Battle of Köse Dağ
Battle of Köse Dağ | |||||||
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Part of the Mongol invasions of Anatolia | |||||||
![]() The Mongols chasing the Seljuqs. Hayton of Corycus, Fleur des histoires d'orient. | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Mongol Empire Armenian & Georgian mercenaries[1] |
Seljuq Sultanate of Rum Georgian auxiliaries Trapezuntine auxiliaries Latin mercenaries | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Baiju Noyan |
Kaykhusraw II Pharadavla of Akhaltsikhe Dardin Shervashidze † | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
30,000[3][4]–40,000[5][6] |
60,000[3][6]–80,000[4] (20,000–25,000 participated, the rest deserted)[5][7][8][9] | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
5,000 approx. | 3,000[5] |
The Battle of Köse Dağ was fought between the Sultanate of Rum ruled by the Seljuq dynasty and the Mongol Empire on June 26, 1243, at the defile of Köse Dağ, a location between Erzincan and Gümüşhane in modern northeastern Turkey.[10][11] The Mongols achieved a decisive victory.
Background
During the reign of Ögedei Khan, the Sultanate of Rum offered friendship and a modest tribute to Chormaqan, a kheshig and one of the Mongols' greatest generals.[12] Under Kaykhusraw II, however, the Mongols began to pressure the sultan to go to Mongolia in person, give hostages, and accept a Mongol darughachi.
Location
Historian Gregory of Akner writes that the battle took place in a field between Erzurum and Erzincan, while Kirakos of Gandzak states that it took place close to a village called Chʻmankatuk, which may refer to modern-day Üzümlü (formerly Cimin) in the Erzincan Province of Turkey.[13] Rashid al-Din Hamadani and other sources call the site of the battle Köse Dağ, which means "bald" or "beardless mountain" in Turkish.[13]
Battle
Under the leadership of Baiju, the Mongol commander, the Mongols attacked Rum in the winter of 1242–1243 and seized the city of Erzurum. Sultan Kaykhusraw II immediately called on his neighbours to contribute troops to resist the invasion. The Empire of Trebizond sent a detachment and the sultan engaged a group of "Frankish" (Western European) mercenaries.[14] Due to internal disagreements about the war, King Hethum I of Armenian Cilicia delayed joining Kaykhusraw's army, which left without him.[13] A few Georgian nobles such as Pharadavla of Akhaltsikhe and Dardin Shervashidze also joined him, but most Georgians were compelled to fight alongside their Mongol overlords. The Georgian-Armenian contingent within the Mongol army included Hasan-Jalal I, the ruler of Khachen.[13]
The decisive battle was fought at Köse Dağ on June 26, 1243. Various figures are given in the primary sources for the size of the opposing armies, all with the Seljuqs outnumbering the Mongols:[15] 160,000 or 200,000 for the sultan's army (which are certainly exaggerations) and 30,000 or 10,000 for the Mongol force.[13] 80,000 and 30,000 for the sizes of the Seljuq and Mongol armies, respectively, are the more likely numbers.[13] Baiju brushed aside an apprehensive notice from his Georgian officer regarding the size of the Seljuq army, stating that they counted as nothing the numbers of their enemies: "the more they are, the more glorious it is to win, and the more plunder we shall secure".[16]
Kaykhusraw II rejected the proposal of his experienced commanders to wait for the Mongol attack. Instead, he sent a force of 20,000 men, led by inexperienced commanders, against the Mongol army.[7] The Mongol army, feigning retreat, turned back, encircled the Seljuq army and defeated it.[9]
When the rest of the Seljuq army witnessed their defeat, many Seljuq commanders and their soldiers, including Kaykhusraw II, started to abandon the battlefield.[7] Eventually, the Seljuq army was left without leaders and most of their soldiers had deserted, without seeing any combat.[7][9]
Aftermath
After their victory, the Mongols took control of the cities of Sivas and Kayseri. The sultan fled to Ankara but was subsequently forced to make peace with Baiju and pay a substantial tribute to the Mongol Empire.[13]
The defeat resulted in a period of turmoil in Anatolia and led directly to the decline and disintegration of the Seljuq state. The Empire of Trebizond became a vassal state of the Mongol Empire. Furthermore, the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia became a vassal state of the Mongols.[17] Real power over Anatolia was exercised by the Mongols.[18]
References
- ^ John Freely, Children of Achilles: The Greeks in Asia Minor since the Days of Troy, (I.B. Tauris, 2010), 143.
