Description
In 1260, the Mongols advanced through Syria under Kitbuqa, threatening the Mamluk heartland of Egypt. At the Battle of Ain Jalut, Sultan Qutuz and Baybars used discipline, timing, and a dangerous feigned retreat to draw the Mongols forward and turn pursuit into a trap. The result halted the Mongol advance into Mamluk territory, restored Mamluk control in Syria, and began a longer struggle with the Ilkhanate.
After Baghdad, Aleppo, and Damascus had fallen or submitted, Egypt faced a choice: wait behind its borders or march north before the Mongols could choose the next battlefield. This documentary follows Qutuz’s decision to move, Baybars’s role with the vanguard, and the moment when a controlled retreat nearly became a disaster before the Mamluks turned Mongol aggression against itself.