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A mamluk (Arabic: ????? (singular), ?????? (plural), "owned"; also transliterated mamluq, mameluk, mameluke, mamaluke, marmeluke or mamluke) was a slave soldier (mostly Kipchak Turks) who converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans from the 9th to the 13th centuries. While Mamluks were purchased, their status was above ordinary slaves, who were not allowed to carry weapons or perform certain tasks.
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1250 Louis IX of France is captured by Baibars' Mamluk army at the Battle of Fariskur while he is in Egypt conducting the Seventh Crusade; he later has to ransom himself.
1260 Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Mamluk sultan of Egypt, is assassinated by Baibars, who seizes power for himself.
1265 The Mamluk Bahri dynasty of Egypt captures several cities and towns from Crusader states in the Middle East, including the cities of Haifa, Arsuf, and Caesarea Palaestina; these events eventually precipitate the Eighth Crusade in 1267.
1266 The Mamluk sultan Baibars expands his domain, capturing the city of Byblos (in present-day Lebanon) and the important castle of Toron from crusader states, and defeating the Armenians at Cilicia.
1268 The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch; Baibars' destruction of the city of Antioch was so great as to permanently negate the city's importan
1270 The ancient city of Ashkelon is captured from the crusader states and utterly destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baibars, who goes so far as to fill in its important harbor, leaving the site desolate and the city never to be rebuilt.
1270 King Louis IX of France launches the Eighth Crusade in an attempt to recapture the crusader states from the Mamluk sultan Baibars; the opening engagement is a siege of Tunis.
1271 Mamluk sultan Baibars conducts an unsuccessful siege of the city of Tripoli, and also fails in an attempted naval invasion of Cyprus.
1271 Mamluk sultan Baibars continues his territorial expansion, capturing the strategically important castle Krak des Chevaliers from the Knights Hospitaller in present-day Syria.
1272 Mamluk sultan Baibars of Egypt invades the weakening kingdom of Makuria to the south.
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Encyclopedia
A mamluk (Arabic: ????? (singular), ?????? (plural), "owned"; also transliterated mamluq, mameluk, mameluke, mamaluke, marmeluke or mamluke) was a slave soldier (mostly Kipchak Turks) who converted to Islam and served the Muslim caliphs and the Ayyubid sultans from the 9th to the 13th centuries. While Mamluks were purchased, their status was above ordinary slaves, who were not allowed to carry weapons or perform certain tasks. Mamluks were considered to be “true lords,” with social status above freeborn Syrians and Egyptians. Over time, they became a powerful military caste often defeating the Crusaders. On more than one occasion, they seized power for themselves; for example, ruling Egypt in the Mamluk Dynasty from 1250–1517.
Overview
The first mamluks served the Abbasid caliphs at the end of the 9th century Baghdad. The Mamluk system was an evolution of a previous system, the Ghulam system, invented by the Caliph al-Mu'tasim, in which Turkic prisoners of war became the caliphal guard. This system ended in disaster in the 860s with the murder of four caliphs in a row, and the Mamluk system was created on its ruins. The main difference was that the Mamluks were captured as children and then trained and moulded within the Islamic world to ensure their loyalty to their masters. The Abbasids enslaved them mainly from areas near the Caucasus (mainly Circassian and Georgian), and from areas north of the Black Sea (mainly Turkic, most of whom were Kipchak Turks ). Those captured were of non-Muslim religious background.
The mamluk system gave rulers troops who had no link to any established power structure. Local non-mamluk warriors were often more loyal to their tribal sheiks, their families, or nobles than to the sultan or caliph. If a commander conspired against the ruler, it was often not possible to deal with the conspiracy without causing unrest among the nobility. The mamluk 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.
