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What happened to the ancient city of Ray after the Mongol invasion of 1220?
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Tehran
Mosque with cupola in the bazaar, Tehran.
Following the Mongol invasion of 1220, the ancient city of Rayy suffered near-total destruction, and its population was massacred.1
Prior to this event, the city had already been weakened by internal factional strife between rival religious sects during the 12th century. After the Mongol conquest, the majority of the survivors fled to the nearby village of Tehrān, which subsequently grew in prominence as the former metropolis fell into ruin. While Rayy remained a site of strategic interest during later military campaigns, it lost its status as a major urban center and eventually became a suburb of modern Tehran. Today, only a few architectural remnants, such as the 12th-century tower of Toghrïl, survive at the site.12