Mongols In The Holy Land
The extent of the Mongol Empire is best viewed from Palestine
Under the blazing Middle Eastern sun, on a field overlooked by a small ridge, a column of Mongolian cavalry charged into the waiting lines of Mamluk Muslim forces. Guided by Crusaders and led by a Christian general, the Mongolian forces hoped to break the Mamluk resistance in the region and pave the way for the eventual conquest of Cairo and Egypt by the vast Mongolian forces waiting in the north.
Horses rode this way and that as the Mamluk generals encouraged their men to fight for Allah and Islam. Primitive hand cannons went off emitting loud and terrifying sounds that spooked the animals — the first instance of gunpowder use in warfare. This was the chaos of Ain Jalut one of the decisive battles that would eventually lead to the decline of the Mongolian Empire.
Ain Jalut is in Galilee in the vicinity of Nazareth and Jerusalem. How did the Mongols get here? What were they hoping to achieve? Like many things with the reign of the Mongols, the path to Palestine was long, terrifying and bloody.