Organization
Mamluks were purchased while still young and were raised in the barracks of the Citadel of Cairo. Because of their particular status (no social ties or political affiliations) and their austere military training, they were often trusted. Their training consisted of strict religious and military education to help them become “good Muslim horsemen and fighters.” When their training was completed they were discharged, but still attached to the patron who had purchased them. Mamluks relied on the help of their patron for career advancements and likewise the patron’s reputation and power depended on his recruits. A mamluk was also “bound by a strong esprit de corps to his peers in the same household.”
Mamluks were proud of their origin as slaves and only those who were purchased were eligible to attain the highest positions. The privileges associated with being a mamluk were so desirable that many free Turks arranged themselves to be sold in order to gain access to this privileged society. Mamluks spoke Turkish and cultivated their identity by retaining a Turkish name. However despite humble origins and an exclusive attitude, mamluks were respected by their Arab subjects. They earned admiration and prestige as the “true guardians of Islam by repelling both the Crusaders and the Mongols.” Many people viewed them as a blessing from God to the Muslims.
After mamluks had converted to Islam, many were trained as cavalry soldiers. Mamluks had to follow the dictates of furusiyya, a code that included values such as courage and generosity, and also cavalry tactics, horsemanship, archery and treatment of wounds, etc.
Mamluks lived within their garrisons and mainly spent their time with each other. Their entertainments included sporting events such as archery competitions and presentations of mounted combat skills at least twice a week. The intensive and rigorous training of each new recruit helped ensure continuity of mamluk practices.
While they were no longer actually 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 Iberia.
Sultans had the largest number of mamluks, but lesser 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 such as 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.
Mamluk power in Egypt
Early Mamluk identity
The earliest introduction of Ghulams, the Turkish slave-soldiers who evolved into the Mamluk class, was during the reign of Emir Abu Ishaq al-Mu'tasim ibn Harun, who brought 3,000 captured prisoners of war to Baghdad as his personal guard. The Ghulam population expanded to as high as 8,000 or 18,000 when al-Mu'tasim advanced to Caliph.
Al-Mu'tasim's motivation for this special foreign guard was to balance power against the local Arab populace, who were not strongly in support of the Baghdad-based Caliphate. Ghulams received special treatment and privileged court positions, fueling the animosity of the local Egyptians. Rioting occurred in 836, prompting the Caliph to move his capital to Samarra; over the next few decades, the Ghulam soldier class grew in power and rebelled several times, killing four caliphs over a ten year period. Consequently, in the 870s, the Caliphate reorganized its Turkic soldier-class into the Mamluk system, preferentially importing younger Turks, who could be trained by the Caliphate, instead of career soldiers.
Move to Egypt
Ahmed ibn Tulun was a Turkish Mamluk whose father was sent as a gift to the Abbasid Caliph al-Ma'mun in (200H./815-16 A.D.). Ibn Tulun was sent to Egypt in 868 as regent governor for the Abbasids, but through diplomatic intrigue and military might, he effectively operated his Tulunid dynasty autonomously as the earliest Mamluk ruler in Egypt. The Tulunid dynasty was short-lived, and Egypt was reoccupied by Abbassid forces in the winter of 904-05.
Throughout the next centuries, Egypt was controlled by a variety of rulers, notably the Ikhshidids and Fatimids. Throughout these dynasties, thousands of Mamluk servants and guards continued to be employed, and even took high offices, including governor of Damascus. This increasing level of influence worried the Arab rulers, foreshadowing the eventual rise of a Mamluk sultan.
The origins of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt lie 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 consolidated the dynasty'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 himself 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, acting semi-autonomously as regional Atabegs, and soon involved them in the internal court politics of the kingdom itself.
In 1315 they invaded and conquered a great part of Nubia, but the power remained with a Nubian prince converted from Coptic Orthodox to Islam.
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, spurning the sultan to hang more than 50 commanders as deserters. 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. The king delayed his retreat too long and was captured by the Mamluks in March 1250, and agreed to a ransom of 400,000 livres (150,000 of which were never paid). Political pressure for a male leader made Shajar marry the mamluk commander Aybak; he was later killed in his bath, and in the power struggle that ensued 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 Bahriya or River Island regiment. The name Bahri (???? meaning "of the sea or river") referred to their center in al-Rodah Island in the Nile. The regiment consisted mainly of Kipchak Turks.
