State of the Turks | |||||||||
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1250–1382 | |||||||||
Flags according to the Catalan Atlas of c. 1375 | |||||||||
Personal insignia of Baybars from 1260 | |||||||||
![]() The Mamluk Sultanate circa 1317 AD | |||||||||
Status | Sultanate under the Abbasid Caliphate | ||||||||
Capital | Cairo | ||||||||
Religion | Sunni Islam | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
• Established | 1250 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1382 | ||||||||
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The Bahri Mamluks (Arabic : المماليك البحرية, romanized: al-Mamalik al-Baḥariyya), sometimes referred to as the Bahri dynasty, [1] [2] were the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1250 to 1382, following the Ayyubid dynasty. The members of the Mamluk ruling class were purchased as slaves (mamluks) and manumitted, with the most powerful among them taking the role of sultan in Cairo. [3] While several Bahri Mamluk sultans tried to establish hereditary dynasties through their sons, these attempts were ultimately unsuccessful, with the role of sultan often passing on to another powerful Mamluk. [3]
The Bahri Mamluks were of mostly Kipchak Turkic origin. [3] [4] Fourteen of eighteen sultans between 1279 and 1390 belonged to the Qalawunid lineage. [5] After 1382/1390, they were succeeded by a second Mamluk regime, the Burji Mamluks, who were largely of Circassian origin. [6] The name Bahri or Bahriyya means 'of the river', referring to the location of their original barracks on Roda Island in the Nile (Nahr al-Nil) in Cairo, [a] at the citadel of Al-Rodah which was built by the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub. [8] [b]
The Mamluks formed one of the most powerful and wealthiest empires of the time, lasting from 1250 to 1517 in Egypt, North Africa, and the Levant—Near East.
In 1250, when the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub died, the Mamluks he had owned as slaves murdered his son and heir al-Muazzam Turanshah, and Shajar al-Durr the widow of as-Salih became the Sultana of Egypt. She married the Atabeg (commander in chief) Emir Aybak and abdicated, Aybak becoming Sultan. He ruled from 1250 to 1257. [11] [c]
The Mamluks consolidated their power in ten years and eventually established the Bahri dynasty. They were indirectly helped by the Mongols' sack of Baghdad in 1258, which effectively destroyed the Abbasid caliphate. Cairo became more prominent as a result and remained a Mamluk capital thereafter.[ citation needed ]
The Mamluks were powerful cavalry warriors mixing the practices of the Turkic steppe peoples from which they were drawn and the organizational and technological sophistication and horsemanship of the Arabs. In 1260 the Mamluks defeated a Mongol army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in present-day Israel and eventually forced the invaders to retreat to the area of modern-day Iraq. [14] The defeat of the Mongols at the hands of the Mamluks enhanced the position of the Mamluks in the southern Mediterranean basin. [15] [d] Baibars, one of the leaders at the battle, became the new Sultan after the assassination of Sultan Qutuz on the way home. [17] [e]
In 1250 Baibars was one of the Mamluk commanders who defended Mansurah against the Crusade knights of Louis IX of France, who was later definitely defeated, captured in the Battle of Fariskur and ransomed. Baibars had also taken part in the Mamluk takeover of Egypt. In 1261, after he became a Sultan, he established a puppet Abbasid caliphate in Cairo, [f] and the Mamluks fought the remnants of the Crusader states in Palestine until they finally captured Acre in 1291. [g]
Many Tatars settled in Egypt and were employed by Baibars. [h] [21] He defeated the Mongols at the battle of Elbistan [22] and sent the Abbasid Caliph with only 250 men to attempt to retake Baghdad, but was unsuccessful. In 1266 he devastated Cilician Armenia and in 1268 he recaptured Antioch from the Crusaders. [23] [i] In addition, he fought the Seljuks, [j] and Hashshashin; he also extended Muslim power into Nubia [21] for the first time, before his death in 1277.
