Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned",
meaning "
slave
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
",
also
transliterated
Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...
as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') is a term most commonly referring to non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly
Southern Russian,
Turkic
Turkic may refer to:
* anything related to the country of Turkey
* Turkic languages, a language family of at least thirty-five documented languages
** Turkic alphabets (disambiguation)
** Turkish language, the most widely spoken Turkic language
* ...
,
Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
,
Eastern and
Southeastern European)
slave-soldiers and
freed slaves who were assigned military and administrative duties, serving the ruling Arab dynasties in the
Muslim world
The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In ...
.
The most enduring Mamluk realm was the
knight
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the G ...
ly
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...
class in
Egypt in the Middle Ages, which developed from the ranks of
slave-soldiers.
Originally the Mamluks were
slaves of
Turkic origin from the
Eurasian Steppe
The Eurasian Steppe, also simply called the Great Steppe or the steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Tra ...
,
but the institution of military slavery spread to include
Circassians
The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...
,
Abkhazians,
Georgians,
["Relations of the Georgian Mamluks of Egypt with Their Homeland in the Last Decades of the Eighteenth Century". Daniel Crecelius and Gotcha Djaparidze. ''Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient'', Vol. 45, No. 3 (2002), pp. 320–341. ][ By Reidar Visser] Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
,
[Walker, Paul E. ''Exploring an Islamic Empire: Fatimid History and its Sources'' (London, I. B. Tauris, 2002)] Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
,
and
Hungarians
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Ural ...
,
as well as peoples from the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
such as
Albanians,
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, Albania, Greeks in Italy, ...
,
and
South Slavs
South Slavs are Slavic peoples who speak South Slavic languages and inhabit a contiguous region of Southeast Europe comprising the eastern Alps and the Balkan Peninsula. Geographically separated from the West Slavs and East Slavs by Austria, ...
[István Vásáry (2005) Cuman and Tatars, Cambridge University Press.][T. Pavlidis, ''A Concise History of the Middle East'', Chapter 11: "Turks and Byzantine Decline". 2011] (see
Saqaliba). They also recruited from the
Egyptians.
[Thomas Philipp & Ulrich Haarmann. ''The Mamluks in Egyptian Politics and Society''.] The "Mamluk/Ghulam Phenomenon",
as
David Ayalon
David Ayalon (1914 – 25 June 1998) was an Israeli historian of Islam and the Middle East, specializing in the Mamluk dynasties of Egypt. Within Israel he was best known for the Arabic-Hebrew dictionary he co-compiled in 1947.
Life
Born David ...
dubbed the creation of the specific warrior class, was of great political importance; for one thing, it endured for nearly 1,000 years, from the 9th to the 19th centuries.
Over time, Mamluks became a powerful military knightly class in various Muslim societies that were controlled by Arab rulers.
Particularly in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
,
but also in the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...
,
Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, and
India
India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...
, mamluks held political and military power. In some cases, they attained the rank of
sultan, while in others they held regional power as
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
s or
beys. Most notably, Mamluk factions seized the sultanate centered on
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
and
Syria, and controlled it as the
Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517).
The Mamluk Sultanate famously defeated the
Ilkhanate at the
Battle of Ain Jalut. They had earlier fought the western European Christian
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
in 1154–1169 and 1213–1221, effectively driving them out of Egypt and the Levant.
In 1302 the Mamluk Sultanate formally expelled the last Crusaders from the Levant, ending the era of the Crusades.
While Mamluks were purchased as property,
their status was above ordinary slaves, who were not allowed to carry weapons or perform certain tasks. In places such as Egypt, from the
Ayyubid dynasty
The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladi ...
to the time of
Muhammad Ali of Egypt, mamluks were considered to be "true lords" and "true warriors", with social status above the general population in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
and the
Levant
The Levant () is an approximation, approximate historical geography, historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology an ...
.
In a sense, they were like
enslaved mercenaries.
[Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. ''Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of Architecture and Its Culture''. New York: Macmillan, 2008.]
Overview
Daniel Pipes argued that the first indication of the Mamluk military class was rooted in the practice of early Muslims such as
Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and
Uthman ibn Affan who before Islam, owned many slaves and practiced
Mawla (Islamic manumission of slaves).
The
Zubayrids army under
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, son of Zubayr, used these freed slave retainers during the second civil war.
Meanwhile, historians agree that the massive implementation of a slave military class such as the Mamluks appears to have developed in
Islamic societies beginning with the 9th-century
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Mutta ...
of
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...
. When in the 9th century has not been determined. Until the 1990s, it was widely believed that the earliest Mamluks were known as ''
Ghilman'' or ''Ghulam''
(another broadly synonymous term for slaves,) and were bought by the Abbasid caliphs, especially
al-Mu'tasim (833–842).
By the end of the 9th century, such slave warriors had become the dominant element in the military. Conflict between the Ghilman and the population of Baghdad prompted the caliph
al-Mu'tasim to move his capital to the city of
Samarra
Samarra ( ar, سَامَرَّاء, ') is a city in Iraq. It stands on the east bank of the Tigris in the Saladin Governorate, north of Baghdad. The city of Samarra was founded by Abbasid Caliph Al-Mutasim for his Turkish professional ar ...
, but this did not succeed in calming tensions. The caliph
al-Mutawakkil
Abū al-Faḍl Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Muʿtaṣim bi-ʾllāh ( ar, جعفر بن محمد المعتصم بالله; March 822 – 11 December 861), better known by his regnal name Al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (, "He who relies on God") was ...
was assassinated by some of these slave soldiers in 861 (see
Anarchy at Samarra).
Since the early 21st century, historians have suggested that there was a distinction between the Mamluk system and the (earlier) Ghilman system, in Samarra, which did not have specialized training and was based on pre-existing Central Asian hierarchies. Adult slaves and freemen both served as warriors in the Ghilman system. The Mamluk system developed later, after the return of the caliphate to Baghdad in the 870s. It included the systematic training of young slaves in military and martial skills. The Mamluk system is considered to have been a small-scale experiment of
al-Muwaffaq, to combine the slaves' efficiency as warriors with improved reliability. This recent interpretation seems to have been accepted.
After the fragmentation of the Abbasid Empire, military slaves, known as either Mamluks or Ghilman, were used throughout the Islamic world as the basis of military power. The
Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171) of Egypt had forcibly taken adolescent male Armenians, Turks, Sudanese, and Copts from their families in order to be trained as slave soldiers. They formed the bulk of their military, and the rulers selected prized slaves to serve in their administration.
