page_title: Mongol invasions of the Levant
section_title: 1281 invasion
hierarchical_section_title: Mongol invasions of the Levant / 1281 invasion
caption_attribution_description: 1281 Battle of Homs
context_page_description: Starting in the 1240s, the Mongols made repeated invasions of Syria or attempts thereof. Most failed, but they did have some success in 1260 and 1300, capturing Aleppo and Damascus and destroying the Ayyubid dynasty. The Mongols were forced to retreat within months each time by other forces in the area, primarily the Egyptian Mamluks. Since 1260, it had been described as the Mamluk-Ilkhanid War.
context_section_description: The third major invasion took place in 1281 under Abaqa Khan. Having crossed the Euphrates and captured Aleppo, the Mongols of the Ilkhanate moved as far south as Homs with 80,000 men before they were beaten back to the Euphrates river at the Second Battle of Homs.
  The Il-khan Tekuder (r. 1282-1284) was friendly to Islam, and sent a letter to the Mamluk sultan to broach the subject of peace, but Tekuder's envoy was arrested by the Mamluks. Tekuder's conversion to Islam and attempts to make peace with the Mamluks were not popular with the other nobles of the Ilkhanate.  When Tekuder's brother Arghun challenged him for the throne, Tekuder sought assistance in vain from the Mamluks, but was executed. Arghun (1284–91) took power, and as directed by the Great Khan Kublai (r.1260-94) continued Mongol attempts to conquer Syria.
caption: The Mongols and the Armenians were defeated by the Mamluks at the Second Battle of Homs in 1281.
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