In 1952, the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums was notified of the presence of ancient wooden elements within the mihrab chamber of the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque in Homs, which were in need of conservation. A team of technicians from the Directorate was dispatched to restore the pieces, and in 1953 several of them were transferred to the museum collection. Among these is this commemorative wooden plaque, commissioned by Sultan al-Ẓāhir Baybars to celebrate a military triumph.

The inscription commemorates the victory of Baybars’ Mamluk forces over the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in the Battle of Sis and the subsequent capture of most of the region’s major cities in 1266 AD. The plaque bears a five-line inscription in thuluth script, surrounded by a decorative frame of vegetal motifs. Traces of black and green pigment are still visible on its surface.

Inscription (Translation):
“In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. This was ordered to be made upon the shrine of the Sword of God and companion of the Messenger of God, Khālid ibn al-Walīd, may God be pleased with him, by our master, the Sultan al-Malik al-Ẓāhir, Pillar of the World and the Faith, Sultan of Islam and the Muslims, Slayer of the infidels and idolaters, Vanquisher of the heretics and rebels, Reviver of justice among all peoples, King of the Two Seas, Lord of the Two Qiblas, Servant of the Two Holy Sanctuaries, Adornment of the Realm, Sultan of the Arabs, Persians, and Turks, the Alexander of the Age, Master of the Qurʾān, Baybars al-Ṣāliḥī, the Ally of the Commander of the Faithful – may God glorify his rule – upon his return to [Homs] from the campaign against the land of Sis, in the month of Dhū al-Ḥijja, year 666 AH.”