The powerful vizier
Badr al-Jamali, for example, was a Mamluk from Armenia. In Iran and Iraq, the
Buyid dynasty
The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Cou ...
used Turkic slaves throughout their empire. The rebel
al-Basasiri was a Mamluk who eventually ushered in
Seljuq dynastic rule in Baghdad after attempting a failed rebellion. When the later Abbasids regained military control over Iraq, they also relied on the Ghilman as their warriors.
Under
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
and the Ayyubids of Egypt, the power of the Mamluks increased and they claimed the sultanate in 1250, ruling as the
Mamluk Sultanate.
Throughout the Islamic world, rulers continued to use enslaved warriors until the 19th century. The
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
's
devşirme, or "gathering" of young slaves for the
Janissaries, lasted until the 17th century. Regimes based on Mamluk power thrived in such Ottoman provinces as the Levant and Egypt until the 19th century.
Organization
Under the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo, Mamluks were purchased while still young males. They were raised in the barracks of the
Citadel of Cairo. Because of their isolated social status (no social ties or political affiliations) and their austere military training, they were trusted to be loyal to their rulers.
When their training was completed, they were discharged, but remained attached to the patron who had purchased them. Mamluks relied on the help of their patron for career advancement, and likewise the patron's reputation and power depended on his recruits. A Mamluk was "bound by a strong esprit de corps to his peers in the same household".
Mamluks lived within their garrisons and mainly spent their time with each other. Their entertainments included sporting events such as archery competitions and presentations of mounted combat skills at least once a week. The intensive and rigorous training of each new recruit helped ensure continuity of Mamluk practices.
Sultans owned the largest number of mamluks, but lesser
amir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or ce ...
s also owned their own troops. Many Mamluks were appointed or promoted to high positions throughout the empire, including army command.
At first their status was non-hereditary. Sons of Mamluks were prevented from following their father's role in life. However, over time, in places such as Egypt, the Mamluk forces became linked to existing power structures and gained significant amounts of influence on those powers.
Relations with homelands and families
In Egypt, studies have shown that mamluks from Georgia retained their
native language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...
, were aware of the politics of the
Caucasus region, and received frequent visits from their parents or other relatives. In addition, they sent gifts to family members or gave money to build useful structures (a defensive tower, or even a church) in their native villages.
Egypt
Early origins in Egypt
From the 900s through the 1400s, Egypt was controlled by dynastic rulers, notably the
Ikhshidid
The Ikhshidid dynasty (, ) was a Turkic mamluk dynasty who ruled Egypt and the Levant from 935 to 969. Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, a Turkic mamluk soldier, was appointed governor by the Abbasid Caliph al-Radi. The dynasty carried the Arabic ...
s,
Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muh ...
s, and
Ayyubids. Throughout these dynasties, thousands of Mamluk servants and guards continued to be used and even took high offices. This increasing level of influence among the Mamluk worried the
Ayyubids in particular. Eventually a Mamluk rose to become sultan.
According to Fabri, a historian had asserted that Mamluks of Egyptian origin were
enslaved Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. He believed that after they were taken from their families, they became renegades.
Because Egyptian Mamluks were enslaved Christians, Islamic rulers did not believe they were true believers of Islam despite fighting for wars on behalf of Islam as slave soldiers.
By 1200
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...
's brother
Al-Adil succeeded in securing control over the whole empire by defeating and killing or imprisoning his brothers and nephews in turn. With each victory Al-Adil incorporated the defeated Mamluk retinue into his own. This process was repeated at Al-Adil's death in 1218, and at his son Al-Kamil's death in 1238. The Ayyubids became increasingly surrounded by the Mamluks, who acted semi-autonomously as regional
atabegs. The Mamluks increasingly became involved in the internal court politics of the kingdom itself as various factions used them as allies.
French attack and Mamluk takeover
In June 1249, the
Seventh Crusade under
Louis IX of France landed in Egypt and took
Damietta
Damietta ( arz, دمياط ' ; cop, ⲧⲁⲙⲓⲁϯ, Tamiati) is a port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt, a former bishopric and present multiple Catholic titular see. It is located at the Damietta branch, an easte ...
. After the Egyptian troops retreated at first, the sultan had more than 50 commanders hanged as
deserters
Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...
.
When the Egyptian sultan
as-Salih Ayyub
Al-Malik as-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (5 November 1205 – 22 November 1249), nickname: Abu al-Futuh ( ar, أبو الفتوح), also known as al-Malik al-Salih, was the Ayyubid Kurdish ruler of Egypt from 1240 to 1249.
Early life
In 1221, as- ...
died, the power passed briefly to his son
al-Muazzam Turanshah
Turanshah, also Turan Shah ( ar, توران شاه), (? – 2 May 1250), (''epithet:'' al-Malik al-Muazzam Ghayath al-Din Turanshah ( ar, الملك المعظم غياث الدين توران شاه)) was a Kurdish ruler of Egypt, a son of S ...
and then his favorite wife
Shajar al-Durr
Shajar al-Durr ( ar, شجر الدر, lit=Tree of Pearls), also Shajarat al-Durr (), whose royal name was al-Malika ʿAṣmat ad-Dīn ʾUmm-Khalīl Shajar ad-Durr (; from her nickname , 'mother of Khalil'; died 28 April 1257), was a ruler of Eg ...
, a
Turk
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
according to most historians, while others say was an
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
. She took control with Mamluk support and launched a counterattack against the French. Troops of the Bahri commander
Baibars
Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak o ...
defeated Louis's troops. The king delayed his retreat too long and was captured by the Mamluks in March 1250. He agreed to pay a ransom of 400,000 ''livres tournois'' to gain release (150,000 livres were never paid).
Because of political pressure for a male leader, Shajar married the Mamluk commander,
Aybak. He was assassinated in his bath. In the ensuing power struggle,
viceregent Qutuz
Saif ad-Din Qutuz ( ar, سيف الدين قطز; died 24 October 1260), also romanized as Kutuz or Kotuz and fully al-Malik al-Muẓaffar Sayf ad-Dīn Quṭuz (), was a military leader and the third or fourth of the Mamluk Sultans of Eg ...
, also a Mamluk, took over. He formally founded the
Mamluke Sultanate and the
Bahri mamluk dynasty.
