Central Asian nomadic peoples; captured Baghdad in 1258 and killed the last Abbasid caliph

• A. Mongols
• B. Chinggis Khan
• C. Mamluks
• D. Seljuk Turks

Answer: (A)

The main idea is the power of the Mongol expansion and its impact on the Islamic world. In 1258, central Asian nomads known as the Mongols captured Baghdad and killed the last Abbasid caliph, al-Musta'sim. This event ends Baghdad’s role as the political center of the Abbasid Caliphate and signals a major shift in Middle Eastern power, with the Mongol Ilkhanate rising in Persia. The group responsible is the Mongols, a nomadic empire founded by Chinggis Khan; however, the actual sack was carried out by Hulagu Khan, his descendant, so while Chinggis Khan started the expansion, it was the Mongols who completed this conquest. The other groups don’t fit: the Mamluks were based in Egypt and didn’t sack Baghdad in 1258, and the Seljuk Turks had controlled Baghdad earlier but were not the force that captured it at this time.