“I am going back to my army today, and from there I will head east,” he said.
“I understand,” I responded, regaining my composure. “But don’t forget the promise you made to me in Beijing, when the wolf died. I think I will ask you to keep that promise before this campaign is over.”
“Whatever you want, my friend, but is a promise necessary?”
“No, no, it’s just that I want my best friend by my side at the end.”
“Then he will be…let’s race to the camp.”
“And the loser?”
“The loser is a loser, what else?” he said as he kicked his horse into a gallop.
Gurgenc
I’d never seen such a fertile land anywhere. Green grass, small streams, low hills, and scattered trees were all around. We moved on toward the sunset for days on roads widened by frequent caravans. We passed through scenery of wide fields and small villages, but all the settlements we passed were empty. Our reputation had preceded us. Save for some plundering, we reached the city without fighting anyone.
The city was built near a giant river, and it was massive. It spread over a wide area and was surrounded by walls so high that birds perched on them. I’d never seen such a sight. Deep moats surrounded the city, and their depths exaggerated the magnitude of the walls. The city was a masterpiece of human construction, and its glory was easily felt.
It took days to settle my army near the water sources of the city. We remained safe outside of firing range while we waited for our forces to gather and I sent a messenger with a carefully prepared warning:.
“I am the son of Genghis Khan and the one who has the right to these lands. I have shed no blood in your country nor tortured anyone, and, if you surrender, you will join the vast empire of Genghis Khan and be protected. However, if you resist and delay the inevitable, there will be no mercy.”
We waited for a response and soon got it: the head of the poor messenger.
The city was besieged from all sides. The roads were occupied, and the empty neighboring villages and towns were set on fire and plundered. The water sources of the city were blocked, and the waiting process began. Meanwhile, a black tent had already been pitched in front of the city’s gate. Their fate was certain.
I chose to wait for the necessary siege works and equipment. I sent messengers to my father, and my father stated that he would send some of the forces that had already conquered the city of Otrar. After a few months of waiting, a force under the command of Cagatay arrived with siege tools. Our force now numbered one-hundred thousand.
Cagatay’s distant personality and incessant talk always annoyed me. My father clearly had something in mind by sending him, but I gave it little thought. I already knew that I wasn’t the crown prince, but Cagatay wasn’t either. This often caused Cagatay to lose his temper; his behavior was a reflection of his personality.
Without interfering with each other, we besieged the city systematically. Whoever approached the city’s wall was hit by a rain of arrows. Those who managed to approach the trench were roasted by projectiles of hot oil and fire. It was almost impossible to send cavalry close to the gate. Cagatay plundered, set fire to, and destroyed whatever got in his way and added tens of thousands of slaves to his spoils.
In the first light of morning, we dragged thousands of slaves to the fortress and put those who tried to return to the sword. Others were killed by arrows, fire, and stones. Their corpses began to fill the trenches. The slaughter lasted for days. The trenches in front of the fortress became invisible, and the soldiers who guarded the walls ran out of patience. The soil now was full of blood and the dead bodies of their own people.
Day and night, crossbows pelted the walls of the fortress. When we ran out of stones, we used huge soaked logs—soaking the logs made them heavier and deadlier. We used the bodies of the injured and resisting soldiers as ammunition for crossbows. Seeing the flailing bodies of their comrades raining down on them only intensified the hopelessness of those who remained inside the fortress. The stone walls turned red from the blood of those flung against them and the grisly barrage collapsed the nerve of those under siege.
As holes opened in the walls, damaged and weakened after months of pounding, our soldiers, who were thirsty for war, began to spill into the fortress. But the war and struggle inside were the same as outside. Each stone house was its own fortress, and each person was a resisting soldier. Sometimes, it took days to pass through one street and on to the next one. The people who hid in their houses and caves would attack us at every opportunity. It became normal to destroy the walls and even the submerged parts of the city. We set houses on fire and killed those who tried to escape.