The first Mamluk dynasty was named Bahri after the name of one of the
regiment
A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation.
In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
s, the ''Bahriyyah'' or River Island regiment. Its name referred to their center on
Rhoda Island
Roda Island (or Rawdah Island, , ) is an island located on the Nile in central Cairo.http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/rawdah.htm Touregypt: Rawdah Island; accessed 02-28-2011
The mamluk Bahri dynasty originally settled on Roda I ...
in the
Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
. The regiment consisted mainly of
Kipchaks
The Kipchaks or Qipchaks, also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians, were a Turkic nomadic people and confederation that existed in the Middle Ages, inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe. First mentioned in the 8th century as part of the Sec ...
and
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian exonym ), were a Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confederation. After the Mongol invasion (1237), many so ...
.
Relationship with the Mongols
When the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe ...
's troops of
Hulagu Khan
Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü or Hulegu ( mn, Хүлэгү/ , lit=Surplus, translit=Hu’legu’/Qülegü; chg, ; Arabic: fa, هولاکو خان, ''Holâku Khân;'' ; 8 February 1265), was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of West ...
sacked
Baghdad in 1258 and advanced towards Syria, the Mamluk emir
Baibars
Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak o ...
left Damascus for Cairo. There he was welcomed by Sultan
Qutuz
Saif ad-Din Qutuz ( ar, سيف الدين قطز; died 24 October 1260), also romanized as Kutuz or Kotuz and fully al-Malik al-Muẓaffar Sayf ad-Dīn Quṭuz (), was a military leader and the third or fourth of the Mamluk Sultans of Eg ...
. After taking Damascus, Hulagu demanded that Qutuz surrender Egypt. Qutuz had Hulagu's envoys killed and, with Baibars' help, mobilized his troops.
When
Möngke Khan
Möngke ( mn, ' / Мөнх '; ; 11 January 1209 – 11 August 1259) was the fourth khagan-emperor of the Mongol Empire, ruling from 1 July 1251, to 11 August 1259. He was the first Khagan from the Toluid line, and made significant reforms ...
died in action against the
Southern Song
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
, Hulagu pulled the majority of his forces out of Syria to attend the
kurultai (funeral ceremony). He left his lieutenant, the Christian
Kitbuqa
Kitbuqa Noyan (died 1260), also spelled Kitbogha, Kitboga, or Ketbugha, was an Eastern Christian of the Naimans, a group that was subservient to the Mongol Empire. He was a lieutenant and confidant of the Mongol Ilkhan Hulagu, assisting him ...
, in charge with a token force of about 18,000 men as a garrison. The Mamluk army, led by Qutuz, drew the reduced
Ilkhanate army into an ambush near the
Orontes River
The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey.
...
, routed them at the
Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, and captured and executed Kitbuqa.
After this great triumph, Qutuz was assassinated by conspiring Mamluks. It was widely said that Baibars, who seized power, had been involved in the assassination plot. In the following centuries, the Mamluks ruled discontinuously, with an average span of seven years.
The Mamluks defeated the Ilkhanates a second time in the
First Battle of Homs
: ''For other battles in the same area but in different years, see Battle of Homs''.
The first Battle of Homs was fought in Homs, Syria, on December 10, 1260, between the Ilkhanates of Persia and the forces of Egypt.
After the historic Mamluk ...
and began to drive them back east. In the process they consolidated their power over Syria, fortified the area, and formed mail routes and diplomatic connections among the local princes. Baibars' troops attacked
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ...
in 1263, captured
Caesarea
Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...
in 1265, and took
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
in 1268.
Mamluks also defeated new Ilkhanate attacks in Syria in 1271 and 1281 (the
Second Battle of Homs). They were defeated by the Ilkhanates and their Christian allies at the
Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar in 1299. Soon after that the Mamluks defeated the Ilkhanate again in 1303/1304 and 1312. Finally, the Ilkhanates and the Mamluks signed a treaty of peace in 1323.
Burji dynasty
By the late fourteenth century, the majority of the Mamluk ranks were made up of
Circassians
The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...
from the
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
region, whose young males had been frequently captured for slavery.
[ In 1382 the ]Burji dynasty The Burji or Circassian Mamluk ( ar, المماليك الشركس) dynasty of Circassian origin, ruled Egypt from 1382 until 1517, during the Mamluk Sultanate. The Circassian community in Cairo especially flourished during this time. Political ...
took over when Barquq
Al-Malik Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq ( Circassian: Бэркъукъу аз-Захьир Сэфудин; ar, الملك الظاهر سيف الدين برقوق; ruled 1382–1389 and 1390–1399; born in Circassia) was the first Sultan of th ...
was proclaimed sultan. The name "Burji" referred to their center at the citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
In ...
of Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
. The dynasty officials were composed mostly of Circassians
The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...
.
Barkuk became an enemy of Timur
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
, who threatened to invade Syria. Timur invaded Syria, defeating the Mamluk army, and he sacked Aleppo and captured Damascus. The Ottoman sultan, Bayezid I
Bayezid I ( ota, بايزيد اول, tr, I. Bayezid), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt ( ota, link=no, یلدیرم بايزيد, tr, Yıldırım Bayezid, link=no; – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He adopted t ...
, then invaded Syria. After Timur's death in 1405, the Mamluk sultan an-Nasir Faraj
Al-Nasir Faraj or Nasir-ad-Din Faraj ( Circassian: Фэрадж ан-Насир) (Urdu; Arabic; Persian: ; r. 1399–1412 CE) also Faraj ibn Barquq was born in 1386 and succeeded his father Sayf-ad-Din Barquq as the second Sultan of the Burji dy ...
regained control of Syria. Frequently facing rebellions by local emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
s, he was forced to abdicate in 1412. In 1421, Egypt was attacked by the Kingdom of Cyprus
The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Ana ...
, but the Egyptians forced the Cypriotes to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Egyptian sultan Barsbay. During Barsbay's reign, Egypt's population became greatly reduced from what it had been a few centuries before; it had one-fifth the number of towns.
Al-Ashraf came to power in 1453. He had friendly relations with the Ottoman Empire, which captured Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
later that year, causing great rejoicings in Muslim Egypt. However, under the reign of Khushqadam, Egypt began a struggle with the Ottoman sultanate. In 1467, sultan Qaitbay offended the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II
Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Ba ...
, whose brother was poisoned. Bayezid II seized Adana
Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million.
Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, ...
, Tarsus and other places within Egyptian territory, but was eventually defeated. Qaitbay also tried to help the Muslims in Spain
Spain is a Christian majority country, with Islam being a minority religion, practised mostly by the immigrants and their descendants from Muslim majority countries. Due to the secular nature of the Spanish constitution, Muslims are free to pro ...
, who were suffering after the Catholic Reconquista
The ' ( Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the Na ...
, by threatening the Christians in Syria, but he had little effect in Spain. He died in 1496, several hundred thousand ducats in debt to the great trading families of the Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...
.
Portuguese–Mamluk Wars
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira (; ; c. 1460s – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea.
His initial voyage to India by way of Cape of Good Hope (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
in 1497 sailed around the Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa.
A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...
and pushed his way east across the Indian Ocean to the shores of Malabar and Kozhikode
Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second l ...
. There he attacked the fleets that carried freight and Muslim pilgrims from India to the Red Sea
The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
, and struck terror into the potentates all around. Various engagements took place. Cairo's Mamluk sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri was affronted at the attacks around the Red Sea, the loss of tolls and traffic, the indignities to which Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...
and its port were subjected, and above all for losing one of his ships. He vowed vengeance upon Portugal, first sending monks from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as envoys, he threatened Pope Julius II
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...
that if he did not check Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was list of Portuguese monarchs, King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Duke of Viseu, Viseu prior to su ...
in his depredations on the Indian Sea, he would destroy all Christian holy places.
The rulers of Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the nin ...
in India and Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast an ...
also turned for help to the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. They wanted a fleet to be armed in the Red Sea that could protect their important trading sea routes from Portuguese attacks. Jeddah was soon fortified as a harbor of refuge so Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
and the Red Sea were protected. But the fleets in the Indian Ocean were still at the mercy of the enemy.
The last Mamluk sultan, Al-Ghawri, fitted out a fleet of 50 vessels. As Mamluks had little expertise in naval warfare, he sought help from the Ottomans to develop this naval enterprise. In 1508 at the Battle of Chaul
The Battle of Chaul was a naval battle between the Portuguese and an Egyptian Mamluk fleet in 1508 in the harbour of Chaul in India. The battle ended in a Mamluk victory. It followed the Siege of Cannanore in which a Portuguese garrison succ ...
, the Mamluk fleet defeated the Portuguese viceroy's son Lourenço de Almeida.
But, in the following year, the Portuguese won the Battle of Diu
The Battle of Diu was a naval battle fought on 3 February 1509 in the Arabian Sea, in the port of Diu, India, between the Portuguese Empire and a joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, and the Zamor ...
and wrested the port city of Diu from the Gujarat Sultanate
The Gujarat Sultanate (or the Sultanate of Guzerat), was a Medieval Indian kingdom established in the early 15th century in Western India, primarily in the present-day state of Gujarat, India. The dynasty was founded by Sultan Zafar Khan Mu ...
. Some years after, Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa (; – 16 December 1515) was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean ...
attacked Aden, and Egyptian troops suffered disaster from the Portuguese in Yemen. Al-Ghawri fitted out a new fleet to punish the enemy and protect the Indian trade. Before it could exert much power, Egypt had lost its sovereignty. The Ottoman Empire took over Egypt and the Red Sea, together with Mecca
Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow val ...
and all its Arabian interests.
Ottomans and the end of the Mamluk Sultanate
The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II
Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Ba ...
was engaged in warfare in southern Europe when a new era of hostility with Egypt began in 1501. It arose out of the relations with the Safavid dynasty in Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...
. Shah Ismail I
Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, ruling as its King of Kings ('' Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His reign is ofte ...
sent an embassy to the Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...
via Syria, inviting Venice to ally with Persia and recover its territory taken by the Ottomans. Mameluk Egyptian sultan Al-Ghawri was charged by Selim I
Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite las ...
with giving the Persian envoys passage through Syria on their way to Venice and harboring refugees. To appease him, Al-Ghawri placed in confinement the Venetian merchants then in Syria and Egypt, but after a year released them.[James Waterson, "The Mamluks"]
After the Battle of Chaldiran
The Battle of Chaldiran ( fa, جنگ چالدران; tr, Çaldıran Savaşı) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia a ...
in 1514, Selim attacked the bey of Dulkadirids, as Egypt's vassal had stood aloof, and sent his head to Al-Ghawri. Now secure against Persia, in 1516 he formed a great army for the conquest of Egypt, but gave out that he intended further attacks on Persia.
In 1515, Selim began the war which led to the conquest of Egypt and its dependencies. Mamluk cavalry proved no match for the Ottoman artillery and Janissary infantry. On 24 August 1516, at the Battle of Marj Dabiq, Sultan Al-Ghawri was killed. Syria passed into Turkish possession, an event welcomed in many places as it was seen as deliverance from the Mameluks.
The Mamluk Sultanate survived in Egypt until 1517, when Selim captured Cairo on 20 January. Although not in the same form as under the Sultanate, the Ottoman Empire retained the Mamluks as an Egyptian ruling class and the Mamluks and the Burji family succeeded in regaining much of their influence, but as vassals of the Ottomans.
Independence from the Ottomans
In 1768, Ali Bey Al-Kabir declared independence from the Ottomans. However, the Ottomans crushed the movement and retained their position after his defeat. By this time new slave recruits were introduced from Georgia in the Caucasus.
Napoleon invades
In 1798, the ruling Directory
Directory may refer to:
* Directory (computing), or folder, a file system structure in which to store computer files
* Directory (OpenVMS command)
* Directory service, a software application for organizing information about a computer network' ...
of the Republic of France authorised a campaign in "The Orient" to protect French trade interests and undermine Britain's access to India. To this end, Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
led an Armée d'Orient to Egypt.
The French defeated a Mamluk army in the Battle of the Pyramids and drove the survivors out to Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend wikt:downriver, upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. ...
. The Mamluks relied on massed cavalry charges, changed only by the addition of musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket graduall ...
s. The French infantry formed square and held firm. Despite multiple victories and an initially successful expedition into Syria, mounting conflict in Europe and the earlier defeat of the supporting French fleet by the British Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...
at the Battle of the Nile decided the issue.