Mamluks and the Mongols
When the Mongol Empire's troops of Hulagu Khan sacked Baghdad in 1258 and advanced towards Syria, Mamluk Emir Baibars (in Turkish, Baybars) left Damascus for Cairo where he was welcomed by Sultan Qutuz . After taking Damascus, Hulagu demanded that Qutuz surrender Egypt but Qutuz had Hulagu's envoys killed and, with Baibars' help, mobilized his troops. Although Hulagu had to leave for the East when great Khan Möngke 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 (see Qutuz).
After this great triumph, Qutuz was assassinated by conspiring Mamluks. It was said that Baibars, who seized power, was involved in the assassination. In the following centuries power was often transferred this way: the average reign of a mamluk ruler was seven years.
The Mamluks defeated the Mongols a 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 attacked Acre in 1263, captured Caesaria in 1265, and massacred the inhabitants of Antioch in 1268.
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.
Burji dynasty
In 1382, the Bukri or Burji dynasty took over. Burji (???? meaning "of the tower") referred to their center in the citadel of Cairo. The dynasty consisted mainly of Circassians.
Ottomans
The Mamluk Sultanate survived until 1517, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The institution of the mamluks continued under the Ottomans, although not in the same form as under the Sultanate.
Mamluks independence from the Ottomans
In 1768, Sultan Ali Bey Al-Kabir declared independence from the Ottomans. However, the Ottomans crushed the movement and retained their position after his defeat. By this time new slave recruits were introduced from Georgia in the Caucasus.
Napoleon defeated Mamluk troops in the Battle of the Pyramids when he attacked Egypt in 1798 and drove them to Upper Egypt. The Mamluks still used their cavalry charge tactics, changed only by the addition of muskets.
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 to allow them to negotiate for a cease-fire, and a 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 the rise which might have been encouraged by a Mamluk return.
In 1805, the population of Cairo rebelled. This was an excellent opportunity for the Mamluks to seize power, but internal tension and betrayal prevented them from exploiting this opportunity. In 1806, the Mamluks defeated the Turkish forces several times, and in June the rival parties concluded a peace treaty by which Muhammad Ali, who had been appointed as governor of Egypt on 26 March 1806, was to be removed and the state authority in Egypt returned to the Mamluks. However, they were again unable to capitalize on the opportunity due to conflicts between the clans; Muhammad Ali kept his authority.
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, Muhammad Ali invited all of the leading Mamluks to his palace to celebrate the declaration of war against the Wahhabis in Arabia. Between 600 and 700 Mamluks paraded in Cairo. Near the Al-Azab gates, in a narrow road down from Mukatam Hill, Muhammad Ali's forces ambushed and killed almost all in what came to be known as the Massacre of the Citadel. According to period reports, only one Mamluk, whose name is given variously as Amim (also Amyn), or Heshjukur (a Besleney), survived when he forced his horse to leap from the walls of the citadel, killing it in the fall.
During the following week, hundreds of Mamluks were killed throughout Egypt; in the citadel of Cairo alone more than 1,000 were killed. Throughout 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 what is now 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.
Offshoots
There were various offshoots of the Mamluks.
India
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.
Iraq
The Mamluk corps were first introduced in the part of the Ottoman Empire that is now Iraq by pasha Hasan 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 Daud Pasha, the last Mamluk ruler, and imposed direct control over Iraq.
Under Napoleon
Napoleon formed his own Mamluk corps, the last known Mamluk force, in the early years of the 19th century, and used Mamluks in a number of his campaigns. Even his Imperial Guard had Mamluk soldiers during the Belgian campaign, including one of his personal servants. Napoleon's famous bodyguard Roustan was a Mamluk from Egypt.
