By Cooper Baltis

Had the UB Post been published 754 years ago the headline might have read something like this: Mongol Empire successfully invades Baghdad, ransacks the city, and kills upwards of 1,000,000 in less than 15 days.
Yes, it’s a long title, but this would have been long before modern journalism style guides, yet the title would have gotten the point across.
February 10 marks the 754th anniversary of the Mongol siege by led by Hugalu Khan, founder of the Ilkhanate Mongol forces and brother of then Mongol leader Möngke Khan. The 13th century destruction of Baghdad also marked the end of the Abbasid Caliphate, a dynasty of caliphs that ruled the Sunni Middle East for five centuries.
Sending Hugalu to what is now modern day Iran to discuss Mongol hegemony in the region in 1257, Möngke Khan hoped to establish a firm grip on the lucrative trade location of the Middle East. Before departing, Möngke told Hugalu that if the caliph refused, Baghdad would be the punishing grounds for the entire region.
Like the many who ended in graves quickly at the hands of the Mongol Empire, the caliph rejected Möngke’s the request for suzerainty.
By December 1257, a monstrous army led by Hulagu set out for Baghdad. The army consisted of Mongol and Chinese commanders, various Christian groups, most notably the Georgians, Persians, Armenians, Turkic soldiers, a thousand engineers and artillery experts and a slew of innovative siege weapons; a proverbial 13th century ‘Coalition of the Willing,’ to put it into modern equivocal terms.

Upon the eve of the siege, Möngke Kahn sent word to Hulagu to give Abbasid caliph, al-Musta’sim, one more chance to concede to Mongol demands and surrender. Al-Musta’sim refused and found Hulagu’s colossal army on both sides of the Tigris soon after. Possibly out of sheer hubris, al-Musta’sim prepared little for the sheer onslaught. He opted instead to hurl slander at Hulagu, rather than reinforce the walls surrounding Baghdad and bolster his army.
On February 10, 1258, what was left of Baghdad completely surrendered and al-Musta’sim was swiftly apprehended. According to famous Venetian Marco Polo, al-Musta’sim was likely wrapped in a carpet and bludgeoned to death. This act would have also agreed with the Mongol tradition of never spilling the blood of royalty.
The Abbasid Dynasty and what was known in history circles as the Golden Age of Islam were left in wake of the Mongol’s hoof prints. Mosques, the Grand Library of Baghdad, and elaborate palaces were completely pillaged, stripped of their heritage and beauty.
The millennia-old canal system was destroyed and used as military tactic points. Baghdad was depopulated and the center of the Islamic world at the time quickly found itself in Egypt.
To cast this with a modern spin, the Ilkhanate Mongol forces were able to do in less than a fortnight what the United States has been working on for nearly ten years now. The reason for this can be found in the complexity and agreed upon limitations of modern day warfare.
The entry point of foreign forces into Baghdad is something to note when comparing the modern siege of Baghdad, now a privatized affair, to those faithful days in 1258.
The Mongol forces came in droves from Antolia, heading southeast and pillaging along the way.
Using the Tigris as a focal point, Hulagu formed a classic pincer formation around Baghdad on January 29 and began pummeling the city with massive artillery from both sides. A week later saw the Mongol breaching the walls of the inner city and fielding off pleas of mercy from al-Musta’sim, which were quickly refused.
In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the United States sent Recon Marines into southern Iraq via Kuwait as soon as the ‘Shock and Awe Campaign’ started. The Marines replicated the German patented and Mongol inspired lightning warfare tactics (blitzkrieg), blazing through the country as quickly as possible and hoping to surprise Saddam in Baghdad.
Upon arriving in Baghdad the Marines were quickly detoured to other locations surrounding the city. The weeks following the siege saw the US Armed Forces experiencing heavy logistical problems due to managerial disputes, regional politics, and nebulous goals.
The outcome of a similar tactic, albeit from opposite directions, yielded highly divergent results. Where the Mongol forces succeeded in record time, the most recent intervention in the region drags on.
The key then to understanding what appears to be a modern day blunder lies in the basic psychology of warfare. The Ilkhanate Mongol forces were able to decimate Baghdad due to both the morale of the forces as well as the uninhibited way in which the Mongols warred.
Since the ‘Shock and Awe Campaign’ in 2003, the United States has been trying to ‘win the heart and minds of the Iraqi people.’ This included publicity stunts, fliers dropped from airplanes, radio announcements, and staged global unity events. The Mongols would have scoffed at this duplicity and if really pushed to come up with an answer, might have noted Möngke Kahn attempt to give al-Musta’sim two chances to surrender.
Further, while the modern soldier tries to avoid civilian casualties, which becomes increasingly difficult with urbanized warfare. The Mongol forces had no qualms about riding through a village like bats out of Hades snarling and spitting fire. Civilian casualties used to be a necessary evil of war, now they are an eyesore.
By hitting the city with everything they had and never once holding back for humanitarian purposes, the Mongols successfully extended hegemony though the Middle East. The West, by trying to do things as diplomatically as possible while waving a gun at someone, has yet to create stability in the region and insipient troubles with Iran are further complicating this endeavor.
754 years ago seems like a long time, yet the intervention in the region went on to have a profound effect on the world as we know it today. Had the Golden Age of Islam flourished, it might have extended further into modern day Europe and politics in the Middle East would be radically different. Mesopotamia would have modified the outcomes Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment and Shi’a Islam might not have had the chance to flourish in the absence of Sunni Islam.
A two week siege by the Mongols on Baghdad forever changed the course of human history, and while there have been gross miscalculations, a ten year siege by US Forces will likely do the same.