On 14 September 1799, General Jean-Baptiste Kléber established a mounted company of Mamluk auxiliaries and Syrian Janissaries from Turkish troops captured at the siege of Acre. Menou reorganized the company on 7 July 1800, forming three companies of 100 men each and renaming it the "Mamluks de la République". In 1801 General Jean Rapp was sent to Marseille to organize a squadron of 250 Mamluks. On 7 January 1802 the previous order was canceled and the squadron reduced to 150 men. The list of effectives on 21 April 1802 reveals three officers and 155 of other rank. By decree of 25 December 1803 the Mamluks were organized into a company attached to the Chasseurs-à-Cheval of the Imperial Guard (see Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard).
Napoleon left with his personal guard in late 1799. His successor in Egypt, General Jean-Baptiste Kléber, was assassinated on 14 June 1800. Command of the Army in Egypt fell to Jacques-François Menou. Isolated and out of supplies, Menou surrendered to the British in 1801.
After Napoleon
After the departure of French troops in 1801 the Mamluks continued their struggle for independence; this time against the Ottoman Empire. In 1803, Mamluk leaders Ibrahim Bey Ibrahim Bey or İbrahim Bey may refer to:
* Bedreddin I. İbrahim Bey (ruled 1312–1333 and 1348–1349), bey of Karaman
* Tacettin Ibrahim Bey (ruled 1443–1461), Isfendiyarid prince
* İbrahim II of Karaman aka Damad II (?–1464), bey of Ka ...
and Osman Bey al-Bardisi wrote to the Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
n consul-general, asking him to mediate with the Sultan to allow them to negotiate for a cease-fire, and a return to their homeland Georgia. The Russian ambassador in Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth ( Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
refused however to intervene, because of nationalist unrest in Georgia that might have been encouraged by a Mamluk return.
In 1805, the population of Cairo rebelled. This provided a chance for the Mamluks to seize power, but internal friction prevented them from exploiting this opportunity. In 1806, the Mamluks defeated the Turkish forces in several clashes. in June the rival parties concluded an agreement by which Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...
, (appointed as governor of Egypt on 26 March 1806), was to be removed and authority returned to the Mamluks. However, they were again unable to capitalize on this opportunity due to discord between factions. Muhammad Ali retained his authority.
End of power in Egypt
Muhammad Ali knew that he would have to deal with the Mamluks if he wanted to control Egypt. They were still the feudal owners of Egypt and their land was still the source of wealth and power. However, the economic strain of sustaining the military manpower necessary to defend the Mamluks's system from the Europeans and Turks would eventually weaken them to the point of collapse.
On 1 March 1811, Muhammad Ali invited all of the leading Mamluks to his palace to celebrate the declaration of war against the Wahhabis in Arabia. Between 600 and 700 Mamluks paraded for this purpose in Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
. Muhammad Ali's forces killed almost all of these near the Al-Azab gates in a narrow road down from Mukatam Hill. This ambush came to be known as the Massacre of the Citadel. According to contemporary reports, only one Mamluk, whose name is given variously as Amim (also Amyn), or Heshjukur (a Besleney
The Besleney ( Circassian: Bеслъэней, ''Bestləney'', ; russian: Бесленеевцы ) (also known as Beslenei or Baslaney) are one of the twelve major Circassian tribes, representing one of the twelve stars on the green-and-gold Circa ...
), survived when he forced his horse to leap from the walls of the citadel.
During the following week an estimated 3,000 Mamluks and their relatives were killed throughout Egypt, by Muhammad's regular troops. In the citadel of Cairo alone more than 1,000 Mamluks died.
Despite Muhammad Ali's destruction of the Mamluks in Egypt, a party of them escaped and fled south into what is now Sudan. In 1811, these Mamluks established a state at Dunqulah in the Sennar as a base for their slave trading. In 1820, the sultan of Sennar informed Muhammad Ali that he was unable to comply with a demand to expel the Mamluks. In response, the Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignita ...
sent 4,000 troops to invade Sudan, clear it of Mamluks, and reclaim it for Egypt. The Pasha's forces received the submission of the Kashif, dispersed the Dunqulah Mamluks, conquered Kordofan, and accepted Sennar's surrender from the last Funj sultan, Badi VII.
Impact
According to Eric Chaney and Lisa Blades, the reliance on mamluks by Muslim rulers had a profound impact on the Arab world's political development. They argue that, because European rulers had to rely on local elites for military forces, lords and bourgeois acquired the necessary bargaining power to push for representative government. Muslim rulers did not face the same pressures partly because the Mamluks allowed the Sultans to bypass local elites.
Other regimes
There were various places in which Mamluks gained political or military power as a self-replicating military community. Some examples of this can be seen in the Tripolitania region of Libya, where Mamluk governors instated their various policies under the Ottoman Empire until October 18th, 1912, when Italian forces took over the region in the Italo-Turkish war.
South Asia
India
In 1206, the Mamluk commander of the Muslim forces in the Indian subcontinent, Qutb al-Din Aibak
Qutb ud-Din Aibak ( fa, قطبالدین ایبک), (1150 – 14 November 1210) was a Turkic general of the Ghurid king Muhammad Ghori. He was in charge of the Ghurid territories in northern India, and after Muhammad Ghori's assassination i ...
, proclaimed himself Sultan, creating the Mamluk Sultanate in Delhi which lasted until 1290.
West Asia
Iraq
Mamluk corps were first introduced in Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
by Hasan Pasha of Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...
in 1702. From 1747 to 1831 Iraq was ruled, with short intermissions, by Mamluk officers of Georgian origin who succeeded in asserting autonomy from the Sublime Porte
The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire.
History
The nam ...
, suppressed tribal revolts, curbed the power of the Janissaries, restored order, and introduced a program of modernization of the economy and the military. In 1831 the Ottomans overthrew Dawud Pasha
Dawūd Pasha ( ar, داود باشا '; ka, დაუდ ფაშა; tr, Davud Pasha) (c.1767–1851), who was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, of Georgian Christian origin, His full name was ( ka, დავით მანველაშვილი; ...
, the last Mamluk ruler, and imposed direct control over Iraq."Iraq"
''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Online. Retrieved 15 October 2007
Rulers
In Egypt
Bahri Dynasty
*1250
Shajar al-Durr
Shajar al-Durr ( ar, شجر الدر, lit=Tree of Pearls), also Shajarat al-Durr (), whose royal name was al-Malika ʿAṣmat ad-Dīn ʾUmm-Khalīl Shajar ad-Durr (; from her nickname , 'mother of Khalil'; died 28 April 1257), was a ruler of Eg ...
