Battle of Parwan

The Battle of Parwan was fought in 1221 between Sultan Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu of the Khwarezmid Empire and the Mongol Empire commanded by Genghis Khan's adopted brother Shikhikhutag.[2]

Battle of Parwan
Part of the Mongol invasion of Central Asia
Date1221
Location
Parwan Afghanistan
Result Khwarezmian victory
Belligerents
Mongol Empire Khwarezmian Empire
Commanders and leaders
Shikhikhutug Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu
Strength
30,000[1] 60,000[1]
Casualties and losses
over half their army Unknown

Battle

Following the Mongol invasion of Khwarezm, Jalal ad-Din was forced to flee towards the Hindukush, where he began to muster additional troops to face the Mongols. With the arrival of over 30,000 Afghan warriors.[3] His strength reportedly was between 30,000[4] and 60,000 men.[1] Genghis Khan sent his chief justice Shikhikhutag to hunt down Jalal al-Din, but only gave the rookie general 30,000 troops.[5] Shikhikhutag was overconfident after the continuous Mongol successes, and he quickly found himself on the back foot against the much more numerous Khwarezmian force. The battle took place in a narrow valley, which was unsuitable for the Mongol cavalry. Jalal al-Din had mounted archers, whom he ordered to dismount and fire on the Mongols. Because of the narrow terrain, the Mongols could not use their normal tactics. To deceive the Khwarezmians, Shikhikhutag mounted straw warriors on spare remounts, which may have spared him from a killing stroke, but he was still driven off in defeat losing over half his army.[6]

However, the Khwarezmian prince did not prove himself as able in victory as he had been in defeat. In a dispute over the spoils, a Mongolian white horse, between his father-in-law and a Khwarezmian chief, he sided with his father-in-law. Many of the Afghan warriors left their campfire burning and left the same night, despite being completely exhausted by the day's fighting.[5][3] Having been abandoned by many thousands of men, Jalal ad-Din retreated the next day towards the east.[7]

Aftermath

Jalal ad-Din left Parwan for the Punjab with only 30,000 men after the Afghans abandoned him.[5] When Genghis Khan heard of the news of Shigi Qutugu's defeat, he immediately made forced marches to catch Jalal al Din before he escaped into India. Genghis marched with Shigi Qutugu and instructed him on where he had gone wrong at the battleground. The Shah attempted to cross Indus river to the area north of the present city of Kalabagh, Pakistan. However, the Mongols caught up with him on the banks of the Indus and defeated him what in now referred to as the Battle of Indus.[8]

The Battle of Parwan had grave repercussions in Afghanistan and Iran since the illusion of Mongol invincibility had been broken. Cities that had peacefully surrendered rose up in arms, which forced Genghis and his son Tolui to spend extra months to subdue the revolts.[9]

References
  1. Dupuy & Dupuy 1993, p. 366.
  2. Jaques 2007, p. 778.
  3. Asayesh 2017, p. 118.
  4. De Hartog 2004, p. 113.
  5. Tucker 2015, p. 117.
  6. Tanner 2009, p. 94.
  7. McLynn 2015, p. 368.
  8. Tucker 2010, p. 273.
  9. Saunders 2001, p. 61.

Sources
  • Asayesh, Maryam Ebadi (2017). Patriarchy and Power in Magical Realism. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 978-1-5275-0082-2.
  • De Hartog, Leo (2004). Genghis Khan: Conqueror of the World. Londres; Nueva York: Tauris Parke Paperbacks. ISBN 978-1-86064-972-1.
  • Dupuy, Trevor N.; Dupuy, R. Ernest (1993). The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History. Harper Collins Publishers.
  • Jaques, Tony (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: P-Z. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33539-6.
  • McLynn, Frank (2015). Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4464-4929-5. A violent dispute arose between Ighrak and Temur Melik over the distribution of the booty and, in particular, over possession of a treasured white horse...
  • Tanner, Stephen (2009). Afghanistan - A Military History from Alexander the Great to the War Against the Taliban. Da Capo Press. p. 94.
  • Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2010). A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. Vol.I. ABC-CLIO.
  • Tucker, Spencer C., ed. (2015). Wars That Changed History: 50 of the World's Greatest Conflicts. Santa Bárbara: ABC-CLIO. p. 117. ISBN 9781610697866.
  • Saunders, J. J. (2001). The History of the Mongol Conquests. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1766-7. He actually succeeded in routing a Mongol detachment at Parwan near Kabul in Afghanistan , 39 an event which raised many false hopes and led to fatal uprisings against Mongol rule in Mery , Herat and elsewhere in the autumn of 1221 .
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