The Mongol storm swept across Asia with terrible efficiency. However, while 13th-century Europe was terrified by the prospect of a Mongol invasion, one empire learned to defeat the invaders in its own game. 
Clash of Mongol cavalry with Mamluk cavalry in 14th century manuscripts - Nicholas Morton.
In 1247, the papal envoy John (Giovanni de Planocarpini) returned to his homeland worried. He had traveled much of the vast Mongol Empire over the past two years, and his experience confirmed his fears: the Mongols were extremely dangerous, and they were preparing for a second attack on Europe.
Introducing Giovanni de Planocarpini (1180-1252) and author of the Historia mongalorum (History of the Mongols). He was born in Plano Carpini, near Perugia in central Italy. He was the founder of the Franciscan Order, Saint Francis, and served as archbishop in Germany and Spain. The History of the Mongols is a report written by him on his return from 1245-1247 as a papal envoy to the Mongol Khanate, which is divided into nine chapters, the first eight chapters respectively describe the geography, people, religion, customs, countries, wars, conquered countries, and methods of dealing with the Mongols, and the ninth chapter describes its journey to and from the Mongol court and the situation at the Mongol court. It was the first detailed report on Mongolia written by a European based on personal experience, and parts of it are included in Vincent Debauvais's encyclopedic Speculi Majoris, the fourth part of the Speculum Historiale. ）
Carppinny declared"The Tatars (Mongols) intend to bring the whole world to their knees, if they can"Evidence from the past decade seems to support this view. As early as 1236, the Mongols had already built a vast empire stretching from the Sea of Japan to the shores of the Caspian Sea, one of the most extraordinary feats of conquest in human history. City after city fell in front of their armies, including Kyiv in 1240.
Carpini reports"After besieging the city for a long time, they captured it and put its inhabitants to death"。
Genghis Khan - Image of a throne in a 15th-century Persian miniature painting.
Genghis Khan shrewdly used the military expertise of the regions conquered by his army. (*deagostini Getty).
In 1241, the Mongols launched an invasion of Hungary and the Kingdom of Poland, causing widespread destruction and defeating all European armies. As armies advanced on the outskirts of Vienna, Western Europe seemed to be at the mercy of the Mongol behemoth. But suddenly, they disappeared. The Mongol emperor Ogedei died, and his army returned to his homeland and a new leader was elected.
* Teach the worst nightmares to be avoided for the time being.
But the good times were short-lived, and now, in 1247, a new offensive seemed imminent, and Carpini was fully aware that the rulers of Western Europe could not provide much to defend themselves. It was for this reason that he refused the Mongols' request to let him return to Europe with the envoys - he did not want the Mongol envoys to see that **Religion had become**.
The Mongols were extremely dangerous - now they were preparing a second wave of attacks on Europe
Carpine had every reason to fear the fate of Europe. After all, the Mongols rarely suffered defeats. They also had occasional setbacks, but for the most part, their armies were victorious, with stunning victories against numerous generals and various civilized races.
Still, Carpine was not entirely hopeless. He spent most of his journey consulting and talking with people from all over Eurasia, calling for resistance to the Mongols. Among his many inquiries and conversations, he had a potential question: how could the Mongols be stopped?
Large-scale hunting
The roots of the success of the Mongols lie in their way of life. As a nomadic people who lived mainly in the steppes of Central Asia, their children learned to ride horses, shoot, hunt, and herd from an early age. These skills were essential for their survival, while also providing a good foundation for building a strong army, while the Mongols' large-scale hunting taught their riders how to coordinate their efforts over a vast territory.
These tactical traits were long-term advantages for the nomads of Central Asia, but the leader of the Mongols, Genghis Khan (died 1227), was indeed the strongest strategist and tactician, adept at reinforcing these advantages. He achieved this by absorbing military experts from conquered societies (such as siege sappers from Han Chinese regions) or by integrating defeated warriors into the Mongol army.
