Editing Damascus (section)

===Mamluk period===
[[File:Schedel Damaskus 1497.jpg|thumb|Woodcut of 1497]]
[[File:Délégation vénitienne à Damas.jpg|thumb|Venetian delegation in Damascus, painting of 1511. [[Louvre-Lens]].]]

Ayyubid rule (and independence) came to an end with the Mongol invasion of Syria in 1260, in which the Mongols led by [[Kitbuqa]] entered the city on 1 March 1260, along with the King of Armenia, [[Hethum I, King of Armenia|Hethum I]], and the Prince of Antioch, [[Bohemond VI of Antioch|Bohemond VI]]; hence, the citizens of Damascus saw for the first time for six centuries three Christian potentates ride in triumph through their streets.{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=307}} However, following the Mongol defeat at [[Battle of Ain Jalut|Ain Jalut]] on 3 September 1260, Damascus was captured five days later and became the provincial capital of the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]], ruled from Egypt, following the Mongol withdrawal. Following their victory at the [[Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar]], the Mongols led by [[Ghazan]] besieged the city for ten days, which surrendered between December 30, 1299, and January 6, 1300, though its Citadel resisted.{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=439}} Ghazan then retreated with most of his forces in February, probably because the Mongol horses needed fodder, and left behind about 10,000 horsemen under the Mongol general [[Mulay]].{{sfn|Demurger|2007|p=146}} Around March 1300, Mulay returned with his horsemen to Damascus,{{sfn|Amitai|1987|p=247}} then followed Ghazan back across the [[Euphrates]]. In May 1300, the Egyptian Mamluks returned from Egypt and reclaimed the entire area{{sfn|Schein|1979|p=810}} without a battle.{{sfn|Amitai|1987|p=248}} In April 1303, the Mamluks managed to defeat the Mongol army led by [[Kutlushah]] and Mulay along with their Armenian allies at the [[Battle of Marj al-Saffar (1303)|Battle of Marj al-Saffar]], to put an end to [[Mongol invasions of the Levant]].{{sfn|Nicolle|2001|p=80}} Later on, the [[Black Death]] of 1348–1349 killed as much as half of the city's population.<ref>"[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/150420/Damascus/25659/Islamic-city Islamic city] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026021251/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/150420/Damascus/25659/Islamic-city |date=26 October 2008 }}". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref>

In 1400, [[Timur]], the [[Turco-Mongol]] conqueror, [[Siege of Damascus (1400)|besieged Damascus]]. The Mamluk sultan dispatched a deputation from Cairo, including [[Ibn Khaldun]], who negotiated with him, but after their withdrawal, Timur sacked the city on 17 March 1401.{{sfn|Ibn Khaldun|1952|p=97}} The [[Umayyad Mosque]] was burnt and men and women were taken into slavery. A huge number of the city's artisans were taken to Timur's capital at [[Samarkand]]. These were the luckier citizens: many were slaughtered and their heads piled up in a field outside the north-east corner of the walls, where a city square still bears the name ''Burj al-Ru'us'' (between modern-day [[Al-Qassaa]] and [[Bab Tuma]]), originally "the tower of heads".

Rebuilt, Damascus continued to serve as a Mamluk provincial capital until 1516.