Sultan Qalawun defeated a rebellion in Syria that was led by Sunqur al-Ashqar in 1280, [25] [k] and also defeated another Mongol invasion in 1281 that was led by Abaqa outside Homs. [27] After the Mongol threat passed he recaptured Tripoli from the Crusaders in 1289. [28] His son Khalil captured Acre, the last Crusader city, in 1291. [29]
The Mongols renewed their invasion in 1299, [30] but were again defeated in 1303 in the Battle of Shaqhab. [31] The Egyptian Mamluk Sultans entered into relations with the Golden Horde who converted to Islam [l] and established a peace pact with the Mongols [33] in 1322.
Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad married a Mongol princess in 1319. His diplomatic relations were more extensive than those of any previous Sultan, and included Bulgarian, Indian, and Abyssinian potentates, as well as the pope, the king of Aragon and the king of France. [34] Al-Nasir Muhammad organized the re-digging of a canal in 1311 which connected Alexandria with the Nile. [33] He died in 1341.
The constant changes of sultans that followed led to great disorder in the provinces. Meanwhile, in 1349 Egypt and the Levant in general were introduced to Black Death, which is said to have killed many inhabitants. [35] [m]
In 1382 the last Bahri Sultan Hajji II was dethroned and the Sultanate was taken over by the Circassian Emir Barquq. He was expelled in 1389 but returned to power in 1390, setting up an era where the sultanate was controlled by the Burji Mamluks. [36]
On a general level, the military during the Bahri dynasty can be divided into several aspects:
Regnal name(s) | Personal name | Reign |
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al-Malikah Ismat ad-Din Umm-Khalil الملکہ عصمہ الدین أم خلیل | Shajar al-Durr شجر الدر | 1250–1250 |
al-Malik al-Mu'izz Izz al-Din Aybak al-Jawshangir al-Turkmani al-Salihi الملک المعز عز الدین أیبک الترکمانی الجاشنکیر الصالحی | Izz-ad-Din Aybak عز الدین أیبک | 1250–1257 |
Sultan Al-Ashraf سلطان الاشرف | Muzaffar-ad-Din Musa مظفر الدین موسی | 1250–1252 [n] |
Sultan Al-Mansur سلطان المنصور | Nur ad-Din Ali نور الدین علی | 1257–1259 |
Sultan Al-Muzaffar سلطان المظفر | Sayf ad-Din Qutuz سیف الدین قطز | 1259–1260 |
Sultan Abul-Futuh – سلطان ابو الفتوح Al-Zahir - الظاہر Al-Bunduqdari - البندقداری | Rukn-ad-Din Baibars I رکن الدین بیبرس | 1260–1277 |
Sultan Al-Sa'id Nasir-ad-Din سلطان السعید ناصر الدین | Muhammad Barakah Khan محمد برکہ خان | 1277–1279 |
Sultan Al-Adil سلطان العادل | Badr-al-Din Solamish بدر الدین سُلامش | 1279 |
Al-Mansur – المنصور Al-Alfi - الالفی As-Salehi - الصالحی | Sayf-ad-Din Qalawun سیف الدین قلاوون | 1279–1290 |
Sultan Al-Ashraf سلطان الاشرف | Salah-ad-Din Khalil صلاح الدین خلیل | 1290–1293 |
Al-Nasir الناصر | Nasir-ad-Din Muhammad ناصر الدین محمد | 1293–1294 (first reign) |
Al-Adil Al-Turki Al-Mughli العادل الترکی المغلی | Zayn-ad-Din Kitbugha زین الدین کتبغا | 1294–1297 |
Al-Mansur المنصور | Husam-ad-Din Lachin حسام الدین لاچین | 1297–1299 |
Al-Nasir الناصر | Nasir-ad-Din Muhammad ناصر الدین محمد | 1299–1309 (Second reign) |
Sultan Al-Muzaffar Al-Jashankir سلطان المظفرالجاشنکیر | Rukn-ad-Din Baibars II رکن الدین بیبرس | 1309 |
