Mamluk
In the 9th century, the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim began purchasing young male slaves from the Eurasian Steppe to serve as his personal guard. These men were taken from their families in Central Asia and brought to Baghdad. They were converted to Islam and trained in martial skills within military barracks. The system was designed to create soldiers who owed loyalty only to their master, not to any biological family or tribe. By the end of that same century, these slave warriors had become the dominant force in the Abbasid army. Conflict between the Ghilman and the local population of Baghdad forced the caliph to move his capital to Samarra. Tensions remained high until the caliph al-Mutawakkil was assassinated by some of these very slave soldiers in 861. Historians now distinguish this early experiment from the later Mamluk system which developed after the return to Baghdad in the 870s. This newer model included systematic training of young slaves rather than relying on adult recruits or freemen. The institution spread across the Islamic world, appearing in Egypt under the Fatimid Caliphate and in Iran under the Buyid dynasty. Rulers selected prized slaves to serve in their administration and formed the bulk of their military forces.
Mamluks lived inside garrisons known as the Citadel of Cairo during their formative years. They spent all their time with peers from similar backgrounds, creating a strong esprit de corps. Their education concluded with the kharj ceremony, at which point they were manumitted and given positions in the courtly administration or the army. Despite gaining freedom, they remained attached to the patron who had purchased them. A Mamluk relied on his patron for career advancement while the patron depended on his recruits for reputation and power. Adult Mamluks were former slaves raised without families to view the sultan as their father and other mamluks as brothers. This isolation made them more loyal than freeborn soldiers who would prioritize biological family ties. Entertainments included weekly archery competitions and presentations of mounted combat skills. Sultans owned the largest number of mamluks but lesser amirs also maintained their own troops. Many mamluks rose to high positions including army command throughout the empire. At first their status was non-hereditary because sons of mamluks were prevented from following their fathers into life. Over time however, mamluk forces became linked to existing power structures and gained significant influence.
In June 1249, the Seventh Crusade under Louis IX of France landed in Egypt and captured Damietta. The Egyptian sultan as-Salih Ayyub died shortly after, leaving power briefly to his son al-Muazzam Turanshah. His favorite wife Shajar al-Durr took control with support from mamluk commanders. She launched a counterattack against the French invaders. Troops led by Baibars defeated Louis's forces and captured the king in March 1250. He agreed to pay a ransom of 400,000 livres tournois though 150,000 livres were never paid. Political pressure forced Shajar to marry the mamluk commander Aybak who was later assassinated in his bath. Viceregent Qutuz then took over and formally founded the Mamluke Sultanate along with the Bahri dynasty. This first dynasty derived its name from the Bahriyyah regiment stationed on Rhoda Island in the Nile. The regiment consisted mainly of Kipchaks and Cumans. When Hulagu Khan sacked Baghdad in 1258, emir Baibars fled Damascus for Cairo where he joined Sultan Qutuz. Qutuz mobilized troops to face the Mongol advance. Möngke Khan had pulled most of his forces out of Syria to attend a funeral ceremony. He left lieutenant Kitbuqa in charge with about 18,000 men as a garrison. The Mamluk army drew this reduced force into an ambush near the Orontes River. They routed them at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260 and executed Kitbuqa.
By the late fourteenth century, Circassians from the North Caucasus region made up the majority of Mamluk ranks. Young males were frequently captured for slavery and brought to Egypt. In 1382 Barquq was proclaimed sultan establishing the Burji dynasty named after their center at the citadel of Cairo. Barquq became an enemy of Timur who threatened to invade Syria. Timur defeated the Mamluk army and sacked Aleppo before capturing Damascus. After Timur's death in 1405, Sultan an-Nasir Faraj regained control of Syria but faced frequent rebellions by local emirs. He was forced to abdicate in 1412. During Barsbay's reign Egypt's population dropped significantly to one-fifth its previous number of towns. Al-Ashraf came to power in 1453 maintaining friendly relations with the Ottoman Empire which captured Constantinople that same year. Under Khushqadam however Egypt began a struggle with the Ottoman sultanate. In 1467 Sultan Qaitbay offended Bayezid II whose brother had been poisoned. Bayezid seized Adana and Tarsus within Egyptian territory but was eventually defeated. Qaitbay also attempted to help Muslims suffering after the Catholic Reconquista in Spain by threatening Christians in Syria. He died in 1496 leaving several hundred thousand ducats in debt to trading families from Venice.
In 1501 Selim began war which led to the conquest of Egypt and its dependencies. Relations had become hostile after Shah Ismail sent envoys to Venice via Syria inviting alliance against the Ottomans. Al-Ghawri placed Venetian merchants in confinement but released them after a year. After the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514 Selim formed a great army for the conquest of Egypt while claiming further attacks on Persia. On the 24th of August 1516 at the Battle of Marj Dabiq Sultan Al-Ghawri was killed. Syria passed into Turkish possession welcomed by many as deliverance from Mamluk rule. The Mamluk Sultanate survived in Egypt until 1517 when Selim captured Cairo on the 20th of January. Although not in the same form as under the Sultanate, the Ottoman Empire retained mamluks as an Egyptian ruling class. They succeeded in regaining much influence albeit as vassals of the Ottomans. In 1768 Ali Bey Al-Kabir declared independence from the Ottomans but they crushed the movement. By this time new slave recruits were introduced from Georgia in the Caucasus.
On the 1st of March 1811 Muhammad Ali invited all leading mamluks to his palace to celebrate declaration of war against Wahhabis in Arabia. Between 600 and 700 mamluks paraded for this purpose in Cairo. Muhammad Ali's forces killed almost all near the Al-Azab gates in a narrow road down from Mukatam Hill. This ambush became known as the Massacre of the Citadel. According to contemporary reports only one mamluk named Amim or Heshjukur survived when he forced his horse to leap from citadel walls. During the following week an estimated 3,000 mamluks and relatives were killed throughout Egypt by Muhammad's regular troops. More than 1,000 died within the citadel alone. Despite destruction a party escaped south into what is now Sudan establishing a state at Dunqulah in Sennar as base for slave trading. In 1820 the sultan of Sennar informed Muhammad Ali unable to expel them so Pasha sent 4,000 troops to invade Sudan. The Pasha's forces received submission of Kashif dispersed Dunqulah mamluks conquered Kordofan and accepted Sennar surrender from last Funj sultan Badi VII.
Up Next
Continue Browsing
Common questions
Who were the Mamluks and when did they originate?
Mamluks were slave-soldiers purchased by the Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim in the 9th century to serve as his personal guard. These men originated from Central Asia and the Eurasian Steppe before being brought to Baghdad for military training.
When was the Battle of Ain Jalut fought and what was its outcome?
The Battle of Ain Jalut took place in 1260 near the Orontes River where the Mamluk army defeated a Mongol force led by Kitbuqa. The Mamluks routed approximately 18,000 men and executed their lieutenant after drawing them into an ambush.
How did the Ottoman Empire end the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt?
Ottoman forces under Selim captured Cairo on the 20th of January 1517 ending the Mamluk Sultanate's sovereignty over Egypt. Although the Ottomans retained mamluks as a ruling class, the political structure changed significantly following this conquest.
What happened during the Massacre of the Citadel in 1811?
On the 1st of March 1811 Muhammad Ali invited leading mamluks to his palace before killing almost all of them near the Al-Azab gates. This event resulted in the deaths of more than 1,000 individuals within the citadel alone and an estimated 3,000 throughout Egypt.