The siege of Mayyafariqin in 1259–1260 was a Mongol siege against the last Ayyubid ruler Al-Kamil Muhammad in his city of Mayyāfāriqīn (modern Silvan, Diyarbakır). The siege of Mayyāfāriqīn closely followed the 1258 siege of Baghdad and marked the beginning of the Mongol campaigns in Syria.
In spring 1259, the Armenian Prince Prosh Khaghbakian, together with his Armenian Zakarid suzerain Shahnshah, led a large force of Georgians and Armenians to support a much smaller force of Mongol troops of Hulegu headed by his son Yoshmut in the siege of Mayyāfāriqīn (Diyarbakır), which was defended by its last Ayyubid ruler Al-Kamil Muhammad."The Ayyubid ruler of Mayyāfāriqīn and Amida, Al-Kamil Muhammad, had broken his vow to Hűlegű to supply troops for the siege of Baghdad . (...) Hűlegű sent support, in the form of Mongol-Christian troops commanded by a certain Chaghatai and the Armenian Prince Pŕosh Khaghbakian. The Governor of Mosul, Badr al-Dīn Lu’lu’, who was in conflict with al-Kāmil Muhammad, sent a supporting force to the Mongols commanded by his son, along with siege engineers to Mayyāfāriqīn." Military units of Cilician Armenia also participated, and would soon after participate to the Mongol siege of Damascus (1260) as well. The son and successor of the Turkic Zengid ruler Badr al-Din Lu'lu', named Isma'il ibn Lu'lu' (1259–1262), continued in his father's steps and also supported the Mongol troops of Hulagu in the siege of Mayyāfāriqīn with troops and siege engineers.
The horrors of the long siege were recounted by the contemporary Armenian historian Kirakos:
When the city was captured at last after a siege of two years, the Muslims were massacred, but the Christians were spared. Christian relics were collected and brought back to Armenia, particularly to the Haghpat Monastery.
The Armenian Prince Sevata of Kachen was killed in the conflict. According to the Armenian writer Vartan, he "won the immortal crown, ever faithful to God and to the il-khan; he will share the triumph of those who shared their blood for Christ". Yoshmut was recalled by his father after 10 months.
Finally the Ayyubid ruler Al-Kamil Muhammad was killed when Mayyafariqin fell to the Mongols on 7 April 1260 (23 Rabia II 658).Muqaras: An Annual on the Visual Culture of the Islamic World, Essays in Honor of J.M. Rogers, eds. Gülru Necipoğlu, Doris Behrens-Abouseif, Anna Contadinia, Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden 2004, vol.21 p.354
Meanwhile Hulegu continued his conquest of the rest of Syria, accompanied by the forces of Hethum I of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Crusaders of Bohemond VI of Antioch. The Georgian ruler David VII declined to commit more Georgian-Armenian troops for these Mongol campaigns in Syria, on account that he had suffered huge losses in the 1258 siege of Baghdad. "Hűlegű demanded that the Georgian King David Ulu support his conquest of Syria and Egypt . Surprisingly, David refused. One might have expected that the Georgian king would have been more than interested in liberating the Holy Land . However, David was not only disinterested in this venture, but also bold enough to refuse Hűlegű’s order. In addition, he sought a revolt, which was suppressed by Arghun Aqa in Southern Georgia in 1260. David Ulu ’s refusal to participate in the Mongol campaign in Syria can be explained by his huge loss of men in the battle for Baghdad." Of the remaining Ayyubid states in Syria, Aleppo fell in the siege of Aleppo (1260), while Homs, Hama and Damascus submitted peacefully.Humphreys, R. S. From Saladin to the Mongols, The Ayyubids of Damascus, SUNY Press 1977, pp.348-351
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