Battle of the Köse Dağ

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Battle of the Köse Dağ
Part of: Mongol Storm
Miniature from the work Flor des estoires de la terre d'Orient by the Armenian historian Hethum von Korykos.
Miniature from the work Flor des estoires de la terre d'Orient by the Armenian historian Hethum von Korykos .
date June 26th to July 3rd, 1243
place Köse Dağ (at Sivas )
output Clear victory for the Mongols
Territorial changes Anatolia
Parties to the conflict

Mongol Empire

Sultanate of the Rum Seljuks
Empire of Trebizond
Georgian nobles

Commander

Baiju

Kai Chosrau II.

Troop strength
80,000

The Battle of Köse Dağ took place between June 26th and July 3rd, 1243 in what is now the Turkish province of Sivas in Anatolia between the Mongols and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum and ended with a clear victory for the Mongols under their leader Baiju . The immediate consequence was the decline of the Sultanate of Rum and the rule of the Mongols over most of Anatolia.

prehistory

Even during the reign of Ala ad-Din Kai Kobad I , the Mongols faced Anatolia. But only after his death and Kai Chosrau II's accession to the throne did the Mongols see their opportunity. Baiju, who began campaigns in Anatolia, became the leader of the Mongols. Georgian and Armenian forces stood by his side . At this point in time the Babai uprising occurred in the sultanate , which, although it could be suppressed, weakened the empire lastingly. The Mongols benefited from this and captured Erzurum in 1242 .

Having been informed of this, Kai Chosrau II raised an army of 80,000 men and awaited the enemy in Sivas . The Empire of Trebizond and Georgian aristocrats, who had left their country because of the Mongol invasion, joined Kai Chosrau II.

battle

When the Mongols marched on Sivas, Kai Chosrau II conferred with his generals. Although those advised to stay in Sivas, as this would have to be held against the Mongols, the Sultan withdrew with his army from the city and set up camp 80 km east of Sivas near the Köse Dağ. His camp was in a secure place between the mountains. Again against the advice of his generals, the militarily inexperienced sultan ordered not to wait in the camp for the enemy but to ride out to meet him.

Believing in a sure victory, the Sultan marched with his army. When the Seljuk vanguard met the Mongols, they faked a retreat. As the vanguard followed the supposedly fugitive, they were surprised by the sudden attack by the Mongols and completely wiped out. This caused the Sultan to give up the whole battle. Fearing that he might fall into the hands of the enemy, he fled first to Tokat and then on to Konya and Antalya . Because they felt abandoned by their leader, the army of the Seljuks also fled without leaving the camp. The Mongols did not dare enter the abandoned camp for two days, suspecting a trap by the Seljuks.

tactics

The military historian David Nicolle points out the importance of the tactics chosen by the Seljuks or the tactics made necessary by their colorful alliance:

For military historians it is particularly interesting that Kayhusraw's troops fought in an almost European way, as they relied largely on heavily armored horsemen accompanied by infantry and had numerous Western European mercenaries as well as men from the ... Crusader states of Syria in their ranks. The Mongols, on the other hand, relied on mounted archers, the same tactic that the ancestors of the Seljuks had successfully used 200 years earlier.

consequences

After their victory, Anatolia was open to the Mongols. Major cities such as Erzincan , Sivas and Kayseri were looted and many of their residents were killed. The sultan's vizier, Mühezzibüddin Ali , entered into negotiations with the Mongols and was able to persuade them not to advance further west; However, Kai Chosrau II had to submit to them as a vassal. The Mongols withdrew from Anatolia in exchange for high tribute payments from the Seljuks. With the decline of the strong Sultanate of Rum, which nominally existed until 1307, the rise of the Ottomans began in 1299 .

The defeat of the Ottomans against the Timurids in the Battle of Ankara (1402) reminded u. a. because of their similar tactical omens to those of Köse Dag.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Stefan Heidemann: The Aleppine Caliphate (ad 1261) . BRILL, 1994, ISBN 90-04-10031-8 , The double vassalage of Islamic princes to the caliph and the great khan - compatibility of rituals of submission, p. 36 .
  2. David Nicolle : The Ottomans. 600 years of the Islamic world empire. Vienna 2008, ISBN 3-85003-219-1 , p. 23.