Battle of Marj al-Saffar (1303)

Battle of Marj al-Saffar (also called Battle of Shaqhab)
Part of the Mamluk-Ilkhanid War
Date April 20-22, 1303 Location Ghabaghib, 25 miles south of Damascus in Syria Result Decisive Mamluk victory; end of Mongol invasions of Syria
Belligerents
Mamluk Sultanate	Ilkhanate Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Commanders and leaders
Salar Baibars II Al-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Taymiyyah	Qutlugh-Shah Mulay Hethum II
Units involved
unknown	Mongol army, mostly cavalry Armenian knights and archers
Strength
unknown	unknown
Casualties and losses
heavy	heavy

The Battle of Marj al-Saffar (or Marj al-Suffar), also known as the Battle of Shaqhab, took place on April 20 through April 22, 1303 between the Mamluks and the Mongols and their Armenian allies near Kiswe, Syria, just south of Damascus. The battle, a disastrous defeat for the Mongols, put an end to Ghazan Khan's invasions of Syria.

A string of Mongol victories, starting in 1218 when they had invaded Khwarezm, quickly gave the Mongols control over most of Persia as well as the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum of Asia Minor. Incorporating troops from vassal countries such as Cilician Armenia and the Kingdom of Georgia, the Mongols had sacked Baghdad in 1258, followed by the taking of Aleppo and Damascus in 1260. Later that same year, the Mongols had experienced their first major defeat at the Battle of Ain Jalut, which eventually forced the Mongols out of Damascus and Aleppo and back across the Euphrates.

Nearly 40 years later, the Ilkhan Ghazan, once again invaded Syria, retaking Aleppo in 1299. Ghazan defeated Mamluk forces at the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar that same year, and Damascus quickly surrendered to him. After sending raiding parties as far south as Gaza, Ghazan withdrew from Syria.

In 1303, Ghazan sent his general Qutlugh-Shah with an army to recapture Syria. The inhabitants and rulers of Aleppo and Hama fled to Damascus to escape the advancing Mongols. However, Baibars II was in Damascus and sent a message to the Sultan of Egypt to come to fight the Mongols. The Sultan left Egypt with an army to engage the Mongols in Syria, and arrived while the Mongols were attacking Hama. The Mongols had reached the outskirts of Damascus on April 19 to meet the Sultan's army. The Mamluks then made their way to the plain of Marj al-Saffar, where the battle would take place.

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Wikipedia