Mongol envoys slaughtered at Otrar

1218

The Khwarazmian governor of Otrar massacred a Mongol trade caravan and its envoys, accusing them of espionage. Genghis Khan, informed of the killings, reportedly climbed a hill and wept for three days before gathering his army and riding west. The governor's rash act unleashed the most destructive invasion the Islamic world had ever experienced, a catastrophe from which Central Asia would not recover for centuries.