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Mongol invasion of Syria (1299)
Encyclopedia
Starting in the 1240s, the Mongols
made repeated invasions of Syria
or attempts thereof. Most failed, but they did have some success in 1260 and 1300, capturing Aleppo
and Damascus
and destroying the Ayyubid dynasty
. The Mongols were forced to retreat within months each time by other forces in the area, primarily the Egyptian Mamluks. Since 1260, it had been described as the Mamluk-Ilkhanid War.
in Persia, the Mongolian army under Yisaur attacked Syria in 1244. The reasons for it unclear, but it may be in retaliation for Syrian participation on the Seljuk side in the battle of Kose Dag. In the autumn 1244, Yisaur concentrates the Mongol forces in the upper Tigris valley where they subjugated the Kurdish province of Akhlat. Moving across, the Mongolian army encountered no resistance and ravaged the area en route. The fortified cities were untaken in his advance because Yisaur was not prepared for siege assault. Passing through the territory of the city of Urfa, he crossed the Euphrates.
He marched directly to Aleppo but went as far as Hailan before the climate impaired his army's movements. Yisaur sent envoys to Aleppo to demand submission of tribute, which Malik agreed to pay. The same demand were sent to Bohemund of Antioch who chose not to fight them instead of defiance.
Yisaur withdrew his force back up the Euphrates valley and received the submission of Malatia. In Egypt, Sultan Saleeh decided to acquiess in the results and made no attempt to raise an army to encounter the Mongols who had invaded his dominions in Syria.
In 1251, as an expediency to buy peace, Sultan Nasir sent his representatives to Mongolia for the election of Mongke and agreed to make Syria a vassal state of the Mongol Empire.
, in 1255 Hulagu sought to further expand the Empire into the Middle East. His forces subjugated multiple peoples along the way, most notably the center of the Islamic Empire, Baghdad
, which was completely sacked in 1258
, causing the destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate. From there, the Mongol forces proceeded into Syria.
In 1260, Egypt
was under the control of the Bahri Mamluks, while most of the Levant (aside from the Crusader states
) was still under the control of Ayyubid princes. The Mongols, for their part, had combined their forces with that of their Christian vassals in the region, the Georgians
; the army of Cilician Armenia under Hethum I, King of Armenia; and the Franks of Bohemond VI of Antioch. The combined forces captured the city of Aleppo
, and then on March 1, 1260, under the Mongol Christian general Kitbuqa
, took Damascus
. The last Ayyubid king, An-Nasir Yusuf
, was captured by the Mongols near Gaza
in 1260. However, Hulagu promised him that he would appoint An-Nasir Yusuf as his viceroy
in Syria. With the Islamic power center of Baghdad and Syria gone, the center of Islamic power transferred to the Mamluk
s in Cairo
.
Hulagu's intention at that point was to continue south through Palestine
to Egypt, to engage the Mamluks. However, Mongke died in late 1259, requiring Hulagu to return to Karakorum to engage in the councils on who the next Great Khan would be. Hulagu departed with the bulk of his forces, leaving only about 10,000 Mongol horsemen in Syria under Kitbuqa. Some of Kitbuqa's forces engaged in raids southwards towards Egypt, reaching as far as Gaza, where a Mongol garrison was established with 1,000 troops.
The Mamluks took advantage of the weakened state of the Mongol forces, and, negotiating a passive alliance with the remnants of the Crusader forces in Acre
, advanced northwards to engage the Mongols at the pivotal Battle of Ain Jalut
in September 1260. The Mamluks achieved a decisive victory, Kitbuqa was executed, and the battle established a highwater mark for the Mongol conquests. In previous defeats, the Mongols had always returned later to re-take the territory, but they were never able to avenge the loss at Ayn Jalut. The border of the Mongol Ilkhanate remained at the Tigris River for the duration of Hulagu's dynasty. the Sultan An-Nasir and his brother were executed after Hulagu heard the news of the defeat of Kitbuqa at Ain Jalut.
