Genghis Khan’s invasion

At the war council Jalaluddin and Temur Malik proposed gathering forces and striking the enemy, but Sultan Muhammad chose defensive tactics, scattering his army among the cities, which left the country in danger. In autumn 1219 the Mongols besieged Otrar (five months according to the sources), and Ghayirkhan was captured and executed. In February 1220 Bukhara was taken, plundered and burned, and in March Samarkand fell too. Temur Malik, governor of Khujand, organised the city’s defence, in the end fought on an island in the Syr Darya and set off in boats towards Khwarazm. In early 1221 the Mongols besieged the Khwarazmian capital Urgench; the city resisted for about seven months, and the sheikh Najmuddin Kubra (1145–1221) died in the fighting. According to tradition he refused the Mongols’ offer to leave the city. After Urgench surrendered it was destroyed and craftsmen were sent to Mongolia. Casualty figures differ between sources and are sometimes exaggerated, so numbers should be treated with caution.