Al-Nasir الناصر | Nasir-ad-Din Muhammad ناصر الدین محمد | 1309–1340 (Third reign) |
Al-Mansur المنصور | Sayf-ad-Din Abu-Bakr سیف الدین أبو بکر | 1340–1341 |
Al-Ashraf الأشرف | Ala-ad-Din Kujuk علاء الدین کجک | 1341–1342 |
Sultan Al-Nasir سلطان الناصر | Shihab-ad-Din Ahmad شھاب الدین أحمد | 1342 |
Sultan As-Saleh سلطان الصالح | Imad-ad-Din Ismail عماد الدین إسماعیل | 1342–1345 |
Sultan Al-Kamil سلطان الکامل | Sayf-ad-Din Shaban I سیف الدین شعبان اول | 1345–1346 |
Sultan Al-Muzaffar سلطان المظفر | Sayf-ad-Din Hajji I سیف الدین حاجی اول | 1346–1347 |
Al-Nasir Abu Al-Ma'ali الناصر أبو المعالی | Badr-ad-Din Al-Hasan بدر الدین الحسن | 1347–1351 (first reign) |
Sultan As-Saleh سلطان الصالح | Salah-ad-Din bin Muhammad صلاح الدین بن محمد | 1351–1354 |
Al-Nasir Abu Al-Ma'ali Nasir-ad-Din الناصر أبو المعالی ناصر الدین | Badr-ad-Din Al-Hasan بدر الدین الحسن | 1354–1361 (second reign) |
Al-Mansur المنصور | Salah-ad-Din Muhammad صلاح الدین محمد | 1361–1363 |
Al-Ashraf Abu Al-Ma'ali الأشرف أبو المعالی | Zayn-ad-Din Shaban II زین الدین شعبان ثانی | 1363–1376 |
Al-Mansur المنصور | Ala-ad-Din Ali علاء الدین علی | 1376–1382 |
Sultan As-Saleh سلطان الصالح | Salah-ad-Din Hajji II صلاح الدین حاجی ثانی | 1382 (first reign) |
Al-Zahir الظاہر | Sayf-ad-Din Barquq سیف الدین برقوق | 1382–1389 [o] |
Sultan As-Saleh سلطان الصالح المظفر المنصور | Salah-ad-Din Hajji II صلاح الدین حاجی ثانی | 1389 (second reign) |
Following As-Saleh, the Burji dynasty took over the Mamluk Sultanate under Sayf-ad-Din Barquq in 1389–90 C.E.
History of the Turkic peoples pre–14th century |
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Mamluk or Mamaluk were non-Arab, ethnically diverse enslaved mercenaries, slave-soldiers, and freed slaves who were assigned high-ranking military and administrative duties, serving the ruling Arab and Ottoman dynasties in the Muslim world.
Baybars al-Jashankir or Baybars II, royal name al-Malik al-Muzaffar Rukn ad-Din Baybars aj-Jashankir al-Mansuri, also known as Abu al-Fath (أبوالفتح), was the 12th Mamluk sultan of Egypt in 1309–1310.
Qalāwūn aṣ-Ṣāliḥī was the seventh Turkic Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt; he ruled from 1279 to 1290. He was called al-Manṣūr Qalāwūn. After having risen in power in the Mamluk court and elite circles, Qalawun eventually held the title of "the victorious king" and gained de facto authority over the sultanate. He is the founder of the Qalawunid dynasty that ruled Egypt for over a century.
Abu Ahmad Abdallah ibn al-Mustansir bi'llah, better known by his regnal title Al-Mustaʿṣim bi-llāh, was the 37th and last caliph from the Abbasid dynasty ruling from Baghdad. He held the title from 1242 until his death in 1258.
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.
Al-Malik Al-Ashraf Salāh ad-Dīn Khalil ibn Qalawūn was the eighth Turkic Bahri Mamluk sultan, succeeding his father Qalawun. He served from 12 November 1290 until his assassination in December 1293. He was well known for conquering the last of the Crusader states in Palestine after the siege of Acre in 1291. While walking with a friend, Khalil was attacked and assassinated by Baydara and his followers, who was then killed under the orders of Kitbugha.
Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun, commonly known as an-Nasir Muhammad, or by his kunya: Abu al-Ma'ali or as Ibn Qalawun (1285–1341) was the ninth Mamluk sultan of the Bahri dynasty who ruled Egypt between 1293–1294, 1299–1309, and 1310 until his death in 1341. During his first reign he was dominated by Kitbugha and al-Shuja‘i, while during his second reign he was dominated by Baibars and Salar. Not wanting to be dominated or deprived of his full rights as a sultan by his third reign, an-Nasir executed Baibars and accepted the resignation of Salar as vice Sultan.
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.
Shajar al-Durr, also Shajarat al-Durr, whose royal name was al-Malika ʿAṣmat ad-Dīn ʾUmm-Khalīl Shajar ad-Durr, was a ruler of Egypt. She was the wife of As-Salih Ayyub, and later of Izz al-Din Aybak, the first sultan of the Mamluk Bahri dynasty. Prior to becoming Ayyub's wife, she was a child slave and Ayyub's concubine.
The Battle of Fariskur was the last major battle of the Seventh Crusade. The battle was fought on 6 April 1250, between the Crusaders led by King Louis IX of France and Egyptian forces led by Turanshah of the Ayyubid dynasty.
Pope Athanasius III of Alexandria, 76th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark.
The Battle of Mansurah was fought from 8 to 11 February 1250, between Crusaders led by Louis IX, King of France, and Ayyubid forces led by Sultana Shajar al-Durr, vizier Fakhr ad-Din ibn as-Shaikh, Faris ad-Din Aktai, Baibars al-Bunduqdari and Qutuz. It was fought in present-day Mansoura, Egypt. The Crusader force was enticed into entering the town where it was set upon by the Muslim force. The Crusaders withdrew in disorder to their encampment where they were besieged by the Muslims. The Crusaders broke-out and withdrew to Damietta in early April.
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.
Kitbugha, royal name: al-Malik al-Adil Zayn-ad-Din Kitbugha Ben Abd-Allah al-Mansuri al-Turki al-Mughli; Arabic: الملك العادل زين الدين كتبغا بن عبد الله المنصورى التركى المغلى) was the 10th Mamluk sultan of Egypt from December 1294 to November 1296.
The Mamluk Sultanate, also known as MamlukEgypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks headed by a sultan. The sultanate was established with the overthrow of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt in 1250 and was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. 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.
Kafartab was a town and fortress in northwestern Syria that existed during the medieval period between the fortress cities of Maarat al-Numan in the north and Shaizar to the south. It was situated along the southeastern slopes of Jabal al-Zawiya. According to French geographer Robert Boulanger, writing in the early 1940s, Kafartab was "an abandoned ancient site" located 2.5 mi (4.0 km) northwest of Khan Shaykhun.
Sharaf ad-Din Isa ibn Muhanna at-Ta'i, better known as Isa ibn Muhanna, was an Arab emir (commander/prince) of the Al Fadl, a Bedouin dynasty that dominated the Syrian Desert and steppe during the 13th–15th centuries. He was appointed amir al-ʿarab by the Mamluks after their conquest of Syria in 1260. Isa's father served the same post under the Ayyubids. His assignment gave him command over the nomadic Arab tribes of Syria and obliged him to provide auxiliary troops in times of war and guard the desert frontier from the Mongol Ilkhanate in Iraq. As part of his emirate, he was granted Salamiyah and Sarmin. He participated in numerous campaigns against the Mongol Ilkhanate on behalf of the Mamluks during Sultan Baybars' reign (1260–1277).
Shams al-Din Sunqur al-Ashqar al-Salihi was the Mamluk viceroy of Damascus in 1279–1280, who attempted to rule Syria independently, in a rebellion against the Egypt-based sultan Qalawun. While the rebellion in Damascus was quashed in 1280, Sunqur ensconced himself in the Sahyun Castle in the coastal mountains of northern Syria. He joined Qalawun in the successful defense of Syria against the Ilkhanid Mongols at the Battle of Homs in 1281. He remained in a state of peaceful relations with the sultan, despite ruling his coastal principality independently.