Mamluk Sultanate · 1250-1291

Ain Jalut: the Mamluks stop the Mongols

In 1260 the Mamluks of Egypt, soldiers who had once been enslaved boys, defeated a Mongol army at Ain Jalut. Students explore who the Mamluks were and why this battle is called a turning point.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, AD 1260 to AD 1291
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 1260 the Mamluks of Egypt, soldiers who had once been enslaved boys, defeated a Mongol army at Ain Jalut. Students explore who the Mamluks were and why this battle is called a turning point.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain who the Mamluks were and how they came to rule Egypt in 1250.
  • Locate Ain Jalut and describe the battle of 3 September 1260.
  • Explain why the battle is seen as a turning point in the Middle East.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1260

The Mongol tide

Open Stories and start The Mongol Storm. Go to the step "Ain Jalut", 1260. What does it say happened there for the first time?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1260

The battlefield

Turn on Historical Events and zoom in on the Battle of Ain Jalut. Find the Sea of Galilee and the valley that runs towards the Mediterranean. Why fight in a valley with a spring?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1291

Two new powers

Move to 1279. Find the Mamluk Sultanate and the Ilkhanate. Where is the border between them? Then move to 1291 and find the Fall of Acre.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Mamluks were taken from their homes as enslaved boys and trained as soldiers. How could people with that past become the rulers of Egypt?
  2. Hulagu left Syria with most of his army when he heard that the Great Khan had died. How much did luck decide Ain Jalut?
  3. The crusaders in Acre let the Mamluk army pass through their land. Why might they have helped an old enemy?
  4. After Ain Jalut, Baybars killed his own sultan, Qutuz, and took the throne. What does that tell us about Mamluk politics?
  5. Ain Jalut is often called a turning point. What might have happened in the Middle East if the Mongols had won?
4

Game round

9 min

Play one round of Rule History as Genghis Khan, whose grandson Hulagu sent the army that was defeated at Ain Jalut. Discuss: why did the Mongol advance stop here, when it had swept away so many other powers?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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