The siege of Mayyafariqin in 1259–1260 was a Mongol siege against the last

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

ruler

Al-Kamil Muhammad 'Al-Malik al-Kamil Muhammad ibn al-Muzaffar Ghazi ibn al-Adil Abu Bakr was the son of al-Muzaffar Ghazi and the last Ayyubid emir (prince) of Mayyafariqin (1247–1260). He is also known as Al Kamil Muhammad II to distinguish from his uncle ...

in his city of Mayyāfāriqīn (modern

Silvan, Diyarbakır Silvan (; , ) is a municipality and district of Diyarbakır Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,252 km2, and its population is 86,161 (2022). It is populated by Kurds. History Silvan has been identified by several scholars as one of two possi ...

). The siege of Mayyāfāriqīn closely followed the 1258

siege of Baghdad The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258. A large army commanded by Hulegu, a prince of the Mongol Empire, attacked the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate after a series of provocations from its ruler, caliph al-Musta'sim. Within ...

and marked the beginning of the Mongol campaigns in Syria. In spring 1259, the Armenian Prince

Prosh Khaghbakian Prosh Khaghbakian (; ), also known as Hasan Prosh, was an Armenian prince who was a vassal of the Zakarid princes of Armenia. He was a member of the Khaghbakian dynasty, which is also known as the Proshian dynasty after him. He was the supreme com ...

, together with his Armenian Zakarid suzerain Shahnshah, led a large force of Georgians and Armenians to support a much smaller force of Mongol troops of

Hulegu Hulegu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulagu; ; ; ; ( 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Western Asia. As a son of Tolui and the Keraite princess Sorghaghtani Beki, he was a grandson of Genghis Khan and brother of Ari ...

headed by his son

Yoshmut Yoshmut () was an Ilkhanate prince and one of the eldest sons of Hulagu. According to Dai Matsui and Daniel King, his name was of Christian Uyghur origin and ultimately derived from the Sogdian word "''ʿywšmbt''" (cognate with ). Life He was ...

in the siege of Mayyāfāriqīn (

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

), which was defended by its last

ruler

. Military units of

Cilician Armenia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenians, Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages b ...

also participated, and would soon after participate to the Mongol siege of Damascus (1260) as well. The son and successor of the Turkic

Zengid The Zengid or Zangid dynasty, also referred to as the Atabegate of Mosul, Aleppo and Damascus (Arabic: أتابكة الموصل وحلب ودمشق), or the Zengid State (Old Anatolian Turkish: , Modern Turkish: ; ) was initially an '' Atabegat ...

ruler

Badr al-Din Lu'lu' Badr al-Din Lu'lu' () (-1259) (the name Lu'Lu' means 'The Pearl', indicative of his servile origins) was successor to the Zengid emirs of Mosul, where he governed in variety of capacities from 1234 to 1259 following the death of Nasir ad-Din Mah ...

, named Isma'il ibn Lu'lu' (1259–1262), continued in his father's steps and also supported the Mongol troops of Hulagu in the siege of Mayyāfāriqīn with troops and siege engineers. The horrors of the long siege were recounted by the contemporary Armenian historian Kirakos: When the city was captured at last after a siege of two years, the Muslims were massacred, but the Christians were spared. Christian relics were collected and brought back to Armenia, particularly to the

Haghpat Monastery Haghpat Monastery, also known as Haghpatavank (), is a medieval Armenian monastery complex in Haghpat, Armenia, built between the 10th and 13th century. Location The location of Haghpat Monastery was chosen so that it overlooks the Debed River ...

. The Armenian Prince Sevata of Kachen was killed in the conflict. According to the Armenian writer Vartan, he "won the immortal crown, ever faithful to God and to the

il-khan Il Khan (also ''il-khan'', ''ilkhan'', ''elkhan'', etc.), in Turkic languages and Mongolian, is a title of leadership. It combines the title ''khan'' with the prefix ''el/il'', from the word ''ulus'' – 'tribe, clan', 'the people', 'nation', ...

; he will share the triumph of those who shared their blood for Christ". Yoshmut was recalled by his father after 10 months. Finally the Ayyubid ruler

was killed when Mayyafariqin fell to the Mongols on 7 April 1260 (23 Rabia II 658). Meanwhile

continued his conquest of the rest of Syria, accompanied by the forces of

Hethum I Hethum I (Armenian: Հեթում Ա; 1213 – 21 October 1270) ruled the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (also known as "Little Armenia") from 1226 to 1270. He was the son of Constantine of Baberon (d. 1263) and Princess Alix Pahlavouni of Lampron (a ...

of the

Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia The Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, also known as Cilician Armenia, Lesser Armenia, Little Armenia or New Armenia, and formerly known as the Armenian Principality of Cilicia, was an Armenian state formed during the High Middle Ages by Armenian ...

and the Crusaders of

Bohemond VI of Antioch Bohemond VI (–1275), also known as the Fair, was the prince of Antioch and count of Tripoli from 1251 until his death. He ruled while Antioch was caught between the warring Mongol Empire and Mamluk Sultanate. He allied with the Mongols agains ...

. The Georgian ruler

David VII David VII, also known as David Ulu ( ka, დავით VII ულუ, "David the Senior" in the Mongol language) (1215–1270), from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king (''mepe'') of Georgia from 1245 to 1270. He first ruled Georgia jointly with h ...

declined to commit more Georgian-Armenian troops for these Mongol campaigns in Syria, on account that he had suffered huge losses in the 1258

. Of the remaining Ayyubid states in Syria, Aleppo fell in the

siege of Aleppo (1260) The siege of Aleppo lasted from 18 January to 24 January 1260. After receiving the submission of Harran and Edessa, Mesopotamia, Edessa, Mongol leader Hulagu Khan crossed the Euphrates, sacked Manbij and placed Aleppo under siege. He was sup ...

, while Homs, Hama and Damascus submitted peacefully.Humphreys, R. S. From Saladin to the Mongols, The Ayyubids of Damascus, SUNY Press 1977, pp.348-351

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayyāfāriqīn, Siege of 1250s in the Mongol Empire 1259 in Asia 1260 in Asia 1260s in the Mongol Empire Mayyāfāriqīn Mayyāfāriqīn Mayyāfāriqīn Mayyāfāriqīn Invasions by the Mongol Empire 13th-century massacres Hulegu Khan Mayyāfāriqīn Massacres of Muslims History of Diyarbakır Province Silvan, Diyarbakır