Battle of Indus

The Battle of Indus was fought at the Indus river, in the year 1221 between Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu, the sultan of the Khwarezmid Empire and his only remaining forces of fifty thousand, and the Mongolian horde of Genghis Khan.

Background
Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu was fleeing to India with his men together with thousands of refugees from Persia, following the Mongol sacking of several cities, including Bukhara and Samarkand, the latter being the Khwarezmian capital. After having won the Battle of Parwan, near the city Ghazna (Ghazni) in eastern Persia, Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu headed for India to seek refuge together with his army of some fifty thousand men and several thousand refugees. However, the horde of Genghis Khan caught up with him when he was about to cross the river Indus. The sultan posted most of his men in the way of the Mongols to let him and the refugees pass the river in safety. When the army who awaited the enemy was busy fighting the Mongolian vanguard, Genghis Khan led the main force towards the sultan who was trapped between the Mongols and the river.

Prelude and description


The sultan engaged the Mongols with his fifty thousand men against the Mongols' over thirty thousand. This attempt failed however and the soldiers were soon separated from the refugees who were brutally slaughtered. When the sultan realized he was doomed, he and his closest followers crossed the Indus River at Hund. Only a few of the refugees and probably none of the soldiers made it to the other side alive.

Aftermath
Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu spent three years in exile in India before returning to Persia.