From 1256 to 1258, the Mongol forces deployed an estimated 300,000 warriors as well as siege engines, like the trebuchet being prepared for use above, to subdue more than 200 fortresses in northern Iran and the Levant.

Il-Khanid: Tabriz
Edinburgh University Library, MS. Or. 20 f.124v
Source: p.24, The Ages of Discovery, General Editor: James Mitchell

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Shelfmark: Or.Ms.20
Holding Institution: University of Edinburgh
Title: Jami' al-Tawarikh (World History)
Alternate Title: Compendium of Chronicles
Subset Index: f.124V detail
Creator: Rashid al-Din Ṭabib
Creator Nationality: Iranian
Creator Role: Author

Detail of miniature from the Compendium of Chronicles by Rashid al-Din. Shows the forces of Mahmud ibn Sebuktegin, ruler of the Ghaznavid Dynasty of Eastern Afghanistan from 998-1030CE, attacking the rebel fortress of Zarang, in Sijistan, now part of Afghanistan, in 1003CE. The fortress is shown to the right of the scene, with three archers standing on the battlements. To the left of the image, a a catapult, as well as several archers, appear about to fire onto the building. Arguably the greatest treasure in the library, the Jami' al-Tawarikh, or Compendium of Chronicles, is a world history which encompasses a range of cultures, from China in the East, to Ireland in the West, from the time of Adam. It is written in the Naskh script and contains 70 illustrated folios. Written by the scholar and courtier Rashid al-Din (d.1318), there is some debate as to the exact date of this manuscript, but it was almost certainly completed within the author's lifetime, making it one of the earliest copies in existence. It is one of the three main sources for the life of Genghis Khan and is considered to be one of the most important medieval documents in the world.
Sources: Hukk, M (1925), A descriptive catalogue of the Arabic and Persian manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library, Hertford. Talbot Rice, D. (1976), The Illustrations to the World History of Rashid al-Din, Edinburgh.

Source: Edinburgh University Library