An Egyptian Mamluk warrior in full armor and armed with lance, shield, Mameluke sword, yatagan and pistols. 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 ...
Mamluk, slave soldier, a member of one of the armies of slaves that won political control of several Muslim states. Under the Ayyubid sultanate, Mamluk generals used their power to establish a dynasty that ruled Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517. The Mamluk class came to an end under the rule of Muhammad Ali in Egypt.
How the Mamluks, the slave-warriors of medieval Islam, overthrew their masters, defeated the Mongols and the Crusaders and established a dynasty.
A Mamluk (Arabic: مملوك (singular), مماليك (plural), "owned"; also transliterated mameluk, mameluke, or mamluke) was a slave -soldier who converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ottoman Empire during the Middle Ages. Over time they became a powerful military caste, and on more than one occasion they seized power for themselves, as they did in Egypt from 1250 to 1517 ...
The Mamluk Sultanate was a relatively centralized state, governed from Cairo, although most of the military activities were in Syria. Although the Mamluk regime became increasingly oppressive and rapacious over the decades, it was never seriously threatened by internal opposition.
A mamluk was a very valuable asset, and it took many years to train a slave in the military arts. In many regards, a mamluk was best described as an enslaved mercenary soldier: owned but allowed to carry weapons. In Islamic Egypt and Levant, the mamluks were even above the general populace where social status was considered.