Mongols invade the Khwarazmian Empire

1219

Genghis Khan turned his full war machine against the wealthy Persianate empire of Sultan Muhammad II. Bukhara, Samarkand, and Merv fell in succession. Their libraries burned and their canals clogged with bodies. Central Asia's demographic and cultural arc bent sharply downward. Modern estimates suggest the Khwarazmian Empire lost between a quarter and a half of its population in under three years of Mongol campaigning.