Siege of Taliqan (1221)

The Siege of Taliqan took place in early 1221 during the Mongol invasion of Khorasan. The Mongols led by Genghis Khan and his leaders attacked the strong town of Taliqan in what is now northern Afghanistan. The city had strong soldiers and they fought back, and the siege lasted several months and fought the Mongols for several months before Genghis Khan got involved. The town was soon captured after the more soldiers arrived under Tolui.

Background
After the capture of Balkh in early 1221, Genghis Khan turned to the west into the mountains of the Juzjan area, where many towns had still continued to fight back Mongol control. Taliqan was one of these towns. It had a castle in an important location. referred to under several names meaning “Hill of Victory”. The town ruled routes to Khorasan, Ghur, and southern Afghanistan.

The soldiers of Taliqan often attacked Mongol soldiers passing below the fortress, launching attacks that captured prisoners and livestock. These attacks seriously caused problems for the Mongols, causing an earlier but unsuccessful attempt by Mongol soldiers to take control of the town before Genghis Khan arrived. The soldiers continued to fight back, preparing for battle rather than giving up. After the earlier campaigns, Chagatai and Ogedei reached Genghis Khan before Taliqan, while Jochi, ill and was previously failing to follow his father’s commands in the north, did not take part in the siege. The continued fight at Taliqan finally forced Genghis Khan to step in person.

Siege
The Mongols began the siege of Taliqan and the fortress of Nasr-Kuh in early 1221. The books describe the protection of Nasr-Kuh as strong, which caused the siege to last much longer than normal. The siege began several months before Genghis Khan helped. According to Ibn al-Athir, the siege lasted like ten months, while Rashid al-Din gives a time of seven months.

At the beginning Genghis Khan helped at the siege at Taliqan. However after the Mongols were beat by Jalal al-Din Mangburni at the Battle of Parwan, Genghis Khan left the siege in the hands of his commanders. He then moved towards Ghazni to chase Jalal al-Din and later moved towards Bamyan.

The Mongols drew a circle around the citadel and set many catapults in motion. Both the Mongols and the garrison fought hard, Getting many injuries on each other. Charat Singh planned a false move back, which drew the defenders out, and the Mongols beat them. While the Khan was not there, Mongol commanders continued the siege of Taliqan and Nasr-Kuh. After a long fight, the Mongols finally took the town.

Aftermath
The siege ended only after the arrival of Tolui's army from the conquest of Khorasan, and the town was captured in early summer 1221. Some books differ on the length of time of the siege. Ibn al-Athir says that it lasted ten months, while Rashid al-Din gives a shorter figure of seven months.

After the fall of Taliqan, the books become hard to understand following Genghis Khan’s travels. He is thought to have stayed in the mountains of Juzjan in the areas of Taliqan. Until he heard the news of Sultan Jalal al-Din’s win over the Mongols at the Battle of Parwan.

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