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===Christian involvement in the conquest of Baghdad (1258)=== {{main|Siege of Baghdad}} [[Image:Hulagu Baghdad 1258.jpg|thumb|Mongol attack of Baghdad (1258).]] On February 15, 1258, the Mongols were successful in the [[Battle of Baghdad (1258)|Siege of Baghdad]], an event often considered as the single most catastrophic event in the history of Islam. The attacking army also had a large contingent of Christian forces. The [[History of Georgia (country)|Georgian]]s and Armenians participated in the offensive,<ref>Grousset, p.574, mentionning the account of [[Kirakos]], [http://rbedrosian.com/kg12.htm Kirakos, #12]</ref><ref>"After this, [the Mongols] convened a great assembly of the old and new cavalry of the Georgians and Armenians and went against the city of Baghdad with a countless multitude." [http://rbedrosian.com/ga2.htm Grigor of Akner's History of the Nation of Archers, Chap 12], circa 1300</ref> and possibly some Frankish troops from the [[Principality of Antioch]].<ref>In [[Alain Demurger]]'s ''Jacques de Molay'', p.55: "The Count of Tripoli and Prince of Antioch (the two state had the same ruler), and the king of Cilician Armenia (or Little Armenia) had made their submission to the Mongols. Since 1247 already, they had paid tribute and supplied troops. King Hetoum I went to Karakorum to make his submission in 1253, and Bohemond VI was present in Baghdad in 1258." In Demurger ''Les Templiers'' (p.80-81): "The main adversary of the Mongols in the Middle-East was the Mamluk Sultanate and the Califate of Baghdad; in 1258 they take the city, sack it, massacre the population and exterminate the Abassid familly who ruled the Califate since 750; the king of [[Little Armenia]] (of [[Cilicia]]) and the troops of [[Principality of Antioch|Antioch]] participated to the fight and the looting together with the Mongols." In Demurger ''Croisades et Croisés au Moyen-Age'' (p.284): "The Franks of Tripoli and Antioch, just as the Armenians of Cilicia who since the submission of [[Asia Minor]] in 1243 had to recognize Mongol overlordship and pay tribute, participated to the capture of Baghdad."</ref> When they conquered the city, the Mongols demolished buildings, burned entire neighborhoods, and massacred nearly 80,000 men, women, and children. The Georgians had been the first to breach the walls, and were among the fiercest in their destruction.<ref>"The Georgian troops, who had been the first to break through the walls, were particularly fiercest in their destruction" Runciman, p.303</ref> At the intervention of the Mongol Hulagu's Nestorian Christian wife [[Dokuz Khatun]], the Christian inhabitants were spared.<ref>Maalouf, p. 243</ref><ref>"A history of the Crusades", Steven Runciman, p.306</ref> Hulagu offered the royal palace to the Nestorian Catholicus [[Mar Makikha]], and ordered a cathedral to be built for him.<ref>Foltz, p.123</ref> The conquest of Baghdad marked the tragic end of the [[Abbasid|Abbasid Caliphate]]. The city of Baghdad, which had been the jewel of Islam and one of the largest and most powerful cities in the world for 500 years, became a minor provincial town.
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