Mamluk

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A mamluk (Arabic: مملوك (singular), مماليك (plural), "owned"; also transliterated mameluk, mameluke, mamaluke, or mamluke) was a slave soldier who converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans during the Middle Ages. Over time, they became a powerful military caste, and on more than one occasion they seized power for themselves, for example ruling Egypt in the Mamluk Sultanate from 1250-1517.

[edit] Overview

The first mamluks served the Abbasid caliphs in 9th century Baghdad. The Abbasids "recruited" them mainly from areas near the Caucasus (mainly Circassian and Georgian) and in areas north of the Black Sea (mainly Turkic, most of whom were Kipchak Turks) and of Yoruk background. Most of the captured were of non-Muslim origin. The mamluks were often sold into slavery by impoverished steppe families or kidnapped by slave-traders.

The mamluk system gave rulers troops who had no link to any established power structure. The local warriors were often more loyal to their tribal sheiks, their families or nobles other than the sultan or caliph. If some commander conspired against the ruler, it was often not possible to deal with him without causing unrest among the nobility. The slave-troops were strangers of the lowest possible status who could not conspire against the ruler and who could easily be punished if they caused trouble, making them a great military asset. Mamluks were frequently used as mercenaries.

[edit] Organization

After mamluks were converted to Islam, they were trained as cavalry soldiers. Mamluks were to follow the dictates of furusiyya, a code of conduct that included values like courage and generosity but also doctrine of cavalry tactics, horsemanship, archery and treatment of wounds.

Mamluks lived within their garrisons and mainly spent their time with each other. Their entertainments included sports like archery competitions and presentations of mounted combat skills at least twice a week. The intensive and rigorous training of each new recruit helped ensure a great deal of continuity in mamluk practices.

While technically they were no longer slaves after training, they were still obliged to serve the Sultan. The Sultan kept them as an outsider force, under his direct command, to use in the event of local tribal frictions. The Sultan could also send them as far as the Muslim regions of Spain.

Sultans had the largest number of mamluks, but the other amirs could have their own troops as well. Many mamluks rose to high positions throughout the empire, including army command. At first their status remained non-hereditary and sons were strictly prevented from following their fathers. However, over time in places like Egypt, the mamluk forces became linked to existing power structures and gained significant amounts of influence on those powers.

A similar evolution occurred in the Ottoman Empire with the Janissaries.

[edit] Mamluks in India

Main article: Slave dynasty

In 1206, the mamluk commander of the Muslim forces in India, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, proclaimed himself sultan, becoming, in effect, the first independent Sultan-e-Hind. This Mamluk dynasty lasted until 1290.

Further information: Delhi Sultanate

[edit] Mamluk power in Egypt

[edit] Origins

The origins of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt lies in the Ayyubid Dynasty that Saladin (Salah al-Din) founded in 1174. With his uncle, Shirkuh, he conquered Egypt for the Zengid King Nur al-Din of Damascus in 1169. By 1189, after the capture of Jerusalem, Saladin had solidified his Kurdish family's control over the Middle East. After Saladin's death, his sons fell to squabbling over the division of the Empire, and each attempted to surround themselves with larger expanded mamluk retinues.

By 1200, Saladin's brother, Al-Adil, succeeded in securing control over the whole empire by defeating and killing or imprisoning his brothers and nephews in turn. With each victory, Al-Adil incorporated the defeated mamluk retinue into his own. This process was repeated at Al-Adil's death in 1218, and at his son Al-Kamil's death in 1238. The Ayyubids became increasingly surrounded by the power of the mamluks and soon involved them in the internal court politics of the kingdom itself.

In 1315, they also invaded and conquered a great part of Nubia, but the power remained with a Nubian prince converted from Coptic Orthodox to Islam.

