Downfall and Death
Kuchlug attacked the city of Almaliq, and the Karlugs there appealed to Genghis Khan for help. In 1216, Genghis Khan dispatched his general Jebe to pursue Kuchlug. The Mongol first went to Almaliq, then proceed on to the capital city of Balasaghun near which they defeated a Kara-Khitan force of 30,000 men. Kuchlug fled southwards to Kashgar, however, his previous acts of pillaging and burning harvests in Kashgar when he first captured the town, his anti-Muslim policies, as well as the billeting of his troops on local households, had antagonized the people of Kashgar. When the Mongols approached Kashgar, Kuchlug, unable to find support in Kashgar, fled again. According to Ata-Malik Juvayni, the people of Kashgar, then killed his soldiers. He continued south across the Pamirs, eventually reaching the border between Badakhshan and Wakhan in 1218. There, a group of hunters caught him and handed him over to the Mongols. Kuchlug was beheaded, and according to the Chinese historical work Yuan Shi, his head was displayed across his former realm.
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