The sack of Aleppo was a major event in 1400 during the war between the

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of co ...

and the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

Background

In 1400, Timur's Mongol forces invaded

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, then they took

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

Malatya Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...

and

Aintab Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medit ...

. Later on, Timur's Mongol forces advanced towards Aleppo with caution, where they tended to construct a fortified camp each night as they approach the city. According to 15th century Sufi historian Abd al-Rahman al-Bistami, Timur gathered Mongol armies, bringing together every scoundrel and trickster, unleashing heresies and horrors, shedding blood and pillaging properties. Then, on the fifth of Rabi' I of 803 4 October 1400he descended upon the lands of Aleppo in its golden fields."

Battle

The Mamluks assembled a formidable army of 30,000 to 35,000 soldiers and established their camp near Aleppo. They waited for the arrival of the Timurid forces, which eventually appeared before the city. On the first day, minor skirmishes broke out between the two sides. After a brief standoff, the Syrian commanders resolved to engage the Timurid forces in a full-scale battle on the third day. After two days of skirmishing, Timur's cavalry moved swiftly in arc shapes to attack the flanks of their enemy lines, while his center including elephants from India held firm.

Al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh Al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh (; 1369 – 13 January 1421) was a Mamluk sultan of Egypt from 6 November 1412 to 13 January 1421. Early career At the age of twelve, Al-Mu'ayyad Shaykh was purchased as a slave by Sultan Barquq. Having entered the service o ...

, regent of Tripoli counterattacked bravely, causing casualties, while Emir İzzeddin Özdemir and his son Emir Uzbek Yasbek killed many Timurids before being surrounded and killed. Fierce cavalry attacks forced the Mamluks led by Tamardash, governor of Aleppo, to break and flee towards the city gates. Afterwards, Timur began his destruction of Aleppo, on October 30, 1400, and the destruction was completed with the city's surrender by November 2. Timur then massacred many of the inhabitants, ordering the building of a tower of 20,000 skulls outside the city. During Timur's invasion of Syria in the Siege of Aleppo,

Ibn Taghribirdi Jamal al-Din Yusuf bin al-Amir Sayf al-Din Taghribirdi (), or Abū al-Maḥāsin Yūsuf ibn Taghrī-Birdī, or Ibn Taghribirdi (2 February 1411— 5 June 1470; 813–874 Islamic calendar, Hijri) was an Islamic historian born in the 15th century i ...

wrote that Timur's Mongol soldiers committed mass rape on the native women of Aleppo, massacring their children and forcing the brothers and fathers of the women to watch the gang rapes which took place in the mosques. Ibn Taghribirdi said the Mongols killed all children while tying the women with ropes in Aleppo's Great mosque after the children and women tried to take refuge in the mosque. Mongol soldiers openly raped gentlewomen and virgins in public in both the small mosques and the Great Mosque. The brothers and fathers of the women were being tortured while forced to watch their female relatives get raped. The corpses in the streets and mosques resulted in stink permeating Aleppo. The women were kept naked while being gang raped repeatedly by different Mongol mans. Ibn Arabshah witnessed the slaughters and rapes Timur's Mongol soldiers carried out.

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

regent Sudun,

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

regent Tamardash, Gaza regent Omar bin Tahhani, in addition to

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

regent Altunboga Osmani and Sheikh Ali El Haseki were captured by the

Timurids The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of contem ...

and put in chains.

Aftermath

After the sack of Aleppo, Timur's forces went south where they took

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

, along with nearby

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

and

, until they reached Damascus which was also sacked after defeating Mamluk forces led by Nasir-ad-Din Faraj. Damascus had capitulated without a battle to Timur in December 1400 since the Mamluk Sultan who led his army from Egypt only fought minor skirmishes before fleeing back to

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

with the Sultan claiming he needed to stop a rival from taking power.

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aleppo 1400 Conflicts in 1400 Battles of Timur Sieges involving the Timurid Empire 1400 in Asia Sieges involving the Mamluk Sultanate 1400s in the Middle East Sieges of Aleppo Looting in Syria Massacres in Syria Mass murder in Aleppo Gang rape in Asia Wartime sexual violence in Asia