The House of Wisdom was Destroyed by Hulagu’s Army During the Siege of Baghdad

On February 13, 1258, the Mongols entered the city of the caliphs, starting a full week of pillage and destruction. Along with all other libraries in Baghdad, the House of Wisdom was destroyed by Hulagu’s army during the Siege of Baghdad. The books from Baghdad’s libraries were thrown into the Tigris River in such quantities that the river was said to have run black with the ink from their pages. According a16th century chronicle about the siege from Quṭb al-Dīn al-Nahrawālī, “So many books were thrown into the Eufrates River that they formed a bridge that would support a man on horseback.” According to historian Michal Biran, this quote was a literary trope associated with the siege of Baghdad and magnifying Mongol barbarity. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi rescued about 400,000 manuscripts, which he took to Maragheh before the siege. Many of the books were also torn apart by pillagers so that the leather covers could be made into sandals.₁