The Ayyubid dynasty, also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni Muslim of Kurdish origin, Saladin had originally served the Zengid ruler Nur ad-Din, leading Nur ad-Din's army in battle against the Crusaders in Fatimid Egypt, where he was made Vizier. Following Nur ad-Din's death, Saladin was proclaimed as the first Sultan of Egypt by the Abbasid Caliphate, and rapidly expanded the new sultanate beyond the frontiers of Egypt to encompass most of the Levant, in addition to Hijaz, Yemen, northern Nubia, Tarabulus, Cyrenaica, southern Anatolia, and northern Iraq, the homeland of his Kurdish family. By virtue of his sultanate including Hijaz, the location of the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina, he was the first ruler to be hailed as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a title that would be held by all subsequent sultans of Egypt until the Ottoman conquest of 1517. Saladin's military campaigns in the first decade of his rule, aimed at uniting the various Arab and Muslim states in the region against the Crusaders, set the general borders and sphere of influence of the sultanate of Egypt for the almost three and a half centuries of its existence. Most of the Crusader states, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem, fell to Saladin after his victory at the Battle of Hattin in 1187. However, the Crusaders reconquered the coast of Palestine in the 1190s.
Sultan Abu Al-Nasr Sayf ad-Din Al-Ashraf Qaitbay was the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt from 872 to 901 A.H.. He was Circassian by birth, and was purchased by the ninth sultan Barsbay before being freed by the eleventh Sultan Jaqmaq. During his reign, he stabilized the Mamluk state and economy, consolidated the northern boundaries of the Sultanate with the Ottoman Empire, engaged in trade with other contemporaneous polities, and emerged as a great patron of art and architecture. In fact, although Qaitbay fought sixteen military campaigns, he is best remembered for the spectacular building projects that he sponsored, leaving his mark as an architectural patron on Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, Alexandria, and every quarter of Cairo.
The Burji Mamluks or Circassian Mamluks, sometimes referred to as the Burji dynasty, were the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1382 until 1517. As with the preceding Bahri Mamluks, the members of the Burji Mamluk ruling class were purchased as slaves (mamluks) and manumitted, with the most powerful among them taking the role of sultan in Cairo. During this period, the ruling Mamluks were generally of Circassian origin, drawn from the Christian population of the northern Caucasus. The name Burji, meaning 'of the tower', refers to the traditional residence of these Mamluks in the barracks of the Citadel of Cairo.
Sayf al-Din Qutuz, also romanized as Kutuz or Kotuz and fully al-Malik al-Muẓaffar Sayf ad-Dīn Quṭuz, was the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He reigned as Sultan for less than a year, from 1259 until his assassination in 1260, but served as the de facto ruler for two decades.
Izz al-Din Aybak was the first of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt in the Turkic Bahri line. He ruled from 1250 until his death in 1257.
Starting in the 1240s, the Mongols made repeated invasions of Syria or attempts thereof. Most failed, but they did have some success in 1260 and 1300, capturing Aleppo and Damascus and destroying the Ayyubid dynasty. The Mongols were forced to retreat within months each time by other forces in the area, primarily the Egyptian Mamluks. The post-1260 conflict has been described as the Mamluk–Ilkhanid War.
Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari, commonly known as Baibars or Baybars and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh, was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Bahri dynasty, succeeding Qutuz. He was one of the commanders of the Egyptian forces that inflicted a defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France. He also led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked the first substantial defeat of the Mongol army and is considered a turning point in history.
An-Nasir Yusuf, fully al-Malik al-Nasir Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn al-Aziz ibn al-Zahir ibn Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shazy, was the Ayyubid Kurdish Emir of Syria from his seat in Aleppo (1236–1260), and the Sultan of the Ayyubid Empire from 1250 until the sack of Aleppo by the Mongols in 1260.
The Battle of Marj al-Saffar, also known as the Battle of Shaqhab, took place on April 20 through April 22, 1303 between the Mamluks and the Mongols and their Armenian allies near Kiswe, Syria, just south of Damascus. The battle has been influential in both Islamic history and contemporary time because of the controversial jihad against other Muslims and Ramadan related fatwas issued by Ibn Taymiyyah, who himself joined the battle. The battle, a disastrous defeat for the Mongols, put an end to Mongol invasions of the Levant.
The Battle of Marj Dābiq, a decisive military engagement in Middle Eastern history, was fought on 24 August 1516, near the town of Dabiq, 44 km north of Aleppo. The battle was part of the 1516–17 war between the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk Sultanate, which ended in an Ottoman victory and conquest of much of the Middle East and brought about the destruction of the Mamluk Sultanate. The Ottoman victory in the battle gave Selim's armies control of the entire region of Syria and opened the door to the conquest of Egypt.
Shahsuwaroghlu Ali Beg was the ruler of Dulkadir from 13 June 1515 until his death. Ali was the son of Shah Suwar, one of the previous Begs of Dulkadir. Following his father's execution by the Mamluk Sultanate, Ali fled to the Ottoman Empire, where he served in several positions, administering parts of the country and leading the Ottoman army during their fight against Safavid Iran, specifically the Battle of Chaldiran. When Ali's uncle and the ruler of Dulkadir, Ala al-Dawla Bozkurt, was involved in a conflict with the Ottoman state, the latter chose Ali as their puppet to replace Bozkurt, who sided with the Mamluk Sultanate. On 13 June 1515, Bozkurt was killed, and Ali rose to the Dulkadirid throne.
