Jast of the old type of Emperor Sultans for Timur does not belong to this category Ahmad Hasan Dani et al History of civilizations of Central Asia vol IV Delhi Motilal Banarsidass Pub 1999 ISBN 81 208 1409 6 p182 Enc Islam article Muhammad Mu izz al Din A Global Chronology of Conflict From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle Vol I ed Spencer C Tucker ABC CLIO 2010 269 Farooqui Salma Ahmed A Comprehensive History of Medieval India From Twelfth to the Mid Eighteenth Century Dorling Kindersley Pvt 2011 53 54 Michel Biran The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History Cambridge University Press 2005 70 a b Rafis Abazov Palgrave Concise Historical Atlas of Central Asia Palgrave Macmillan 2008 43 Svat Soucek 2002 A History of Inner Asia Cambridge University Press pp 106 ISBN 0 521 65704 0 Man John 2005 Genghis Khan Life Death and Resurrection Bantam p 176 ISBN 978 0 553 81498 9 Further reading EditBosworth C E 1968 The Political and Dynastic History of the Iranian World A D 1000 1217 In Frye R N ed The Cambridge History of Iran Volume 5 The Saljuq and Mongol periods Cambridge Cambridge University Press pp 1 202 ISBN 0 521 06936 X Muhammad II of KhwarazmHouse of AnushteginBorn 1169 Died 1220Regnal titlesPreceded byTekish Shah of the Khwarezmian Empire1200 1220 Succeeded byManguberdi Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Muhammad II of Khwarazm amp oldid 1172699345, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