- ^ Enver Behnan Şapolyo: Selçuklu İmparatorluğu tarihi, Güven Matbaasi, 1972, page 191 (in Turkish)
- ^ a b S. Burhanettin Akbaş: Kayseri yöresine yerleşen Türk boyları ve akraba topluluklar, Geçit, 1997, page 45 (in Turkish) [Source states= Mongol army: 30,000 men; Seljuq army: 70,000 men]
- ^ a b Ali Çimen, Göknur Akçadağ Göğebakan: Tarihi değiştiren savaşlar (engl.: Wars that changed history) ,Timaş Yayınevi, 2. Edition, 2007, ISBN 975-263-486-9, pg 134 (in Turkish) [Source states= Mongol army: 30,000 men; Seljuq army: 80,000 men]
- ^ a b c Hüseyin Köroğlu: Konya ve Anadolu medreseleri, Fen Yayınevi, 1999, pages 29, 367. (in Turkish)
- ^ a b Anadolu University, I. Uluslararası Seyahatnamelerde Türk ve Batı İmajı Sempozyumu belgeleri: 28. X-1 XI. 1985, page 28 (in Turkish) [Source states: Mongol army= 40,000 men; Seljuq army= 60,000 men]
- ^ a b c d Ali Sevim, Erdoğan Merçil: Selçuklu devletleri tarihi: siyaset, teşkilât ve kültür, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 1995, ISBN 9789751606907, page 472 (in Turkish)
- ^ Murat Ocak: The Turks: Middle ages, Yeni Türkiye, 2002, ISBN 9756782552
- ^ a b c Nuri Ünlü: İslâm tarihi 1, Marmara Üniversitesi, İlâhiyat Fakültesi Vakfı, 1992, ISBN 9755480072, page 492. (in Turkish)
- ^ Anthony Bryer and David Winfield, The Byzantine Monuments and Topography of the Pontos, vol. 1, (Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 1985) 172, 353.
- ^ Köy Köy Türkiye Yol Atlası (Istanbul: Mapmedya, 2006), map 61.
- ^ C. P. Atwood, Encyclopedia of Mongolia and the Mongol Empire, p. 555
- ^ a b c d e f g Dashdondog, Bayarsaikhan (2011). The Mongols and the Armenians (1220–1335). Leiden & Boston: Brill. pp. 61–63, 76. ISBN 978-90-04-18635-4.
- ^ Claude Cahen, Pre-Ottoman Turkey: a general survey of the material and spiritual culture and history, trans. J. Jones-Williams, (New York: Taplinger, 1968) 137.
- ^ Claude Cahen, “Köse Dagh” Encyclopaedia of Islam, ed. by P. Bearman, et al. (Brill 2007)
- ^ Henry Desmond Martin, "The Mongol army", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1943/1-2, pp. 46–85
- ^ İdris Bal, Mustafa Çufalı: Dünden bugüne Türk Ermeni ilişkileri, Nobel, 2003, ISBN 9755914889, page 61.
- ^ Josef W. Meri, Jere L. Bacharach-Medieval Islamic Civilization: A-K, index, p.442
External links
- Kirakos of Gandzak: History of Armenia (part 35) 13th century
- History of Anatolian Seljuks
- Articles with Turkish-language sources (tr)
- Articles with short description
- Coordinates not on Wikidata
- Battles involving the Mongol Empire
- Battles involving the Sultanate of Rum
- Battles involving the Kingdom of Georgia
- Battles in medieval Anatolia
- Conflicts in 1243
- History of Erzincan Province
- History of Gümüşhane Province
- Battles involving the Empire of Trebizond
- 1243 in Asia
- 1243 in Europe
- 13th century in the Kingdom of Georgia
- 1243 in the Mongol Empire