Shigi Qutuqu in the context of "Battle of Parwan"

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⭐ Core Definition: Shigi Qutuqu

Shigi Qutuqu (Mongolian: ᠰᠢᠭᠢᠬᠤᠲᠤᠭ; c. 1178–1260) was a high-ranking official during the early decades of the Mongol Empire. The adopted son of the empire's founder Temüjin (later entitled Genghis Khan) and his wife Börte, Shigi Qutuqu played an important role in the codification of Mongol law, serving with distinction as an administrator in North China. He may also have been a major source for the Secret History of the Mongols, which portrays him very favourably.

Although the Secret History states that Shigi Qutuqu was adopted by Hö'elün, Temüjin's mother, chronological inconsistencies make this account improbable. The foundling was brought up in Temüjin's household and was one of the first Mongols to become literate. The Secret History exaggerates his role in the years after the empire's foundation, but Shigi Qutuqu was nevertheless appointed to several high-ranking legal positions, in which he served during the Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty. He was the commander during the only Mongol defeat of the western campaign against Khwarazmia, being overcome by Jalal al-Din at the 1221 Battle of Parwan.

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👉 Shigi Qutuqu in the context of Battle of Parwan

The Battle of Parwan was fought between Sultan Jalal al-Din Mangburni of the Khwarazmian Empire and the Mongols ruled by Genghis Khan in September 1221 AD during the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire at Parwan, north of Kabul, in present-day Afghanistan. Jalal ad-Din had previously attacked a detachment of Mongols near Wilan (Waliyan), which provoked Genghis Khan into sending an army of 30,000 troops under Shigi Qutuqu. As a result of the tactics adopted by Jalal ad-Din, the Mongol army was destroyed in a two-day battle. As news of the Mongol defeat spread, several cities, including Merv and Herat, which had previously surrendered and accepted Mongol rule, rebelled. In response, Genghis Khan moved to battle Jalal ad-Din, who had lost half of his troops to desertion due to a quarrel over the division of spoils after the battle, and was forced to move to Ghazni to prepare to retreat to India. Genghis Khan intercepted Jalal ad-Din's army as he was preparing to cross the Indus River, and in the ensuing battle he lost his army, treasury and family, but survived to eventually establish a power base in Punjab and Sindh.

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Shigi Qutuqu in the context of Jalal al-Din Mangburni

Jalal al-Din Mangburni (Persian: جلال الدین مِنکُبِرنی), also known as Jalal al-Din Khwarazmshah (جلال الدین خوارزمشاه), was the last Khwarazmshah of the Anushtegin dynasty. The eldest son and successor of Ala ad-Din Muhammad II of the Khwarazmian Empire, Jalal al-Din was brought up at Gurganj, the wealthy capital of the Khwarazmid homeland. An able general, he served as second-in-command to his father in at least one battle; however, since he was the son of a concubine, he was challenged as successor by a younger brother, whose cause was supported by the powerful Queen Mother, Terken Khatun. Nevertheless, after the Mongol conquest of the Khwarazmian Empire led to his father's flight and death on an island in the Caspian Sea, Jalal-al Din gained the loyalty of the majority of Khwarazmian loyalists.

The new Shah Jalal al-Din moved to Gurganj, but departed eastwards after Terken Khatun moved against him; evading Mongol patrols, he gathered a substantial army at Ghazni. He managed to inflict an excellent defeat on Shigi Qutuqu at the Battle of Parwan, but soon lost a good portion of his army in a dispute over spoils. He was defeated by a vengeful Genghis Khan at the Battle of the Indus, and fled across the river. Now essentially a warlord, Jalal al-Din managed to establish a succession of short-lived states: first in the Punjab from 1222 to 1224, and then in northwest Iran and Georgia after 1225. Jalal al-Din did not have the political ability needed to underpin his martial exploits, and he was forced to combat several large revolts and increasing pressure from Mongol forces. Eventually, he was killed in 15 August 1231. The army he had gathered would continue to terrorize the Levant as the mercenary Khwarazmiyya until its final defeat in 1246.

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Shigi Qutuqu in the context of Battle of the Indus

The Battle of the Indus was fought on the banks of the Indus River, on 24 November 1221, between the armies commanded by Jalal al-Din of the Khwarazmian Empire, and Genghis Khan of the Mongol Empire. The battle, which resulted in an overwhelming Mongol victory, was the concluding engagement in the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire.

After his father Muhammad II had died on an island in the Caspian Sea, Jalal al-Din assumed the title of Khwarazmshah and travelled eastwards. Escaping the Mongols several times, he reached Ghazni and started assembling a large force; he then defeated the Mongol commander Shigi Qutuqu at the Battle of Parwan. This upset victory drew the attention and ire of Genghis Khan, who gathered a force of at least 50,000 and moved towards the Shah, who had lost a large proportion of his force because of a dispute over plunder. Now unable to effectively combat the Khan, he retreated eastwards towards the Indus river; the Mongols caught up to the Khwarazmians on the morning they were due to cross the Indus.

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