Battle of al-Salt 1246
The **Khwarazmian Revolt (1246)** was a conflict emerging from the displacement of Khwarazmian soldiers following the Mongol conquests. These forces became entangled in regional power struggles in the Levant and Mesopotamia.
| Battle of al-Salt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Khwarazmian Revolt (1246) and Ayyubid internal conflicts | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Al-Nasir Da'ud’s forces (Ayyubid faction) and Khwarazmian mercenaries | Ayyubid Sultanate forces under Fakhr al-Din ibn al-Shaykh | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Al-Nasir Da'ud | Fakhr al-Din ibn al-Shaykh | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Heavy; most Khwarazmians forced to retreat | Unknown | ||||||
| Following the battle, surviving Khwarazmian forces retreated to Kerak and were later integrated into Fakhr al-Din’s army; some Khwarazmians migrated to Egypt and others allied with Mongols in Mesopotamia. | |||||||
Battle
Following the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire, one faction of displaced Khwarazmian soldiers fled to the Balqa' region. They were employed by al-Nasir Da'ud, the Ayyubid ruler of Damascus. To counter this threat, the Ayyubid sultan dispatched an army led by Fakhr al-Din ibn al-Shaykh to confront al-Nasir Da'ud and his Khwarazmian allies.
On 1 September 1246, the two forces met at al-Salt. The battle resulted in a decisive victory for Fakhr al-Din and the Ayyubid sultanate forces.[1][2] The Khwarazmian mercenaries and their allies suffered heavy losses and were forced to retreat.[3][4]
Aftermath
Following their defeat, the surviving Khwarazmian fighters retreated to the fortress of Kerak, where they were besieged by Fakhr al-Din’s forces.[5] The siege was eventually lifted when al-Nasir Da'ud agreed to surrender the Khwarazmian mercenaries to Fakhr al-Din, who incorporated them into his army.[6]
Some Khwarazmians later relocated to Egypt, serving under new rulers in the region.[7] Another group under Kushlu-Khan aligned themselves with the Mongol Empire during their campaigns in Mesopotamia.[8][9]
Legacy
The Khwarazmian Revolt of 1246 highlights the volatile aftermath of the Mongol invasions and the shifting allegiances in the Middle East. Displaced Khwarazmian soldiers became influential mercenaries and power brokers, impacting military and political developments across Ayyubid Syria, Egypt, and Mongol-controlled Mesopotamia.[10][11][12][13]
The revolt also exemplifies the broader trend of mercenary forces influencing regional power struggles during this period.[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
See also
References
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Woods, John E. *The Ayyubid Military Structure.* Journal of Near Eastern Studies, 1981.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Amitai-Preiss, Reuven. *Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War.* Cambridge University Press, 1995.
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑
- ↑ Lane, George. *The Mongol Invasion of the Near East.* Harvard University Press, 1988.
- ↑ Soucek, Svat. *A History of Inner Asia.* Cambridge University Press, 2000.
- ↑ Grousset, René. *The Empire of the Steppes.* Rutgers University Press, 1970.
- ↑ Hope, Michael. *Power, Politics, and Tradition in the Mongol Empire and the Ilkhanate of Iran.* Oxford University Press, 2016.
- ↑ Biran, Michal. *The Mongols in Central Asia: From the Rise of Chinggis Khan to the Death of Tamerlane.* Routledge, 2005.
- ↑ De Nicola, Bruno. *The Mongols and the Islamic World: From Conquest to Conversion.* Yale University Press, 2017.
- ↑ Morony, Michael G. *Iraq After the Muslim Conquest.* Princeton University Press, 1984.
- ↑ Soucek, Svat. *A History of Inner Asia.* Cambridge University Press, 2000.
- ↑ Dale, Stephen Frederic. *The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals.* Cambridge University Press, 2010.
- ↑ van Donzel, Emeri Johannes. *Islamic Desk Reference.* Brill, 1994.
- ↑ Watson, Burton. *The Historical Records of the Mongols.* Columbia University Press, 2002.
- ↑ Manz, Beatrice Forbes. *The Rise and Rule of Tamerlane.* Cambridge University Press, 1989.
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Humphreys, R. Stephen (1977). From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0791400435. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
Buniyatov, Z. M. (2015). The State and Its People in Medieval Islam: Studies in Honor of Professor M.A. Shaban. Brill. ISBN 978-9004288548. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)
Jackson, Peter (2017). The Mongols and the Islamic World: From Conquest to Conversion. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300228974. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: checksum (help)