Timur’s Invasion of Bilad al-Sham in a Mamluk Inscription from the Jordanian Badiya

Abstract

This study examines an inscription found at Umm Khneiser, 45 km northeast of Safawi in the Jordanian Badiya. The inscription provides valuable information about Timur’s invasion of Bilad al-Sham in the early 14th century and records the names of four towns – Sarkhad, Amtan, Baraq and Namra – in the Houran area of southern Syria that were attacked and sacked by Timur’s hordes, who are named as Turkomans. The inscription mentions the Mamluk sultan Faraj ibn Barquq, who had come from Egypt to defend Damascus, but who was defeated and forced to retreat.