Sack of Aleppo (1400)

The Sack of Aleppo was a major event in 1400 during the war between the Timurid Empire and Mamluk Sultanate.

Sack of Aleppo (1400)
DateOctober/November 1400
Location
Aleppo, modern day Syria
Result Timurid victory, sack of Aleppo
Belligerents
Timurid Empire Mamluk Sultanate
Commanders and leaders
Timur Tamardash

History

In 1400, Timur's forces invaded Armenia and Georgia, then they took Sivas, Malatya and Aintab. Later on, Timur's forces advanced towards Aleppo with caution, where they tended to construct a fortified camp each night as they approach the city. The Mamluks decided to fight an open battle outside the city walls. 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.[1] Fierce cavalry attacks forced the Mamluks led by Tamardash, governor of Aleppo, to break and flee towards the city gates.[2] Afterwards, Timur took Aleppo,[lower-alpha 1] then he massacred many of the inhabitants, ordering the building of a tower of 20,000 skulls outside the city.[2]

Aftermath

After the sack of Aleppo, Timur's forces went south where they took Hama, along with nearby Homs and Baalbek,[4] until they reached Damascus which was also sacked after defeating Mamluk forces led by Nasir-ad-Din Faraj.

Notes

  1. Timur entered Aleppo either in October[3] or November.[1]

References

Bibliography

  • Tucker, Spencer C. (2011). Battles That Changed History: An Encyclopedia of World Conflict. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-59884-429-0.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.