The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria

The Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517 CE) was one of the most remarkable political entities in Islamic history. Originating as slave-soldiers (mamluks) purchased and trained by the Ayyubid dynasty, the Mamluks seized power in Egypt and went on to defeat both the Mongols and the Crusaders, becoming the foremost defenders of Sunni Islam. Their rule over Egypt and Syria lasted 267 years and was characterized by military prowess, architectural grandeur, and robust patronage of Islamic scholarship.

Origins and the Bahri Period

The Mamluk system involved purchasing young non-Muslim boys, primarily Turkic and later Circassian, converting them to Islam, and training them as elite soldiers fiercely loyal to their patron. The Bahri Mamluks (1250-1382) established the sultanate when they overthrew the last Ayyubid sultan. Under Sultan Baybars (r. 1260-1277), the Mamluks defeated the Mongols at Ain Jalut, systematically dismantled the remaining Crusader strongholds, and established an Abbasid caliph in Cairo to legitimize their rule. Baybars also secured the Hajj routes and built a postal system connecting Cairo to Damascus.

The Burji Period

The Burji (Circassian) Mamluks (1382-1517) took power under Sultan Barquq. This period saw both achievements and challenges. The sultanate survived Timur's invasion of Syria in 1400-1401, though Damascus suffered significant destruction. Mamluk Cairo became one of the greatest cities in the world, adorned with magnificent mosques, madrasas, and hospitals. Sultan Qaitbay (r. 1468-1496) was particularly notable for his building projects, including the renovation of the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah and the fortress that bears his name in Alexandria.

Patronage of Scholarship

The Mamluk period was a golden age for Islamic scholarship. Cairo and Damascus became the world's leading centers of learning. Scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, al-Nawawi, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, and al-Suyuti produced works that remain foundational in Islamic studies today. The Mamluks built hundreds of madrasas and endowed extensive waqf properties to fund scholarship. The compilation and preservation of hadith literature, in particular, reached its highest development during this period.

Fall to the Ottomans

The Mamluk Sultanate fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1516-1517, when Sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluks at the battles of Marj Dabiq and Ridaniya. The Ottomans' adoption of gunpowder weapons gave them a decisive military advantage over the Mamluk cavalry. With the conquest, the Ottomans inherited the guardianship of the two holy cities and the symbolic leadership of Sunni Islam. Though the Mamluk state ended, the Mamluk military class continued to wield local power in Egypt until Napoleon's invasion in 1798 and Muhammad Ali's massacre of the remaining Mamluks in 1811.