MONGOL CONQUEST OF IRAN AND IRAQ. A large Mongol army led by Hulegu, brother of the Mongol Great Khan Möngke, invaded Iran, destroyed the strongholds of the Nizari Isma'ilis in Alamut and other locations, and subdued much of Iran and Iraq.
FALL OF BAGHDAD AND END OF THE ABBASID CALIPHATE. The Mongols subjected Baghdad to plundering and widespread massacres. The caliph al-Musta’sim was put to death, and with him ended the more than 500 years of the Abbasid Caliphate. A new era in Middle Eastern history began, with a non-Muslim empire dominating region's eastern lands.
