Quote Originally Posted by The Wizard
Why Aïn Jalut? It was a battle of a huge Mamluk army vs the Mongol vanguard... or was that rear guard? Anyways, the Mongols were hugely outnumbered, fielding a token force vs. probably all the forces of the Mamluk sultanate. It was a victory against nothing. It meant nothing. Except the defeat of a rear guard lagging behind some 300 kilometers.
It was an important battle in many ways. Primarily because it gave rise to future Sultan Baibars and secured the Mameluke Sultanate another two-and-a-half centuries of rule. Also, had Egypt too fallen to the Mongols, it could quite possibly have meant the death-blow to Islam, furthermore it would have provided the Mongols with the opportunity to march across Northern Africa. And I gather that a Mongol invasion of Spain could have had severe consequences for Christian Europe. Merely speculation, I know, but interesting nonetheless.

Quote Originally Posted by The Wizard
Nineveh, 627, where Heraklios defeated the Sassanid army, ending the Sassanid invasion of Asian Rome. The best part of the battle is actually before it -- the maid-o-maid (single combat; does the term still survive in modern Persian?) between the Persian commander Razatis and the East Roman basileios Heraklios!
Maid-o-Maid is in Middle Persian. In Fârsi it is Mard-o-Mard.