In December 1260, Hulagu sent 6,000 troops back into Syria, but they were defeated at the First Battle of Homs
.
in 1258, a few of Abbasid
princes fled to Syria and Egypt. There, the Abbasids still maintained a feeble show of authority, confined to religious matters, under the Mamluks. But their authority was limited to being figureheads. First of the Caliphs in Cairo
, Al-Mustansir II was dispatched to Iraq
by Baibars. The Caliph was reinforced with Syrian auxiliaries and the Bedouin
s. However, he was totally crushed by the Mongol vanguard in South Iraq in 1262. The Mongol protecrate and ruler of Mosul
, Badr al-Din's sons sided with the Mamluks and rebelled against the rule of Hulegu. This led to the destruction of the city state and the Mongols finally suppressed the rebellion in 1265.
The second Mongol invasion of Syria took place in October 1271, when 10,000 Mongols and Seljuk auxiliaries moved southwards from Rûm
and captured Aleppo; however they retreated back beyond the Euphrates when the Mamluk leader Baibars
marched on them from Egypt.
, and the Mongols of the Ilkhanate
, who battled over claims on Georgia
and Azerbaijan
. Both the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate sought to strengthen their position via trade agreements or other types of alliances with other powers in the area. In 1261, Berke
of the Golden Horde allied with the Mamluk
Sultan Baibars
, against their common enemy the Ilkhanate. This alliance was both strategic, and also in terms of trade exchanges, as the Egyptians had been the Golden Horde’s long-standing trade partner and ally in the Mediterranean.
For their part, the Mongols of the Ilkhanate sought (unsuccessfully) an alliance with the Franks of Europe
, but did form a Byzantine-Mongol alliance
with the Christian Byzantine Empire
.
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The two Western Mongol realms, the Golden Horde
and the Il-Khanate, were already in open war. The roots of the conflict were related to battles between the descendants of Genghis Khan
over the control of the Empire. The immediate successor to Genghis Khan was his son Ogedei, but the leadership was then taken by force by the descendants of Genghis' son Tolui
. During the reign of Kublai Khan
(son of Genghis' son Tolui
), descendants of Genghis' other sons Ogedei
, Chagatai
, and Jochi
sought to oppose the rule of Kublai. The Ilkhanate
had been founded by Hulagu, another of Tolui's sons, who was therefore loyal to Kublai. The Golden Horde
had been founded by Genghis' son Jochi
, following the Mongol invasion of Central Asia
. Genghis had designated several of the territories south of the Caucasus
to Jochi, specifically Georgia
, and the Seljukid Sultanate
. Hulagu, with the backing of his brother the Great Khan Kublai, invaded and captured these territories in 1256, even installing his capital in the center of the disputed territories, at Maragha. Berke
, the leader of the Golden Horde
, could not tolerate this infringement of his inheritance, and a drawn-out conflict between the two Mongol realms continued well into the 14th century.
's leadership, was the first of the Mongol states to convert to Islam, which lent to solidarity with the Islamic realms to the south. On the other hand, the Il-Khan rulers were highly favourable to Christianity
, and did not commit to Islam until 1295, when the Ilkhan Ghazan, a descendant of Tolui, formerly converted when he took the throne. Even after his conversion though, he continued to battle the Mamluks for control of Syria, while simultaneously seeking an alliance with Christian Europe.
The Golden Horde entered into a defensive alliance with the Mamluks in Egypt, with the agreement being that each realm would intervene if the other was attacked by the Ilkhanate. This required the Il-khan to devote forces to both his northern and southern borders, and never use all forces in a single battle. On multiple occasions, the forces of the Ilkhanate would start a campaign towards Syria in the south, only to be forced to recall troops within a few months because of attacks from the Golden Horde in the north.
The third major invasion took place in 1281 under Abaqa Khan
. Having crossed the Euphrates and captured Aleppo, the Mongols of the Ilkhanate moved as far south as Homs
with 80,000 men before they were beaten back to the Euphrates
river at the Second Battle of Homs
.
The Il-khan Tekuder
(r. 1282-1284) was friendly to Islam, and sent a letter to the Mamluk sultan to broach the subject of peace, but Tekuder's envoy was arrested by the Mamluks. Tekuder's conversion to Islam and attempts to make peace with the Mamluks were not popular with the other nobles of the Ilkhanate. When Tekuder's brother Arghun
challenged him for the throne, Tekuder sought assistance in vain from the Mamluks, but was executed. Arghun (1284–91) took power, and as directed by the Great Khan Kublai (r.1260-94) continued Mongol attempts to conquer Syria.
In late 1299, the Mongol Ilkhan Mahmud Ghazan
, son of Arghun, took his army and crossed the Euphrates river to again invade Syria. They continued south until they were slightly north of Homs, and successfully took Aleppo
. There, Ghazan was joined by forces from his vassal state of Cilician Armenia.
The Mamluk relief force sent from Damascus
met the Mongol army northeast of Homs, at the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar
(sometimes called the Battle of Homs) in December 1299. The Mongols had some 60,000 troops, with about 40,000 Georgian and Armenian auxiliaries, and routed the Egyptian Mamluks with their much smaller force of 20,000-30,000 troops. The Mamluks retreated, and were harassed by Maronite and Druze bowmen who wanted independence from the Mamluks. One group of Mongols also split off from Ghazan's army, and pursued the retreating Mamluk troops as far as Gaza
, pushing them back to Egypt.
The bulk of Ghazan's forces then proceeded onward towards Damascus
. Some of the populace of Damascus upon hearing of the Mongol approach had fled to Egypt, and the governor of the city, Arjawash, had entrenched himself deep inside the Citadel of Damascus. The Mongols besieged the city for ten days, which surrendered between December 30, 1299, and January 6, 1300, though its Citadel resisted. Ghazan then withdrew most of his forces in February, promising to return in the winter of 1300-1301 to attack Egypt. The reason for the withdrawal is believed to be either the Chagatai
Mongols invading their eastern borders, or the need to retreat to areas where there was better grazing room for the horses. The Mamluks had learned that the availability of pastures was important to the Mongols, and so had taken to burning pastureland so as to prevent the rapid advance of the Mongol cavalry. After Ghazan's main force withdrew, only about 10,000 horsemen remained in Syria, under the Mongol general Mulay
.
With the retreat of the majority of forces from both sides, for about three months, until the Mamluks returned in May 1300, Mulay's forces were in technical control over Syria, and some Mongols engaged in raids as far south as Jerusalem and Gaza. However, when the Mamluks returned from Egypt, the remaining Mongols retreated with little resistance.
Also in early 1300, two Frankish rulers, Guy d'Ibelin and Jean II de Giblet
, had moved in with their troops from Cyprus in response to Ghazan's earlier call. They had established a base in the castle of Nefin in Gibelet (Byblos) on the Syrian coast with the intention of joining him, but Ghazan was already gone. They also started to besiege the new city of Tripoli, but in vain, and then returned to Cyprus.
In late 1300, Ghazan's forces had dealt with the distraction of the Chagatai
invasion on their northern border, and once again turned their attention to Syria. They crossed the Euphrates river between December 14, 1300 and November 1, 1301. Again, the Mamluk army in Syria withdrew without engaging in combat, which resulted in a panic in Damascus when they heard of the new threat from the Mongols. The Syrians of Hamat were able to achieve a small victory against the Mongols at a battle near Aleppo by the post of Hamat. This created order in Damascus, enough for the governor to send for a larger relief force from Egypt. However, the Mongols had already left Syria due to a death in Ghazan Khan's family.
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The Ilkhanate returned to Syria in 1303, travelling unopposed down the Levant until they reached Damascus. However, near Damascus they were once again soundly defeated by the Mamluks at the Battle of Marj al-Saffar
in April 1303. This military operation was the last major Mongol invasion of Syria.
Following the defeat of the Mongol ruler Ghazan and the progressive conversion of the Il-Khanate to Islam
, the Mongols finally were amenable to ceasing hostilities. The first contacts to establish a treaty of peace were communicated via the slave trader al-Majd al-Sallami. After the initial communications, more formal letters and embassies were exchanged. Under the Ilkhanate ruler Abu Sa'id
, who was following the advice of his custodian Chupan
, the treaty with the Mamluks was ratified in 1322/1323.
Following the treaty and a period of peace, the Il-Khanate further disintegrated, and effectively disappeared during the 14th century.
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
made repeated invasions of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
or attempts thereof. Most failed, but they did have some success in 1260 and 1300, capturing Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
and Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and destroying the Ayyubid dynasty
Ayyubid dynasty
The Ayyubid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Kurdish origin, founded by Saladin and centered in Egypt. The dynasty ruled much of the Middle East during the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The Ayyubid family, under the brothers Ayyub and Shirkuh, originally served as soldiers for the Zengids until they...
. The Mongols were forced to retreat within months each time by other forces in the area, primarily the Egyptian Mamluks. Since 1260, it had been described as the Mamluk-Ilkhanid War.
First invasion
During the governorship of BachuBaijiu
Baijiu , or shaojiu is a Chinese distilled alcoholic beverage. The name baijiu literally means "white liquor," "white alcohol" or "white spirits". Baijiu is often translated as "wine" or "white wine"...
in Persia, the Mongolian army under Yisaur attacked Syria in 1244. The reasons for it unclear, but it may be in retaliation for Syrian participation on the Seljuk side in the battle of Kose Dag. In the autumn 1244, Yisaur concentrates the Mongol forces in the upper Tigris valley where they subjugated the Kurdish province of Akhlat. Moving across, the Mongolian army encountered no resistance and ravaged the area en route. The fortified cities were untaken in his advance because Yisaur was not prepared for siege assault. Passing through the territory of the city of Urfa, he crossed the Euphrates.
He marched directly to Aleppo but went as far as Hailan before the climate impaired his army's movements. Yisaur sent envoys to Aleppo to demand submission of tribute, which Malik agreed to pay. The same demand were sent to Bohemund of Antioch who chose not to fight them instead of defiance.
Yisaur withdrew his force back up the Euphrates valley and received the submission of Malatia. In Egypt, Sultan Saleeh decided to acquiess in the results and made no attempt to raise an army to encounter the Mongols who had invaded his dominions in Syria.
In 1251, as an expediency to buy peace, Sultan Nasir sent his representatives to Mongolia for the election of Mongke and agreed to make Syria a vassal state of the Mongol Empire.
1260 invasion
Under orders from his older brother, the Great Khan MongkeMöngke Khan
Möngke Khan , born Möngke, , was the fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from July 1, 1251 – August 11, 1259. He was the first Great Khan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms to improve the administration of the Empire during his reign...
, in 1255 Hulagu sought to further expand the Empire into the Middle East. His forces subjugated multiple peoples along the way, most notably the center of the Islamic Empire, Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, which was completely sacked in 1258
Battle of Baghdad (1258)
The Siege of Baghdad, which occurred in 1258, was an invasion, siege and sacking of the city of Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate at the time and the modern-day capital of Iraq, by the Ilkhanate Mongol forces along with other allied troops under Hulagu Khan.The invasion left Baghdad in...
, causing the destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate. From there, the Mongol forces proceeded into Syria.
In 1260, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
was under the control of the Bahri Mamluks, while most of the Levant (aside from the Crusader states
Crusader states
The Crusader states were a number of mostly 12th- and 13th-century feudal states created by Western European crusaders in Asia Minor, Greece and the Holy Land , and during the Northern Crusades in the eastern Baltic area...
) was still under the control of Ayyubid princes. The Mongols, for their part, had combined their forces with that of their Christian vassals in the region, the Georgians
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia was a medieval monarchy established in AD 978 by Bagrat III.It flourished during the 11th and 12th centuries, the so-called "golden age" of the history of Georgia. It fell to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by 1327...
; the army of Cilician Armenia under Hethum I, King of Armenia; and the Franks of Bohemond VI of Antioch. The combined forces captured the city of Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
, and then on March 1, 1260, under the Mongol Christian general Kitbuqa
Kitbuqa
Kitbuqa Noyan was a Nestorian Christian and a member of the Naiman Turks, a group that was subservient to the Mongol Empire. He was a lieutenant and confidant of the Mongol Ilkhan Hulagu, assisting him in his conquests in the Middle East...
