ABSTRACT

The Near East, here defined as the Jazira (the territory between the Tigris and Euphrates and north of Baghdad), Syria, and Anatolia, encountered the Mongols early, albeit briefly, as part of the Khwarazmian War. According to The Secret History of the Mongols, Baghdad was the original target of Chormaqan’s campaign, yet he does not appear to have made it his focus. Instead, he stabilized Mongol control of Azerbaijan and conquered Transcaucasia. In accordance with the Tsunami Strategy, he created a buffer zone by attacking the Jazira and even raided into Rum. With the Toluid Revolution, the Mongols were once again on the march. Mongke Qa’an dispatched his younger brother Hulegu to subdue those rulers who had failed to offer their submission at his coronation: the Isma’ilis, the Abbasid Caliphate and the Ayyubids of Syria.