THE BATTLE OF MARJ DABIQ

On August 24, 1516, a titanic clash took place in North- ern Syria between the armies of two great powers, the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk Sultanate. The two forces met on the plain of Marj Dabiq, north of the city of Aleppo. The Battle of Marj Dabiq, a decisive battle that had major historical ramifications, is rarely men- tioned alongside other famous medieval battles, such as Hastings, Hattin, Manzikert, Dorylaeum, Bouvines, Ayn Jalut, Crecy, and Agincourt. However, the ar- mies that fought at Marj Dabiq were larger than those that fought in most of the abovementioned battles.

By Adam Ali

Marj Dabiq had both short- and long-term consequences on regional and international history. The Ottomans, under the leadership of Selim I (r. 1512–1520), defeated the Mamluk army, led by the sultan Qansuh alGhawri (r. 1501–1516), allowing them to occupy Syria and invade Egypt the following year, dealing the Mamluks a deathblow and putting an end to their 267-year sultanate. Causes The immediate cause of the war between the Ottomans and the Mamluks in 1516 was the result of the three-way conflict between them and a third Muslim power in the east, the Safavids. Shah Ismail founded the Safavid Empire in 1501, which encompassed what is mostly modern-day Iran and some of its bordering regions. He also declared Twelver Shia Islam as the state religion, viewed as heretical by the predominantly Sunni Ottoman…

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Medieval World Culture & Conflict (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 8 - 2023

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