Why Genghis Khan's Revenge Was COMPLETELY Avoidable

In 1218 Genghis Khan offered the Shah of Khwarazm peace and free trade. Three years later the Khwarazmian Empire was gone, and it was completely avoidable. Seven chances to stop the Mongol invasion of Central Asia. Both sides, one verdict: was it a greedy governor, a proud Shah, a scheming Caliph, or Genghis Khan himself? Who do you blame? Tell us in the comments, and subscribe for more empires from both sides. CHAPTERS 0:00 Two Beards on a Silver Tray 0:53 1. Two Empires, One Border 3:21 2. 450 Men at Otrar 5:58 3. The Beard 7:48 4. Behind the Walls 10:11 5. One City at a Time 13:11 6. The Shah Who Ran 14:59 7. The Price 17:26 8. The Prince at the River 18:53 The Verdict ABOUT THE STORY Dramatised dialogue is marked on screen ("dramatization", "as Juvayni tells it", "as al-Nasawi tells it"). Where the medieval sources disagree, the video shows each version. Big numbers from the chronicles are shown as claims and set against modern estimates. SOURCES Ata-Malik Juvayni, History of the World-Conqueror (Tarikh-i Jahan-gushay), trans. J. A. Boyle (1958) Shihab al-Din Muhammad al-Nasawi, Sirat al-Sultan Jalal al-Din (1241) Ibn al-Athir, al-Kamil fi'l-Tarikh; the passage on the Tatars in E. G. Browne's translation (1902) Minhaj al-Siraj Juzjani, Tabaqat-i Nasiri (c. 1260) Rashid al-Din, Jami al-Tawarikh (c. 1300–1310) The Secret History of the Mongols Sayfi Haravi, Tarikh-nama-yi Harat (early 14th century) Mirkhwand, Rawdat al-Safa (late 15th century) Yaqut al-Hamawi, Mu'jam al-Buldan V. V. Barthold, Turkestan Down to the Mongol Invasion (2nd ed., 1928) Peter Jackson, The Mongols and the Islamic World (2017) Encyclopaedia Iranica, "Mongols" The Metropolitan Museum of Art, excavations at Nishapur MUSIC Additional music generated with Google Flow Music. "Five Armies", "Interloper", "Desert City", "Hitman", "Lightless Dawn", "Volatile Reaction" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Hordetide: Every empire. Both sides. One verdict. #GenghisKhan #MongolEmpire #HistoryAnimation