3rd September 1260: Battle of Ain Jalut allows the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt to permanently halt the Mongol advance

**Scott Allsop** (0:00)
On the 3rd of September 1260, the Battle of Ain Jalut saw the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt permanently halt the Mongol advance in the Middle East. Welcome to HistoryPod.
Mongol forces under Hulegu, grandson of Genghis Khan, had captured Baghdad in 1258, bringing an end to the Abbasid Caliphate there. By 1260, they had continued westwards, capturing Aleppo and Damascus before advancing through Syria and Palestine. Egypt, ruled by the Mamluks, was the next major power standing in their path.
Hulegu sent messengers to Cairo demanding the submission of Sultan Qutuz. Qutuz rejected the demand and had the messengers executed. The situation then changed when Hulegu withdrew much of his army from Syria following the death of the Mongol Great Khan Monk. He left a smaller force in the region under Kitbuqa Noyan. Determined to take advantage of the reduction in Mongol strength, Qutuz marched north from Egypt with an army that included the general Baibars and other experienced commanders.
The two armies met at Ayn Jalut on the 3rd of September. Baibars' troops engaged the Mongols before withdrawing towards the main Mamluk force, drawing Kitbuqa's troops into terrain where the Mamluks had concealed additional cavalry. Although the Mongols initially gained ground, Qutuz committed his reserves and launched a counterattack against their flanks. After prolonged fighting, the Mongol army was forced to retreat. Kitbuqa was captured and killed, and the few surviving Mongol troops withdrew northwards. The victory halted the Mongol advance into the Levant and Egypt, allowing the Mamluks to reestablish their control over much of Syria. This preserved the Mamluks as the dominant power in the eastern Mediterranean, and established a frontier between the Mamluk territories and the Mongol controlled lands to the east.