TRENDEAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties
Battle · 1516
The Battle of Marj Dābiq, a decisive military engagement in Middle Eastern history, was fought on 24 August 1516, near the town of Dabiq, 44 km north of Aleppo (modern Syria). The battle was part of the 1516–17 war between the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk Sultanate, which ended in an Ottoman victory and conquest of much of the Middle East and brought about the destruction of the Mamluk Sultanate. The Ottoman victory in the battle gave Selim's armies control of the entire region of Syria and opened the door to the conquest of Egypt.
| Date | 24 August 1516 |
|---|---|
| Location | Dabiq, near Aleppo, Mamluk Sultanate (modern Syria), |
| Result | Ottoman victory |
| Territorial changes | Ottoman annexation of Syria |
| Belligerents | Ottoman Empire Mamluk rebels Ma'n dynasty | Mamluk Sultanate |
|---|---|---|
| Commanders | Selim I Hadım Sinan Pasha Bıyıklı Mehmed Pasha Fakhr al-Din I Hayır Bey | Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri † Janbirdi al-Ghazali Alaa el-Din bin el-Emam |
| Strength | 60,000 | 60,000–80,000 Mamluks Auxiliary forces Bedouin Arabs |
| Casualties | 10,000–25,000 killed | 7,000–65,000 killed 2,000 executed |
Selim I, welcomed by the inhabitants as a deliverer from the excesses of the Mamluks, entered Aleppo in triumph. He received the Abbasid caliph warmly, but upbraided the Islamic judges and jurists for their failure to check Mamluk misrule. Joined by Khai'r Bey and other Egyptian officers, he proceeded to the Citadel. From Aleppo, he marched with his forces to Damascus, where terror prevailed. Beyond some attempts to protect the city by flooding the plain around, the remnants of the Mamluk forces had done nothing substantial to oppose the enemy. Discord amongst the emirs had paralyzed the army and prevented any decisive action that might have affected the subsequent course of events.
Took place during the reign of Selim I (1512–1520). Selim I
The atlas records this territorial change for the year:
Text: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0), adapted for the atlas.