Massacre of the Telal
| Telal massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Ottoman Syria |
| Date | 1516 |
| Target | Alawis and Shiites |
| Deaths | 9,400 |
| Perpetrator | Ottoman Empire and Sunnis |
| Motive | Anti-Alawism Anti-Shi'ism |
Massacre of the Telal occurred in 1517 when Ottoman Turks fully took control of Syria at the end of the Ottoman-Mamluk war. The massacre began when the Ottoman Sultan Selim I summoned some Sunnite religious leaders and obtained from them a fatwa to fight "infidel" Alawis. The ensuing massacre resulted in the deaths of 9,400 Shiite men assembled in Aleppo.