The Mongols, the Destroyer and Spreader of Islam

The Mongol Empire was one of the strongest and most extensive empires in history. The Mongols were known for their tenacity and military strength. Because of that power, the Mongol Empire made many conquests around the world.

One of the countries conquered by the Mongols was the Abbasid Caliphate of Islam in Baghdad. The Mongols succeeded in conquering the Abbasids. They ravaged Baghdad, which at that time was the center of the Abbasid Caliphate. Not only that, the Mongols also destroyed the library which contained many valuable books on science and others. Historian Ibn Khaldun revealed, the books were thrown into the Tigris River, so that the river water became pitch black because of the ink from the many books that were thrown. The Abbasid caliphate finally collapsed due to being attacked by the Mongols.

Genghis Khan was the most influential figure behind the size of the Mongol Empire, which stretched from China in the east, India in the south, Russia in the north, to Eastern Europe in the west. When Genghis Khan died, he had previously distributed the territory to his four children.

• 1. Central Mongol (Tolui Khan) as Great Khan
• 2. China (Ogedei Khan)
• 3. Persian (Chagatai Khan)
• 4. Eastern Europe to Central Asia (Jochi Khan).

After the Mongols conquered the Abbasids, some of them settled there. They socialized with the local Muslim population which eventually became the beginning of the introduction of the Mongols to Islam.

Genghis Khan's descendant who first became close to Islam was Jochi Khan, because he was married to Risalah bint Khwarizm Shah, who was the younger brother of Sultan Jalaluddin. From there the influence of Islam began to enter his children such as Batu Khan, Berke Khan, and others.

Berke Khan eventually became the ruler of the Northern Mongol Dynasty (Middle East, Central Asia, and parts of Persia) succeeding his father's leadership. According to some opinions, this Berke Khan was the first Mongol Khan to convert to Islam, so the Northern Mongol Dynasty was the first Islamic dynasty of the Mongol Empire.

After Berke Khan, descendants of Chagatai Khan who ruled Persia also converted to Islam. From this Islamic dynasty also emerged the famous king of Mongol descent, namely Sultan Timur Khan or also known as Timurlenk. In the Timurlenk era, he spread Islam to India.

The Mongols used to be famous for their ruthlessness when conquering a region. Even the Abbasid Islamic dynasty finally collapsed because of the Mongol attacks. But at least there is another side to this event, namely the descendants of Khan himself also spread Islam to other corners of the world. Therefore, the sentence that says "Mongols, destroyers and spreaders of Islam" is considered to be true.