Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar

Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar
Part of the Mamluk-Ilkhanid War (1299)
14th century illustration from a manuscript of the History of the Tatars depicting Mongol archers and Mamluk cavalry
Date December 22–23, 1299 Location Wadi al-Khazandar, north-east of Homs Result Mongol Victory
Belligerents
Mongol Ilkhanate Kingdom of Georgia Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia	Mamluk Sultanate
Commanders and leaders
Ghazan Khan	Al-Nasir Muhammad
Strength
100,000 Mongols: 60,000 Georgians and Armenians: 40,000	30,000-40,000
Casualties and losses
unknown	unknown

100,000

The Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar, also known as the Third Battle of Homs, was a Mongol victory over the Mamluks in 1299.

In 1260, Hulagu Khan had invaded the Middle East all the way to Palestine. Before he could follow up with an invasion of Egypt, he was called back to Mongolia. He left two tumens (20,000 men) under general Kitbuqa. This army was defeated at the Battle of Ain Jalut and the Mongols were expelled from Palestine and Syria. Hulagu returned with another force, but his invasion was permanently delayed after his cousin Berke of the Golden Horde secretly allied with the Mamluks and instigated a civil war in the Caucasus.

After recovering the Levant, the Mamluks went on to invade the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum, both Mongol protectorates, but they were defeated, forcing them back to Syria.

In 1299, nearly 20 years after the last Mongol defeat in Syria at the Second Battle of Homs, Ghazan Khan and an army of 60,000 Mongols and 40,000 Georgians and Armenians crossed the Euphrates river (the Mamluk-Ilkhanid border) and seized Aleppo. The Mongol army then proceeded southwards until they were only a few miles north of Homs in a battle line that was almost 10 miles wide.

The Sultan of Egypt Al-Nasir Muhammad who was in Syria at the time marched an army of 20,000 to 30,000 Mamluks (more, according to other sources) northwards from Damascus until he met the Mongols two to three Arab farsakhs (6–9 miles) north-east of Homs at Wadi al-Khazandar on the 22nd of December 1299 at 5 o'clock in the morning. The sun had already risen.

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