Introduction

Beginning a century before the Mongol invasion, the regions of Khorazm, Khurasan, and Mavarannahr constituted the most highly developed regions of the Muslim east. Well-developed agriculture and handcrafts, and large numbers of slaves, supported significant urbanization. Several polymath scientists in Khorazm and Mavarannahr produced scientific knowledge that would remain the peak of intellectual accomplishment for centuries. Due to the patronage of rulers, literary culture in Persian flourished and the major urban centers held very large libraries. The Khorazmshah dynasty arose in rivalry with the Ghurids and the Seljuks and took over their territory. Khorazmshah Muhammad II defeated the Qarakhanids and the Qara Khitai and tried to attack the Abbasid caliph al-Nasir. He destroyed all the other organized centers of leadership and alienated the religious leaders, but he could not depend on the loyalty of his mostly Qangli Turkish troops. After provoking Chinggis Khan by slaughtering his ambassadors and confiscating his trade goods, a chance encounter with a small contingent of Mongols caused Muhammad II such fear that he fled the region and died in obscurity.