Mamluk State

Mamluks (Arabic: مملوك, meaning 'owned') were military slaves originally purchased from slave markets, typically drawn from Turkic peoples of the Caucasus in eastern Europe and the northern Black Sea region, and later from Circassian (Sherkess) populations from the Caucasus. Young recruits were trained in military barracks, educated in Islam and the art of warfare, and upon reaching maturity were freed and incorporated into the emir's or sultan's army. The Mamluk was thus not a slave laborer but a military rank of high status that came to exercise significant political power.

This system was used by numerous Islamic states from early centuries, but the term 'Mamluk State' commonly refers to the Mamluk Sultanate that ruled Egypt, the Levant (Syria and Palestine), and the Hijazi coast. Power transferred to them in 1250, when Mamluk military forces of the Ayyubid dynasty seized control from the heirs of Saladin's line, and they continued to rule until 1517, when the Ottomans took Egypt.

Transfer of Power

The Mamluk State was not a hereditary dynasty in the conventional sense. The sultan was usually selected or seized by the senior emirs who controlled the military forces. The sons of sultans were occasionally confined to the palace for periods, but real power remained in the hands of Mamluk factions loyal to their former masters. Authority was thus based on the bonds of military training and service to one's master rather than on descent. Historians generally divide the state into two periods: the Bahri era (named for the barracks on Nile Island) and the Burji era (Circassian forces garrisoned in the towers of the Cairo citadel).

Major Battles

The Mamluks became renowned for halting Mongol expansion. At the Battle of Ain Jalut in Palestine in 1260, Mamluk forces under Qutuz and Baybars defeated a Mongol army, checking their advance to the southwest. Baybars, who subsequently became sultan, strengthened the state and waged campaigns against the Crusader kingdoms on the Levantine coast. In the fourteenth century, the Mamluks controlled trade routes connecting the Red Sea and Mediterranean, bringing substantial revenue to Cairo.

Culture and Architecture

During the Mamluk period, Cairo became one of the largest cities in the Islamic world. The sultans and emirs constructed mosques, schools, hospitals, and monumental tombs, employing the waqf system (endowed charitable property for public service). Mamluk architecture is characterized by alternating bands of colored stone, ornate minarets, and Arabic calligraphy adorning entrances. Learning in history and religious sciences also flourished, and Cairo attracted renowned scholars whose works remained in use for centuries.

Decline and Legacy

In 1516, Ottoman forces under Selim I engaged the Mamluk army in the Levant, and the following year took Cairo; the last sultan was killed and the state dissolved. However, the Mamluk order did not entirely disappear: under Ottoman rule in Egypt, Mamluk households retained considerable landed and financial power until the early nineteenth century. Similarly, Baghdad in the eighteenth century was governed by leaders from the same Mamluk system.