On this date, September 3rd, in 1260, the Battle of Ain Jalut took place between the Muslim forces of the Egyptian Mamluks and the Mongols.  The battle took place in the Jezreel Valley in modern Israel.

The invasion of the Mongols was a reaction, as was the Christian Crusades, against Islamic military expansionism in the preceding centuries.  The Muslims of modern Khazakhstan and Iran had been making incursions into modern Greater Mongolia, Manchuria, and China from the very inception of Islam in the late 600's.  The Mongols finally reacted in 1258 when they decimated the Caliphate in Baghdad.

The Christian Crusaders based in Acre unfortunately saw the Mongols as the greater (or equal) threat than the Muslims, and took a position of neutrality.  Eventually, this allowed the Muslims to defeat both the Mongols and the Christians individually.

Hulagu Khan (grandson of Ghengis Khan) led the Mongol army as it fought its way westward, defeating various Islamic kingdoms along the way, including the Hashashin (originators of the term "assassin") in modern Iran.

Hulagu emulated many of the techniques of Islamic warfare.  He sent a veiled warning to the Mamluk leader, Qutuz, in Cairo, just as Mohammad had sent messages to Persian and Byzantine leaders warning them to accept Islam or face invasion.  The Mongols initially treated prisoners and vanquished persons with mercy, but after incidents of Muslim torture and mass-murder, the Mongols began responding in kind, eventually out-doing the Muslims in atrocities in the Battle of Baghdad.

In the Battle of Ain Jalut, the Mamluks copied a technique of the Mongols, and pretended to retreat in order to draw out the Mongol calvary.  The Mongols nearly decimated the Mamluks, but the Mamluks finally lured the Mongols to the point of ambush, where the Mamluks' main force lay in waiting.  The Mamluks also took the honor of being the first troops in history to use cannons in battle, though it mainly had the effect of startling the horses and riders with its noise.

The Mongols were forced to retreat in defeat, and Hulagu returned to his lands.  The victorious Mamluk leader Qutuz was soon assassinated by rival Muslims.  The Muslims would soon begin their offensive against the Christian Crusaders.

After their previous victories against the Muslims, the Mongol Khans began to convert to Islam around this time.  This marked the beginning of the decline of the Mongol Empire.  A rival Khan, Berke Khan, who had previously converted to Islam and who was outraged at Hulagu Khan's attack on the Caliphate in Baghdad, declared war on Hulagu, and civil war tore the Mongol Empire apart.

Previous Days in the "Religion of Peace™":

Sept 2: Richard "Lionheart" vs. Saladin
Sept 1: Beslan Massacre
Aug 29: Jihad on European Synagogues
Aug 28: Poet Laureate Baraka
Aug 27: Bombardment of Algiers