How Egypt fought the Mongols? Battle of Homs (1281) Mamluk-Ilkhanate War

How Egypt fought the Mongols? Battle of Homs (1281) Mamluk-Ilkhanate War
===
How Egypt fought the Mongols? Battle of Homs (1281) Mamluk-Ilkhanate War. It's early 1260, and the Mongol army, a relentless force that had already swept across vast stretches of Asia, reaches the Euphrates River. Ahead of them lies Aleppo, a massive commercial hub in what is now Syria, its walls towering as if to challenge the invincible warriors.
Over the last century, Aleppo had proven itself a fortress almost impossible to breach. A thriving commercial hub with walls so formidable they seemed to mock anyone foolish enough to try a frontal assault. The crusaders, with all their zeal, threw themselves at its defenses time and time again in the early 1100s, but they couldn’t even scratch the surface. Even Saladin—yes, the great Saladin—had to spend nearly a decade of raids, negotiations, and relentless pressure before the city finally fell under his control.

How Egypt fought the Mongols? Battle of Homs (1281) Mamluk-Ilkhanate War. Then came the Mongols. When their massive field army arrived, they didn’t bother with long sieges or drawn-out negotiations. Their reputation alone was enough to send shivers down the spines of defenders, and their tactics were unmatched. In just a matter of days, the great city of Aleppo fell.
The Mongols rarely lost a battle, and when they did, those setbacks were fleeting, like a hiccup in their relentless march. Trade routes, once flowing freely between ancient powers, began to twist and turn to serve the Mongols. The great wagon cities of their empire became the new hubs of commerce. Merchants adapted quickly, stocking their caravans with goods that would appeal to Mongol tastes—luxuries for their elites, necessities for their armies. Even cities and rural communities had to reinvent themselves, learning how to survive under Mongol rule.

How Egypt fought the Mongols? Battle of Homs (1281) Mamluk-Ilkhanate War. Most of the Near East was either under Mongol rule or paying tribute to them. By now, the Mongols had swept through so much of the region that only a few powers remained independent, clinging to the edges of the empire. The Kingdom of Jerusalem, one of the Crusader states, was still holding out, but even they were sending emissaries to the Mongols. They knew they were no match for the Mongols in battle—they had seen what happened to other kingdoms that tried to stand up to them.
In 1259, the sudden death of Mongke, the Great Khan, was like pulling the keystone out of an arch. Everything began to crumble. However, even as the empire fractured, Hulegu, one of the most brilliant—and ruthless—commanders of the age, saw an opportunity.
Without hesitation, Hulegu dispatched a flying column south, marching straight for Damascus. The city, an ancient hub of culture and power, fell swiftly to the Mongols. Even so that wasn’t where Hulegu’s ambitions stopped. With the Mongol Empire in disarray, Hulegu claimed control of vast territories, from modern-day Turkey all the way to the Amu Darya, establishing the Ilkhanate.
===
#greathistoryen #greathistoryenchannel #battlehistory #battleof #battleofhoms #egypt #mongols