Second Battle of Homs

34.723185°N 36.714462°E / 34.723185; 36.714462

Second Battle of Homs

of the Mongols (left) at the 1281 Battle of Homs.
Date29 October 1281
Location
Homs
Result Mamluk victory
Belligerents

Ilkhanate

Knights Hospitaller[1]		 Mamluk Sultanate
Commanders and leaders
Möngke Temür (WIA)
Leo II
Demetrius II		 Qalawun
Units involved
  • Mongol cavalry
  • Armenian, Georgian, and Seljuk auxiliaries
  • Frankish mercenaries
  • Heavy Cavalry
  • Light Cavalry
  • Cannons
  • Infantry
Strength
40,000–50,000[2]

30,000[3]

  • 800 Royal Mamluks[4]
  • 4,000+ Halqa[5]
  • 4,000+ Bedouins[6]
Casualties and losses
Very Heavy Losses Very Heavy Losses
Charge of the Mamluks

The Second Battle of Homs was fought in western Syria on 29 October 1281, between the armies of the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt and the Ilkhanate, a division of the Mongol Empire centered on Iran. The battle was part of Abaqa Khan's attempt at taking Syria from the Egyptians.[7][8]

Prelude

After the Mamluk victories over Mongols at Ain Jalut in 1260 and Albistan in 1277, the Il-khan Abaqa sent his brother Möngke Temur at the head of a large army which numbered about 40–50,000 men, chiefly Armenians under Leo II and Georgians under Demetrius II. Homs was the first time that the Mamluks faced the Mongol army at full strength.[9]

On 20 October 1280, the Mongols took Aleppo, pillaging the markets and burning the mosques.[10] The Muslim inhabitants fled for Damascus, where the Mamluk leader Qalawun assembled his forces.

Battle

On 29 October 1281, the two armies met south of Homs, a city in western Syria. In a pitched battle, the Armenians, Georgians and Oirats under King Leo II and Mongol generals routed and scattered the Mamluk left flank, but the Mamluks personally led by Sultan Qalawun destroyed the Mongol centre. Möngke Temur was wounded and fled, followed by his disorganized army. However, Qalawun chose to not pursue the defeated enemy, and the Armenian-Georgian auxiliaries of the Mongols managed to withdraw safely.

Aftermath

The following year, Abaqa died and his successor, Tekuder, reversed his policy towards the Mamluks. He converted to Islam and forged an alliance with the Mamluk sultan.[11][12]

According to Nicholas Morton, the Battle of Homs was an important turning point in the expansion of the Mongol Empire, as it was the first time that a full-scale Mongol invasion could be repelled on the western frontier.[9]

See also

Notes
  1. Riley-Smith 2012, pp. 86–87.
  2. Amitai-Preiss 1995, p. 194.
  3. Waterson 2007, p. 178.
  4. Waterson 2007, p. 179.
  5. Amitai-Preiss 1995, p. 192.
  6. Amitai-Preiss 1995, p. 188.
  7. "Sneak peek into Egypt's Mamluk Bahri State". EgyptToday. 2022-01-19. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  8. Thorau, Peter (1992). The Lion of Egypt: Sultan Baybars I and the Near East in the thirteenth century. London ; New York: Longman. ISBN 978-0-582-06822-3.
  9. Morton, Nicholas (2023-01-10). "Defeating the Mongols — Inside the Key Battles of Ayn Jalut and Homs". MilitaryHistoryNow.com. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  10. Burns 2016, p. 179.
  11. Richard 1999, p. 453.
  12. Amitai-Preiss 1995, pp. 179–225.

Bibliography
  • Amitai-Preiss, Reuven (1995). Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260–1281. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-46226-6.
  • Burns, Ross (2016). Aleppo, A History. Routledge. ISBN 9780415737210.
  • Richard, Jean (1999). The Crusades, C. 1071-c. 1291. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62566-1.
  • Riley-Smith, Jonathan (2012). The Knights Hospitaller in the Levant, c.1070-1309. Springer. ISBN 9781137264756.
  • Waterson, James (2007). The Knights of Islam: The Wars of the Mamluks. London: Greenhill Books. ISBN 978-1-85367-734-2.
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