23. Extinguishing the Abbasid Caliphate
After dealing with the Assassins, Hulagu turned his attention to the Abbasid Caliphate. Then in its fifth century of existence, the Abbasid Caliphate no longer wielded any real political or military power, but it still wielded considerable spiritual clout. When the Caliph refused to submit, Hulagu invaded and besieged him in Baghdad. He captured the city in 1258, destroyed it along with all its treasures, such as the Grand Library of Baghdad, and massacred between 200,000 to a million inhabitants.
To avoid a Mongol taboo against spilling royal blood, the captured Caliph was executed by being rolled into a carpet, which was then trampled by Mongols riding over it. That ended the Abbasids and the Islamic institution of the Caliphate. Hulagu then conquered Syria, bringing to an end the Ayubbid dynasty founded by Saladin.