The Day Baghdad Burned: Hulagu's Siege of 1258

On January 29, 1258, the Mongol army under Hulagu Khan breached the walls of Baghdad, ending the Abbasid Caliphate and destroying centuries of knowledge. This episode explores the final days of the city through the eyes of Ibn al-Furat, the last great vizier who tried to negotiate a peaceful surrender with the Ilkhanate commander. We examine the military strategy that turned the Tigris River into a moat, the political fractures within the Caliph’s court, and the shocking execution of the last caliph, al-Musta'sim. While popular history focuses on the burning of the House of Wisdom, we look at the human cost of the siege, the survival of specific scholarly lineages, and how the destruction reshaped the intellectual landscape of the Middle East for generations to come. #HulaguKhan #AbbasidCaliphate #BaghdadSiege1258 #IbnalFurat #MongolInvasion #Ilkhanate #alMustasim #TigrisRiver #HouseOfWisdom #BaytAlHikma #MedievalMiddleEast #IslamicHistory #YersiniaPestis #TimurLenk #Jalayirids #IbnKhaldun #GenoaTrade #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo