With an army numbering around three hundred thousand men, Hulagu had been advancing across the Middle East since 1253.
In Persian he had destroyed the castles of the Ismailis sect, who had attempted to assassinate Great Khan Mongke, Hulagu cousin.
Then, he turned against the Abbasid caliphate, razed Baghdad, massacring 200,000 of its inhabitants and executing the caliph.
The Ayyubid caliph was also captured and the city of Aleppo conquered in 1260.
A Muslim Mamluks army of Egypt, which had been preparing to resist the Mongol advance, now swung over to the offensive.
The Sultan of Egypt, Sultan al-Muzaffar Sayf ad-Din Qutuz, strengthening the defenses of Cairo, preparing the city and its inhabitants to defend themselves to the death.
In July 1260, the Egyptian army marched north to confront the Mongols and Sultan Qutuz sent a message to the Franks in Care requesting safe passage and the provision of food.
Franks decided to side with Mamluks in this showdown between two heavyweight powers of the region and agreed to Qutuz’s request.
The battle of Ain-Jalut took place Friday 3 September 1260. The Mamluks approached from the north-west and the Mongols charged into them, destroying the Mamluk left plank.
But Qutuz rallied his troops and launched a counterattack that shook the Mongols. He then launched a frontal attack that led to a complete Mamluk victory.
The battle of Ain-Jalut, the first Mongol defeat in the West ended Hulagu’s invasion.
After the battle of Ain-Jalut, Mongol made only a few small invasions into Syria and never again threatened the Mamluks, who would continue to rule Egypt until eighteenth century.
Battle of Ain-Jalut 1260 AD