[edit] French attack and Mamluk takeover

In June 1249, the Seventh Crusade under Louis IX of France landed in Egypt and took Damietta. The Egyptian troops retreated at first. When the Egyptian sultan As-Salih Ayyub died, the power passed briefly to his son Turanshah and then his favorite wife Shajar Al-Durr (or Shajarat-ul-Dur). She took control with mamluk support and launched a counterattack. Troops of the Bahri commander Baibars defeated Louis's troops and the king delayed the retreat too long. The Mamluks captured him in March 1250 and received a ransom of 250,000 livres (the remaining 150,000 demanded was never paid)^[2] . Political pressure for a male leader made Shajar marry the mamluk commander Aybak. Aybak was later killed in his bath and in the following power struggle vice-regent Qutuz took over. He formally founded the first Mamluk sultanate and the Bahri dynasty.

The first Mamluk dynasty was named Bahri after the name of one of the regiments, the Bahirya or River Island regiment. The name Bahri (بحري meaning "of the sea") referred to their center in al-Manial Island in the Nile. The regiment consisted mainly of Kipchak Turks and Circassians.

[edit] Mamluks and the Mongols

When the Mongol troops of Hulagu Khan sacked Baghdad and took over Damascus in 1258, one of those who escaped from Damascus was the mamluk general Baibars. He fled to Cairo. When Hulegu demanded that Qutuz surrender Cairo, Qutuz had Hulegu's envoys killed and, with Baibars' help, mobilized his troops. Although Hulegu had to leave for the East when great Khan Mongke died in action against the Southern Song, he left his lieutenant, the Christian Kitbuqa, in charge. Qutuz drew the Mongol army into an ambush near the Orontes River, routed them at the Battle of Ain Jalut and captured and executed Kitbuqa.

But Qutuz's triumph did not last long: When he and the mamluks returned to Cairo, Baibars assassinated Qutuz and seized power. In the following centuries, power would transfer the same way numerous times; the average reign of a mamluk ruler was seven years.

The mamluks defeated the Mongols the second time in Homs in 1260 and began to drive them back east. In the process, they consolidated their power over Syria, fortified the area, formed mail routes, and formed diplomatic connections between the local princes. Baibars's troops also defeated the last of the Crusader states in the Holy Land.

Mamluks also defeated new Mongol attacks in Syria in 1271, 1281 (2nd Battle of Homs), 1303/1304 and 1312. They were defeated by the Mongols and their Christian allies at the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar in 1299.

[edit] Burji dynasty

In 1382, the Bukri or Burji dynasty took over. Burji (برجي meaning "of the tower") referred to their center in the citadel of Cairo. The dynasty consisted of Circassians.

[edit] Ottomans

The Mamluk Sultanate survived until 1517, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The institution of the mamluks continued under the Ottomans, though it was not the same as that of the Sultanate.

[edit] Mamluks independence from the Ottomans

In 1768, Sultan Ali Bey Al-Kabir declared independence from the Ottomans but the Mamluks crushed the movement and retained their position after his defeat. By this time, the new slave recruits were introduced from Georgia in the Caucasus.

Napoleon defeated Mamluk troops when he attacked Egypt in 1798 and drove them to Upper Egypt. By this time, Mamluks had added only muskets to their typical cavalry charge tactics.

After the departure of French troops in 1801, Mamluks continued their struggle for independence, this time against the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain. In 1803, Mamluk leaders Ibrahim Beg and Usman Beg wrote a letter to the Russian consul-general and asked him to act as a mediator with the Sultan as they wanted a cease-fire and return to their homeland, Georgia. The Russian ambassador in Istanbul categorically refused to mediate, because the Russian government was afraid of allowing Mamluks to return to Georgia, where a strong national-liberation movement was on rise and a Mamluk return might have encouraged it.

In 1805, the population of Cairo rebelled. There was an excellent opportunity for the Mamluks to seize the state authority, but their internal tension and betrayal by some Mamluks did not allow them to exploit this opportunity. In 1806, the Mamluks defeated the Turkish forces several times, and in June, the rival parties concluded a peace treaty. According to it Muhammad Ali, who was appointed as governor of Egypt on 26 March 1806, was to be removed and the state authority in Egypt returned to the Mamluks. But again, internal tension and conflicts between the clans did not allow the Mamluks to use this opportunity. Muhammad Ali kept his authority.

