Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt
Syria, 1250–1517. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Mamluk Sultanate was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks (freed slave soldiers) headed by a sultan. The Mamluks under Sultan Qutuz and Baybars routed the Mongols in 1260, halting their southward expansion. The sultanate was established with the overthrow of the Ayyubid dynasty in Egypt in 1250 and was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517.
Seat of power: Cairo
Rulers
Al-Ashraf
Sultan of Egypt, 1250–1254
He was the last, albeit titular, Ayyubid Sultan of Egypt as the puppet of Izz ad-Din Aybak.
Portrait of Al-Ashraf: Vladimir Suchy (uploader on Zeno.ru), Attribution, file
Aybak
Sultan of Egypt, 1254–1257
He was the first of the Mamluk sultans of Egypt in the Turkic Bahri line and ruled from 1250 until his death in 1257.
Al-Mansur Ali
Sultan of Egypt, 1257–1259
He was the second of the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt in the Turkic, or Bahri, line. He ruled from 1257 to 1259 after the assassination of his father Aybak during a turbulent period that witnessed the Mongols invasion of the Islamic world.
Portrait of Al-Mansur Ali: American Numismatic Society, CC0, file
Baibars
Sultan of Egypt, 1260–1277
He was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, ruling from 1260 to 1277. He is noted for leading the vanguard of the Mamluk army that inflicted the first substantial defeat of the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut, as well as his successful campaigns against the Crusaders.
Portrait of Baibars: 14th century artist, Public domain, file
Qalawun
Sultan of Egypt, 1279–1290
He was the seventh Turkic Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt, who ruled from 1279 to 1290. He would then wage war against the Crusaders, capturing lands held by the County of Tripoli, and later totally defeating them in 1289.
Portrait of Qalawun: Ahmed zakaria 2025, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Al-Ashraf Khalil
Sultan of Egypt, 1290–1293
He was well known for conquering the last of the Crusader states in Palestine after the siege of Acre in 1291. He served from 12 November 1290 until his assassination in December 1293.
Portrait of Al-Ashraf Khalil: Stanley Lane Poole (original image uploaded to commons by Nettadi, cropped by Al Ameer son), Public domain, file
Lajin
Sultan of Egypt, 1296–1299
Lajin was a Mamluk sultan of Egypt from 1296 to 1299. Lajin was initially a mamluk of Al-Mansur Ali, then he was bought by Al-Mansur Qalawun.
Al-Nasir Muhammad
Sultan of Egypt, 1299–1341
He ruled Egypt between 1293-1294, 1299-1309, and 1310 until his death in 1341. He annulled taxes and surcharges imposed on commoners for the benefit of the emirs and officials.
Portrait of Al-Nasir Muhammad: 14th century authors, Public domain, file
Al-Salih Ismail
Sultan of Egypt, 1342–1345
He was the Bahri Mamluk sultan of Egypt between June 1342 and August 1345. His reign saw a level of political stability return to the sultanate.
An-Nàssir Hàssan
Sultan of Egypt, 1347–1351
During his first reign, which he began at age 12, senior Mamluk emirs formerly belonging to al-Nasir Muhammad dominated his administration, while al-Nasir Hasan played a ceremonial role. He was toppled in 1351 when he attempted to assert executive authority to the chagrin of the senior emirs.
Al-Salih Salih
Sultan of Egypt, 1351–1354
He was largely a figurehead, with real power held by the senior Mamluk emirs, most prominently Emir Taz an-Nasiri.
Portrait of Al-Salih Salih: American Numismatic Society, CC0, file
An-Nàssir Hàssan
Sultan of Egypt, 1355–1361
He was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt, the seventh son of al-Nasir Muhammad to hold office. He was reinstated three years later during a coup against his brother Sultan al-Salih Salih by emirs Shaykhu and Sirghitmish.
Al-Ashraf Sha'ban
Sultan of Egypt, 1363–1377
He was a Turk Mamluk sultan of the Bahri dynasty in 1363-1377. He was a grandson of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad.
Portrait of Al-Ashraf Sha'ban: PHGCOM, Public domain, file
Al-Mansur Alà-ad-Din Alí
Sultan of Egypt, 1377–1381
He was installed to the throne while a child by the senior Mamluk emirs after they had rebelled against and killed al-Mansur Ali's father, Sultan al-Ashraf Sha'ban. Al-Mansur Ali was a figurehead, with real power being held by the senior emirs, most prominently Barquq.
Portrait of Al-Mansur Alà-ad-Din Alí: Jean-Michel Moullec from Vern sur Seiche (35, Bretagne), France, CC BY 2.0, file
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Nasir-ad-Din Faraj
Sultan of Egypt, 1399–1412
He was only 13 years old when he became the sultan on the sudden death of his father Sayf-ad-Din Barquq. His reign was marked by anarchy, pandemonium and chaos with the Timur's invasions, including the sack of Aleppo and Damascus in 1400, incessant rebellions in Cairo, endless conflicts with the Emirs of Syria, along with plague and famine which reduced the population of the kingdom to one-third.
Portrait of Nasir-ad-Din Faraj: Hatem Moushir, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Culture
- Mamluk history is generally divided into the Turkic or Bahri period (1250-1382) and the Circassian or Burji period (1382-1517), named after the predominant ethnicity or corps of the ruling Mamluks during these respective eras.
- Baybars also reestablished the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs in Cairo, though their role was ceremonial.
- By the end of the 13th century, the Mamluks had conquered the Crusader states, expanded into Makuria (Nubia), Cyrenaica, the Hejaz, and southern Anatolia.
Picture
The Citadel of Damascus is an Ayyubid-era medieval fortified palace and citadel in Damascus, Syria, and is part of the Ancient City of Damascus, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
Image: Mewes at German Wikipedia, Public domain, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.