Siege of Aleppo (1260)

The Siege of Aleppo lasted from 18 January to 24 January 1260.[1]

Siege of Aleppo (1260)
Part of the Mongol invasions of the Levant
Date18-24 January
Location
Aleppo, modern day Syria
Result Decisive Mongol and Crusader victory
Belligerents
Mongol Empire
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
Principality of Antioch		 Ayyubid dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Hulagu Khan
Hethum I
Bohemund VI		 Turanshah

After receiving the submission of Haran and Edessa, Mongol leader Hulagu Khan crossed the Euphrates, sacked Manbij and placed Aleppo under siege.[2]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.[3] The ensuing massacre, that lasted six days, was methodical and thorough, in which nearly all Muslims and Jews were killed, though most of the women and children were sold into slavery.[4] Also included in the destruction, was the burning of the Great Mosque of Aleppo.[5][6]

Following the siege, Hulagu had some of Hethum's troops executed for burning the mosque,[7] Some sources state Bohemond VI of Antioch (leader of the Franks) personally saw to the mosque's destruction.[8] Later, Hulagu Khan returned castles and districts to Hethum which had been taken by the Ayyubids.[9]

References
  1. The Cambridge History of Iran, Ed. J. A. Boyle, (Cambridge University Press, 1968), 350.
  2. Grousset, Rene, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia, (Rutgers University Press, 1991), 361.
  3. Turnbull, Stephen R., Genghis Khan and the Mongol conquests, 1190-1400, (Taylor & Francis, 2005), 60.
  4. Kagay, Donald J. and L. J. Andrew Villalon, Crusaders, condottieri, and cannon, (BRILL, 2003), 137.
  5. Riley-Smith, Jonathan Simon Christopher, Peter W. Edbury and Jonathan P. Phillips, The Experience of Crusading, Vol. 1, (Cambridge University Press, 2003), 204.
  6. Grousset, 362.
  7. Riley-Smith, 204.
  8. Asbridge, Thomas S., The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land, (HarperCollins, 2010), 616.
  9. Grousset, 362.

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