Siege of Damascus (1229)
Siege of Damascus | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Ayyubid Sultanate | Emirate of Damascus | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
al-Kāmil al-Ashraf |
al-Nāṣir Dāʾūd |
The siege of Damascus of 1229 was part of an
Sources and background
The main sources for the siege are
Within the Ayyubid realm, the
Siege
al-Ashraf's attack (March–May)
In March 1229, al-Ashraf marched up to the walls of Damascus.[5] He had under his command his personal troops, a contingent from Aleppo, the army of Homs and troops of al-Ṣāliḥ Ismāʿīl and al-Mughīth Maḥmūd. He was not equipped for an assault or a siege and probably intended only to pen up al-Nāṣir Dāʾūd. He cut off the two streams that supplied the city with water, but a sally by the garrison supported by local volunteers restored them. The suburbs of Qaṣr Ḥajjaj and Shaghur were burnt in the subsequent fighting.[6]
In response to repeated calls for reinforcements from al-Ashraf, al-Kāmil sent 2,000 regular cavalry in two contingents under
In response to the attack engineered by al-Kāmil, al-Nāṣir Dāʾūd ordered Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī to preach a sermon in the
al-Kāmil's siege (May–June)
The Egyptian army arrived on 6 May and al-Kāmil encamped near the mosque of
Negotiations soon broke down. On 13 May, there was heavy fighting in the suburb by the
During the siege, al-Kāmil launched a strike against al-Karak, where al-Nāṣir's mother was staying. She ordered a sortie, which scattered the strike force and captured its commanders, two former emirs of al-Muʿaẓẓam.[13]
al-Nāṣir's defence
The population of Damascus played an energetic role in its defence. Ibn Wāṣil credits this to their devotion to al-Nāṣir and his late father, al-Muʿaẓẓam. The Damascenes were almost certainly also fighting for the autonomy or independence that only a local dynasty could provide. The local militias that took part in the siege of 1229 are never heard of again.[12]
There were two instances of dissension within the city. A small detachment of the Damascene army deserted to the enemy, and al-Nāṣir imprisoned his
Surrender on terms
On 14 June, al-Nāṣir secretly slipped out of Damascus with a small guard entered the besiegers' camp to seek terms. He was ordered back into the city. On 16 June, Fakhr al-Dīn arrived at the citadel to escort him to al-Kāmil. A peace treaty was signed and al-Nāṣir returned to the city. The gates of Damascus were opened on 25 June 1229 to al-Kāmil and the Egyptian army.[13]
According to the terms of the treaty, al-Nāṣir would govern
Notes
- ^ Humphreys 1977, p. 448nn.
- ^ Humphreys 1977, p. 448 n22.
- ^ Burns 2005, pp. 183–185.
- ^ Slack 2013, p. 22.
- ^ The date is from Humphreys 1977, p. 201, whereas Drory 2003, p. 164, writes that the treaty of Jaffa in February 1229 (Rabīʿ II 626) was concluded after al-Ashraf's siege began.
- ^ Humphreys 1977, pp. 201–202.
- ^ Humphreys 1977, p. 202.
- ^ Humphreys 1977, p. 203.
- ^ a b c Humphreys 1977, p. 204.
- Jumādā I, while Sibṭ ibn al-Jawzī places the sultan's arrival in Rabīʿ II, the fourth month, and says explicitly that the siege last four months. See Humphreys 1977, pp. 204 and 448 n22. Drory 2003, p. 164, says that the two armies linked up in Jumādā II 626 or April 1229.
- ^ Humphreys 1977, pp. 204–205.
- ^ a b c Humphreys 1977, p. 205.
- ^ a b c d Humphreys 1977, p. 206.
- ^ Humphreys 1977, p. 207.
Bibliography
- Burns, Ross (2005). Damascus: A History. Routledge.
- Drory, Joseph (2003). "Al-Nāsir Dāwūd: A Much Frustrated Ayyūbid Prince". Al-Masāq. 15 (2): 161–187. S2CID 155744029.
- Humphreys, R. Stephen (1977). From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260. State University of New York Press.
- Slack, Corliss K. (2013). Historical Dictionary of the Crusades. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7830-3.