[edit] End of Mamluk power in Egypt

Muhammed Ali knew that eventually he would have to deal with the Mamluks if he ever wanted to control Egypt. They were still the feudal owners of Egypt and their land was still the source of wealth and power.

On March 1, 1811, Muhammed Ali invited all Mamluks to his palace to celebrate the declaration of war against the Wahhabis in Arabia. There were nearly 600 Mamluks (according to another source about 700) on parade in Cairo. Near the Al-Azab gates, in a narrow road down from Mukatam Hill, Muhammad Ali's forces ambushed and slaughtered almost every one. According to the tradition, only one Mamluk, named Hasan, survived when he cut his way through the Turks and jumped with a horse over a precipice to freedom.

Over the following week, hundreds of Mamluks were killed throughout Egypt. In the citadel of Cairo alone more than 1,000 Mamluks were killed. In the streets around Egypt, an estimated 3,000 Mamluks and their relatives were killed.

Despite these attempts by Muhammad Ali to defeat the Mamluks in Egypt, a party of them escaped and fled south into present-day Sudan. In 1811, these Mamluks established a state at Dunqulah, in the Sennar, as a base for their slave trading. In 1820, the sultan of Sennar informed Muhammad Ali that he was unable to comply with a demand to expel the Mamluks. In response, the pasha sent 4,000 troops to invade Sudan, clear it of Mamluks, and reclaim it for Egypt. The pasha's forces received the submission of the kashif, dispersed the Dunqulah Mamluks, conquered Kordofan, and accepted Sennar's surrender from the last Funj sultan, Badi VII.

[edit] Mamluks in Iraq

Main article: Mamluk rule in Iraq

The Mamluk corps were first introduced in Iraq (then under the Ottoman hegemony) by Hasan, pasha of Baghdad, in 1702. From 1747 to 1831, Iraq was ruled, with short intermissions, by the Mamluk officers of Georgian origin who succeeded in asserting autonomy from the Sublime Porte, suppressed tribal revolts, curbed the power of the Janissaries, restored order, and introduced a program of modernization of the economy and the military. In 1831, the Ottomans managed to overthrow the last Mamluk ruler, Daud Pasha, and imposed their direct control over Iraq.^[3]

[edit] Mamluks in the service of Napoleon

Napoleon formed his own Mamluk corps in the early years of the 19th century and they became the last known Mamluk force. Even his Imperial Guard had Mamluk soldiers during the Belgian campaign, including one of his personal servants. Napoleon's famous bodyguard Roustan was also a Mamluk from Egypt.

One of the pictures by Francisco de Goya shows a charge of Mamluks against the Madrilene on 2 May 1808.

Throughout the Napoleonic era, there was a special Mamluk corps in the French army. In his history of the 13th Chasseurs, Colonel Descaves recounts how Napoleon used the Mamluks in Egypt. In his so-called "Instructions" that Bonaparte gave to Kleber after departure, Napoleon wrote that he had already bought about 2,000 Mamluks from Syrian merchants from whom he intended to form a special detachment. On 14 September 1799, General Kleber established a mounted company of Mamluk auxiliaries and Syrian janissaries from Turks captured at the siege of Acre.

On 7 July 1800, General Menou reorganized the company, forming 3 companies of 100 men each and renaming it the "Mamluks de la République". In 1801, General Rapp was sent to Marseille to organize a squadron of 250 Mamluks under his command. On 7 January 1802, the previous order was canceled and the squadron reduced to 150 men. The list of effectives on 21 April 1802 reveals 3 officers and 155 members of rank and file. By decree of 25 December 1803, the Mamluks were organized into a company attached to the Chasseurs-à-Cheval of the Imperial Guard.