The Mongols were also known for their military strategy. When besieging fortresses, the favorite tactic used by the Mongols was to drive a group of prisoners in front of the enemy's fortifications in the first wave of the attack, and these cannon fodder were called "signing troops". Before the Mongols launched their main attack, these captives absorbed the ammunition and energy of the defenders. Another advantage of the Mongols was that their cavalry had three horses on their own, which allowed them to travel long distances quickly and without stopping, and since they brought their own livestock, they did not need cumbersome supply lines.
Dusty war dogs.
So, now that the Mongols have these obvious advantages, what do they need to do to defeat them?
On his way back to Europe, Carpini collected a number of theories in the hope of solving the mystery, some of which were plausible, but most of which were unreliable. There is a theory that there is a place in the far north where people are born in the form of dogs. When threatened by the Mongols, these dog people would roll on the ground until their fur was covered in dust. Then they jumped into the icy stream and froze their dusty fur into a hard shell. They then charged the Mongols, whose arrows could not penetrate this layer of ice armor.
Carppinny also heard that the Mongols had problems climbing over a mountain range made up of huge nodule stones, whose magnetic force prevented their warriors from accurately directing their metal arrows – a story that doesn't seem plausible either. 
The Mamluks have nowhere to go and nowhere to retreat. They either defeated the Mongol enemy or were eliminated
The papal envoy carefully recorded all these stories, but these countermeasures could hardly be replicated. His own proposal was more practical. "He suggested:"Whoever wants to fight the Tatars should be armed with the following**: a good strongbow, a crossbow (the Tatars are very afraid of strongbows), plenty of arrows, a practical strong iron axe, or a long-handled battle axe.
It was also important that he suggested that any army sent to the battlefield should be organized in the manner of the Mongols' own army. The Mongol army was organized according to the decimal system, i.e., with 10 soldiers as a unit. 10 such units were led by a commander of 100 people;10 groups of 100 people are led by a commander of 1000 people, and so on. This structure was so effective that Carpini believed that the army commanders of the ** religion should follow suit.
Carpini was undoubtedly right: defeating the Mongols required an army of war-like strength and troop formation. But the ** Church army could not be organized according to his point of view at this time.
However, starting in 1260, a great power based in Egypt fought a 60-year war with the Mongols. This country is the Mamluk Empire.
The Mamluks are a relatively new force in the geopolitics of the Near East. Originally slave soldiers, they fought for the Sultan of Egypt against domestic rivals and crusaders. By 1250, the Mamluk legions had become a formidable military force, and when the reigning sultan alienated them, they rose up to the rescue, killed the sultan, seized power, and established their own sultanate.
Ten years later, the Sultanate was subjected to a major Mongol invasion. The Mongols began their assault on Syria, first overthrowing Aleppo and then moving south to capture the capital of another region, Damascus. MongolsSend an envoy to Cairo to demand the submission of the Mamluk Sultan al-Mu Affar Sayf al-Dīn Qu UzHe asked for a formal Egyptian vassal, but was rejected by the Mamluks. They executed the Mongol envoys and prepared the army.
This marked the beginning of a conflict that turned recent history upside down. Because, almost every time the Mamluk and Mongol armies met on the battlefield (1260, 1277, 1281, and 1303), it was the Mamluks who won the victory. For decades, the Mongols overthrew much of China, advanced all of Western Asia, and occupied Eastern Europe, sweeping everything in their path. But now, they have finally met their opponents. So, what is the secret of the success of the Mamluks?
One obvious problem was that the Mamluks fought in much the same way as their opponents – a factor that Carpini suspected as early as the 1240s might prove effective against the Mongols. In the Black Sea region, many Mamluk soldiers were enslaved from Turkic peoples who had been conquered or displaced by the Mongols. The lifestyle of these Turkic peoples was similar to that of the Mongols, and their warriors possessed the same nomadic military skills. Thus, both the Mamluk army and the Mongol army that fought in Syria were all-cavalry, both relied on archery, and both were arranged according to the decimal system.
