Battle of Parwan

The Battle of Parwan was fought between Sultan Jalal ad-Din Mingburnu of the Khwarazmian Empire and the Mongols ruled by Genghis Khan in September 1221 AD at Parwan, north of Kabul, in present-day Afghanistan. Jalal ad-Din had previously attacked a detachment of Mongols near Wilan (Waliyan), which provoked Genghis Khan into sending an army of 30,000 troops under Shigi Qutuqu. As a result of the tactics adopted by Jalal ad-Din, the Mongol army was destroyed in a two-day battle. As news of the Mongol defeat spread, several cities, including Merv and Herat, which had previously surrendered and accepted Mongol rule, rebelled. In response, Genghis Khan moved to battle Jalal ad-Din, who had lost half of his troops to desertion due to a quarrel over the division of spoils after the battle, and was forced to move to Ghazni to prepare to retreat to India. Genghis Khan intercepted Jalal ad-Din's army as he was preparing to cross the Indus River, and in the ensuing battle he lost his army, treasury and family, but survived to eventually establish a power base in Punjab and Sindh.