History Daily - The Battle of Ain Jalut

Episode Date: September 3, 2025

September 3, 1260. An Egyptian Mamluk army wins a pivotal battle, halting the Mongol Empire’s westward expansion. This episode originally aired in 2024. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

Is it a new cotio, Ki-kiris. Hae asuntolanae muttomastomast from Apsk, Paikokotcomptomptus. Avaeer S-Mobile and do Lainanahakness. S-pank, Suomen Mutcottombeamon, Pankt, in Baghdad. The capital of the Abbasid Empire. Al-Mustasam, the ruler of the Abbasid Empire, stumbles along the hallways of his palace,

only remaining upright thanks to the two enemy soldiers, grasping him firmly by his arms. Smoke catches in his throat, and he hears the distant screams of his people being put to death. Baghdad has fallen. For 500 years, Al-Mustasim's predecessors ruled an Islamic empire that stretched across the Arab world. But a few decades ago, a new enemy emerged from Central Asia, the Mongols.

The Abbasids were unable to match them in battle, and bit by bit, the Mongols encroached on Abbasid territory. In January, 1258, they reached the capital Baghdad. It didn't take long for the Mongols to be able to. who breached the walls, and for the last week, their soldiers have rampaged through the city, with Al-Mustasim hold up in the palace as a prisoner. The soldiers escorting him open a gate and push Al-Mustasim into a courtyard. Flames, dance against the sky.

The entire palace is burning, but that's not what frightens Al-Mustasim. Standing in the courtyard on a fine rug looted from the palace is Prince Hulagu, the brother of the Mongol Empire's leader and the architect. of the siege of Baghdad. Al-Mustasim has dragged before him, and in a ringing voice, Hulu-Gu shouts taunts, but Al-Mustasim stays silent, knowing his life hangs in the balance.

His lack of response, though, only seems to antagonize Hulagu further. He barks an angry command, and one of his men steps forward and punches Al-Mustasim hard in the stomach. Al-Mustasim collapses to his knees, and then a kick sends him sprawling onto the rug. As Al-Mustassum gasps for air, the Mongol soldiers grab the edge of the rug beneath him

and start rolling Al-Mustassum up with it. He can't move, he can't breathe, but he can't hear. Horses are approaching, half a dozen at least, their hooves pounding into the dust as they move closer and closer. With an overwhelming rush of dread, Al-Mustassum realizes what Hulagu has planned for him. He's about to be trampled to death. Al-Mustassum's execution marks the end of a bad thing. acid rule in Baghdad. It is yet another victory for the Mongols, who already control the largest empire the world has ever known, and the Mongol armies will not stop at Baghdad. They will

continue further west toward the Mediterranean until they are finally defeated, and their expansion stopped at Aim Jalut on September 3rd, 1260. From Noisor and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily. History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is September 3rd, 1260, the Battle of Ain Jalut. It's late spring 1260 in Cairo, the capital of the Mamluk Sultanate two years after the fall of Baghdad. Thirty-eight-year-old Sultan Kutuz adjusts his robes and makes himself comfortable on his ceremonial throne. As ruler of the Mamluk Sultanate, Katoos knows it's important to project power and authority, and he's especially keen to

to exude that confidence today. The Mamluk Sultanate has only ruled Egypt for 10 years, and it's plagued by infighting. Katoos himself usurp the throne from his predecessor only six months ago, and he has faced opposition from rivals who also have their eyes on the crown. Earlier today, though, Katoos' position became even more precarious. Envoy's representing the Mongol Empire have arrived in Cairo, and Kutuz is not expecting his visitors to offer a hand of friendship.

The Mongols are the most feared fighting force in the world. With a vast army of mounted archers, the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan and his successors have sweat through Asia and the Middle East. In the space of just a few decades, they have taken control of a vast realm stretching from China to Eastern Europe. Two years ago, they seized Baghdad, causing the centuries-old Abbasid Empire to collapse. Then they moved further west, conquering Syria, and now the Mongols are nearing the shores of the Mediterranean.