Mamluks fought well at Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December, 1805, and the regiment was granted a standard and a roster increased to accommodate a standard-bearer and a trumpet. A decree of 15 April 1806 defined the strength of squadron as 13 officers and 147 privates. In 1813, its Chasseurs-à-Cheval of the Imperial Guard a decree of 17 March established another company attached to the Young Guard. Despite the Imperial decree of 21 March 1815 that stated that no foreigner could be admitted into the Guard, Napoleon’s decree of 24 April prescribed inter alia that the Chasseurs-à-Cheval of the Imperial Guard included a squadron of two companies of Mamluks for the Belgian Campaign.

With the First Restoration, the company of the Mamluks of the Old Guard was incorporated in the Corps Royal des Chasseurs de France. The Mamluks of Young Guard were incorporated in the 7th Chasseurs-à-Cheval.

[edit] Mamluk uniform

During their service in Napoleon’s army, the Mamluk squadron wore the following uniform:

Before 1804: The only "uniform" part was the green cahouk (hat), white turban, and red saroual (pants), all to be worn with a loose shirt and a vest. Boots were of yellow, red, or tan soft leather. Weapons consisted of an "Oriental" scimitar, a brace of pistols in a holder decorated with a brass crescent and star, and a dagger.

After 1804: The cahouk became red with a brass crescent and star, and the shirt was closed and had a collar. The main change was the addition of a "regulation" chasseur-style saddle cloth and roll, imperial green in color, piped red, with a red and white fringe. The saddle and harness remained Arabic in style. The undress uniform was as for the Chasseurs-à-Cheval of the Guard but of a dark blue cloth.

[edit] Mamluk rulers

[edit] In Egypt

Start of Bahri Dynasty

• 1250 Shajar al-Durr (al-Salih Ayyub's Widow de facto ruler of Egypt)
• 1250 al-Muizz Izz-ad-Din Aybak
• 1257 al-Mansur Nur ad-Din Ali
• 1259 al-Muzaffar Saif ad-Din Qutuz
• 1260 al-Zahir Rukn-ad-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari
• 1277 al-Said Nasir-ad-Din Barakah Khan
• 1280 al-Adil Badr al-Din Solamish
• 1280 al-Mansur Saif-ad-Din Qalaun al-Alfi
• 1290 al-Ashraf Salah-ad-Din Khalil
• 1294 an-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun first reign
• 1295 Al-Adil Zayn-ad-Din Kitbugha
• 1297 al-Mansur Husam-ad-Din Lagin
• 1299 an-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun second reign
• 1309 al-Muzaffar Rukn-ad-Din Baybars II al-Jashankir
• 1310 an-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun third reign
• 1340 al-Mansur Saif-ad-Din Abu-Bakr
• 1341 al-Ashraf Ala-ad-Din Kajk
• 1342 an-Nasir Shihab-ad-Din Ahmad
• 1342 as-Salih Imad-ad-Din Ismail
• 1345 al-Kamil Saif ad-Din Shaban
• 1346 al-Muzaffar Zein-ad-Din Hajji
• 1347 al-Nasir Badr-ad-Din Abu al-Ma'aly al-Hassan first reign
• 1351 al-Salih Salah-ad-Din Ibn Muhammad
• 1354 al-Nasir Badr-ad-Din Abu al-Ma'aly al-Hassan second reign
• 1361 al-Mansur Salah-ad-Din Mohamed Ibn Hajji
• 1363 al-Ashraf Zein al-Din Abu al-Ma'ali ibn Shaban
• 1376 al-Mansur Ala-ad-Din Ali Ibn al-Ashraf Shaban
• 1382 al-Salih Salah Zein al-Din Hajji first reign
• End of Bahri Dynasty
• Start of Burji Dynasty
• 1382 az-Zahir Saif ad-Din Barquq (Burji dynasty)
• 1389 Hajji II second reign (with honorific title al-Muzaffar or al-Mansur)
• 1390 Az-Zahir Saif Addin Berkuk (second time)
• 1399 An-Nasir Nasir Addin Faradj
• 1405 Al-Mansour Azzaddin Abdal Aziz
• 1405 An-Nasir Nasir Addin Faradj (second time)
• 1412 Al-Adel Al-Mustayn (Abbasi Khalef, proclaimed as Sultan)
• 1412 Al-Muayad Saif Addin Shayh
• 1421 Al-Muzaffar Ahmad
• 1421 Az-Zahir Saif Addin Tatar
• 1421 As-Salih Nasir Addin Muhammad
• 1422 Al-Ashraf Saif Addin Barsbay
• 1438 Al-Aziz Djamal Addin Yusuf
• 1438 Az-Zahir Saif Addin Djakhmak
• 1453 Al-Mansour Fahr Addin Osman
• 1453 Al-Ashraf Saif Addin Enal
• 1461 Al-Muayad Shihab Addin Ahmad
• 1461 Az-Zahir Saif Addin Khushkadam
• 1467 Az-Zahir Saif Addin Belbay
• 1468 Az-Zahir Temurbougha
• 1468 Al-Ashraf Saif Addin Qaitbay
• 1496 An-Nasir Muhammad
• 1498 Az-Zahir Qanshaw
• 1500 Al-Ashraf Djanbulat
• 1501 Al-Adel Saif Addin Tumanbay I
• 1501 Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
• 1517 Al-Ashraf Tumanbay II
• End of Burji Dynasty

