At the beginning of the 13th century, Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes and forged the largest contiguous land empire in history. The Mongols' first major victory over European forces came at the Battle of the Kalka River, after which their armies swept across both Europe and Asia. Their advance toward the north was checked at the Battle on the Ice, while the capture of Baghdad destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate and shook the Islamic world. Only at the Battle of Ain Jalut did the Mongols suffer their first decisive defeat, bringing their expansion into the Middle East to a halt. This campaign tells the story of the astonishing rise of an empire that reshaped Eurasian history.