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 the so-called "Instructions" that Bonaparte gave to Kleber after departure, Napoleon wrote that he had already bought from Syrian merchants about 2,000 Mamluks with 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. General Menou reorganized the company on 7 July 1800, 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 other ranks. By decree of 25 December 1803 the Mamluks were organized into a company attached to the Chasseurs-ŕ-Cheval of the Imperial Guard.
Mamluks fought well at the Battle of Austerlitz on 2 December, 1805, and the regiment was granted a standard and its roster increased to accommodate a standard-bearer and a trumpet. A decree of 15 April 1806 defined the strength of the squadron as 13 officers and 147 privates. A famous painting by Francisco de Goya shows a charge of Mamluks against the Madrilene on 2 May 1808.
Despite the decree of 21 March 1815 that stated that no foreigner could be admitted into the Imperial Guard, Napoleon’s decree of 24 April prescribed amongst other things that the Chasseurs-ŕ-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 the Young Guard were incorporated into the 7th Chasseurs-ŕ-Cheval.
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 (trousers), 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-ŕ-Cheval of the Guard, but of a dark blue cloth.
Mamluk rulers
In Egypt
- 1382 az-Zahir Saif ad-Din Barquq , first reign
- 1389 Hajji II second reign (with honorific title al-Muzaffar or al-Mansur) - Temporary Bahri rule
- 1390 az-Zahir Saif ad-Din Barquq, Second reign - Burji rule re-established
- 1399 An-Nasir Naseer ad-Din Faraj
- 1405 Al-Mansoor Azzaddin Abdal Aziz
- 1405 An-Nasir Naseer ad-Din Faraj (second time)
- 1412 Al-Adil Al-Musta'in (Abbasid Caliph, proclaimed as Sultan)
- 1412 Al-Muayad Sayf ad-Din Shayh
- 1421 Al-Muzaffar Ahmad
- 1421 Az-Zahir Saif ad-Din Tatar
- 1421 As-Salih Nasir ad-Din Muhammad
- 1422 Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Barsbay
- 1438 Al-Aziz Djamal ad-Din Yusuf
- 1438 Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq
- 1453 Al-Mansoor Fahr ad-Din Osman
- 1453 Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Enal
- 1461 Al-Muayad Shihab ad-Din Ahmad
- 1461 Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Khushkadam
- 1467 Az-Zahir Sayf ad-Din Belbay
- 1468 Az-Zahir Temurbougha
- 1468 Al-Ashraf Sayf ad-Din Qaitbay
- 1496 An-Nasir Muhammad
- 1498 Az-Zahir Qanshaw
- 1500 Al-Ashraf Janbulat
- 1501 Al-Adil Sayf ad-Din Tuman bay I
- 1501 Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri
- 1517 Al-Ashraf Tuman bay II
In India
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 Săo 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 a ceremonial Mameluke Sword, and Mamluke swords are used by US army in festivals.
Mamluk office titles and terminology
The following terms originally come from either Turkish or Ottoman Language (it is developed form of Turkish) that is comprised of Turkish, Arabic, and Persian words and grammar structures. The "English" indicates its written form in English.