, took Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. The last Ayyubid king, An-Nasir Yusuf
An-Nasir Yusuf
An-Nasir Yusuf An-Nasir Yusuf (Arabic: الناصر يوسف ) An-Nasir Yusuf (Arabic: الناصر يوسف ) (Royal Name: al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf (Arabic: الملك الناصر صلاح الدين يوسف )(1228–1260 ) was the Ayyubid ruler of most of Syria, including Aleppo (1236–1260) and Damascus (1250–1260)...
, was captured by the Mongols near Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
in 1260. However, Hulagu promised him that he would appoint An-Nasir Yusuf as his viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
in Syria. With the Islamic power center of Baghdad and Syria gone, the center of Islamic power transferred to the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
.
Hulagu's intention at that point was to continue south through Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
to Egypt, to engage the Mamluks. However, Mongke died in late 1259, requiring Hulagu to return to Karakorum to engage in the councils on who the next Great Khan would be. Hulagu departed with the bulk of his forces, leaving only about 10,000 Mongol horsemen in Syria under Kitbuqa. Some of Kitbuqa's forces engaged in raids southwards towards Egypt, reaching as far as Gaza, where a Mongol garrison was established with 1,000 troops.
The Mamluks took advantage of the weakened state of the Mongol forces, and, negotiating a passive alliance with the remnants of the Crusader forces in Acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
, advanced northwards to engage the Mongols at the pivotal Battle of Ain Jalut
Battle of Ain Jalut
The Battle of Ain Jalut took place on 3 September 1260 between Mamluks and the Mongols in eastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from Ein Harod....
in September 1260. The Mamluks achieved a decisive victory, Kitbuqa was executed, and the battle established a highwater mark for the Mongol conquests. In previous defeats, the Mongols had always returned later to re-take the territory, but they were never able to avenge the loss at Ayn Jalut. The border of the Mongol Ilkhanate remained at the Tigris River for the duration of Hulagu's dynasty. the Sultan An-Nasir and his brother were executed after Hulagu heard the news of the defeat of Kitbuqa at Ain Jalut.
In December 1260, Hulagu sent 6,000 troops back into Syria, but they were defeated at the First Battle of Homs
First Battle of Homs
The first Battle of Homs was fought on December 10, 1260, between the armies of the Mongol Ilkhanate of Persia and the forces of Egypt, in Syria....
.
Abbasid Caliphate in Cairo and the rebellion in Mosul
After the fall of BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
in 1258, a few of Abbasid
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
princes fled to Syria and Egypt. There, the Abbasids still maintained a feeble show of authority, confined to religious matters, under the Mamluks. But their authority was limited to being figureheads. First of the Caliphs in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Al-Mustansir II was dispatched to Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
by Baibars. The Caliph was reinforced with Syrian auxiliaries and the Bedouin
Bedouin
The Bedouin are a part of a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group traditionally divided into tribes or clans, known in Arabic as ..-Etymology:...
s. However, he was totally crushed by the Mongol vanguard in South Iraq in 1262. The Mongol protecrate and ruler of Mosul
Mosul
Mosul , is a city in northern Iraq and the capital of the Ninawa Governorate, some northwest of Baghdad. The original city stands on the west bank of the Tigris River, opposite the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on the east bank, but the metropolitan area has now grown to encompass substantial...
, Badr al-Din's sons sided with the Mamluks and rebelled against the rule of Hulegu. This led to the destruction of the city state and the Mongols finally suppressed the rebellion in 1265.
1271 invasion
Rûm
Rûm, also Roum or Rhum , an indefinite term used at different times in the Muslim world to refer to the Balkans and Anatolia generally, and for the Byzantine Empire in particular, for the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm in Asia Minor, and referring to Greeks living outside of Greece or non-muslims...
and captured Aleppo; however they retreated back beyond the Euphrates when the Mamluk leader Baibars
Baibars
Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...
marched on them from Egypt.