The Ottoman–Mamluk War of 1485–1491, took place when the Ottoman Sultanate invaded the Mamluk Sultanate's territories of Anatolia and Syria. This war was an essential event in the Ottoman struggle for the domination of the Middle-East. After multiple encounters, the war ended in a stalemate and a peace treaty was signed in 1491, restoring the status quo ante bellum. It lasted until the Ottomans and the Mamluks again went to war in 1516–17; in that war the Ottomans defeated and conquered the Mamluks.
Janbirdi al-Ghazali was the first governor of Damascus Province under the Ottoman Empire from February 1519 until his death in February 1521.
Ala al-Dawla Bozkurt Beg was the ruler of Dulkadir from late 1480 until his death. Championed by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, Bozkurt ousted his brother Shah Budak and claimed the throne. Early into his reign, Bozkurt assisted Mehmed's successor Bayezid II in pursuing his claimant brother Cem Sultan, who was harbored by the Mamluk Sultanate. In response, Bozkurt besieged Malatya, which prompted the Mamluks to initiate an offensive against him and the Ottomans. During the conflict, Bozkurt steered away from sending his support to the Ottomans, which contributed to their defeat by the Mamluks.
Shah Budak was Beg of Dulkadir from October 1465 to April 1466 and 4 June 1472 to 1480. During the reign of his brother, Malik Arslan, Shah Budak took refuge in Mamluk Egypt. He took advantage of the discord between Malik Arslan and the Mamluks by provoking the Mamluk sultan to commission his brother's assassination. Malik Arslan was killed in October 1465, and Shah Budak rose to the throne afterwards. However, before the Mamluk forces could come to his aid, he was defeated by his other brother, Shah Suwar, who was backed by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II. Shah Suwar was engaged in continuous warfare against the Mamluk Sultanate, whereas Shah Budak took sides with the latter. Shah Suwar was caught by the Mamluk forces on 4 June 1472.
The siege of Damascus was a major event in 1400–01 during the war between the Timurid Empire and Mamluk Egypt.
Nasir al-Din Mehmed Beg was the ruler of Dulkadir, a state in southern Anatolia, from 1399 until his death. After his father, Ghars al-Din Khalil, died, Mehmed repudiated the reign of his uncle, Shaban Suli and clashed with him on several occasions, relying on the support of the Mamluk Sultanate that ruled Egypt and Syria. Following Suli's murder, his son, Sadaqa, rose to the throne. Mehmed succeeded in claiming power shortly after with the intervention of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I. During the Ottoman Interregnum (1402–13), Mehmed supported Bayezid's son Mehmed Chelebi, who became the new sultan. While Nasir al-Din Mehmed was involved in sporadic skirmishes with the Mamluks, he enjoyed peace with them towards the end of his reign, marrying his daughter to the Mamluk Sultan Jaqmaq and commissioning the construction of madrasas and other buildings in Mamluk-controlled regions, such as Jerusalem.
Shah Suwar was the ruler of Dulkadir from April 1466 to 4 June 1472. Upon the assassination of his brother, Malik Arslan, he competed for the throne against his other brother Shah Budak, who took over with the support of the Mamluk Sultanate. Shah Suwar was welcomed by the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, who appointed him to a number of positions in his realm. Six months into Shah Budak's reign, Shah Suwar defeated him and instead became the new ruler in April 1466. The Mamluks fiercely disputed Shah Suwar's reign. The Sultans Khushqadam and Qaitbay launched multiple consecutive campaigns to subdue him. Shah Suwar initially triumphed over the Mamluks and expanded his territory, occupying the entirety of the Ramadanid realm.
Sarim al-Din Ibrahim I was Beg of Ramadan by June 1354 to 1383. Following his father Ramadan's death, Ibrahim arrived in Damascus and honored the Mamluk Sultan, securing the regional authority the Mamluks had granted Ramadan. Soon after, Ibrahim allied himself with Ghars al-Din Khalil, the ruler of the Dulkadirids, in an attempt to seize Sis. The Mamluk governor of Aleppo was assigned to deal with Ibrahim but was defeated by other local lords. The Mamluks recognized Ibrahim's authority in 1381 and granted him the title na'ib (viceroy) of Adana two years later. Ibrahim made a new attempt to realize his ambition to capture Sis. This restored the state of war between the Ramadanids and the Mamluk Sultanate. After fleeing from the Mamluks for some time, Ibrahim was caught by the Mamluk na'ib of Sis. Ibrahim was executed in the town of Sis. He was succeeded by his brother Ahmed.
The history of the Mamluk Sultanate, an empire based in Egypt and Syria, spans the period between the mid-13th century, with the overthrow of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt, and 1517, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Mamluk history is generally divided into the Turkic or Bahri period (1250–1382) and the Circassian or Burji period (1382–1517), called after the predominant ethnicity or corps of the ruling Mamluks during these respective eras.