[edit] In India

• Qutb-ud-din Aybak (1206–1210)
• Aram Shah (1210–1211)
• Shams ud din Iltutmish (1211–1236). Son-in-law of Qutb-ud-din Aybak.
• Rukn ud din Firuz (1236). Son of Iltutmish.
• Razia Sultana (1236–1240). Daughter of Iltutmish.
• Muiz ud din Bahram (1240–1242). Son of Iltutmish.
• Ala ud din Masud (1242–1246). Son of Rukn ud din.
• Nasir ud din Mahmud (1246–1266). Son of Iltutmish.
• Ghiyas ud din Balban (1266–1286). Ex-slave, son-in-law of Iltutmish.
• Muiz ud din Qaiqabad(1286–1290). Grandson of Balban and Nasir ud din.
• Kayumars (1290). Son of Muiz ud din.

[edit] Similar terms

Mameluco is a Portuguese word derived from "mamluk" (also named Mameluco in Spanish), used to identify people of mixed European and Amerindian descent in South America. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Mameluco also referred to organized bands of Portuguese slave-hunters based at São Paulo, known primarily as bandeirantes.

Mameluk was used in Hungary in the last decades of the 19th century as a nickname for Members of Parliament belonging to the governing "Liberal" party. This party governed Hungary for 30 years (1875-1905) and its members in Parliament fulfilled all wishes of party leader and prime minister Kálmán Tisza in order to preserve their parliamentary seats and accompanying privileges.

Officers of the United States Marine Corps carry ceremonial a Mameluke Sword.

Mamluk sword used by US army in festivals

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] See also

• Black Guard
• Feudalism
• Ghulam
• Janissary
• Saqaliba
• Bahri dynasty
• Burji dynasty
• Beys Mamelukes

[edit] External links

• Mamluks — Military slave dynasty
• Arts of the Mamluks
• Mamluks — History for Kids
• The Chicago Online Bibliography of Mamluk Studies and The Chicago Online Encyclopedia of Mamluk Studies, Mamluk Studies Review, and other Mamluk Studies Resources

[edit] Further reading

• A. Allouche: Mamluk Economics : A Study and Translation of Al-Maqrizi's Ighathat. Salt Lake City, 1994
• R. Amitai-Preiss: Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War 1260-1281. Cambridge, 1995
• D. Ayalon: The Mamluk Military Society. London, 1979
• Ulrich Haarmann: Das Herrschaftssystem der Mamluken, in: Halm / Haarmann (Hrsg.): Geschichte der arabischen Welt. C.H.Beck (2004), ISBN 3-406-47486-1
• James Waterson - The Mamluks (History Today March 2006)

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