Area alliances
In the second half of the 13th century, civil war had erupted in the Mongol Empire. In the Middle East, this manifested as conflict between the Mongols of the Golden HordeGolden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, and the Mongols of the Ilkhanate
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
, who battled over claims on Georgia
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia was a medieval monarchy established in AD 978 by Bagrat III.It flourished during the 11th and 12th centuries, the so-called "golden age" of the history of Georgia. It fell to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by 1327...
and Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
. Both the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate sought to strengthen their position via trade agreements or other types of alliances with other powers in the area. In 1261, Berke
Berke
Berke Khan was the ruler of the Golden Horde who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Hordes from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde and was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the Mongol Empire...
of the Golden Horde allied with the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
Sultan Baibars
Baibars
Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...
, against their common enemy the Ilkhanate. This alliance was both strategic, and also in terms of trade exchanges, as the Egyptians had been the Golden Horde’s long-standing trade partner and ally in the Mediterranean.
For their part, the Mongols of the Ilkhanate sought (unsuccessfully) an alliance with the Franks of Europe
Franco-Mongol alliance
Franco-Mongol relations were established in the 13th century, as attempts were made towards forming a Franco-Mongol alliance between the Christian Crusaders and the Mongol Empire against various Muslim empires. Such an alliance would have seemed a logical choice: the Mongols were sympathetic to...
, but did form a Byzantine-Mongol alliance
Byzantine-Mongol alliance
A Byzantine–Mongol alliance occurred during the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century between the Byzantine Empire and the Mongol Empire. Byzantium actually tried to maintain friendly relations with both the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanate realms, who were often at war with each other...
with the Christian Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
.
Conflict between the Golden Horde and the Il-Khans
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
and the Il-Khanate, were already in open war. The roots of the conflict were related to battles between the descendants of Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan , born Temujin and occasionally known by his temple name Taizu , was the founder and Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death....
over the control of the Empire. The immediate successor to Genghis Khan was his son Ogedei, but the leadership was then taken by force by the descendants of Genghis' son Tolui
Tolui
Tolui, was the youngest son of Genghis Khan by his chief khatun Börte...
. During the reign of Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
(son of Genghis' son Tolui
Tolui
Tolui, was the youngest son of Genghis Khan by his chief khatun Börte...
), descendants of Genghis' other sons Ogedei
Ögedei Khan
Ögedei Khan, born Ögedei was the third son of Genghis Khan and second Great Khan of the Mongol Empire by succeeding his father...
, Chagatai
Chagatai Khan
Chagatai Khan was the second son of Genghis Khan and first khan and origin of the names of the Chagatai Khanate, Chagatai language and Chagatai Turks....
, and Jochi
Jochi
Jochi was the eldest of the Mongol chieftain Genghis Khan's four sons by his principal wife Börte. An accomplished military leader, he participated in his father's conquest of Central Asia, along with his brothers and uncles.-Early life:...
sought to oppose the rule of Kublai. The Ilkhanate
Ilkhanate
The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate , was a Mongol khanate established in Azerbaijan and Persia in the 13th century, considered a part of the Mongol Empire...
had been founded by Hulagu, another of Tolui's sons, who was therefore loyal to Kublai. The Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
had been founded by Genghis' son Jochi
Jochi
Jochi was the eldest of the Mongol chieftain Genghis Khan's four sons by his principal wife Börte. An accomplished military leader, he participated in his father's conquest of Central Asia, along with his brothers and uncles.-Early life:...
, following the Mongol invasion of Central Asia
Mongol invasion of Central Asia
The Mongol invasion of Central Asia occurred after the unification of the Mongol and Turkic tribes on Mongolian plateau in 1206. It finally completed when Genghis Khan conquered the Khwarizmian Empire in 1221....
. Genghis had designated several of the territories south of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
to Jochi, specifically Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
, and the Seljukid Sultanate
Great Seljuq Empire
The Great Seljuq Empire was a medieval Persianate, Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire, originating from the Qynyq branch of Oghuz Turks. The Seljuq Empire controlled a vast area stretching from the Hindu Kush to eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf...
. Hulagu, with the backing of his brother the Great Khan Kublai, invaded and captured these territories in 1256, even installing his capital in the center of the disputed territories, at Maragha. Berke
Berke
Berke Khan was the ruler of the Golden Horde who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Hordes from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde and was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the Mongol Empire...
