The Battle of Ain Jalut (Ayn Jalut, in Arabic: , the "Spring of Goliath", or Harod Spring, in Hebrew: ) took place on 3 September 1260 between Muslim Mamluks and the Mongols in the southeastern Galilee, in the Jezreel Valley, not far from the site of Zir'in. The battle marked the south-westernmost extent of Mongol conquests, and was the first time a Mongol advance had been permanently halted. This was blamed on the sudden death of the then-Khagan Möngke Khan; an event that forced the Mongol Ilkhanate Hulagu Khan to take a large part of his army back with him on the way to Mongolia. This left Hulagu's lieutenant, Kitbuga, with only a small detachment of soldiers.