1115 Great Saljuq sultan Muhammad (r ) sends expedition to aid Muslims against crusaders, opposed by Muslim rulers of Aleppo and Damascus. Subsequently Great Saljuq empire fragments Reign of ‘Abbasid caliph al-Nasir, who ruled much of Iraq independent of Saljuq control

Saljuq Sultanate of Rum Sanjar (r ) Merv

Map Link: The Muslim East around 1090: < rulership-and-justice/islamic-period/images/ rul-jus-islamic-period-13.jpgrul-jus-islamic-period-13.jpg>

1141 Qara-Khitai take Transoxiana Sanjar imprisoned by his troops 1156 Death of Sanjar. Khurasan fragments Late 12th/early 13th c. Khwarazm-Shahs of Khwarazm take W. Khurasan and Transoxiana

1164 Lord of Alamut Hasan II (r ) declares arrival of Last Day, becomes viewed as Imam, as do successors 1210 Imam Hasan III (r ) declares loyalty to Sunni Islam. Possibly a case of taqiyya (dissimulation)? 1221 Muhammad III reclaims position of Imam

1206 Temujin/Temuchin (Chinggis/Genghis Khan, r ) forms confederation of Mongol 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) chooses Ogedai (r ) as new Great Khan Batu invades Russia and E. Europe

Map Link: Animated Map of the Mongol Conquests: < ea/Mongol_Empire_map.gifea/Mongol_Empire_map.gif> Map Link: The Mongol Dominions, : < 3f/Mongol_dominions1.jpg/800px- Mongol_dominions1.jpgMongol_dominions1.jpg>

1241 Death of Ogedai. Batu returns to east 1243 Bayju Noyan defeats Saljuqs of Rum at Kose Dagh, turning region into Mongol protectorate 1255 Hulegu/Hulagu (d. 1265), brother of Great Khan Mongke (r ), launches invasion into Persia and Iraq 1256 Hulegu takes Alamut, destroys Persian Assassins

12th February 1258 Hulegu takes Baghdad, puts ‘Abbasid caliph al-Musta‘sim (r ) to death 1260 Hulegu takes Aleppo, then Damascus, then returns to east after death of Mongke July 1260 Mamluk sultan Qutuz/Kutuz (r ) sets out from Cairo with army. Advance party under Baybars scouts out Mongol army

3rd Sept 1260 Mamluks defeat Mongols at ‘Ayn Jalut. Baybars becomes Mamluk Sultan (r )

1261 Baybars installs al-Mustansir (r. 1261) as ‘Abbasid caliph in Cairo. ‘Abbasid caliphs reign in Cairo until Ruler of Golden Horde forms alliance with Baybars against ruler of Il-Khanate 1273 Baybars destroys Syrian Assassins 1281 Qalawun (r ) defeats army of Il-Khan Abaqa (r ) 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 ) ‘Izz al-Din Abu’l-Hasan ‘Ali ibn al-Athir Scholar and historian. Spent most of life in Mosul but also travelled a bit to study or with brother, who was a deputy of Saladin Wrote number of works. Best known is al-Kamil fi’l-Ta’rikh, a universal history from creation to 1231