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Author Archives: Ruth
Möngke Builds Karakorum, 1251-4
In 1251, the Mongol Empire went through an internal coup. Temujin’s son Ögedei had died in 1241, and his widow got their son Güyük installed as Great Khan. But when Güyük died and his widow tried to do as her … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History E: the Mongols
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Reconquista in Andalusia, 1236-46
The Reconquista moved into final stages when King Ferdinand III of Castile and Toledo inherited the kingdoms of Leon and Galicia, in 1230. He was the wealthiest, most powerful Spanish king yet: he married first a princess from the Hohenstaufen … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History D: Crusades
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The Mamluk Revolution in Egypt, 1250
Under the last real Ayyubid Sultan, as-Salih, the Mamluk corps was built up to unprecedented size and strength. They were a neat solution to a political problem because as slaves, they did what they were told, but as people with … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History E: the Mongols
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The Saint and the Seventh Crusade, 1248-54
Of course, the Pope called a new crusade. But Europe was in bad shape for a Crusade. In the Sixth Crusade, the King of Hungary had led, but now Hungary was in ruins. Europe’s bad boy Frederick II was not … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History D: Crusades, Women
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The Sack of Jerusalem, 1244
When the Mongols invaded the land of Khwarezmia, south of the Aral Sea, they touched off a wave of ferocious refugees who had been the toughest kids on the block—until the Mongols showed them up. So bands of Khwarezmian fighters … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History D: Crusades, Islam History E: the Mongols
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Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes, 1244
Jalal ad-Din Mohammed al-Rumi was born in Balkh, Afghanistan in 1207. Balkh was one of the cities in Genghis Khan’s early sweep of eastern Islam. When Jalal was born, the Mongols were mopping up the eastern Silk Road cities of … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History E: the Mongols, Literature
Tagged poetry
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Prince Nevsky and Novgorod’s Battle on Ice, 1242
To the west of Moscow and east of Latvia and Estonia was the Novgorod Republic. Novgorod was ruled by a Prince who was appointed or elected by a strong city council, rather than inheriting the role automatically at birth. The Republic … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History D: Crusades, Islam History E: the Mongols
Tagged Aleksandr Nevsky, Novgorod, Teutonic Knights
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The Barons’ Crusade, 1239-41
Historians who later numbered the Crusades did something very odd at this point. Emperor Frederick II’s peaceful negotiation for a ten-year control of Jerusalem was the Sixth Crusade, but when that time ran out and a new army came to … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History D: Crusades, Islam History E: the Mongols
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Baba Ishak’s Revolt Softens up Turkish Defenses, 1239
I want to talk about a minor revolt that took place in Anatolia between 1239 and 1241 not because it’s important on the world stage, but because it illustrates very clearly the strains in the Muslim world at this time. … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History E: the Mongols
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The Khan’s Grandsons and the Golden Horde, 1236-41
The four ruling sons of Genghis Khan didn’t last long. Jochi, the controversial oldest son, died before his father. So already at the Great Khan’s death, grandsons had been assigned to rule parts of the western Empire. Batu was the … Continue reading
Posted in Islam History E: the Mongols
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