| Conflict: | Battle of al-Kura |
| Date: | 2 February 1251 |
| Place: | al-Kura, al-Salihiyya town, eastern edge of the Nile Delta, Egypt |
| Result: | Mamluk victory |
| Combatant1: | Ayyubids of Syria |
| Combatant2: | Mamluks of Egypt |
| Commander1: | An-Nasir Yusuf Al-Ashraf Musa Shams ad-Din Lu'lu al-Amini Al-Mansur II Muhammad |
| Commander2: | Aybak Faris al-Din Aktay Qutuz Husam ad-Din Lu'lu |
| Units1: | Nasiriyya Mamluks Aziziyya Mamluks |
| Units2: | Bahriyya Mamluks Jamdariyya Mamluks Mu'izziyya Mamluks |
| Casualties1: | unknown Treason of the Ayyubid Mamluks |
| Casualties2: | unknown |
The Battle of al-Kura was a military clash in medieval Egypt between an army of the Mamluks ruling Egypt and an army of the Ayyubids ruling Syria. The battle occurred on February 2, 1251, on a stretch of land called al-Kura, near the town of al-Salihiyya on the eastern edge of the Nile Delta.
With the assassination of the Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt al-Mu'azzam Turanshah by his own military slaves (Mamluks) in May 1250, Ayyubid rule in Egypt was ended. The Mamluks now took power themselves; their first sultan was al-Mu'izz Aybak. In Syria, however, the Ayyubids were able to assert themselves in the person of Sultan an-Nasir Yusuf. He was not prepared to accept the change of power in Egypt and, as a descendant of the dynasty's founder Saladin, claimed the throne in Cairo. However, according to the tradition of the historian Ibn Wasil, Sultan an-Nasir Yusuf was not of a particularly warlike nature and tried to avoid a military confrontation. The actual driving force behind the war preparations is said to have been his closest confidant and vizier, Shams ad-Din Lu'lu' al-Amini.
On December 11, 1250, an-Nasir Yusuf and his army marched from Damascus and reached Gaza on December 28. As was common among rulers of the Islamic world at the time, his own army consisted mainly of slave warriors, i.e. Mamluks, consisting of the Aziziyya Regiment founded by his father and the Nasiriyya Regiment founded by himself. The military command over them was held by Shams ad-Din Lu'lu'. Also in the army were the cousins of Sultan an-Nasir Yusuf, the lord of Hama, al-Mansur II Muhammad, and the former ruler of Homs, al-Ashraf Musa.
In Cairo, Sultan al-Mu'izz Aybak mobilized his troops. On January 2, 1251, the general (Emir|amīr]]) Husam ad-Din with an advance guard was the first to leave Cairo for Palestine. The following day, General Faris al-Din Aktay set out, leading the particularly strong BahriyyaLouis IX]], did not enter into a formal alliance with him, this political maneuvering between Cairo, Damascus and Acre created a balance of power in the Orient for years to come. The Mamluks were able to stabilize their rule in Egypt, while the Ayyubids remained limited to Syria. Through the mediation of Caliph al-Musta'sim, this situation was deepened in a contract between Damascus and Cairo in April 1253, and Gaza was also returned to an-Nasir Yusuf.
It was not until 1260 that the Mongol invasions of the Levant brought about a fundamental change in the situation. They ended Ayyubid rule in Syria, only to be subsequently defeated by the Mamluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut. They were then able to permanently unite Egypt and Syria under their rule.