(
al-Salih Ayyub
Al-Malik as-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub (5 November 1205 – 22 November 1249), nickname: Abu al-Futuh ( ar, أبو الفتوح), also known as al-Malik al-Salih, was the Ayyubid Kurdish ruler of Egypt from 1240 to 1249.
Early life
In 1221, as- ...
's Widow de facto ruler of Egypt)
*1250
Aybak
*1257
Al-Mansur Ali
*1259
Qutuz
Saif ad-Din Qutuz ( ar, سيف الدين قطز; died 24 October 1260), also romanized as Kutuz or Kotuz and fully al-Malik al-Muẓaffar Sayf ad-Dīn Quṭuz (), was a military leader and the third or fourth of the Mamluk Sultans of Eg ...
*1260
Baibars
Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari ( ar, الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, ''al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī'') (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), of Turkic Kipchak o ...
*1277
Al-Said Barakah
*1280
Solamish
*1280
Qalawun
( ar, قلاوون الصالحي, – November 10, 1290) was the seventh Bahri Mamluk sultan; he ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1290.
He was called (, "Qalāwūn the Victorious").
Biography and rise to power
Qalawun was a Kipchak, ancient Turkic ...
*1290
al-Ashraf Salah-ad-Din Khalil
Al-Ashraf Salāh ad-Dīn Khalil ibn Qalawūn ( ar, الملك الأشرف صلاح الدين خليل بن قلاوون; c. 1260s – 14 December 1293) was the eighth Bahri Mamluk sultan, succeeding his father Qalawun. He served from 12 Novem ...
*1294
al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun ( ar, الملك الناصر ناصر الدين محمد بن قلاوون), commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad ( ar, الناصر محمد), or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali () or as Ibn Qal ...
''first reign''
*1295
al-Adil Kitbugha
*1297
Lajin
*1299
al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun ( ar, الملك الناصر ناصر الدين محمد بن قلاوون), commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad ( ar, الناصر محمد), or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali () or as Ibn Qal ...
''second reign''
*1309
al-Muzaffar Rukn-ad-Din Baybars II al-Jashankir
Baibars al-Jashankir ( ar, بيبرس الجاشنكير; died 1310) or Baibars II, royal name al-Malik al-Muzaffar Rukn ad-Din Baibars aj-Jashankir al-Mansuri (), also known as Abu al-Fath (), was the 12th Mamluk sultan of Mamluk Egypt in 1309 ...
*1310
al-Nasir Muhammad
Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun ( ar, الملك الناصر ناصر الدين محمد بن قلاوون), commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad ( ar, الناصر محمد), or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali () or as Ibn Qal ...
''third reign''
*1340
Saif ad-Din Abu-Bakr
*1341
Kujuk
*1342
An-Nasir Ahmad, Sultan of Egypt
*1342
As-Salih Ismail, Sultan of Egypt
*1345
Al-Kamil Sha'ban
Al-Kamil Sayf ad-Din Sha'ban ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun, better known as al-Kamil Sha'ban, was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt between August 1345 and January 1346. He was the fifth son of an-Nasir Muhammad to serve as sultan, having succeeded his broth ...
*1346
Al-Muzaffar Hajji
*1347
al-Nasir Badr-ad-Din Abu al-Ma'aly al-Hassan ''first reign''
*1351
al-Salih Salah-ad-Din Ibn Muhammad
*1354
al-Nasir Badr-ad-Din Abu al-Ma'aly al-Hassan ''second reign''
*1361
al-Mansur Salah-ad-Din Mohamed Ibn Hajji
Al-Mansur Salah ad-Din Muhammad ibn Hajji ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (1347/48–1398), better known as al-Mansur Muhammad, was the Mamluk sultan in 1361–1363. He ruled in name only, with power held by the Mamluk magnates, particularly Yalbugha al-U ...
*1363
al-Ashraf Zein al-Din Abu al-Ma'ali ibn Shaban
*1376
al-Mansur Ala-ad-Din Ali Ibn al-Ashraf Shaban
Al-Mansur Ala' ad-Din Ali ibn Sha'ban ibn Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Qalawun (1368 – 19 May 1381), better known as al-Mansur Ali II, was the Mamluk sultan reigning in 1377–1381. He was installed to the throne while a child by the senior Mamluk emi ...
*1382
al-Salih Salah Zein al-Din Hajji II
Al-Salih Hajji (Epithet: Al-Salih Salah Zein al-Din Hajji II), also Haji II, was a Mamluk ruler, and the last ruler of the Bahri dynasty in 1382. He briefly ruled again in 1389, during the advent of the Burji dynasty. He fell hostage to Barquq
...
''first reign''
Burji Dynasty
*1382
Barquq
Al-Malik Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq ( Circassian: Бэркъукъу аз-Захьир Сэфудин; ar, الملك الظاهر سيف الدين برقوق; ruled 1382–1389 and 1390–1399; born in Circassia) was the first Sultan of th ...
, ''first reign''
*1389
Hajji II
Al-Salih Hajji (Epithet: Al-Salih Salah Zein al-Din Hajji II), also Haji II, was a Mamluk ruler, and the last ruler of the Bahri dynasty in 1382. He briefly ruled again in 1389, during the advent of the Burji dynasty. He fell hostage to Barquq
...
''second reign'' (with honorific title al-Muzaffar or al-Mansur) – Temporary Bahri rule
*1390
Barquq
Al-Malik Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Barquq ( Circassian: Бэркъукъу аз-Захьир Сэфудин; ar, الملك الظاهر سيف الدين برقوق; ruled 1382–1389 and 1390–1399; born in Circassia) was the first Sultan of th ...
, ''Second reign'' – Burji rule re-established
*1399
An-Nasir Naseer ad-Din Faraj
*1405
Al-Mansoor Azzaddin Abdal Aziz
*1405
An-Nasir Naseer ad-Din Faraj (second time)
*1412
al-Musta'in
Abū al-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن محمد بن محمد; 836 – 17 October 866), better known by his regnal title Al-Mustaʿīn (836 – 17 October 866) was the Abbasid caliph from 8 ...
(
Abbasid Caliph
The Abbasid caliphs were the holders of the Islamic title of caliph who were members of the Abbasid dynasty, a branch of the Quraysh tribe descended from the uncle of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, Al-Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib.
The family came ...
