Battle of Zhongdu

This article is about the 1215 battle. For a list of other battles also called "Battle of Beijing", see Battle of Beijing.
Battle of Zhongdu
Part of the Mongol–Jin War

The siege of Zhongdu (modern Beijing), as depicted in the Persian Jami' al-tawarikh by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani
Date1215
LocationBeijing, China
Result Mongol victory
Belligerents
Mongol Empire Jin Dynasty China
Commanders and leaders
Genghis Khan Xuanzong
Strength
unknown, but numerous About 6,000 or more
Casualties and losses
unknown Unknown

The Battle of Zhongdu (present-day Beijing) was a battle in 1215 between the Mongols and the Jurchen Jin dynasty, which controlled northern China.[1] The Mongols won and continued their conquest of China.

History

The year 1211 marked the beginning of the war between the Mongols and the Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty was able to hold Genghis Khan (Temüjin) and his Mongol army at bay for the first two years of the war.

Throughout this time however, Temüjin continued to build his forces and by 1213 had an army so powerful that they conquered all of the Jin territory up to the Great Wall of China. From this strategic location, Temüjin made the decision to split up his forces into three smaller armies in an attempt to break through the wall and finish his conquest of China; with the exception of the Southern Song. He sent his brother, Kasar, at the head of one of these armies east into Manchuria. He sent another army south toward Shanxi under command of his three oldest sons. Temüjin led the third army, along with his son Tuli, towards Shandong. The plan was a success as all three armies broke through the wall in different places.

According to Ivar Lissner the besieged inhabitants resorted to firing gold and silver cannon shot on the Mongols with their muzzeloading cannons when their supply of metal for ammunition ran out.[2][3][4][5]

The battle for Beijing was long and tiresome, but the Mongols proved to be more powerful as they finally took the city on 1 June 1215,[6] massacring its inhabitants. This forced the Jin Emperor Xuanzong to move his capital south to Kaifeng, and opened the Yellow River valley to further Mongol ravages. Kaifeng fell to the Mongols after a siege in 1232.

See also

Notes

    References

    1. ↑ Tony Jaques (2007). Dictionary of Battles and Sieges: A-E. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-313-33537-2.
    2. ↑ Ivar Lissner (1957). The living past. Original from the University of California Digitized 27 Jan 2009 Length 444 pages (4 ed.). Putnam's. p. 193. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
    3. ↑ Ivar Lissner (1961). The living past. Original from the University of Michigan Digitized 31 Aug 2007 Length 444 pages. Capricorn. p. 193. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
    4. ↑ Wolter J. Fabrycky; Paul E. Torgersen (1966). Operations economy: industrial applications of operations research. Original from the University of Michigan Digitized 28 Nov 2007 Length 486 pages (2 ed.). Prentice-Hall. p. 254. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
    5. ↑ Wolter J. Fabrycky; P. M. Ghare; Paul E. Torgersen (1972). Industrial operations research. Original from the University of Wisconsin – Madison Digitized 4 Jan 2008 ISBN 0-13-464263-5, ISBN 978-0-13-464263-5 Length 578 pages (illustrated ed.). Prentice-Hall. p. 313. ISBN 0-13-464263-5. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
    6. ↑ "What happened on June 1". Dates in History. Retrieved 2014-05-17.


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