1115 Great Saljuq sultan Muhammad(r. 1105-18) sends expedition to aidMuslims against crusaders, opposedby Muslim rulers of Aleppo andDamascus. Subsequently Great Saljuqempire fragments

1180-1225 Reign of ‘Abbasid caliphal-Nasir, who ruled much of Iraqindependent of Saljuq control

Saljuq Sultanate of Rum

Sanjar (r. 1118-56)

Merv

Map Link: The Muslim East around 1090:

<http://teachmiddleeast.lib.uchicago.edu/historical-perspectives/rulership-and-justice/islamic-period/images/rul-jus-islamic-period-13.jpg>

1141 Qara-Khitai take Transoxiana

1153-55 Sanjar imprisoned by his troops

1156 Death of Sanjar. Khurasan fragments

Late 12th/early 13th c. Khwarazm-Shahsof Khwarazm take W. Khurasan andTransoxiana

1164 Lord of Alamut Hasan II (r. 1162-66)declares arrival of Last Day, becomesviewed as Imam, as do successors

1210 Imam Hasan III (r. 1210-21) declaresloyalty to Sunni Islam. Possibly a caseof taqiyya (dissimulation)?

1221 Muhammad III reclaims position ofImam

1206 Temujin/Temuchin (Chinggis/GenghisKhan, r. 1206-27) forms confederation ofMongol tribes, launches armies into China

1219 Genghis Khan declares war on Khwarazm-Shahs. By 1227 has overthrown both Qara-Khitai and Khwarazm-Shahs

1229 Quriltai (Mongol tribal assembly) choosesOgedai (r. 1229-41) as new Great Khan

1236-41 Batu invades Russia and E. Europe

Map Link: Animated Map of the Mongol Conquests:

<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Mongol_Empire_map.gif>

Map Link: The Mongol Dominions, 1300-1405:

<http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Mongol_dominions1.jpg/800px-Mongol_dominions1.jpg>

1241 Death of Ogedai. Batu returns to east

1243 Bayju Noyan defeats Saljuqs of Rum atKose Dagh, turning region into Mongolprotectorate

1255 Hulegu/Hulagu (d. 1265), brother ofGreat Khan Mongke (r. 1251-60),launches invasion into Persia and Iraq

1256 Hulegu takes Alamut, destroys PersianAssassins

12th February 1258 Hulegu takes Baghdad,puts ‘Abbasid caliph al-Musta‘sim(r. 1242-58) to death

1260 Hulegu takes Aleppo, then Damascus,then returns to east after death of Mongke

July 1260 Mamluk sultan Qutuz/Kutuz(r. 1259-60) sets out from Cairo witharmy. Advance party under Baybarsscouts out Mongol army

3rd Sept 1260 Mamluks defeat Mongols at‘Ayn Jalut. Baybars becomesMamluk Sultan (r. 1260-77)

1261 Baybars installs al-Mustansir (r. 1261) as‘Abbasid caliph in Cairo. ‘Abbasid caliphsreign in Cairo until 1517

1262 Ruler of Golden Horde forms alliancewith Baybars against ruler of Il-Khanate

1273 Baybars destroys Syrian Assassins

1281 Qalawun (r. 1279-90) defeats army ofIl-Khan Abaqa (r. 1265-82) at Hims

Khanate of the Golden Horde

Chaghatay Khanate

Il-Khanate

Great Khanate of China and Mongolia

1282 Death of Abaqa from delirium tremens.Succeeded by brother Teguder Ahmad

1303 Mamluks defeat Mongols for third time,bring Mongol expansion to its end

Ibn al-Athir (d. 1160-1233)

‘Izz al-Din Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn al-Athir

Scholar and historian. Spent most of lifein Mosul but also travelled a bit tostudy or with brother, who was adeputy of Saladin

Wrote number of works. Best known isal-Kamil fi’l-Ta’rikh, a universal historyfrom creation to 1231