Battle of Marj Dabiq

The Battle of Marj Dabiq was a brief but momentous engagement that ended the Mamluk Sultanate's control of Syria, Palestine, and ultimately Egypt. Sultan Selim I, fresh from his victory at Chaldiran against the Safavids, turned his attention southward. The Mamluk Sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri marched north to confront the Ottomans with a large cavalry force, but was at a severe disadvantage against Ottoman firepower. The Mamluk cavalry, though individually superb warriors, were equipped and trained for a medieval style of warfare that Ottoman gunpowder weapons had rendered obsolete. The battle was decided quickly: the Mamluk right wing defected to the Ottomans, the centre was raked by cannon fire, and Qansuh al-Ghawri died in the fighting — reportedly of a stroke induced by the shock of the artillery. Syrian cities fell rapidly, and within a year Selim I had also conquered Egypt, ending the Mamluk sultanate. The Ottomans assumed the role of guardians of the Two Holy Mosques and the prestige of the caliphate.