Battle of Ain Jalut
| Battle of Ain Jalut | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Mongol invasions | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Egyptian Mamluks | Mongols | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Saif ad-Din Qutuz Baibars | Kitbuqa | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| About 20 000 | About 80 000 | ||||||
The Battle of Ain Jalut (or Ayn Jalut, in Arabic: عين جالوت, the "Eye of Goliath or the "Spring of Goliath") took place on September 3, 1260 between the Mamluks and the Mongols in Palestine. This battle is considered by many historians to be of great macrohistorical importance, as it marked the highwater of Mongol conquests, and the first time they had been decisively defeated; previously where they had been defeated, they had always returned and avenged the loss - this marked the first occasion they were unable to do so. Hulagu Khan never was able to advance into Egypt, and the Khanate he established in Persia was only able to defeat the Mamlukes once in follow-up expeditions.
Preceding events
After Mongke Khan ascended to being Great Khan in 1251, he immediately began to implement his grandfather Genghis Khan's plan for world empire. To lead the task of subduing the nations of the West, he selected his brother, Hulagu Khan. He first summoned the largest army ever assembled by the Mongol Empire — one fighting age male in every ten in the entire empire was summoned to serve in this attack. It took five years to assemble the necessary army. It was not until late 1256 that Hulagu prepared to begin the southern invasions ordered by his brother. Mongke Khan instructed his brother to proceed south, and operating from the Mongol base in Persia, destroy the cult of the Assassins, force the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad to yield to the authority of the Mongol Empire, or be destroyed, and then move into Palestine towards Egypt and either force the Mamluk Sultanate also to submit or be destroyed. Mongke Khan ordered good treatment for those who yielded without resistance, and destruction for those who did not. The Assassins were so frightened by Hulagu's reputation they surrendered without a fight at all. Despite this Hulagu slaughtered them and then moved on to attack what was left of the Abbasid Caliphate.
The Sack of Baghdad
The Caliph reportedly was given a chance to yield, but chose the worst possible course of action. He defied the Mongols, saying God would punish them if they dared attack him, yet failed to even attempt to summon loyal Muslims to the defense of Baghdad, nor did he strengthen the City of Light's defenses. Under Hulagu, the Mongols captured and destroyed Baghdad in 1258. The slaughter and horrific atrocities committed by the Mongols at Baghdad have never been forgotten, nor did the country itself ever recover. The intricate system of dikes and canals that irrigated the country were destroyed, and after the slaughter at Baghdad there literally were not enough people left alive to repair and maintain this system. Recently, some historians and experts also believe soil salination in conjunction with the damage to the canal system as the culprit in the decline in agriculture. Soil salination was avoided in Egypt however by huge efforts by the populace. The Mongols did not leave such a populace alive in Iraq to make such an effort.
Hulagu's forces then went on and forced the surrender of Damascus, and prepared to conquer the last of the Islamic states in Egypt. Saif ad-Din Qutuz considered yielding, but decided in the end that he could not, that the people of Egypt expected him to defend them and defend them he would. In 1260 when Hulagu sent envoys to Qutuz in Cairo demanding his surrender with the message:
From the King of Kings of the East and West, the Great Khan. To Qutuz the Mamluk, who fled to escape our swords.
You should think of what happened to other countries and submit to us. You have heard how we have conquered a vast empire and have purified the earth of the disorders that tainted it. We have conquered vast areas, massacring all the people. You cannot escape from the terror of our armies. Where can you flee? What road will you use to escape us? Our horses are swift, our arrows sharp, our swords like thunderbolts, our hearts as hard as the mountains, our soldiers as numerous as the sand. Fortresses will not detain us, nor arms stop us. Your prayers to God will not avail against us. We are not moved by tears nor touched by lamentations. Only those who beg our protection will be safe. Hasten your reply before the fire of war is kindled. Resist and you will suffer the most terrible catastrophes. We will shatter your mosques and reveal the weakness of your God and then we will kill your children and your old men together. At present you are the only enemy against whom we have to march.
Qutuz responded by killing the envoys and displaying their heads on the gates of the city. As Qutuz prepared for a Mongol invasion, Hulagu returned home to attempt to seize power when Mongke died. A potential great Khan, he took the majority of his army with him. This had been the largest army ever assembled by the Mongols, so he was able to leave a substantial force behind — at least two tumens (20,000 men) under his best general, Kitbuqa Noyan.
Qutuz allied with a fellow Mamluk, Baibars the Circassian, who wanted to defend Islam after the Mongols captured Damascus and most of Sham. The Mongols attempted to ally with the remnant of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, now centred on Acre, but Pope Alexander IV forbade this. While the Christians remained neutral, they believed it was only time until the Mongols destroyed them also, and so while technically neutral, they agreed that the Egyptian army could cross their territories without incident, or reporting such movement to the Mongols. Believing that waiting for Hulagu Khan to return with his full army was foolhardy, Qutuz decided to march north and confront Kitbuqa's army. He believed destroying this force would not only protect the remaining Holy Places (Jerusalem, Mecca, and Medina), but also strike a terrific blow against the heretofore invincible Mongols, and rally wavering support to his side. It accomplished all three aims, and more. The Mongols at that time were proceeding down the trade trails, and probably were unaware that the Egyptian forces had marched north to confront them.
