Baibars, a Kipchak Turk captured by the…

Baibars, a Kipchak Turk captured by the Mongols and sold as a slave in the Kipchak steppe, had ended up in Syria, where his first master, the emir (prince) of Hama, had been suspicious of Baibars because of his unusual appearance (he was dark-skinned, very tall and having a cataract in one of his bluish eyes).

Baibars had been quickly sold to a Mamluk officer and sent to Egypt, where he had become a bodyguard to the Ayyubid ruler As-Salih Ayyub.

At the age of about twenty-seven, he was a commander of the Mamluks in around 1250, when he had defeated the Seventh Crusade of Louis IX of France.

He is still a commander under Sultan Qutuz in 1259, by which time the Mongol Khanate of Persia, the Il-Khanate, claims dominion over the Seljuq Sultanates, the Kingdoms of Armenia and Georgia, and the Empire of Trebizond.

The Mongol forces combine with those of their Christian vassals in the region, such as the army of Cilician Armenia under Hetoum, and the Antiochene Franks of Bohemond.

This force now sets out to conquer Muslim Syria, domain of the weakened Ayyubid dynasty.

As the Mongols march toward Aleppo, some of an-Nasir Yusuf's advisors recommend surrendering to Hulagu as the best solution.

This angers Baibars and his Mamluks, who attempt to assassinate an-Nasir Yusuf, but he escapes and flees with his brother to the castle of Damascus, also sending his wife, son, and money to Egypt.

The Mongols arrive at Aleppo in December 1259.

Turanshah, the uncle of an-Nasir Yusuf, refuses to surrender.

After a siege of seven days, the Mongols storm Aleppo and massacre its population for another five days.

Turanshah leaves the city and dies a few days later.