Katoos listened stoically as the Mongol envoys read aloud a letter from the warlord prince Hulagu. As Kutuz predicted, Hulagu is threatening the Mamluk Sultanate with utter destruction. Hulagu claims that the Mongols are divinely ordained to rule the world and there is no hope of defeating them in battle. The only sensible course of action is surrender. Kutuz knows that many other leaders in similar situations have capitulated to the Mongols without a fight. They have often been spared the gruesome fates doled out to those who do resist,

but Katoos was raised as a warrior, and he is not so easily threatened. As a relatively new Sultan, with rivals still maneuvering against him, Kutuz also knows that he must appear strong to his subjects. So rather than agree to the Mongol demand for surrender, Kutuz chooses to send the Mongol Empire a message of his own. On Katoos's orders, the Mongol envoys are dragged from his presence and put to death. Their bodies are cut in half, and their severed heads are put on display outside Cairo's city walls. Kutu's hopes that this will serve as a warning to the Mongols to leave the Mamluk Sultanate alone, but his hopes are soon dashed. When the Mongol prince Hulagu receives word that his envoys were killed, he's outraged. He's intent on exacting painful retribution for

their murder and orders his forces to attack the Mamluk Sultanate immediately. But his armies are spread over a large area now, and their progress toward Egypt is slow. So in Cairo, Katoos uses this time to build an army of his own. But despite a rapid mobilization, Kutuz's Mamluk army is still vastly outnumbered by the Mongols. Going up against such a superior enemy seems to be suicidal. But then Kutuz has a stroke of good fortune. News comes from the east that Hulagu's brother, ruler of the Mongol Empire, has died. With no clear line of succession and the prospect of civil war growing,

Hulagu decides to return to Central Asia with the bulk of his army. He leaves behind around 10,000 men under the command of his general Kitbuga with orders to crush the Mamluk's and avenge the deaths of the Mongol envoys. But now the Mamluk and Mongol armies are more evenly matched, and Kutuz decides he must take the opportunity he's been given. Against the advice of many of his generals, Katoos decides to go on the offensive. He moves his army north, out of Egypt and up the coast of the Mediterranean, to attack the Mongols first.

But without their usual advantage of superior numbers, the Mongols are reluctant to face the Mamluk's in open battle. The Mongol General Kitbuga withdraws from the towns his men have recently captured and tries to evade the Mamluk army instead. But the Mamluks pursue their prey across the region, eventually reaching the valley of Ain Jalut, This area is believed to be the site of the legendary biblical battle between David and Goliath. And it's here that the Mamluks will finally force the Mongols into a fight. And just like when Underdog David beat the fearsome Goliath, Sultan Khatouz will hope that he too will come out on top when he takes on the seemingly unstoppable might of the Mongol Empire.

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it's our luptu-hinct, aiderliven end-wintering on. Elisalta, Pugelmut and other laitre, just three-voreen mackuja, without corkoja and culli. Puffelimia and all-laysia are endu-hinnat, Elisan, a end-relii-lisia.

It's the morning of September 3rd, 1260 at Einzalut in Syria, six months after the execution of the Mongol envoys in Cairo. Mamluk, General Bybarz, presses his heels into his horse's flanks, forcing his steed up a rocky path. Reaching the hilltop, he guides his horse to the edge of the cliff, and waiting there, with his personal guard, is Sultan Khatuz. General Bybarz is one of the few Mamluk officers who backed Sultan Katoos's plan to go on the offensive against the Mongols, as a reward for his faith, he was given command of the Sultan's army. So far, the Mongols have avoided facing the Mamluks in open battle. But now, Baibars has come up with a way to trick the Mongols into a fight.

General Baibars has positioned a small portion of his cavalry as bait to tempt the Mongols into an attack. And should they engage, the Mongols would then be lured into a valley where they'll be ambushed by the rest of the Mamluk army concealed among the Rocky Hills. General Bybar's and Sultan Katoos, go over the plan one last time. They know it's risky. They could lose many men, and if the Mongols don't take the bait, it will be all for nothing. But they decided they have to do something to force a decisive battle. Finally, in the distance, they spot a dust cloud. The Mongol army is approaching. Sultan Khatuz and General Baibars wish each other luck, then Baibars quickly returns down the hillside

to take his place among the cavalry. He's just in time, because the attack. attacking Mongol horsemen speed up, anticipating an easy victory. The Mamluks began beating their own war drums in response. Baibar shifts his weight in his saddle and charges forward with his men to meet the Mongol attack. The fighting is vicious. Storms of arrows fly through the air. Men tumble from their saddles, horses scream in pain, and the dusty ground is soon stained dark with blood.

