Editing Subutai (section)

==Central Asian campaigns (1217–1220)==
{{Main|Mongol conquest of Central Asia}}
In 1217, Genghis Khan sent Subutai to hunt down the hated [[Merkit]]s and their allies, the [[Cumania|Cuman-Kipchak confederation]], in modern-day central Kazakhstan. Subutai defeated them on the [[Chu River]] in 1217 and again in 1219 in [[Kipchaks|Wild Kipchak]] territory. Before the battle of the Chem River in 1219, Subutai had his vanguard carry children's toys and leave them behind, as if they were a group of families fleeing from the Merkit. As a result of this deception, Subutai's army was able to surprise, encircle, and capture all of the Merkit/Kipchak leadership.<ref>Yuanshi 121, 122 in: Pow and Liao, 52–54.</ref>

[[Muhammad II of Khwarezm|Mohammed II]] of [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarizm]] [[Battle on the Irghiz River|attacked Subutai shortly afterwards along the Irghiz River]]. Despite being outnumbered three to one against the Sultan's elite forces which had conquered much of Central Asia, Subutai held him off after a fierce battle and retreated during the night. According to Persian sources, this battle seems to have eroded Mohammed's confidence in his ability to defeat the Mongols in pitched battle, since Subutai only commanded a small 20,000 man force and did not want to even fight him. Supposedly the Mongol army had destroyed his left wing, and nearly broken his center and captured him, until reinforcements from his son arrived and the battlefield turned dark.<ref>Juvaini, ''History of the World Conqueror'', 370–371.</ref> Because of this battle, Mohammed was unable to take advantage of the upheaval in the [[Kara-Khitai]] Empire (simultaneously being conquered by the Mongolian general Jebe), like he had in earlier wars.

Genghis Khan led the Mongol army westwards in late 1219 to invade [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarizm]] as retaliation for the execution of Mongol ambassadors. With roughly 100,000 armed men, the Mongol army was numerically superior to the forces of the [[Khwarazmian dynasty|Khwarizim Empire]], and through deception and rapid maneuver, the Mongols defeated the isolated Khwarezm armies [[defeat in detail|in detail]] before they could react. Serving as the Mongol equivalent of Genghis Khan's Chief of Staff, Subutai marched with the Khan's army through the deadly [[Kyzylkum Desert]] to emerge behind the Khwarezm defense network at [[Bukhara]].<ref>Juvaini, ''History of the World Conqueror'', 373–385.</ref> After the rapid capture of the Khwarezm center of defense, [[Samarkand]], Genghis Khan dispatched Subutai and Jebe with 30,000 men to hunt the Khwarezm Shah and prevent him from rallying the other Khwarezm armies. Shah Mohammed attempted to save himself by fleeing into central [[Persia]], but while he eluded capture, the relentless chase meant he could not rally his forces. As a result, the several hundred thousand man Khwarezm forces in reserve remained divided and were easily destroyed piecemeal by Genghis Khan's main army.<ref>Juvaini, ''History of the World Conqueror'',  375–410.</ref> Drained by the fierce pursuit, Mohammed fell ill and died at a fishing village on an island in the Caspian Sea in early 1221, an ignominious end for the man who styled himself the 'Second Alexander'.