, proclaimed as Sultan)
*1412
Al-Muayad Sayf ad-Din Shaykh
*1421
Al-Muzaffar Ahmad
*1421
Az-Zahir Saif ad-Din Tatar
*1421
As-Salih Nasir ad-Din Muhammad
*1422
Barsbay
*1438
Al-Aziz Jamal ad-Din Yusuf
*1438
Jaqmaq
*1453
Al-Mansoor Fakhr ad-Din Osman
*1453
Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Enal
*1461
Al-Muayad Shihab ad-Din Ahmad
*1461
Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Khushkadam
*1467
Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Bilbay
*1468
Az-Zahir Temurbougha
Timurbugha (died 1475) was the seventeenth Burji Sultan of Mamluk Egypt, briefly ruling from late 1467 to early 1468 when he was deposed. He used the title of ''al-Malik al-Zāhir''.
Biography
Timurbugha was of GreekAli, Abdul (1996). ''Islamic ...
*1468
Qaitbay
*1496
al-Nasir Abu al-Sa'adat Muhammad bin Qait Bay ''first reign''
*1497
*1497
al-Nasir Abu al-Sa'adat Muhammad bin Qait Bay ''second reign''
*1498
Qansuh Al-Ashrafi
*1500 Al-Bilal Ayub
*1500
Al-Ashraf Janbalat
*1501
Tuman bay I
*1501
Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
*1517
Tuman bay II
In India
*1206
Qutb-ud-din Aybak, founded
Mamluk Sultanate, Delhi
*1210
Aram Shah
*1211
Shams ud din Iltutmish
Shams ud-Din Iltutmish ( fa, شمس الدین ایلتتمش; died 30 April 1236, ) was the third of the Mamluk kings who ruled the former Ghurid territories in northern India. He was the first Muslim sovereign to rule from Delhi, and is thus ...
. Son-in-law of Qutb-ud-din Aybak.
*1236
Rukn ud din Firuz. Son of Iltutmish.
*1236
Razia Sultana
Raziyyat-Ud-Dunya Wa Ud-Din ( fa, ) (died 15 October 1240, ), popularly known as Razia Sultana, was a ruler of the Delhi Sultanate in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. She was the first female Muslim ruler of the subcontinent, an ...
. Daughter of Iltutmish.
*1240
Muiz ud din Bahram
Muiz ud-Din Bahram (9 July 1212 – 15 May 1242, ) was the sixth sultan of the Mamluk Dynasty.
Life
He was the son of Shams ud din Iltutmish (1211–36) and the half-brother of Razia Sultan (1236–40). While his sister was imprisoned in Bat ...
. Son of Iltutmish.
*1242
Ala ud din Masud
Ala ud-Din Masud Shah (died 10 June 1246, ) was the seventh sultan of the Delhi Sultanate.
Life
He was the son of Rukn ud-Din Firuz (1236), son of Sultan Illtutmish and Shah Turkan and the nephew of Sultan Raziyyat (1236–40). After hi ...
. Son of Rukn ud din.
*1246
Nasiruddin Mahmud. Grandson of Iltutmish.
*1266
Ghiyas ud din Balban. Ex-slave, son-in-law of Iltutmish.
*1286
Muiz ud din Qaiqabad. Grandson of Balban and Nasiruddin.
*1290
Kayumars. Son of Muiz ud din.
In Iraq
*1704
Hasan Pasha
*1723
Ahmad Pasha, son of Hasan
*1749
Sulayman Abu Layla Pasha, son-in-law of Ahmad
*1762
Omar Pasha
Omer Pasha, also known as Omer Pasha Latas ( tr, Ömer Lütfi Paşa, sr, Омер-паша Латас, Omer-paša Latas; 24 September 1806 – 18 April 1871) was an Ottoman field marshal and governor. Born in Austrian territory to Serbian Or ...
, son of Ahmad
*1780
Sulayman Pasha the Great, son of Omar
*1802
Ali Pasha Ali Pasha was the name of numerous Ottoman pashas named Ali. It is most commonly used to refer to Ali Pasha of Ioannina.
People
* Çandarlı Ali Pasha (died 1406), Ottoman grand vizier (1387–1406)
* Hadım Ali Pasha (died 1511), Ottoman grand v ...
, son of Omar
*1807
Sulayman Pasha the Little
The Mamluk dynasty of Mesopotamia ( ar, مماليك العراق, Mamālīk al-ʻIrāq) was a dynasty of Georgian Mamluk origin which ruled over Iraq in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
In the Ottoman Empire, Mamluks were freed slaves who ...
, son of Sulayman Great
*1813
Said Pasha, son of Sulayman Great
*1816
Dawud Pasha
Dawūd Pasha ( ar, داود باشا '; ka, დაუდ ფაშა; tr, Davud Pasha) (c.1767–1851), who was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, of Georgian Christian origin, His full name was ( ka, დავით მანველაშვილი; ...
(1816–1831)
In Acre
*1805
Sulayman Pasha al-Adil, ''mamluk'' of
Jezzar Pasha
Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzar ( ar, أحمد باشا الجزّار; ota, جزّار أحمد پاشا; ca. 1720–30s7 May 1804) was the Acre-based Ottoman governor of Sidon Eyalet from 1776 until his death in 1804 and the simultaneous governor of Da ...
*1819
Abdullah Pasha ibn Ali
Abdullah Pasha ibn Ali (commonly referred to simply as Abdullah Pasha; 1801–?) was the Ottoman governor (wali) of Sidon Eyalet between May 1820 and May 1832, with a nine-month interruption in 1822–23. Like his predecessors Jazzar Pasha and ...
(1819–1831)
Office titles and terminology
The following terms originally come from either
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
or
Ottoman Turkish language
Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed exten ...
(the latter composed of Turkish, Arabic, and Persian words and grammar structures).
Gallery
File:Mamluk.jpg, Portrait of a Mamluk, 1779
File:Mamluke.jpg, A Mamluk cavalryman, drawing by Carle Vernet, 1810
File:El dos de mayo de 1808 en Madrid.jpg, '' The Second of May 1808: The Charge of the Mamluks'' by Francisco de Goya (1814)
File:Le Mameluke Roustam by Jacques Nicolas Paillot de Montabert 1806.jpg, Armenian mamluk Roustam Raza
Roustam Raza (arm Ռուստամ Ռուզա) (Georgian: როსტომ რაზმაძე, Rostom Razmadze) (1783 – 7 December 1845), also known as Roustan or Rustam, was a mamluk bodyguard and secondary valet of Napoleon.
