Genghis Khan invaded what's now Afghanistan in 1219, and by 1221, the region had been subdued - MMS

Genghis Khan invaded what's now Afghanistan in 1219, and by 1221, the region had been subdued and incorporated into the Mongol Empire.

images sources history.com

In the year 1215, Afghanistan was incorporated by force into the Kharizmian Empire.

The Khwarizmian dynasty (Persian: خوارزمشاهیان‎) was a Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic origin. The Khwarizmian dynasty ruled large parts of present-day Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran within the approximate period of 1077 to 1231, first as vassals of the Seljuks and later as independent rulers, up until the Mongol conquest of the Khwarizmian Empire.

Sadly for Afghanistan, the Khwarazmians had just completed conquest of Afghanistan in 1215 – then a mere year later, Genghis Khanand also the rising super power of the East, the Mongol Empire, appeared on their borders…

By 1216, Jenghiz Khan had conquered all the territories north of the then Khwarizmian Empire. The Khan at that point intended to invade China, and wished peace with neighboring empires and sent communication to the Khwarizmian Empire in Afghanistan, with a message that he was the sovereign ruler of these lands, and wished trade and relations with Khwarizm.

As such, Genghis sent emmissaires with a letter of friendship and requested the Khwarizmian ruler to acknowledge Mongolian supremacy over the Mongol conquests. The letter hailed the Shah as an equal, and was accompanied with treasure and vast wealth, including riches like gold, silver, silk, rare furs, and a flock of 500 camels. The caravan never reached the shah and instead was seized by an greedy border commander who decided, in a very moment of absolute insanity, to seize the wealth meant for the Shah, and to murder everyone within the caravan.

The commander killed all the convoy members but one, a camel boy who escaped and managed to escape north to Jinghis Khanto inform him what had occurred.

Normally, that mightare enough to own the Khan not just invade, but level the complete country - but Genghis wanted to think about China, so he decided to undertake to resolve the insults to his dignity and his house. Emperor dispatched a messenger party to the shah and ordered him to right awayconform to the previously offered terms, and deliver the border commander for punishment.

In what has got to be the stupidest decision by a ruler in history, the Shah refused, and as further insult he killed the only real Muslim messenger and sent the opposite Mongol couriers back to Jinghis Khan beaten, with shaved beards. This decision was particularly stupid because every country the Khan invaded had somehow offended him. those that treated him carefully, and took care to not offend him or harm his empire, like the Dehli Sultanate, were never invaded by Genghis.

Genghis Khan refused to invade India for the subsequent reasons:

1. His national interest dictated that he finish conquering China and fully incorporate it into the Mongol Empire. The longer he waited, the harder it might be to place down an ongoing rebellion in already conquered territory. He had already spent an excessive amount of time conquering Khwarazm.

2. The Sultanate had learned from Khwarizmian stupidity and took total care to not offend the Khan in any way.

3. Despite how history has portrayed him, Genghis Khan wasn't motivated by wealth. He was motivated by revenge and justice. He visited war only in retaliation. He launched invasions only he believed his empire was wronged.

But these Khwarizmian offenses were too insulting to Emperor to not react, whether or not it meant delaying his other plans for years or perhaps decades. Whether or not he intended to ultimately conquer the empire before his try to establish relations, or after the murder of his first ambassadors, the Shah’s response sealed the empire’s fate. Ruthlessly and un-falteringly, the Mongol ruler recalled his far off armies, so poured somewhere between 120,000 and 200,000 Mongol soldiers into Afghanistan, leveling cities like Herat, Balkh, Ghazni, and Bamiyan and slaughtering every man, woman, and child along the way.

After Emperor returned to Mongolia, there was a rebellion within the region of Helmand which was brutally put down by his son and successor, Ogedei Khan, who put all male residents of Ghazni and Helmand to the sword in 1222; the ladies and youngsters were enslaved and sold. Thereafter most parts of Afghanistan aside fromthe intense south-eastern remained under Mongol rule as a part of the Ilkhanate and Chagatai Khanate until the approaching of Timur almost two centuries later.

Yusuf Ali Bhandarkar +917977231537