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battle, major, medieval

Second Battle of Homs

Second Battle of Homs was a battle fought on 29 October 1281 at Homs, in what is now Syria. It was part of Mongol invasions and conquests, which ran from 1206 to 1337. The recorded result: Mamluk victory.

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1281 Battle of Homs
1281 Battle of Homs. UnknownUnknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought29 October 1281
WhereHoms, Syria34.723N, 36.714E
OutcomeMamluk victory
BelligerentsIlkhanate; Cilician Armenia; Kingdom of Georgia; Sultanate of Rum; Knights HospitalleragainstMamluk Sultanate
Casualties and lossesVery heavy lossesandVery heavy losses
Part ofMongol invasions and conquests1206 to 1337

Where it sits in Mongol invasions and conquests

Siege of Multan, 1222Battle of the Kalka River, 1223Siege of Kuju, 1231Battle of Cheoin, 1232Battle of Legnica, 1241Battle of Mohi, 1241Siege of Lahore, 1241Siege of Gerdkuh, 1253Siege of Maymun-Diz, 1256Siege of Alamut, 1256Siege of Lambsar, 1256Capture of Damascus, 1260Siege of Aleppo, 1260Battle of Ain Jalut, 1260Siege of Mosul, 1261Siege of al-Bira, 1272Battle of Bun'ei, 1274Battle of Iki (1274), 1274Battle of Kōan, 1281Second Battle of Homs, 1281Battle of Sind, 1298Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar, 1299Capture of Damascus, 1300Battle of Aleppo, 1303Battle of Marj al-Saffar, 1303Battle of Amroha, 1305Battle of Ravi, 1306Siege of Anazarba, 1307Siege of Al-Rahba, 131212221312Second Battle of Homs, 1281
30 placed engagements of Mongol invasions and conquests in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

Date29 October 1281
PlaceHoms, Syria
34.723N, 36.714E
KindBattle, medieval
Strength40,000–50,000; 30,000 Armenians, Georgians, and Greeks; ~200 Hospitaller Knights of Marqab30,000; 800 Royal Mamluks; 4,000+ Halqa; 4,000+ Bedouin
Casualties and lossesVery heavy lossesVery heavy losses
Commanders
  • Möngke Temür (Ilkhanate)
  • Leo II, King of Armenia
  • Demetrius II of Georgia
  • Qalawun
  • Sayf al-Din Salar
  • Shafi' bin Ali el-Masry
Second Battle of HomsSecond Battle of HomsFirst Battle of HomsSiege of EmesaSiege of EmesaSiege of EmesaBattle of EmesaFirst Battle of HomsBeirutṬarābulusHamahTartusTadmurAd NabkLatakiaDouma100 km34.723N, 36.714E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Second Battle of Homs
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Second Battle of Homs today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-09-21. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 531 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 459 to 586 m, 127 m of relief, gently rolling country and today it is 76% built-up, 14% cropland, 6% tree cover.

built-up: 76%cropland: 14%tree cover: 6%grassland: 3%built-up 76%cropland 14%tree cover 6%grassland 3%
west to east, 10.0 km480 to 541 mnorth to south, 10.0 km485 to 548 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 7 times between AD 253 and 1299.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1281

Second Battle of Homs is one of 590 engagements of the 13th century in the atlas and one of 133 in present-day Syria.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q2726734, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Second Battle of Homs, revision 1370736265, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.