| English | Arabic | Notes |
|---|
| Alama Sultaniya | ????? ??????? | The mark or signature of the Sultan put on his decrees, letters and documents. | | Al-Nafir al-Am | ?????? ????? | General emergency declared during war | | Amir | ???? | Prince | | Amir Akhur | ???? ???? | supervisor of the royal stable (from Persian ???? meaning stable) | | Amir Majlis | ???? ???? | Guard of Sultan's seat and bed | | Atabek | ????? | Commander in chief | |
| Astadar | ??????? | Chief of the royal servants | | Barid Jawi | ???? ??? | Airmail (mail sent by carrier-pigeons, amplified by Sultan Baibars) | | Bayt al-Mal | ??? ????? | treasury | | Dwadar | ?????? | Holder of Sultan's ink bottle (from Persian ???????? meaning bearer of the ink bottle) | | Fondok | ???? | Hotel (some famous hotels in Cairo during the Mamluk era were Dar al-Tofah, Fondok Bilal and Fondok al-Salih) | | Hajib | ???? | Doorkeeper of sultan's court | | Iqta | ????? | Revenue from land allotment | | Jamkiya | ?????? | Salary paid to a Mamluk | | Jashnakir | ??????? | Food taster of the sultan (to assure food was not poisoned) | | Jomdar | ????? | An official at the department of the Sultan's clothing (from Persian ???????? meaning keeper of cloths) | | Kafel al-mamalek al-sharifah al-islamiya al-amir al-amri | ???? ??????? ??????? ????????????????????? | Title of the Vice-sultan (The guardian of the dignified Islamic kingdoms the commanding prince) | | Khan | ??? | A store that specialized in selling a certain commodity | | Khaskiya | ?????? | Courtiers of the sultan and most trusted royal mamluks who functioned as the Sultan's bodyguards/ A privileged group around a prominent Amir (from Arabi/Persian ??????? meaning close associates) | | Khond | ??? | Wife of the sultan | | Khushdashiya | ??????? | Mamluks belonging to the same Amir or Sultan. | | Mahkamat al-Mazalim | ????? ??????? | Court of complaint. A court that heard cases of complaints of people against state officials. This court was headed by the sultan himself. | | Mamalik Kitabeya | ?????? ?????? | Mamluks still attending training classes and who still live at the Tebaq (campus) | | Mamalik Sultaneya | ?????? ??????? | Mamluks of the sultan;to distinguish from the Mamluks of the Amirs (princes) | | Modwarat al-Sultan | ????? ??????? | Sultan's tent which he used during travel. | | Mohtaseb | ????? | Controller of markets, public works and local affairs. | | Morqadar | ?????? | Works in the Royal Kitchen (from Persian ??????? meaning one responsible for the fowl) | | Mushrif | ???? | Supervisor of the Royal Kitchen | | Na'ib Al-Sultan | ???? ??????? | Vice-sultan | | Qa'at al-insha'a | ???? ??????? | Chancery hall | | Qadi al-Qoda | ???? ?????? | Chief justice | | Qalat al-Jabal | ???? ????? | Citadel of the Mountain (the abode and court of the sultan in Cairo) | | Qaranisa | ?????? | Mamluks who moved to the service of a new Sultan or from the service of an Amir to a sultan. | | Qussad | ???? | Secret couriers and agents who kept the sultan informed | | Ostaz | ????? | Benefactor of Mamluks (the Sultan or the Emir) (from Persian ?????) | | Rank | ??? | An emblem that distinguished the rank and position of a Mamluk (probably from Persian ??? meaning color) | | Sanjaqi | ?????? | A standard-bearer of the Sultan. | | Sharabkhana | ???????? | Storehouse for drinks, medicines and glass-wares of the sultan. (from Persian ????????? meaning wine cellar) | | Silihdar | ?????? | Arm-Bearer (from Arabic/Persian ???????? meaning arm-bearer) | | Tashrif | ????? | Head-covering worn by a Mamluk during the ceremony of inauguration to the position of Amir. | | Tawashi | ????? | A Eunuch responsible for serving the wives of the sultan and supervising new Mamluks. | | Tebaq | ???? | Campus of the Mamluks at the citadel of the mountain | | Tishtkhana | ??????? | Storehouse used for the laundry of the sultan (from Persian ???????? meaning tub room) | | Wali | ???? | viceroy | | Yook | ??? | A large linen closet used in every mamluk home |
See also
Footnotes
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
- E. de la Vaissičre, Samarcande et Samarra. Elites d'Asie centrale dans l'empire abbasside, Peeters, 2007
- James Waterson - The Mamluks (History Today March 2006)
External links
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