Mongol Siege of Klis Fortress

[Domobran7]

Mongol Siege of Klis Fortress – History and War (wordpress.com)

Mongols under Kadan’s leadership suffered a major setback at Klis fortress, while hunting king Bela IV. Believing that Bela is in Klis, they surrounded the fortress, launching arrows at it.

However, natural defences of the fortress and its walls combined to make it impervious to such an attack. Thus, Mongols started crawling up the cliffs to the fortress, suffering casualties due to thrown rocks and missiles. Enraged, the attackers managed to reach the walls themselves, engaging the defenders in hand-to-hand combat. Mongols managed to rob the houses located in proximity of the fortress, but failed to take the fortress itself. Realizing the king is not there, Mongols abandoned the attack, riding off towards Trogir and Split.

The text below is the basis of the above account:

“Credentes autem Tatari, quod rex in Clisse presidio consideret, ceperunt undique op#pugnare castrum iacientes sagittas et iacula intorquentes. Sed quia locus erat natura munitus, modicam poterant inferre iacturam. Tunc descendentes de equis ceperunt reptantes manibus ad superiora conscendere. Castrenses vero ingentes lapides revolventes in ipsos aliquot ex eis neci dederunt. Ipsi vero ex casu ferociores effecti usque sub magnas rupes manu ad manum pugnando venerunt diripientes domos predasque non modicas asportantes. Sed cum cognovissent regem ibi non esse, dimise#runt oppugnare castrum et ascensis equis versus Tragurium equitarunt. At Spaletum autem non multi diverterunt ex eis.”

(CONTINUED ON BLOG)

 

[Manomed]

Based

 

[Ardabas34]

Mongols were a different breed...
They had the most original ideas in sieges such as using infected animal corpses in trebutchets to start epidemics within a city, changing the riverbed and directing a flood, stacking woods to burn under fortifications that are hard to capture, abondoning the siege only to quickly turn back and capture the defenders by suprise etc.

 

[Ecderha]

Based

"Trust me Bro"
or
"They teach us that why in school"
or
"I read it somewhere"

All above can be used as TRUE. It is Common bahaver from "meridian" 20 degree from globe toward WEST direction

 

[Manomed]

"Trust me Bro"
or
"They teach us that why in school"
or
"I read it somewhere"

All above can be used as TRUE. It is Common bahaver from "meridian" 20 degree from globe toward WEST direction

?

 

[Ryder]

Fortresses and castles have always been a weak point of Nomadic based armies.

 

[Domobran7]

Fortresses and castles have always been a weak point of Nomadic based armies.

Indeed. In China, Mongols solved that problem by hiring local troops and siege engineers, but these weren't available in Europe. Turks meanwhile basically settled in Anatolia, and until they did, they too used local auxilliaries.

 

[Ardabas34]

Fortresses and castles have always been a weak point of Nomadic based armies.

That is what Shah Muhammed of Khwarezmia said when he splitted his army to various cities. Little did he know, Genghis enriched his army with Chinese engineers after his campaign to Xia.

 

[Manomed]

I remember Khazars struggled to get the tfilisi castle but when romans gave them siege weapons they took it without a problem

 

[Ryder]

That is what Shah Muhammed of Khwarezmia said when he splitted his army to various cities. Little did he know, Genghis enriched his army with Chinese engineers after his campaign to Xia.

Sieges are costly not all nomads can bring siege weapons as their fight is about minimising casualties. Heavy casualties has always been costly to the Turks, Mongols and various nomads as they did not have the numbers to sustain compared to settled societies who were sustained by surplus food.

Turks and Mongols that did settle like the Ottomans, Seljuks, Kubilay Khans empire, Ghanavids, Timuirds, Baburs Empire, Golden horde no doubt had the population to continue their military campaigns due to the people they were ruling and the surplus food they got plus they settled in the places they conquered.

Hunnic Empire largely collapsed because they could not sustain in the long term. Nomadic Empires have always had that short time of conquering so much then a matter of decades if not a century collapses.

Timurs empire largely collapsed not because it conquered so much is that Timur did not have a proper heir like the Ottomans to continue their empire. Baburs empire is a different story as they did not repeat their great great grandfathers mistake.