General Baibars and his men fight bravely, but the Mamluks are hopelessly outnumbered. Still, General Bybar's knows that this part of the battle is only a faint. So when he thinks his cavalry have put up a convincing enough fight, he sounds the call for retreat. He turns his horse and leads the way, galloping toward the valley where the rest of his troops await. As he rides, General Bybar's looks back to check that the Mongols are following, and he almost laughs with relief when he sees they are. And as the Mongols stream into the valley, the Mamluk concealed on the hillsides emerge from their hiding places and crash into the Mongols from every side. This pincer maneuver is devastating. The Mongols find themselves surrounded and outnumbered, but they live up to their reputation as skillful warriors and soon threaten to break through part of the Mamluk line.

From his vantage point on the hillside, Sultan Khatouz spots that this could allow the Mongol enemy to escape the trap. So he rides into the fray himself with his personal guard, reinforcing the weak point in the Mamluk line and lifting his helmet to rouse the troops. As it becomes clear that the battle is lost for them, many fighting in the Mongol army changed sides. For decades, the Mongols have forced the people they defeat to join their army and fight for them in new wars of conquest.

But now that it's the Mongols who face defeat, some of the soldiers who've been pressed into service take the chance to double cross their oppressors. Still, the Mongols make one last desperate attempt to break through the Mamluk line and escape. The charge is led by General Kitbuka himself, but when an arrow strikes his horse, he's flung from his saddle. Within seconds, Kitbuka is surrounded and hacked to death by Mamluk soldiers. After the loss of their leader, the Mongol defensive effort collapses.

A few lucky men sneak through the Mamluk lines and escape to safety, but most of the Mongol forces are killed. The battle becomes a rout. Afterward, news of this Mongol defeat spreads rapidly. When Prince Huluku hears about the failure, he's enraged, but by then he's too far away to do anything about it. For decades, the Mongols have been seen as unbeatable conquerors. Now, for the first time, they're in retreat.

So soon, Sultan Khatuz will begin his journey home to Cairo, but he'll never make it. Despite his spectacular victory against the Mongols, Kutu's will still have enemies, and his brief reign will come to a bloody end at the hands of the very same general who helped him win the Battle of Ains Jalut. Hosecote.

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Huitpheuson etuelsiorgio Elishan by Ayesha.5 Pujelimia and all kinds of laitreighte On etuinnat Elisan

Ayn edulisia It's October 24th 1260 near Cairo One month after the Battle of Ayn Jalut A desert wind whistles through his tent As Sultan Katoos pours over a map

of the Mam Luke Sultanate Since winning the Battle of Ains Jalut Katoos's army has pushed the Mongol Empire out of Syria and claimed territory there for themselves. But that's created a new headache for Sultan Kutuz. General Baibars expects to be rewarded for the cunning battle plan that won victory over the Mongols, and he's expressed his wish to be named a governor

of the newly conquered land in Syria. But Sultan Kutuz worries that this will give General Baibar's too much power. The Mamluk Sultanate has long been troubled by unrest and revolt, and Katoos wants to avoid empowering a future rival. Katoos looks up from the map as the tents canvas is pushed aside and General Bybar's and several other officers enter. Katoos is puzzled. There's no conference planned right now.

So with an uneasy feeling, he greets the men. But General Bybar's doesn't say a word. He simply pulls a knife from under his tunic. Katoos appeals for help, but the other officers are all in on the plot. The assassination does not take long. When the officers emerged from the tent a few moments later, Katoos is dead, and the Mamluks have a new Sultan, General Bybarz. He will rule for the next 17 years,

bringing stability to the Mamluk Sultanate and establishing it as one of the mightiest powers in the region. But perhaps his greatest achievement will remain the victory he won before becoming Sultan. The Battle of Ainshalout was a pivotal moment in world history. For the first time, the relentless Mongol army was halted and its veneer of invincibility was shattered. Had General Bybar's and the Mamluk's not prevailed,

the largest empire the world had yet known might have become even larger. But instead, the Mongol's westward expansion was stopped, and their empire fell into civil war and decline in the years that followed the decisive battle of Ayn Jalut on September 3rd, 1260. Next, on History Daily, September 4, 1893. In a letter meant to cheer up a sick child, Beatrix Potter unintentionally creates the legendary storybook character Peter Rat. From Noiser and Airship, Dis is History Daily, hosted, edited and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham.

Audio editing by Mohamed Shazzy, sound design by Gabriel Gould, music by Thrum. This episode is written and research by Ruben Abrams-Brosby, edited by Scott Reeves, managing producer Emily Burr. Executive producers are William Simpson for Airship and Pascal Hughes for Noiser.