The Battle of Ayn Jalut (September 3, 1260)
When
Ket Buqa heard of this he ordered his troops to prepare for battle and
commended them to “Stay where you are and wait for me.” But before Ket
Buqa arrived, Quduz
attacked the Mongol advance guard and drove them to the banks of the
Orontes. Ket Buqa Noyan, his
zeal stirred, flared up like fire with all confidence in his own
strength and
might. The two armies
finally met at Ain Jalut on September 3, with both sides numbering about
20 000
men (the Mongol force was originally much larger, but Hulagu took most
of it
when he returned home). The Mamluks drew out the Mongol cavalry with a
feigned
retreat, and were almost unable to withstand the assault. Quduz rallied
his
troops for a successful counterattack, along cavalry reserves hidden in
the
nearby valleys. Quduz had stationed his troops in ambush and, himself
mounted with a few
others, stood waiting. When the unsuspecting, Ket Buqa arrived with the
main Mongol cavalry, Quduz pounced on him clashed with him and his
several thousand
cavalry, all experienced warriors, at Ayn Jalut.
The Mongols attacked, raining down arrows, and Quduz pulled a feint and
started to withdraw.Emboldened, the Mongols rode out after him, killing many of the Egyptians, but when they
came to the ambush spot, the trap was sprung from three sides. A bloody battle
ensued, lasting from dawn till midday. The Mongols were powerless to resist, and
in the end they were put to flight. Ket Buqa Noyan kept attacking left
and right with all zeal. Some encouraged him to flee, but he refused to listen
and said, “Death is inevitable. It is better to die with a good name than
to flee in disgrace. In the end, someone from this army, old or young, will
reach the court and report that Ket Buqa, not wanting to return in shame, gave
his life in battle.
______________________________
After the battle of Ayn Jalut, the Muslim armies surged throughout Syria as far as the banks of the Euphrates,
overthrowing everyone they found, plundering Ket Buqa's camp, taking captive his
wife, child, and retainers, and killing the tax collectors.
Only
those Mongols who were
warned escaped, and when the news of Ket Buqa Noyan's death and his last
words
reached Hulagu Khan, he displayed his grief over his death and the fire
of zeal
flared up to avenge this defeat. But another Mongol invasion of the
Muslim world was not to take place. Hulagu remained confined to the
affairs of his homeland and could never bring himself to launch another
invasion. After his death, the Mongol Golden Horde did rule the largest
empire till then, that stretched from China to Muscovy (modern Moscow).
But
a tendency that had started to gain hold among the Mongols was the
creeping conversion to Islam. This was to put paid any further Mongol
attempts to threaten Islamdom. Meanwhile the truculent Muslim armies did
not stop at ejecting the Mongols from the Middle East, but they also
give the final push to the Crusaders who were in occupation of Acre and
Antioch, by capturing the last Crusader bastion in 1291. While they had
the chance the Crusaders scorned the Mongols and did not form an
alliance with them against the Muslims. Now the Muslims defeated their
enemies one after the other, and both the Mongols and Crusaders became
history in the Middle East.
__________________________________
Ket Buqa Noyan's last words were “Tell my Padishah Hulagu Khan that he should not grieve over lost Mongol soldiers.
Let him imagine that his soldiers' wives have not been pregnant for a year and
the mares of their herds have not folded. May felicity be upon the Padishah.
When his noble being is well, every loss is compensated. The life or death of
servants like us is irrelevant.” Hulagu was told about Ket Buqa Noyan that although many Mongol soldiers left him, he
continued to struggle in battle like a thousand men. In the end his horse faltered,
and he was captured. Near the battlefield was a reed
bed in which a troop of Mongol cavalrymen was hiding. Quduz ordered fire thrown
into it, and they were all burned alive. After that, Ket Buqa was taken before
Quduz with his hands bound.” Despicable man,” said
Quduz, “you have shed so much blood wrongfully, ended the lives of
champions and dignitaries with false assurances, and overthrown ancient dynasties
with broken promises. Now you have finally fallen into a snare yourself.”
When
the one whose hands were bound heard these words, he reared up like a
mad
elephant; and replied, saying, “O proud one, do not pride yourself on
this day of
victory.” “If I am killed by your
hand,” said Ket Buqa, “I consider it to be God's act, not yours. Be not
deceived by this event for one moment, for when the
news of my death reaches Hulagu Khan, the ocean of his wrath will boil
over, and
from Azerbaijan to the gates of Egypt will quake with the hooves of
Mongol
horses. They will take the sands of
Egypt from there in their horses' nose bags. Hulagu Khan has three
hundred thousand renowned horsemen like Ket Buqa. In me you may take
only one of them away.” Quduz said, “Speak not so proudly of the
horsemen of Turan, for they
perform deeds with trickery and artifice, not with manliness like us
Muslims(sic).” As long as I have lived,” replied Ket Buqa, “I have been
the
Padishah's servant, not a mutineer and regicide like you! Finish me off
as quickly as possible.” Quduz, in typical Muslim style, ordered his
head severed from his body and displayed to the retreating Mongol
soldiers.
With Ket Buqa dead, the Mongols were forced to retreat,
into Syria and then towards Baghdad. But Quduz did not live long to
savor his victory. On the way back to Cairo, his troops who were loyal
to the old royal dynasty killed
Quduz.
After the battle of Ayn Jalut, the Muslim armies surged throughout Syria as far as the banks of the Euphrates,
overthrowing everyone they found, plundering Ket Buqa's camp, taking captive his
wife, child, and retainers, and killing the tax collectors. Only those Mongols who were
warned could escape, and when the news of Ket Buqa Noyan's death and his last words
reached Hulagu Khan, he displayed his grief over his death and the fire of zeal
flared up to avenge this defeat.
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