Early life
R ...
was Napoleon's personal bodyguard; portrait by Jacques-Nicolas Paillot de Montabert
Jacques-Nicolas Paillot de Montabert (1771–1849) was a French painter of the early 19th century. He painted scenes related to the rule of Napoleon I.
He is famous for the painting of Napoleon's Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk ( ...
File:62emeMarmaluke.jpg, Soldiers of Napoleon's 62ème régiment de ligne and a Mameluk (historical reenactment
Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspect ...
)
File:USMC Marmeluke.JPG, Today's U.S. Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...
officers' Mameluke sword resembles those used by the Mamluks
Dynasties founded by Mamluks
*
Tulunids (868–905)
*
Ikhshidids (935–969)
*
Ghaznavids
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
(977–1186)
*
Khwarazmian dynasty
The Anushtegin dynasty or Anushteginids (English: , fa, ), also known as the Khwarazmian dynasty ( fa, ) was a PersianateC. E. BosworthKhwarazmshahs i. Descendants of the line of Anuštigin In Encyclopaedia Iranica, online ed., 2009: ''"Li ...
(1077–1231)
*
Mamluk dynasty (Delhi) (1206–1290)
*
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16t ...
(1250–1517)
**
Bahri dynasty
The Bahri dynasty or Bahriyya Mamluks ( ar, المماليك البحرية, translit=al-Mamalik al-Baḥariyya) was a Mamluk dynasty of mostly Turkic origin that ruled the Egyptian Mamluk Sultanate from 1250 to 1382. They followed the Ayyubid ...
(1250–1382)
**
Burji dynasty The Burji or Circassian Mamluk ( ar, المماليك الشركس) dynasty of Circassian origin, ruled Egypt from 1382 until 1517, during the Mamluk Sultanate. The Circassian community in Cairo especially flourished during this time. Political ...
(1382–1517)
*
Mamluk dynasty (Iraq) (1704–1831)
See also
*
Black Guard
*
Jerusalem in the Mamluk period
The history of Jerusalem during the Middle Ages is generally one of decline; beginning as a major city in the Byzantine Empire, Jerusalem prospered during the early centuries of Muslim control (637/38–969), but under the rule of the Fati ...
*
Mamluk carpets
Many studies have been conducted on Mamluk carpets, but scholars have not come to a consensus as to when or where they were made. Production of surviving Mamluk carpets started from the second half of the fifteenth century until the middle of the ...
*
Mamluk architecture
*
Mamelukes of the Imperial Guard
*
Saqaliba
*
Sultan of Egypt
Sultan of Egypt was the status held by the rulers of Egypt after the establishment of the Ayyubid dynasty of Saladin in 1174 until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Though the extent of the Egyptian Sultanate ebbed and flowed, it generally ...
Notes
References
Further reading
*
* Allouche, A. (1994). ''Mamluk Economics: A Study and Translation of Al-Maqrizi's Ighathat.'' Salt Lake City
*
*
* Blaydes, Lisa, and Eric Chaney. "The feudal revolution and Europe's rise: Political divergence of the Christian west and the Muslim world before 1500 CE." ''American Political Science Review'' 107.1 (2013): 16–34
online* Blaydes, Lisa. "Mamluks, Property Rights, and Economic Development: Lessons from Medieval Egypt." ''Politics & Society'' 47.3 (2019): 395-424
online.
*
* Fay, Mary Ann. "Women and waqf: Toward a reconsideration of women's place in the Mamluk household." ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' 29.1 (1997): 33–51.
*
*
*
* Hathaway, Jane. "The military household in Ottoman Egypt." ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' 27.1 (1995): 39-5
online
* Luz, Nimrod. ''The Mamluk City in the Middle East: History, Culture, and the Urban Landscape'' (Cambridge UP, 2014
excerpt* Muslu, Cihan Yuksel. ''The Ottomans and the Mamluks: Imperial Diplomacy and Warfare in the Islamic World'' (2014
excerpt* Oualdi, M'hamed. "Mamluks in Ottoman Tunisia: A Category Connecting State and Social Forces." ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' 48.3 (2016): 473–490.
*
*
* Piterberg, Gabriel. "The Formation of an Ottoman Egyptian Elite in the 18th Century." ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' 22.3 (1990): 275–289.
*
* Van Steenbergen, Jo, Patrick Wing, and Kristof D'hulster. "The Mamlukization of the Mamluk Sultanate? State Formation and the History of Fifteenth Century Egypt and Syria: Part I—Old Problems and New Trends." ''History Compass'' 14.11 (2016): 549–559.
** "The Mamlukization of the Mamluk Sultanate? State Formation and the History of Fifteenth Century Egypt and Syria: Part II—Comparative Solutions and a New Research Agenda." ''History Compass'' 14.11 (2016): 560–569.
* Walker, Bethany. ''Jordan in the Late Middle Ages: Transformation of the Mamluk Frontier'' (2011)
* Waterson, James. "The Mamluks" ''History Today'' (March 2006) 56#3 pp 21–27 online.
* Ulrich Haarmann (2004). ''Das Herrschaftssystem der Mamluken'', in: Halm / Haarmann (eds.): ''Geschichte der arabischen Welt''. C.H. Beck,
*
* E. de la Vaissière (2007). ''Samarcande et Samarra. Elites d'Asie centrale dans l'empire Abbasside'', Peeters
Peeters-leuven.be
*
External links
Mamluk Studies Resourcesfrom the Chicago Online Bibliography of Mamluk Studies and The Chicago Online Encyclopedia of Mamluk Studies Review at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
The Mamluksat BBC's ''
In Our Time''
Qur'an Carpet Page; al-Fatihahfrom a 14th-century Mamluk Qur'an at the
World Digital Library
The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress.
The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...
{{Authority control
Ayyubid Sultanate
Circassian nobility
Kipchaks
Knights
Mamluk dynasty (Delhi)
Military history of the Abbasid Caliphate
Military history of the Fatimid Caliphate
Military units and formations of the Ottoman Empire
Political people from the Ottoman Empire
Islam and slavery
Medieval Georgia (country)
Mamluk Sultanate
Military slavery
Early Modern history of Georgia (country)
Arabian slaves and freedmen
Slavery in India