Timur's Raid on Syria (1399)

Timeline

1. 1399Cairo · EgyptTimur sent envoys to Egypt demanding Mamluk recognition of his suzerainty; Sultan Barquq, following a precedent of resisting the Mongols, executed Timur's envoys. Diplomacy completely broke down, and war clouds gathered over the Syrian frontier.
2. 1399Bira · Euphrates basinThe Mamluks massed a large army at Bira on the Euphrates, a site of several past victories against the Mongols. Barquq died in June, and the thirteen-year-old Faraj succeeded him; the Syrian frontier entered a state of high alert.
3. 1399North of Aleppo · SyriaAfter ending his retaliatory expedition against Georgia, Timur redeployed his forces west, taking up positions along the northern Syrian frontier, facing off against Mamluk border troops and reconnoitering routes toward Aleppo in preparation for a full-scale invasion.
4. 1399West bank of the Euphrates · Euphrates basinTimurid forces launched raids and plundering attacks against Mamluk frontier positions on the west bank of the Euphrates, testing the defenders' reactions and disrupting supply lines. Though not a full-scale invasion, this raid marked the entry of the Timur-Mamluk war into open combat; the sack of Aleppo and Damascus followed the next year.