We cut and burned our way through a community of hundreds of thousands of desperate people. They gave away their souls, and we gave away our time. As the enemy soldiers ran away from their destroyed headquarters, scattered to the houses and continued to fight, we also began to lose people. When the bridge we had captured in the city was attacked, we suddenly lost three thousand soldiers. But the city still could not stand against our sprawling, bloodthirsty army.
Finally, the city was defeated. The army’s death toll surpassed the number still living, and the survivors commenced plundering. The people were chased away without being allowed to take anything with them. Those who were slow, died by the swords of those soldiers not yet tired of killing. From therethe plundering took days due to the wreckage and the corpse barricades in the streets.
Now that the city had fallen, I no longer had to tolerate Cagatay. I wanted to go further west, away from this slaughterhouse, so I quickly gathered one division and sent a message to my father at headquarters. My soldiers and I then set off for the southeast and did not look back.
Khorasan
During the months of the siege, we missed our usual movement. But now the soil once again fell from our feet as we traveled. During the long trip, messengers brought us periodic war reports. My father’s forces had successfully overtaken Bukhara. Only twenty to thirty thousand soldiers were put to the sword, and the city was plundered without a large massacre. From Samarkand, we had news that the city’s army of seventy thousand fell into carelessness by attempting to defend their city in the open air. It was a quick battle that ended in complete destruction in only a few hours. When the city finally fell, only 150 thousand of a population of 800 thousand had died.
As we waited for more messengers, we received unexpected news from Tokucar, who had been set to plunder Khorasan around Nishapur. My sister was urgently calling me to meet her. After a journey of only a few days, I met my sister. Her eyes were swollen from crying and her cheeks were hollow. Her beloved husband was near death. An arrow had penetrated his armor and he was now dying in agony.
“Brother,” she said. “I have never asked you for anything,” she said in a voice hoarse from mourning, “but I ask you now for one thing…”
“Revenge,” she said, now in a stronger voice. “A revenge that will never be seen again in history, one that will be burned into the hearts of our people. Only this can decrease the pain I feel.”
“I promise,” I whispered to her. “Their punishment will be unique, and everyone will hear of it. But have pity on the child in your belly. Pull yourself together and survive.” I hugged Tokucar and calmed my sister.
Her tears dried on her face. She blinked and nodded quietly.
Tuluy accepted the call of his sister as well. With the permission of my father, he quit his post, set off in our direction with two divisions of soldiers and gathered twenty thousand raiders and bandits along the way. Leaving Tokucar safe in the camp around Nishapur, I headed to the east to welcome Tuluy. We met near the city of Merv and immediately laid siege to it.
I always considered myself quick tempered, but my brother redefined the word “rage.” We didn’t send a messenger to the city. The black tent was pitched in front of the gate immediately, and we waited only a few days until all our forces had arrived and settled.
On th
e third day, the city opened its gates for a small attack, and the enemy soldiers were massacred on the spot. Before the gate was closed and locked, the pitiful attack was over. After that, we unleashed a storm. We attacked the walls of the fortress without a break and weakened them with every means available. When we entered the city, we commenced a massacre, the likes of which had never been seen in history. The city streets became a blur of swords, human flesh, bone, and blood.
We killed without rest. Our cold iron turned warm with human flesh and bone, then grew hot from the fires and roasted blood. Flying bone fragments cut into our skin and our Army became a red army as we were soaked in the blood of our enemy. Tuluy and I killed two or three men with a single blow and tripped over the corpses that lay beneath us.
When the massacre was over, only a few children were taken as prisoners. It took thirteen days and nights to count all the victims. Each soldier in our army had killed three to four thousand people. We realized that killing that many people took less time than counting the bodies.
Supporting forces arrived soon after and we continued north on our journey of revenge.
I didn’t want to be slowed down by the children, so I took a few guards with me and approached a Turkish nomad that was attempting to flee.
