page_title: Battle of Marj Dabiq
section_title: Battle preparations
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Marj Dabiq / Battle preparations
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt.
context_page_description: The Battle of Marj Dābiq was a decisive military engagement in Middle Eastern history, fought on 24 August 1516, near the town of Dabiq, 44 km north of Aleppo. The battle was part of the 1516–17 war between the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk Sultanate, which ended in an Ottoman victory and conquest of much of the Middle East, bringing about the destruction of the Mamluk Sultanate. The Ottoman victory in this battle gave Selim's armies control of the entire region of Syria and opened the door to the conquest of Egypt.
context_section_description: Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri spent the winter of 1515 and the spring of 1516 preparing an army he proposed leading to the disturbed confines of Asia Minor. Before beginning the march, an embassy arrived from Selim I promising in friendly terms to agree to Mamluk requests to appoint an Egyptian vassal to the Beylik of Dulkadir – a long-standing buffer state between Mamluks and Ottomans – and to reopen the frontier to the traffic of goods and slaves. On 18 May Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri set out from Cairo with a large force, appointed well in all respects but artillery.
  Leaving Al-Ashraf Tuman bay II in control of Cairo, the sultan and his army marched north with great pomp, accompanied by music, singing, and festivity. The host included fifteen high ranking Emirs of a Thousand, 5,000 of his own royal Mamluks, and militia conscripts, and was supplemented during the march by additional Syrian and Bedouin contingents. High officers of state, the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil III, sheikhs, and courtiers, together with muezzins, physicians, and musicians, followed in his train. 
  On the way, al-Ghawri also received Ahmed, son of the late pretender to the Ottoman throne (Selim I's nephew), and brought him along with courtly honors in the hope of drawing over his sympathizers from the Ottoman force. Advancing slowly Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri entered Damascus on 9 June, with carpets spread in his pathway, while European merchants scattered gold to the crowd. After a few days' stay, advancing at a leisurely pace, he was received at Homs and Hama with festivities, moving towards Aleppo.
  Meanwhile, another embassy arrived from the Ottoman camp which, under the pretense of peace, brought lavish presents to the Sultan, the Caliph Al-Mutawakkil III, and his vizier. These gifts were accompanied by a request from Selim I for a supply of Egyptian sugar and confectionery. The envoy intimated that problems with the Shah of Persia Ismail I had forced him again to prepare for war and take the field. The chancellor Mughla Bey was sent back with counter-gifts, but by the time he reached the Ottoman camp, Selim I had thrown off his ruse of peace. The Ottomans scorned the embassy and sent the chancellor back with his head and beard shaved and riding a lame mount.
caption: Portrait of Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri, by Paolo Giovio (1483–1552)
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