Muslim Fortresses in the Levant: Between Crusaders and Mongols (63 page)

Qalāwūn’s conquests in northwest Syria ended with the fall of Sahyūn. The fortress was first taken by Baybars. It was later restored by the rebellious Mamluk amir Sunqur al-Ashqar who turned it into the center of a small semi-independent principality. In 685/1287 the sultan took action against Sahyūn, and the fortress fell within a few weeks. Qalāwūn decided to maintain it and appointed a new
nā’ib
.
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Qalāwūn’s reign was shorter than that of his predecessor. Even if we take this into account, the number of fortresses he conquered and the scale of building during his reign were significantly less. Most of the work was an attempt to complete projects started by Baybars.

The infrastructure laid down by Baybars answered most of the military needs of the Sultanate, so that it seems there was less pressure on Qalāwūn to conquer and restore additional fortresses. Like his predecessor, he carefully weighed the abilities of his military forces against the number of fortresses he could maintain, and balanced his military strategy against sound economic calculations.

Contributions made by al-Ashraf Khalīl

The three short years of al-Ashraf Khalīl’s rule were most impressive as far as military achievements and accomplishments in the field of military architecture went. The conquest of Acre was followed by the surrender of all Frankish coastal strongholds. A few months later the sultan marched his army northeast to the Euphrates and besieged the large Armenian fortress of
(Hromgla).

Like his father, al-Ashraf Khalīl was obliged to continue work that he had not initiated. The fortifications of Aleppo were completed in 690/1290–1.
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Damascus was strengthened once again,
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and the fortress at Baalbek was further enlarged.
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Following the treaty with the Armenian king in 692/1293 the fortress at Bahasnā was given to the Mamluks. The sultan appointed the amir ayf al-Dīn Tughan
as its
nā’ib
and ordered him to strengthen the fortress.
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One of this sultan’s most impressive military moves was the conquest and restoration of
(691/1292).
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A two-line inscription at the citadel of Homs commemorates this event.
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The reasons for the decision to take and rebuild this fortress are not evident. Stewart who thoroughly examines the sources concerning the conquest of
, writes: “It is not clear if there was any specific reason why al-Ashraf chose this year to attack Hromgla, other than the fact that he wanted to and was able to.”
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It is difficult to find a fortress conquered in order to satisfy a sultan’s whim. The logistics, costs and difficulties of the campaign and restoration of a fortress the size of
were no small matter. The organization of such a campaign and the decision to maintain the stronghold required clear and sound reasoning: political, economic and military factors, one or all of these together had to be considered.

Fortresses of no immediate use to the Mamluks were left in ruins, neutralized by killing the garrison, expelling the soldiers and able-bodied men or taking them
hostage. Food supplies were used or destroyed and arms confiscated. When we examine the decisions taken by both Baybars and Qalāwūn it becomes the more obvious that their rebuilding and garrisoning of sites was carried out after considerable thought.
was no different.

is situated 40km up the Euphrates, north of al-Bīra, on a ford that had been used throughout the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Prior to its conquest by the Mamluks it was the seat of the Armenian Catholicos. The existence of a large fortress on a shallow ford close to the Īlkhānid-Mamluk border only a few miles from one of the most important Mamluk strongholds (al-Bīra) was almost certainly perceived as a threat.

It is interesting to note that
is not mentioned in any of the treaties signed between the Mamluks and the Armenians during the rule of Baybars or Qalāwūn. A failed, first attempt to take the fortress had been made in 1279 during the brief reign of Berke Khan (1277–9).
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The news of al-Ashraf Khalīl’s siege soon reached the court of the Īlkhān. His quick reaction indicates just how important the fortress was to the Īlkhānids.

Geikhatu (the new Īlkhān who assumed power in the summer of 1291) acted in great speed, sending two contingents to reinforce the fortress garrison, while his coronation ceremonies were still going on.
fell before the Īlkhānid reinforcements arrived.
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Once the fortress was taken the sultan changed its name to
.
Sanjar al-Shujā‘ī was put in charge of the reconstruction and according to Abū’l-Fidā’ he “built and refortified it very completely.”
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