“I’ve seen a lot of death,” I told him, “but I do not wish to fight now. You do not want this, either.”
The nomad took me to his prince, and I stayed in the nomad camp as a guest. I gave a small bag of gold to the eldest of the captured children and entrusted them to the prince.
“We are in a long war, and we have a long way ahead of us,” I explained. “We have taken an oath of revenge but these children survived their city’s massacre and they deserve to live,” I said.
The prince of the nomads, a man who had the nose of an eagle, nodded.
“Because of what I have entrusted to you,” I continued, “I give you my leave for one night. I swear, though, when the sun rises, we will advance again.”
After a few days of travel, we rejoined my sister at the camp near Nishapur. Her health had improved, and her cheeks were less hollow. Along with Tuluy, we spent the night talking, but most of our words were sorrowful.
The news of our revenge in Merv had already reached Nishapur, and the city sent messengers with offers of surrender. But our thirst for revenge would not be sated. When the city fell, every living being was taken out of the city and beheaded. As my father had commanded, no stone was left unturned, and no head was left on its shoulders.
Two giant hills higher than the walls of the city were erected. One was made of the heads of men, the other of the heads of women and children. No one in the city was left alive, not even the cats and dogs.
The city of Herat was the last stop on our revenge campaign, but, it was time for me to depart and join the campaign in the West. So, leaving my siblings to their revenge, I said goodbye to Tuluy, and set off to join Cebe and Sobutay.
The Far West
While our entire army stayed behind to plunder the land of Harzem and the Indus valley, Cebe and Sobutay had set off for the west in pursuit of the Shah and had crossed beyond the Caspian Sea. The shah took refuge on an island, but soon the news of his death arrived. When I reached the armies of Cebe and Sobutay, the war had already ended.
The four divisions of soldiers who had chased the runaway shah for seven months had suffered almost no losses. The shah’s treasure caravan had been caught, and more spoils than expected had been captured. It was a victory, but it had been won without battles, and our soldiers and commanders disliked the idea of going back without fighting. They were surrounded by enemies everywhere. They had even crossed beyond the western sea of Genghis Khan.
When I got to the camp with a few guards, I was welcomed with enthusiasm. Everyone wanted to hear news of the revenge campaign, the battles we won, and the stories of the cities we plundered. Cebe was now middle-aged and a superior commander, and Sobutay was about to leave his youth behind. I was the only one from the family Khan who could lead them.
The weeklong festivities were filled with koumiss, conversation, and nights with prisoner girls. In no time, my fatigue and tension were gone.
As we gathered together and began to talk about war, we discussed the conditions of the soldiers and the numbers of horses, prisoners, and tribal warriors that had joined us during the campaign. Cebe explained what no one wanted to hear: we would soon cross beyond the Caspian sea, reach the main army from the north, and the war would be over.
As Cebe spoke, I said nothing. I only listened and waited. Finally, the other commanders were sent away, and, when we were alone, I spoke to my brothers.
“You have been on the frontier of the greatest campaign of all time, and you had great results. You should be rewarded, right?” I asked.
My brother-generals smiled sadly.
“Cebe, you’ve been with me since I was born. Sobutay, you are probably my only true friend. As my friend, tell me honestly, what do you want?”
In the silence, their eyes shined with hope.
“My friends, if you follow me, I will give you the greatest wish of a soldier, a chance to fight,” I said, trying to enjoy the moment.
“We will only do what we enjoy, without capturing spoils, lands, or political goals,” I continued. “We won’t even pursue revenge. We will only fight who we want, and we will fight for ourselves. It will be a unique campaign. No one will ever dare do the same.”
Sobutay’s beaming smile was the only answer I needed.
In the morning, willing soldiers and commanders, rested and enthusiastic, set out with us on our unique campaign. We were on our way west, to do what we wanted, and create a hurricane of destruction.
