Siege and Sack of Baghdad

Hulagu Khan led a large Mongol army against Baghdad after the Abbasid caliph al-Musta’sim failed to meet Mongol demands. Siege works, artillery and coordinated assaults rapidly overwhelmed the city’s defences.

Baghdad surrendered in February 1258 and suffered extensive destruction, killing and enslavement. Al-Musta’sim was executed, ending the line of Abbasid caliphs who had ruled from Baghdad since the eighth century.