People/Mamluks

c. 1223–1277 · Mamluk sultan (1260–1277)

Baybars

Other names · I. Baybars · al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Baybars

Mamluk sultan who checked Mongol pressure and systematically dismantled the crusader coastal states.

Baybars
Verified biography·Ahmed Yousri Elmamlouk / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER

Life and historical role

01

Life and political setting

Baybars was brought to Egypt as a mamluk of Kipchak origin and rose within the Bahriyya corps. He distinguished himself in the fighting around Mansurah in 1250 and in the victory over the Mongols at Ayn Jalut in 1260. After Qutuz was killed during the return to Egypt, Baybars became sultan and consolidated a new military regime.

02

Role in the Crusades

Baybars captured Caesarea, Arsuf, Safed, Jaffa and Antioch, while Krak des Chevaliers surrendered in 1271. He often destroyed or reduced fortifications to prevent their renewed use by the Franks. A truce with Lord Edward in 1272 contained the last major western expedition of his reign, while diplomacy, intelligence and the postal network supported his campaigns.

Method note

Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.

CONTEXTUAL READING

Related cases

17–18 October 1244 · La Forbie – Gaza

Battle of Gaza / La Forbie

On 17–18 October 1244 at Harbiyya (La Forbie) near Gaza, the allied army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem with Damascus, Homs and Kerak was heavily defeated by the Egyptian army and its Khwarazmian allies. The Frankish army was largely destroyed; Count Walter of Brienne of Jaffa was captured.

Open record →8 February – 6 April 1250 · Mansurah – Fariskur

Louis IX captured at Mansurah and Fariskur

Louis IX's army crossed the river before Mansura in February 1250, but the reckless charge into the town by the king's brother, Count Robert of Artois, caused heavy losses. After long attrition and disease, the retreating army was surrounded at Fariskur in April 1250; Louis was captured and released in exchange for the return of Damietta and a large ransom.

Open record →3 September 1260 · Ayn Jalut / Galilee

Battle of Ayn Jalut

On 3 September 1260 at Ayn Jalut in Galilee, the Mamluk sultan Qutuz and his commander Baybars defeated the Mongol army under Kitbuqa. Kitbuqa was killed, the Mongol advance from Syria toward Egypt was halted, and the Mamluks became masters of Syria.

Open record →1263 · Nazareth, Acre and Galilee

Baybars' first major coastal raid

In spring 1263 the Mamluk sultan Baybars led a major campaign into the Kingdom of Jerusalem. He had the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth and the monastery on Mount Tabor destroyed, ravaged the surroundings of Acre and attacked its walls, but withdrew without attempting to take the city.

Open record →February – April 1265 · Caesarea – Haifa – Arsuf

Baybars' Caesarea–Arsuf campaign

In a campaign begun in February 1265, Baybars took Caesarea, then Haifa and Arsuf, defended by the Hospitallers. The walls of the captured cities were demolished and the region brought under Mamluk rule; the Latin coastal strip south of Acre shrank considerably.

Open record →June – July 1266 · Safed

Capture of Safed Castle

In June 1266 Baybars besieged the powerful Templar castle of Safed in Galilee. After assaults causing heavy losses, the castle surrendered on 23 July 1266 on a promise of safe conduct; but most of the garrison was then executed. The reasons are told differently in the sources.

Open record →March–April 1268 · Jaffa and Beaufort

Fall of Jaffa and Beaufort

In his campaign of spring 1268, Baybars took Jaffa after a short siege in early March and, in mid-April, the Templar castle of Shaqif Arnun (Beaufort). These conquests further shrank the territory held by the Kingdom of Jerusalem ahead of the Antioch campaign.

Open record →14–18 May 1268 · Antioch

Baybars captures Antioch

Baybars besieged Antioch in May 1268 and took the city on 18 May after a four-day siege. Most of the population was killed or carried off into slavery; the Principality of Antioch, in existence since 1098, effectively came to an end.

Open record →8 April 1271 · Krak des Chevaliers

Surrender of Krak des Chevaliers

In March 1271 Baybars besieged Krak des Chevaliers (Hisn al-Akrad), the Hospitallers' strongest castle. After the outer defences fell, the garrison was persuaded to surrender, probably by a forged letter of command, and the castle was handed over on 8 April 1271 in return for safe conduct.

Open record →May 1271 – September 1272 · Acre – Caesarea

Lord Edward's Crusade

Prince Edward of England (later Edward I) reached Acre in May 1271 with a small army. Seeking coordination with the Mongol Ilkhanids, he made limited raids into Mamluk territory but achieved no lasting gain, and after the 1272 truce returned to Europe having survived an assassination attempt with wounds.

Open record →22 May 1272 · Caesarea

Baybars–Edward truce

On 22 May 1272 at Caesarea, a truce of ten years, ten months and ten days was signed between Baybars and King Hugh I of Jerusalem and Cyprus. By securing Acre and the pilgrim road to Nazareth, the truce effectively ended Lord Edward's crusade.

Open record →1 July 1277 · Damascus

Death of Baybars

The Mamluk sultan Baybars died in Damascus on 1 July 1277. After the brief reigns of his sons and a power struggle among the emirs, the emir Sayf al-Din Qalawun became sultan in 1279 and maintained the pressure on the Latin coastal states.

Open record →