Our campaign was fearless and bold. We incessantly attacked vastly superior armies. We fought two different enemies simultaneously. We conquered the city of Tabriz and then gave it back to its army in exchange for a huge tribute. We returned to cities we conquered and massacred survivors and runaways. The shockwave of fear we created spread far and wide. Everyone feared that we would target the region’s largest city, Baghdad, but as I was tired of the heat, we headed north instead.
From prisoners and caravans, we learned that we were entering the land of Georgia. The lands extending from the Black Sea to the Caspian belonged to them. They had a strong regular army and powerful weapons and were rumored to be cruel.
We headed directly toward their capital, Tbilisi where the armored Georgian troops welcomed us in the open air. Like so many before, their numbers vastly exceeded ours. We attacked the middle of the formation like an arrow and, while withdrawing, surrounded the enemies who gave chase, then destroyed them in the middle. It was a war tactic the Georgians had never seen before, but no one would be left on the battlefield to tell about it.
Without delay, we headed towards Azerbaijan and set fire to their city of Maragheh, killing all those who dwelled inside. We effectively erased them from the map.
One day, as we were plundering a small village, a poor, elderly man appeared at my feet in the village hall. He crawled, cried, and screamed. Tears mixed with his saliva, and I couldn’t understand him. When his hand suddenly grabbed my foot, I drew my sword with a quick movement and cut off his arm. I then stepped on his bleeding wound with my full weight so that blood loss wouldn’t overtake him before I satisfied my curiosity.
I called over a translator, who told me the old man’s words: “You came here, plundered our house and our land. You killed everyone. You owe us blood. You must kill those in the Alamut Fortress who have kidnapped my son. You must save my son.”
My curiosity had been satisfied. I beheaded the old man.
I asked the prisoners where the Alamut Fortress was and who lived there. I grew tired of those who got excited when they told me about it and killed those who spoke too much. Finally, I found someone who could tell me about it simply:
The Alamut Fortress was an aerie in the western mountains ruled by Hassan Sabbah and his su
ccessors. Even the great Turkish Empire known as the Seljuks were unable to conquer it.
The next target of the campaign was defined now. We advanced toward the steep mountains and narrow paths for days. Those who heard that we were coming united and made the mistake of attacking us in the open air. Finally, after a treacherous journey, we crested a ridge and suddenly faced the fortress. As an enemy fortification, it was a nightmare, but before morning, the fortress fell, and we were inside.
I had someone ask after the old man’s son, and a frail young man was brought before me. He had respect and fear in his behavior but rage in his eyes. He bowed in front of me, and when he approached me, I, again to everyone’s surprise, drew my sword and cut off his right hand. The hand fell to the ground with a metallic clang and a hidden dagger rolled out of its fingers.
“I brought you the compliments of your father,” I said. Before he could reply, I cut off his head. It is said that when the head of a man is cut off, he stays alive for the period of time that he can hold his breath. The head of that young man spent all that time staring at me in bewilderment.
Sobutay turned to me with a questioning look.
“An old and sly man found a way to get his revenge and give a lesson to the Mongols,” I said. “He directed us to a fortress which had never been defeated in the hopes we would get our deserts.”
I turned to my soldiers. “Kill everyone, but leave three alive. They will tell what they have witnessed. Don’t let a single goat or cat live. Destroy the fortress so totally that no one will have a reason to settle here again,” I commanded. “Legends are like that. They grow in the head and live on the tongue of a man until a Mongolian comes and smashes him.”
We thought about where to go next, but, with the news that they had established a new army using all their country’s resources, the Georgians made the decision easy for us. With half of our forces, Sobutay and I marched toward the city of Ardabil where the enemy was waiting. After a short engagement, we rapidly retreated before the giant army. As they chased us, Cebe and his soldiers, who were lying in ambush, surrounded them from behind. We stopped running, turned around, and slayed all the Georgian forces. We smashed their bodies with our horses and buried them in the soil.
Save the Last Bullet for God Page 22
