The Mongols, now aided by Jin engineers…
May 1215 CE
The Mongols, now aided by Jin engineers who have joined Genghis Khan’s army, had begun to surround Beijing again in 1214.
The defenders fight stubbornly from within the well-fortified capital, making for a long and painful siege.
Weakened by a Mongol blockade and betrayed by Chinese defectors, the city finally sees its walls breached in 1215.
The Mongols loot palaces and public buildings, the city’s governor commits suicide, and many residents are massacred.
Although the city is only partially destroyed, it reportedly burns for a month.
Genghis Khan establishes Mongol control, leaving the city’s Tangut bureaucracy in place.
In response to a call for help from Kara-Khitai, he then withdraws his forces, interrupting his planned conquest of China.