These similarities effectively weakened the Mongol advantage. But how did the Mamluks go one step further and turn this level playing field into a succession of battlefield victories?
There is a theory that the Mamluks had a crucial advantage in terms of equipment. So, let's imagine: a well-armed ** and mounted Mamluk army—all fed by Egypt's considerable commercial and agricultural wealth—capable of defeating Mongol warriors who rode smaller steppe ponies and fought mainly using wooden**Probably not. After all, in the decades-long wars of conquest, the Mongols had many opportunities to plunder or buy the best ** and mounts.
A more plausible explanation for the victory of the Mamluks is:"There is no way back, a fight against the water"。There is no way back for them. They must win or be wiped out. Their army consisted mainly of warriors who had fled to Egypt seeking refuge, and they were now facing the same enemies who had driven them to Egypt. They were ready for fierce resistance, and there was no way out but to die in battle.
Born to die
The pivotal moment of the conflict occurred in 1260, when the Mamluks won their first victory over the Mongol army at a place called Ayn Jalut near Gaza. The battle was not an epic strategic confrontation between rival empires, but only a local tactical clash for the Mongol army.
Upon learning of the death of the Great Khan, most of the Mongol army retreated eastward, leaving only a small force to defend Syria. Since the two armies were roughly equal in numbers, one of the reasons why the Mamluks were able to repel the Mongols: it was the Mamluk leader who apparently wanted to call his army with such words:
"Death is inevitable. Rather than flee in embarrassment, it is better to die with a good name"。
The Mamluks of Egypt defeated the invading Mongols at Ayn Jalut on 3 September 1260, a battle that saved Egypt and Islam and halted the westward expansion of the Mongol Empire.
The Mamluk army, led by Qutuz, marched north, defeated a small Mongol force at Gaza, and then faced a Mongol army of about 20,000 men at Ain Jalut (Goliath Springs). There were a considerable number of Syrian warriors in the Mongol army, as well as ** troops from Georgia and Armenia, and the pure Mongol cavalry was estimated at about 10,000 people. The two armies were roughly equal in numbers, but the Mamluks had a big advantage: one of their generals, the Baybars, was familiar with the terrain, as he had fled the area in his early years. Baibars is said to have developed an operational strategy, in which one of the most successful tactics of the Mongols was used: a pretended retreat.
At Ayn Jālūt, the Mamluks hid most of their army in the woods on the hill and sent a small force led by Baibars;His troops rode back and forth repeatedly on horseback to provoke the Mongols and harass the Mongols for several hours, before beginning to feign a retreat. The Mongol commander was timid and ordered to advance;His army fought in pursuit, but was ambushed by the main Mamluk forces in the mountains. The Mamluks then attacked from all sides, their cavalry and arrows unleashing a fierce storm, but the Mongols, fighting with typical ferocity, managed to turn the tide of battle and crush the left flank of the Mamluk army.
In this hand-to-hand combat, the Mamluks used hand cannons – known in Arabic as madafa"midfa"--Mainly to frighten the warhorses of the Mongol warriors and cause chaos.
According to Arab sources, after this inspirational speech, the Mamluk Sultan Qutuz threw down his helmet and urged his men to fight forward in the name of Islam when his troops showed signs of defeat, and after this inspirational speech, the Mamluks began to gain the upper hand. Subsequently, the Mongol commander Ked-Buqa was killed or, according to one account, he was captured by the Mamluks and beheaded on the battlefield after contemptuously declaring that the Great Khan would take savage revenge for this defeat. Eventually, the Mongols turned around and began to retreat, heading for Beshan, 8 miles (13 km) away. The Mamluks pursued all the way. At Beshan, the Mongols again turned to battle, but suffered a crushing defeat. In this way, the Mongol Empire was controlled in Iran and Mesopotamia, and Egypt was firmly in the hands of the Muslim Mamluks.
Schematic diagram of the Battle of Ain Jalut.
The Mamluks, taking full advantage of the propaganda value of their brilliant victory over the seemingly invincible Mongols, sent a messenger to Cairo with an unspent head hanging from the messenger's cane.
