“God Almighty has elevated the status of Genghis Khan and his family and granted us entire kingdoms on earth, and anyone who rebels against us and disobeys our command will be eliminated along with his wives, children, relatives and those linked to it, its countries and its subjects.
The Levant fell to the Mongol hordes, as did Iraq. This fall began in the year 657 AH, a year before the battle of Ain Jalut. However, this fall was a continuation of the series of decline and defeat since the emergence of these Mongols. to destroy the Islamic East and the Khwarezmian State since 617 AH.
The Levant is a prisoner of the Mongols!
For forty years, they have wreaked havoc on the earth, killing tens of thousands of people and destroying hundreds, if not thousands, of towns and villages. Faced with the crimes of the Mongols, Mosul historian Ibn al-Atheer downplayed what the Mongols committed. The Iraqi king Bakht Nasr treated the children of Israel in ancient times. He said: “And what is the Holy House compared to what these accursed (Tatars) have ravaged the country, each city of which is twice as large as the Holy House, and what are the children of Israel in relation to those whom they killed, for the inhabitants of a city were among those who were killed more than the children of Israel.
One of the tricks of the Mongols was to accept certain Ayyubid traitors who sold their religion and their country to serve the Mongol occupiers. On the contrary, they presented some of them as their assistants in managing the affairs of the Levant, and among them was King Al-Ashraf Musa bin Ibrahim Al-Ayyubi, owner of Homs, whose lineage goes back to Asad Al -Din Shirkuh, the uncle of Saladin Al-Ayyubi. Who surrendered Homs to the Mongols and sought refuge with Hulagu, declaring his loyalty to him and his new state. Therefore, Hulagu appointed him his deputy for Damascus and the Levant, and gave him a decree to this effect. Al-Ashraf transmitted this decree to Hulagu's military deputy, Katbugha, who in turn sent it to "representatives in Damascus for their agreement." him about the interests of the kingdom, so offices and representatives began to visit him from time to time and consult him on important matters.
The Mongols also benefited from the services of Prince Hassan bin Al-Aziz Othman bin Al-Adil bin Ayyub, whom Al-Nasir Al-Ayyubid had long imprisoned in Al-Bireh prison on the Euphrates, and therefore released. and brought him back to his ancient kingdom of Baniyas near Damascus and his castle, Al-Subaibah, "and to all the countries he had under mandate in the Levant, and this happy king became one of the Ayyubid princes closest to the Mongols, because he became totally loyal to them. Until he became one of the most important elements against the Mamluks during the Battle of Ain Jalut!
After the Mongols captured Al-Malik Al-Nasir in Rajab in 658 AH, Hulagu chose to do good to Al-Malik Al-Nasir II, the greatest Ayyubid king in the Levant. He saw that "the Emir of Damascus is more beneficial to him and the policy he wants to follow with the Muslims than the Emir of Homs, of the Levant, Al-Achraf Musa. This is why he met him well and promised him rebirth. of the Ayyubid empire extending from the confines of the Levant to Nubia, and from Cyrenaica to the Euphrates. He also promised him that he would give him effective sovereignty over all these countries, including Egypt, on condition that he recognized the authority of the Ayyubid Empire. the Mongols and the sovereignty of the Great Khan. Here we clearly see an important fact for the security of the Mamluk state in Egypt, namely the collusion of an Ayyubid king with the Mongols in the elimination of the nascent Mamluk state, and this fact is true. This indicates something, because it indicates that the establishment of the Mamluk state remained incomplete as long as these dangers remained present.
The Mongols had taken control of the entire Levant and Palestine, from the Euphrates at Aleppo through Karak and Shobak to Nablus and even Gaza on the Egyptian border, and in accordance with Hulagu's plan he sent to the sultan from Egypt Qutuz a letter in which he said: "God Almighty has elevated the status of Genghis Khan and his family and granted us. The entire kingdoms of the earth and all those who rebel against us and disobey our orders will be eliminated along with its wives, its children, its relatives and those related to it, its country and its subjects, as everyone has. heard. As for the reputation of our countless armies, it has become famous like the story of Rustam and Isfandiar, so if you are obedient as our servants, send Pay tribute. Come to us and demand the cargo, or prepare to fight.
After this message - in which he telegraphed and thundered - Qutuz summoned the senior princes and held an advisory council to gather their opinions. One of the Qaymariya Kurdish princes who came to Egypt from the Levant and joined the Mamluk forces said: This is Prince Nasir al-Din Qaymari: Hulagu is a traitor, and a number of kings and princes, and even the Abbasid caliph al-Mustasim, safely handed over their country to him, so he turned on them and killed them. He “does not fulfill his covenant and his covenant… If we follow him, our destiny will be this path.”
It was important for Rukn ad-Din Baybars to express his opinion during this second consultation held before him on the fight against the Mongols. The first took place in the Levant, and he saw weakness, cowardice and impotence there. of King Al-Nasir Yusuf II Al-Ayyubi and the senior commanders of his army and his minister. Until he attacked the traitorous minister Zain al-Din al-Hafizhi and beat him in anger at them. As for this advice, al-Muzaffar Qutuz's opinion on this matter was close to that of Baybars. Qutuz was alone with Burkun al-Din Baybars, the chief maritime prince. On the contrary, one of the greatest army commanders after Atabeg was Aqtai al-Musta'rab, and he asked him for his opinion: "I think we should kill the messengers and go to Ketopuga in solidarity if we we are victorious. or defeated, we will be excused in either case.
The high command of the army, represented by the sultan, the chief of the naval princes, and perhaps the military atabeg, agreed to meet the Mongols and fight them. A small number of other princes and military leaders agreed with them, but most of them. the other princes expressed their refusal to meet the Mongols, and they were the ones who won all the battles they fought from their departure from Mongolia until their arrival at the Egyptian border in Gaza!
Regardless, Qutuz ordered the assassination of the four messengers sent by the Mongols in accordance with Baibars' advice, cut off their heads, and hanged them in the most famous neighborhoods of Cairo at the time, in Al -Raydaniyah (today Al-Raydaniyah). -Abbasiyah) and Bab Al-Nasr to the north of Cairo, Bab Zuwailah to the south and to the horse market, one of the most important markets below the mountain castle; So that all the people can see it, their morale increases and their determination to confront the enemy increases. On the 15th of Sha'ban in the year 658 AH, “King Al-Muzaffar advanced towards the rest of the governors. by disturbing the soldiers to go on a journey, and anyone found among them missing would be beaten with hammers. He marched until he came down to Salihiyya, and the entire army was with him.
Faced with this hesitation and the hatred of departure on the part of most of the army leaders, Sultan Qutuz camped temporarily in Salhiya, northeast of Cairo, and decided to confront these hesitant princes. Put an end to this confusion, which could have disastrous consequences on the battlefield. “Then he asked the princes and spoke to them about leaving, but they all refused to do so and refrained from leaving. He said to them: O Muslim princes, you have been eating the money from the treasury for a long time, and you. are opposed to the invaders. I am leaving, so whoever chooses jihad will accompany me, and whoever does not choose it will return home, because God is aware of him, and the sin of the Muslim harem is on his neck. the latecomers. Then he spoke to the princes whom he chose, and he swore to them that he would accept the march, and the others could not help but agree, and the crowd dispersed. When night came, the sultan rode and moved his. chariots and said: I will throw myself on the Tatars. When the princes saw the sultan's march, they marched in a ball.
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