Muslim Fortresses in the Levant: Between Crusaders and Mongols (44 page)

The retreating Mamluk forces halted at Damascus, where they reorganized their lines and returned to fight the Īlkhānid army pursuing it back across the river and further north to
.
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A year later (680/1281) Abagha decided to invade Syria, using almost the same route. He sent a vast army (estimated between forty and eighty thousand men) under the command of Mengü-Temür.
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The invasion ended with the crushing defeat of the Īlkhānid army at the battle of Homs.
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Ghazan handled the Mamluk front in a way similar to that of his predecessor, and spent much of 1299 to 1303 in trying to conquer Syria. He invaded Syria three times within a space of four years, and but for his death there would have been a fourth attempt.

In his renewed efforts he chose a new crossing point for his army. In 699/1299–1300 the Īlkhānid forces crossed the Euphrates near
, and from there marched for five days to reach Aleppo.
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The army maneuvered around the city, avoiding a siege, and continued south, bypassing Hama and luring the Mamluk army into an open battle field near Wādī Khaznadār, where it was defeated.
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The city of Hama surrendered immediately after the battle and the Īlkhānid army marched south into Damascus. Within a few weeks the entire army left with Ghazan, a small contingent remaining behind in Damascus. The only siege conducted during this campaign was that against the citadel of Damascus, which refused to capitulate. The Īlkhānid army set up a battery of siege machines before Bāb al-Barīd, as well as in the famous Damascus mosque. The area was sealed off so that no one would be able to sabotage the siege engines. Although an Īlkhānid garrison remained in the city it was busy looting. The Mamluks took advantage of the chaos and sent out small units from the citadel to attack the Īlkhānid force. A few weeks later the Īlkhānids retreated, as it became increasingly difficult to fight the citadel garrison, continue the siege and hold on to the city.
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A year later, in 700/1300–1, Ghazan invaded Syria for the second time. The Īlkhānid army marched along the same route and reached Sarmīn, where the campaign ended due to severe rains. Thus the second inavsion came to a halt.
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For his third campaign (702/1303) Ghazan chose a very different course. The army, which numbered one
tümen
, crossed the Euphrates at
east of Karbalā. It is easy to justify this choice of a ford as it was not defended by the Mamluks and was far from any of their possible sources of intelligence. Though thee was no danger of the army suffering from lack of water, since it would march along the river, the time and distance this journey consumed was considerable. Once the army had crossed, Ghazan turned north and marched to
which surrendered within a few days. According to Rashīd al-Dīn, Ghazan sent an envoy, headed by Rashīd al-Dīn himself, to conduct the negotiations with the local population, which eventually decided to surrender.
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Thus there was no need for a siege. Ghazan’s next step is somewhat surprising, for he decided to end the campaign at this point. It is difficult to explain this move. Rashīd al-Dīn says that the hot weather and the danger of seasonable flooding caused Ghazan to abandon the original plan. The Armenian historian,
, gives a different account.
claims that Qaidu (ruler of Central Asia, a member of the house of Ögedei, d. 1301) threatened to invade the eastern frontier of the Īlkhānid state,
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which caused Ghazan a quick change of plan. The Īlkhānid force that moved parallel to that of Ghazan entered Syria from the north, reached Homs, and continued to Damascus where it was defeated by the Mamluk army at Marj al-Suffar in
702/April 1303.
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All the invasions described above were made with the idea of confronting the Mamluks on an open battle field. Thee is no evidence in the sources that siege units joined the army or that the Īlkhānid force was equipped with siege engines. Ghazan was determined not to engage in siege warfare. He by-passed the large Syrian cities and tried to avoid conflict with them.

The last Īlkhānid attempt to invade Syria took place in 712/1312–13 during the reign of Öljeitü. The army under the command of the Īlkhān left the new capital of
, turned towards Mosul, crossed the Euphrates at Qirqsiya (ancient Carchemish) and marched south to
.
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Abū ’I-Fidā’ gives different details. According to him the Īlkhānid army passed through Sīs, meaning that they came from the north. It is possible that the army moved in two heads as it had done in the past.
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Öljeitü, influenced by Qara-Sunqur and Aqqush al-Afram (who defected to the Īlkhānid side shortly before the campaign), was convinced that
would surrender without a siege. This notion was soon proved mistaken. The town put up a fierce defense, and though the Īlkhānid army set siege machines and hurled
its losses were severe. Īlkhānid supplies were far from adequate and after three weeks a shortage of food was beginning to be felt.
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Rashīd al-Dīn, who was present, advised the Īlkhān to answer the request of the besieged and provide them with an
amān
(guarantee of safety). The whole event seems like an effort to avoid humiliation. It is more than likely that the attempt to persuade the Mamluks to surrender was made to save face and to enable the Īlkhānid army to retreat without it appearing to have suffered a severe defeat. Approximately a month after the siege had begun, Ramadan 712/January 1313, the Īlkhānid force crossed the Euphrates and headed back east.
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