In a sense, Ainjarut was not particularly important and not conclusive - the Mamluks defeated a garrison of 20,000 men, while the vast majority of the Mongol army remained unscathed, and the Mongol army stationed in Western Asia remained strong.
However, in other respects, the victory was a game-changer: it allowed the Mamluks to seize all the territories conquered by the Mongols in Syria, greatly expanding their empire. More importantly, this victory established the model for defeating the Mongol invaders - the Mamluks were the ones who defeated the Mongol invaders.
The Mongols had to wait a long time before they had a chance to take revenge on the Mamluks - a series of civil wars that led to the collapse of the Great Mongol Empire delayed their return to Syria.
By the time they attacked again in 1280-81, 20 years had passed since the defeat at the Battle of Ain-Jalut, and the Mamluks were ready and ready to attack. During these two decades, the Sultanate intensified its training of armies, attracted warriors fleeing the Mongols, built forts, and established lines of communication. As a result, they won another victory over the Mongols at the Battle of Homs on 29 October 1281.
The Khan of the Ilkhanate, Abah, formed 50,000 troops led by his younger brother Möngke Timur, the Mamluks gathered 30,000 troops to respond to the battle, the left flank of the Mongol army won a great victory, the Chinese army and the Mamluks were on par, when the war was scorching, a member of the Mamluk generals came to surrender and said that they wanted to meet Möngke Timur, after seeing it, he took out a dagger and stabbed Möngke Timur several times, the Mongol army learned that the commander was attacked and immediately became in chaos, the Chinese army was broken through by the Mamluks and began to retreat, and the victorious left-wing Mongol army saw that the Chinese army was defeated, and also retreated, and finally ended in the defeat of the Ilkhanate。 This time, the Mamluks defeated the Mongol army, which outnumbered them.
The conflict between the Mongols and the Mamluks was not without victory. In 1299, the Ilkhanate Ghazan Khan led an army of 90,000 troops into Syria, and at the height of the war, Ghazan even went into battle with a spear himself. The Mongols won a victory on the battlefield of Wadi al-Khaznadar near Damascus, which ended in the victory of the Ilkhanate, and the Mongol army occupied Syria. However, because the Mamluks were strong and clear, the Mongol army lacked supplies, so most of them had to retreat, and the remaining Mongol army was defeated by the returning Mamluks, and the victory of the Ilkhanate in the final battle lasted only 99 days.
The Mongol army was always accompanied by a large number of horses, sheep and goats, which they needed as mounts and food for the cavalry. The survival of these livestock requires large areas of pasture. But while the Central Asian steppes can provide food on such a large scale, this is not the case in other regions.
After the battle of Margisaffar, in 1303 Ghazan again gathered 30,000 troops led by his brother-in-law Kudulusha, the Mongol army failed to break through the Mamluk defense several times in a row, so it was stationed on a hill and waited for the fighters, as a result, the Mamluks cut off the supply and water of the Mongol army and surrounded the hill, when the Mongol army broke through, the Mamluks waited for the opportunity to encircle and annihilate the Mongol army, the Mongol army was defeated, and Ghazan learned of the battle, and the nosebleed spurted out on the spot.
Later, Ghazan's heirs, Wanji, besieged Damascus in 1312, but did not return long after.
Eventually, in 1322, the Ilkhanate and the Mamluks signed a peace treaty, and the fighting between the two sides ceased to be at odds with Abu Said's successor.
The reason for the final victory of the Mamluks over the Mongol army was to know the enemy and fight the enemy way.
Modern Egypt views the Mamluk victory at the Battle of Ainjarut and the war against the Mongol Empire as a proud event in the country's history, and that Egypt saved the entire Arab and Islamic world.
Reference: Thomas Barfield, translated by Yuan Jian, The Perilous Frontier: Nomadic Empires and China
Studies in the History of the Ilkhanate
The Mongol Expedition [French] de Atolon.