The Utrar massacre
حادثة أطرار
c. 1218 CE · c. 615 AH – c. 1218 CE · c. 615 AH
The Utrar affair, around 615 AH; merchants from Genghis Khan's lands reached Utrar whose lord Inal Khan, the sultan's uncle's son, seized their goods and reported them as spies — ordered to hold them he killed them secretly and took their wealth; Genghis Khan sent demanding Inal Khan's surrender, the sultan recoiled and killed the envoys, and the khan marched his armies into the sultanate — the incident becoming the cause of the Tatar invasion of the Islamic realms.
At a glance
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In time
Overview
Ibn Khaldun in "al-Ibar" relates the affair of Utrar around 615 AH: the governor of the city killed merchants who had come from the lands of Genghis Khan, and this was a prelude to the Tatar invasion. 1
What happened
Merchants from the lands of Genghis Khan came to Utrar, where Inal Khan, a cousin of the Khwarazm Shah, was. He found their property, and reported to the sultan that they were spies on the lands. The sultan ordered him to seize them, so he took their property and killed them in secret. 1
After the affair
Genghis Khan sent to deny this and to demand Inal Khan. The sultan was agitated and killed the envoys. Genghis Khan marched with his armies to his lands. Ibn Khaldun regards the affair as the cause of the Tatars' conquest of the lands of Islam. 1
The date
The year is approximate and follows the context of the source, and the conversion is derived. The data has no verified page number, except that the work is recorded at page 1531 of the Heliopolis edition.
Sources
- Kitab al-Ibar of Ibn Khaldun
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Utrar massacre”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/utrar-massacre-615/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-18.