, the leader of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, could not tolerate this infringement of his inheritance, and a drawn-out conflict between the two Mongol realms continued well into the 14th century.
Ethnic and religious affinities
Various affinities led to a more or less natural alliance between the Mongols of the Golden Horde and the Mamluks of Egypt. The Mamluks' Empire had been founded by former slaves bought from the Kipchack territory of southern Russia, which was now an important segment of the Mongol Golden Horde. There were therefore already cultural affinities between large segments of the Mongol Horde and the ruling elite of Egypt. Berke’s Turkic subjects also spoke the same Turkic language as the Mamluks. Further, the Golden Horde, under BerkeBerke
Berke Khan was the ruler of the Golden Horde who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue Horde and White Hordes from 1257 to 1266. He succeeded his brother Batu Khan of the Blue Horde and was responsible for the first official establishment of Islam in a khanate of the Mongol Empire...
's leadership, was the first of the Mongol states to convert to Islam, which lent to solidarity with the Islamic realms to the south. On the other hand, the Il-Khan rulers were highly favourable to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and did not commit to Islam until 1295, when the Ilkhan Ghazan, a descendant of Tolui, formerly converted when he took the throne. Even after his conversion though, he continued to battle the Mamluks for control of Syria, while simultaneously seeking an alliance with Christian Europe.
Mamluk-Golden Horde rapprochement
1281 invasion
Abaqa Khan
Abaqa Khan , also Abaga , or Abagha Khan, was the second Mongol ruler of the Persian Ilkhanate. The son of Hulagu Khan and Yesuncin Khatun, he reigned from 1265–1282 and was succeeded by his brother Tekuder Khan...
. Having crossed the Euphrates and captured Aleppo, the Mongols of the Ilkhanate moved as far south as Homs
Homs
Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...
with 80,000 men before they were beaten back to the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
river at the Second Battle of Homs
Second Battle of Homs
The Second Battle of Homs was fought in western Syria on October 29, 1281, between the armies of the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt and Ilkhanate, division of the Mongol Empire centered on Iran...
.
The Il-khan Tekuder
Tekuder
Ahmed Tekuder , also known as Sultan Ahmad , was the sultan of the Persia-based Ilkhanate, son of Hulegu and brother of Abaqa. He was eventually succeeded by Arghun Khan...
(r. 1282-1284) was friendly to Islam, and sent a letter to the Mamluk sultan to broach the subject of peace, but Tekuder's envoy was arrested by the Mamluks. Tekuder's conversion to Islam and attempts to make peace with the Mamluks were not popular with the other nobles of the Ilkhanate. When Tekuder's brother Arghun
Arghun
Arghun Khan aka Argon was the fourth ruler of the Mongol empire's Ilkhanate, from 1284 to 1291. He was the son of Abaqa Khan, and like his father, was a devout Buddhist...
challenged him for the throne, Tekuder sought assistance in vain from the Mamluks, but was executed. Arghun (1284–91) took power, and as directed by the Great Khan Kublai (r.1260-94) continued Mongol attempts to conquer Syria.
The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War: 1299-1303
Mahmud Ghazan
Mahmud Ghazan was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun and Quthluq Khatun, continuing a line of rulers who were direct descendants of Genghis Khan...
, son of Arghun, took his army and crossed the Euphrates river to again invade Syria. They continued south until they were slightly north of Homs, and successfully took Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
. There, Ghazan was joined by forces from his vassal state of Cilician Armenia.
The Mamluk relief force sent from Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
met the Mongol army northeast of Homs, at the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar
Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar
The Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar, also known as the Third Battle of Homs, was a Mongol victory over the Mamluks in 1299.-Background:In 1260, Hulagu Khan had invaded the Middle East all the way to Palestine. Before he could follow up with an invasion of Egypt, he was called back to Mongolia. He left...
(sometimes called the Battle of Homs) in December 1299. The Mongols had some 60,000 troops, with about 40,000 Georgian and Armenian auxiliaries, and routed the Egyptian Mamluks with their much smaller force of 20,000-30,000 troops. The Mamluks retreated, and were harassed by Maronite and Druze bowmen who wanted independence from the Mamluks. One group of Mongols also split off from Ghazan's army, and pursued the retreating Mamluk troops as far as Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
, pushing them back to Egypt.
