Second Battle of Homs

The Second Battle of Homs was fought in western Syria on 29 October 1281, between the armies of the Mamluk dynasty of Egypt and the Ilkhanate, a division of the Mongol Empire centered on Iran. The battle was part of Abaqa Khan's attempt at taking Syria from the Mamluks.

2nd Battle of Homs
Defeat of the Mongols (left) at the 1281 Battle of Homs.
Date 29 October 1281 Location Homs Result Mamluk Victory
Belligerents
Ilkhanate Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Kingdom of Georgia Knights Hospitaller[1]	Mamluk Sultanate
Commanders and leaders
Möngke Temür (WIA) Leo II Demetrius II	Qalawun
Units involved
Mongol cavalry Armenian, Georgian, and Seljuk auxiliaries Frankish mercenaries	Heavy Cavalry Light Cavalry Cannons Infantry
Strength
40,000–50,000[2]	30,000[3] 800 Royal Mamluks[4] 4,000+ Halqa[5] 4,000+ Bedouins[6]
Casualties and losses
Unknown (Heavy)	Unknown (Heavy)

After the Mamluk victories over Mongols at Ain Jalut in 1260 and Albistan in 1277, the Il-khan Abaqa sent his brother Möngke Temur at the head of a large army which numbered about 40-50,000 men, chiefly Armenians under Leo II and Georgians under Demetrius II.

The two armies met south of Homs, a city in western Syria. In a pitched battle, the Armenians, Georgians and Oirats under King Leo II and Mongol generals routed and scattered the Mamluk left flank, but the Mamluks personally led by Sultan Qalawun destroyed the Mongol centre. Möngke Temur was wounded and fled, followed by his disorganized army. However, Qalawun chose to not pursue the defeated enemy, and the Armenian-Georgian auxiliaries of the Mongols managed to withdraw safely.

The following year, Abaqa died and his successor, Tekuder, reversed his policy towards the Mamluks. He converted to Islam and forged an alliance with the Mamluk sultan.[7][8]

See also

• First Battle of Homs (1260)

Notes

1. Jonathan Riley-Smith - The Knights Hospitaller in the Levant, C.1070-1309, p. 86-87
2. Amitai-Preiss, p. 194
3. Waterson, p. 178
4. Waterson, p. 179
5. Amitai-Preiss, p. 192
6. Amitai-Preiss, p. 188
7. Jean, Richard (1999). The Crusades, C. 1071-c. 1291, p. 453. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-62566-1.
8. Reuven Amitai-Preiss (1995), Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Īlkhānid War, 1260-1281, pp. 179-225. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-46226-6.

Bibliography

• Amitai-Preiss, Reuven (1995) Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260–1281. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. ISBN 978-0-521-46226-6
• Waterson, James (2007) The Knights of Islam: The Wars of the Mamluks. Greenhill Books, London. ISBN 978-1-85367-734-2