Siege of Aleppo (1260)

Siege of Aleppo (1260)
Part of the Mongol invasions of the Levant
Date 18–24 January 1260 Location Aleppo, modern-day Syria 36°11′53″N37°09′48″E / 36.198133°N 37.16328°E / 36.198133; 37.16328 Result Mongol victory Mongol control of Aleppo Muslim and Jewish inhabitants slaughtered
Belligerents
Mongol Empire Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Principality of Antioch	Ayyubid dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Hulagu Khan Hethum I Bohemond VI	Al-Mu'azzam Turanshah  (POW)

The siege of Aleppo was a major military engagement during the Mongol invasions of the Levant, lasting from 18 January to 24 January 1260. The Mongol army under Hulagu Khan, supported by forces from the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Principality of Antioch, besieged the Ayyubid-held city after crossing the Euphrates and capturing nearby settlements.

After several days of siege warfare, including the use of catapults and mangonels, Mongol and allied forces stormed Aleppo and captured most of the city, while the citadel continued resisting for several weeks before surrendering. The conquest was followed by widespread destruction and a massacre of the city's Muslim and Jewish inhabitants, with many others enslaved. Aleppo was subsequently placed under Mongol control, marking a major step in the Mongol advance into Syria.

After receiving the submission of Harran and Edessa, Mongol leader Hulagu Khan crossed the Euphrates, sacked Manbij and placed Aleppo under siege. ^[1] He was supported by forces of Bohemond VI of Antioch and Hethum I of Armenia. For six days the city was under siege. Assisted by catapults and mangonels, Mongol, Armenian and Frankish forces overran the entire city, except for the citadel which held out until 25 February and was demolished following its capitulation. ^[2] The ensuing massacre, which lasted six days, was methodical and thorough, in which nearly all adult male Muslims and Jews were killed, though most of the women and children were sold into slavery. ^[3] Also included in the destruction was the burning of the Great Mosque of Aleppo. ^{[4] [5]}

Following the siege, Hulagu had some of Hethum's troops executed for burning the mosque, ^[4] Some sources state that Bohemond VI of Antioch (leader of the Franks) personally saw to the mosque's destruction. ^[6] Later, Hulagu Khan restored to Hethum castles and districts which the Ayyubids had previously conquered from the Armenians. ^[5]

Ibrahim, the brother of Ibn Batish, was killed during the siege. ^[7]

References

1. Grousset 1991, p. 361.
2. Turnbull, Stephen R., Genghis Khan and the Mongol conquests, 1190-1400, (Taylor & Francis, 2005), 60.
3. Kagay, Donald J. and L. J. Andrew Villalon, Crusaders, condottieri, and cannon, (BRILL, 2003), 137.
4. Riley-Smith et al. 2003, p. 204.
5. Grousset 1991, p. 362.
6. Asbridge, Thomas S., The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land, (HarperCollins, 2010), 616.
7. al-Māniʿ 1976, p. 53.

Bibliography

• Eddé, Anne-Marie (1987–1988). "La prise d'Alep par les mongols en 658/1260". Quaderni di Studi Arabi. 5/6: 226–240. JSTOR   25802605.
• Grousset, René (1991). The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia. Rutgers University Press.
• Humphreys, R. Stephen (1977). From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260. State University of New York Press.
• Jackson, Peter (2017). The Mongols and the Islamic World: From Conquest to Conversion. Yale University Press.
• al-Māniʿ, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz b. Nāṣir [in Arabic] (1976). An Edition of Ghayāt al-Wasāʾil Ilā Maʿrifat al-Awāʾil by Ismāʿīl b. Hibat Allāh al-Mawṣilī, Known as Ibn Bāṭīsh (575–655/1179–1257) (PhD diss.). University of Exeter.
• Riley-Smith, Jonathan; Christopher, Simon; Edbury, Peter W.; Phillips, Jonathan P. (2003). The Experience of Crusading. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press.