Which 1260 battle halted Mongol expansion into the Middle East?

The Battle of Ain Jalut halted Mongol expansion into the Middle East in 1260. Fought on 3 September near a spring in the Jezreel Valley, it pitted the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate against a Mongol force of the Ilkhanate led by Kitbuqa Noyan.

Hülegü Khan had recently captured Baghdad in 1258 and conquered much of Syria. He withdrew with most of his army after the death of Möngke Khan, leaving Kitbuqa with a smaller force. Mamluk Sultan Qutuz and the commander Baibars took advantage of the opening. Their army used a feigned retreat and a flanking attack to defeat the Mongols and kill Kitbuqa.

Ain Jalut did not end every Mongol raid, but it stopped their sustained westward advance toward Egypt and Arabia. It is often described as the first major Mongol defeat that permanently blocked further expansion in the region. The battle also began a long rivalry between the Mamluks and the Mongol Ilkhanate.