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. Some of the populace of Damascus upon hearing of the Mongol approach had fled to Egypt, and the governor of the city, Arjawash, had entrenched himself deep inside the Citadel of Damascus. The Mongols besieged the city for ten days, which surrendered between December 30, 1299, and January 6, 1300, though its Citadel resisted. Ghazan then withdrew most of his forces in February, promising to return in the winter of 1300-1301 to attack Egypt. The reason for the withdrawal is believed to be either the Chagatai
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
Mongols invading their eastern borders, or the need to retreat to areas where there was better grazing room for the horses. The Mamluks had learned that the availability of pastures was important to the Mongols, and so had taken to burning pastureland so as to prevent the rapid advance of the Mongol cavalry. After Ghazan's main force withdrew, only about 10,000 horsemen remained in Syria, under the Mongol general Mulay
Mulay
Mulay, Mûlay, Bulay, or Molay for the Franks, was a general under the Mongol Ilkhanate ruler Ghazan at the end the 13th century. Mulay was part of the 1299–1300 Mongol offensive in Syria and Palestine, and remained with a small force to occupy the land after the departure of Ghazan. He also...
.
With the retreat of the majority of forces from both sides, for about three months, until the Mamluks returned in May 1300, Mulay's forces were in technical control over Syria, and some Mongols engaged in raids as far south as Jerusalem and Gaza. However, when the Mamluks returned from Egypt, the remaining Mongols retreated with little resistance.
Also in early 1300, two Frankish rulers, Guy d'Ibelin and Jean II de Giblet
Jean II de Giblet
Jean II de Giblet was a Christian prince of the House of Giblet, an area of the Holy Land, in the 13th-14th century. His family used to be located in the fief of Cerep in Antioch, before the area was taken by the Mamluks...
, had moved in with their troops from Cyprus in response to Ghazan's earlier call. They had established a base in the castle of Nefin in Gibelet (Byblos) on the Syrian coast with the intention of joining him, but Ghazan was already gone. They also started to besiege the new city of Tripoli, but in vain, and then returned to Cyprus.
In late 1300, Ghazan's forces had dealt with the distraction of the Chagatai
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate was a Turko-Mongol khanate that comprised the lands ruled by Chagatai Khan , second son of the Great Khan Genghis Khan, and his descendents and successors...
invasion on their northern border, and once again turned their attention to Syria. They crossed the Euphrates river between December 14, 1300 and November 1, 1301. Again, the Mamluk army in Syria withdrew without engaging in combat, which resulted in a panic in Damascus when they heard of the new threat from the Mongols. The Syrians of Hamat were able to achieve a small victory against the Mongols at a battle near Aleppo by the post of Hamat. This created order in Damascus, enough for the governor to send for a larger relief force from Egypt. However, the Mongols had already left Syria due to a death in Ghazan Khan's family.
Battle of Marj al-Saffar
The Battle of Marj al-Suffar, also known as the Battle of Shaqhab, took place on April 20 through April 22, 1303 between the Mamluks and the Mongols near Kiswe, Syria, just south of Damascus...
in April 1303. This military operation was the last major Mongol invasion of Syria.
Treaty of Aleppo
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, the Mongols finally were amenable to ceasing hostilities. The first contacts to establish a treaty of peace were communicated via the slave trader al-Majd al-Sallami. After the initial communications, more formal letters and embassies were exchanged. Under the Ilkhanate ruler Abu Sa'id
Abu Sa'id (Ilkhanid dynasty)
Abu Sa'id also Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sayed Behauder , was the ninth ruler of the Ilkhanate state in Iran ....
, who was following the advice of his custodian Chupan
Chupan
Amir Chupan, also known as Choban or Coban , , was a Chupanid noble of the Ilkhanate, and nominal general of the Mongol Empire. His father was named Malek of Mongol Suldus clan...
, the treaty with the Mamluks was ratified in 1322/1323.
Following the treaty and a period of peace, the Il-Khanate further disintegrated, and effectively disappeared during the 14th century.