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Battle of the Horns of Hama

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Battle of the Horns of Hama
Part of the Ayyubid-Zengid war
Date13 April 1175
Location
Result Ayyubid victory
Territorial
changes
Ayyubids take control all of Syria apart from Aleppo
Belligerents
Ayyubid Sultanate Zengid Emirate
Commanders and leaders
Saladin

Muhammad ibn Shirkuh
Shihab al-Din al-Harimi
Izz al-Din Mas'ud[1]
Muzaffar Al-din Kokbori
Strength
10,000 10,000
Casualties and losses
Minimal Minimal

The Battle of the Horns of Hama or Hammah[2] (Arabic: معركة قرون حماة, Qurun Hama;[2](Kurdish: شەڕی قۆچەکانی حەمە, şerê qijikên hamayê) 13 April AD 1175; 19 Ramadan AH 570)[3] was an Ayyubid victory over the Zengids, which left Saladin in control of Damascus, Baalbek, and Homs. Gökböri commanded the right wing of the Zengid army, which broke Saladin's left flank before being routed by a charge from Saladin's personal guard.[4] Despite around 20,000 men being involved on both sides, Saladin gained a nearly-bloodless victory by the psychological effect of the arrival of his Egyptian reinforcements.[2]

Following the battle, Saladin initially placed the rightful heirs over these territories: Muhammad ibn Shirkuh in Homs, Palmyra, and al-Rahba; Shihab al-Din al-Harimi over Hama and Ibn al-Muqaddam in Baalbek.[5] Gökböri himself defected to Saladin in 1182.[6] Once his power was further consolidated, however, they were deposed in favour of members of his own dynasty.

On 6 May 1175, Saladin's opponents agreed to a treaty recognizing his rule over Syria apart from Aleppo.[2] Saladin requested that the Abbasid caliph acknowledge his right to the entirety of Nur ad-Din's empire, but he was recognized simply as lord over what he already held and was encouraged to attack the Crusader kingdom in Jerusalem.[2]

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ İbnü’l-Esîr, el- Kâmil Fi't- Târîh Tercümesi, Cilt 9, 413-414; Bahaaddin İbn Şeddad, Selahaddin-i Eyyubi, 90-91; Ebu Şame, Kitabu'r-Ravzateyn Fi Ahbari'd-Devleteyn en- Nuriyye ve's Salahiyye, Cilt 2, 377-378; Ebû’l Farac, Tarih, Cilt II, 419-420; Şeşen, Selâhaddin Eyyûbî ve Dönemi, 95; Kuşçu, Eyyûbî Devleti Teşkilatı, 66.
  2. ^ a b c d e Lock (2013), p. 62.
  3. ^ Humphreys (1977), p. 51.
  4. ^ Behâ ed-Din & 12th c., pp. 73–74.
  5. ^ Humphreys (1977), p. 52.
  6. ^ Nicholson & al. (2006), p. 17.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Behâ ed-Din (Baha' ad-Din Yusuf ibn Shaddad), The Life of Saladin, translated at London in 1897 by C.W. Wilson for the Palestine Pilgrims' Text Society.
  • Humphreys, R. Stephen (1 January 1977). From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193-1260. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-87395-263-7.
  • Lock, Peter (2013), The Routledge Companion to the Crusades, Routledge Companions to History, Routledge, ISBN 9781135131371.
  • Nicholson, H.; et al. (2006), God's Warriors: Knights Templar, Saracens and the Battle for Jerusalem, Osprey Publishing.