: ''For other battles in the same area but in different years, see Battle of Homs''. The first Battle of Homs was fought in

Homs Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...

, Syria, on December 10, 1260, between the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate, also spelled Il-khanate ( fa, ایل خانان, ''Ilxānān''), known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (, ''Qulug-un Ulus''), was a khanate established from the southwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. The Ilkhanid realm, ...

s of Persia and the forces of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. After the historic

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

victory over the Ilkhanates at the

Battle of Ain Jalut The Battle of Ain Jalut (), also spelled Ayn Jalut, was fought between the Bahri Mamluks of Egypt and the Mongol Empire on 3 September 1260 (25 Ramadan 658 AH) in southeastern Galilee in the Jezreel Valley near what is known today as the S ...

in September 1260,

Hulagu Khan Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...

of the Ilkhanate had the Ayyubid Sultan of Damascus and other Ayyubid princes executed in revenge, thus effectively ending the dynasty in Syria. However, the defeat at Ain Jalut forced the Ilkhanate armies out of Syria and the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

. The main cities of Syria,

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

and

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

were thus left open to

occupation. But Homs and

Hama , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , ar ...

remained in the possession of minor Ayyubid princes. These princes, rather than the Mamluks of Cairo themselves, actually fought and won the First Battle of Homs. Due to the open war between Hulagu and his cousin

Berke Berke Khan (died 1266) (also Birkai; , tt-Cyrl, Бәркә хан) was a grandson of Genghis Khan and a Mongol military commander and ruler of the Golden Horde ( division of the Mongol Empire) who effectively consolidated the power of the Blue ...

of the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...

during the civil war of the

Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...

, the Ilkhanate could only afford to send 6,000 troops back into Syria to retake control of the lands. This expedition was initiated by Ilkhanate generals such as Baidu who was forced to leave Gaza when the Mamluks advanced just before the battle of Ain Jalut.Reuven Amitai-Preiss-Mongols and Mamluks: the Mamluk-Īlkhānid War, 1260-1281, p.43 After attacking

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, the force travelled southwards to

, but were decisively defeated. This ended the first campaign into Syria by the Ilkhanate, though there were several later incursions, none of which ended with conquests lasting more than a year.

Notes

Bibliography

* Amitai-Preiss, Reuven (1995) ''Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260–1281''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. * Nicolle, Warlords., p. 117 * J. J. Saunders, ''The Mongol Defeat at 'Ain Jalut'', in. Muslims and Mongols, (ed. by G.W.Rice), p. 69. * Waterson, James (2007) ''The Knights of Islam: The Wars of the Mamluks''. Greenhill Books, London. {{ISBN, 978-1-85367-734-2 Homs 1 Homs 1 Homs

1260 in Asia

Aga Aga or AGA may refer to: Business * Architectural Glass and Aluminum (AGA), a glazing contractor, established in 1970 * AGA (automobile), ''Autogen Gasaccumulator AG'', 1920s German car company *AGA AB, ''Aktiebolaget Svenska Gasaccumulator'', a ...

See also

Notes

Bibliography