The 12-Day Mongol Siege and Sack of Baghdad in February 1258 That Ended the Five-Century Abbasid Caliphate and Killed Approximately 200,000 to 800,000 People
Hulagu Khan's Mongol army of approximately 150,000 besieged Baghdad on 29 January 1258. The Abbasid Caliph al-Musta'sim surrendered on 10 February. The Mongol sack ran from 13 to 20 February 1258. Casualty estimates range from 200,000 to 800,000 dead. The Tigris reportedly ran black with ink from the destroyed libraries and red with blood from the killed. The Abbasid Caliphate of 750-1258 ended.
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