The battle
Both Mamluk and Mongol armies encamped in the Holy Land in July 1260. They finally met at Ain Jalut on September 3, with both sides numbering about 20,000 men. The Mamluks drew out the Mongol cavalry with a feigned retreat, and were almost unable to withstand the assault. Qutuz rallied his troops for a successful counterattack, along with cavalry reserves hidden in the nearby valleys. The Mongols were forced to retreat, and Kitbuqa was captured and executed. Mamluk heavy cavalrymen were able to clearly beat the Mongols in close combat, something which no one had previously done.
It is important to note that these particular Mamluks had essentially been created to meet the Mongol crisis. The bulk of them were Turkic or Circassian tribesmen sold in Constantinople to the Sultan of Egypt and trained on Mameluke Island in the Nile. They were not only great horsemen themselves, familiar with steppe warfare, but knew well Mongol tactics and weapons. After a time, Egypt basically became a country existing to support a military force. This was vital defending the Holy Land, and doing what no one else had previously done, clearly defeating the Mongols, who never were able to avenge this defeat. Many historians argue that this battle, and the subsequent defeats by the Japanese of invading Mongols, marked the beginning of the end of the Mongol Empire, though parts of it would last another 250 years. But Ain Jalut and the defeats near Iki Island by the Japanese marked the end of the aura of Mongol invincibilty.
Aftermath
On the way back to Cairo after the victory at Ain Jalut, Baibars killed Qutuz to avenge the murder of his friend Aktai, and became sultan himself. His successors would go on to capture the last of the Crusader states in Palestine by 1291. The Mongols were again beaten at the Battle of Homs less than a year later and completely expelled from Syria.
Ironically, it was interfamily fighting, Mongol against Mongol, that prevented Hulagu Khan from being able to bring his full power against the Mamluks and avenge the terrible defeat at Ain Jalut. Berke Khan, the Il-Khan of the Kipchak Khanate in Russia, had converted to Islam, and watched with horror as his cousin destroyed the Abbasid Caliph, the spirtual head of Islam as far as Berke was concerned. The Mamluks, learning through spies that Berke was both a Muslim and not fond of his cousin, were careful to nourish their ties to him and his Khanate.
Most of the Mamluks were of Circassian or Turkic descent, and Berke's Khanate was almost totally Turkic also. (Jochi, Genghis Khan's oldest son, was of disputed parentage, and only received 4,000 Mongol warriors to start his Khanate. His nearly 300,000 warriors were virtually all Turkic who had submitted to the Mongols, thus, the Khanate's culture was Turkic in culture, and ironically, had more in common with their brother Muslim Turkic Mamluks than with the Mongol shamanist Hulagu and his horde.) The main importance of the alliance with Berke Khan was the flow of young Turkic slaves to maintain the Mamluk institution, and during the era of Hulagu Khan, Berke's willingness to draw his cousin north and keeping him from ever being able to bring his full power to bear on the Mamluks.
Hulagu returned to his lands by 1262, but instead of being able to avenge his defeats, had to turn north to face Berke Khan, suffering severe defeat in an attempted invasion north of the Caucasus in 1263, after Berke Khan had lured him north, and away from the Holy Land. Berke Khan had promised such a defeat in his rage after Hulagu's sack of Bagdad; Berke was a Muslim. Muslim historian Rashid al Din quoted Berke Khan as sending the following message to Mongke Khan, protesting the attack on Baghdad, (not knowing Mongke had died in China) "he has sacked all the cities of the Muslims, and has brought about the death of the Caliph. With the help of God I will call him to account for so much innocent blood." (see The Mongol Warlords, quoting Rashid al Din's record of Berke Khan's pronouncement; this quote is also found in The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War)
After the Mongol succession was finally settled, with Kublai as the last Great Khan, and massed his armies to avenge Ain Jalut and attack the Mamluks, Berke Khan initiated a series of raids in force which drew Hulagu north to meet him, and Hulagu Khan suffered severe defeat in an attempted invasion north of the Caucasus in 1263. Hulagu was only able to send a small army of two tumens in his only attempt at attack on the Mamluks after Ain Jalut, and it was easily repulsed, while Hulagu and the vast majority of his army had to face Berke in the north. This was the first open war between Mongols, and signaled the end of the unified empire. Hulagu Khan died in 1265 and was buried on Kaboudi Island in Lake Urmia. His funeral was the only Ilkhanid funeral to feature human sacrifice. He was succeeded by his son Abaqa, thus establishing his line.
The Mamluk Sultanate would rule the Middle East for 250 years until Selim the Grim and the Ottoman Empire put an end to their independence. Berke Khan and his descendants would rule Russia for another 220 years until the Grand Duke of Moscow finally broke their hold at the Great Standing on the Ugra River in 1480. Ironically, the shortest lived of the dynasties involved, was Hulagu Khan's. His line ruled Persia and parts of Iraq and Syria for only 91 years. The Il-Khanate established by him was overthrown in 1353.
References
- Amitai-Preiss, Reuven. (1998). The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-52290-0
- Morgan, David (1990) The Mongols. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-17563-6
- Nicolle, David, (1998). The Mongol Warlords Brockhampton Press.
- Reagan, Geoffry, (1992). The Guiness Book of Decisive Battles . Canopy Books, NY.
- Saunders, J. J. (1971). The History of the Mongol Conquests, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. ISBN 0-8122-1766-7
- Sicker, Martin (2000). The Islamic World in Ascendancy: From the Arab Conquests to the Siege of Vienna, Praeger Publishers.
- Soucek, Svatopluk (2000). A History of Inner Asia. Cambridge University Press.