mamluk sultanate interactions with the environment

The Mamluk Sultanate (Arabic: , romanized:Salanat al-Mamlk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries. The Mamluks were distinctly Islamic, but many Christians and Jews lived within their Sultanate. [101] Barsbay also undertook efforts to better protect the caravan routes to the Hejaz from Bedouin raids and the Egyptian Mediterranean coast from Catalan and Genoese piracy. [215], After the Ottoman conquest of 1517, new Ottoman-style buildings were introduced, however the Mamluk style continued to be repeated or combined with Ottoman elements in many subsequent monuments. In the ensuing half-hour clash, Baybars's men feigned a retreat and were pursued by Kitbuqa. Their decoration consists almost entirely of Arabic calligraphy, with the thuluth script prominently used. [74] The latter situation applied to the sultans Baybars, Qalawun, the latter's son, an-Nasir Muhammad and Barquq, who formally arranged for one or more of their sons to succeed them. [76] This permissiveness, which manifested in far more relaxed conditions for new mamluks, encouraged the pursuit of military careers in Egypt by aspiring mamluks outside of the country, to the point that parents would sell their children as mamluks with the belief the children would enjoy an improved standard of living. Mamluk-period Qur'ans were richly illuminated and exhibit stylistic similarities with those produced under the contemporary Ilkhanids in Iran. The sultanate was established with the . [187] Furthermore, the maintenance of the Mamluk army in Syria relied on the state's control over Syrian agricultural revenues. Nonetheless, the Mamluks lived on within the Ottoman Empire, positioning themselves as a high-level class in society. Upload unlimited documents and save them online. [121] Sufism was widespread in Egypt by the 13th century, and the Shadhiliyyah was the most popular Sufi order. [65] In a bid to consolidate his control, Lajin attempted to redistribute iqtaat to his supporters. [43] Upon Qutuz's triumphant return to Cairo, he was assassinated in a Bahri plot. The reign of the Mamluk Sultanate can be divided into two main periods, the Bahri and Burji regimes, characterized by the predominated ethnic culture during each regime; Turkic during the Bahri period (1250-1382) and Circassian during the Burji period (1382-1517). Warring continued between the Mamluks and Mongols, with the Mamluks consistently defeating the Central Asian invaders. [165], Gradually, as mamluks increasingly filled administrative and courtier posts within the state, Mamluk innovations to the Ayyubid hierarchy were developed. [122] Ultimately, however, the diffusion of the post of qadi al-qudah among the four madhabs enabled Mamluk sultans to act as patrons for each madhab and thus gain more influence over them. Art depicting the Mamluk Massacre of 1811. [146], The Mamluks did not significantly alter the administrative, legal and economic systems that they inherited from the Ayyubid state. But how did a former class of enslaved people come to the head of the Islamic world? [195], Under Sultan Barsbay, a state monopoly was established on luxury goods, namely spices, in which the state set prices and collected a percentage of profits. [145] The Bedouin were ultimately purged from Upper and Lower Egypt by the campaigns of Emir Shaykhu in 1353. Bank of Alexandria. [63] While the Salihi mamluks were typically Kipchak Turks, Qalawun diversified mamluk ranks purchasing numerous non-Turks, particularly Circassians, forming out of them the Burji regiment. [65] Lajin was unable to retain the sultanate and al-Nasir Muhammad was restored to power in 1298, ruling a fractious realm until being toppled a second time by Baybars II, a Circassian mamluk of Qalawun, who was known to be more wealthy, pious and cultured than his immediate predecessors. [37] An-Nasir Yusuf proceeded to besiege al-Mughith and the Bahriyyah at al-Karak, but the growing threat of a Mongol invasion of Syria ultimately led to a reconciliation between an-Nasir Yusuf and al-Mughith, and Baybars's defection to the former. [185] The state's role in Syro-Palestinian agriculture was restricted to the fiscal administration and to the irrigation networks and other aspects of rural infrastructure. [4] The less than year-long reign of Caliph al-Musta'in as sultan in 1412 was an anomaly. In the 28 October battle of Homs, the Mamluks routed the Ilkhanids and confirmed Mamluk dominance in Syria. [141] However, during an-Nasir Muhammad's third reign, the Al Fadl were granted high-quality iqtaat in abundance, strengthening the tribe to become the most powerful among the Bedouin of the Syrian Desert region. After Napoleon Bonaparte weakened the Ottoman Empire by occupying Egypt in the early 19th century, the Ottoman Empire tumbled into civil war. Source: Wikimedia Commons. [111][113], The ruling military elite of the sultanate was exclusive to those of mamluk background, with rare exceptions. [148] In Hama, the Mamluks had permitted the Ayyubids to continue to govern until 1341 (its popular governor in 1320, Abu'l Fida, was granted the honorary title of sultan by an-Nasir Muhammad), but otherwise the nuwwab of the provinces were Mamluk emirs. The Mamluk Sultanate was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) in the mid-13th-early 16th centuries. Qalawun's forces were significantly outnumbered by the estimated 80,000-strong Ilkhanid-Armenian-Georgian-Seljuk coalition, but marched north from Damascus to meet the Ilkhanid army at Homs. [103] Syria passed into Ottoman possession,[104] and the Ottomans were welcomed in many places as deliverance from the Mamluks. The Mamluk Sultanate lasted until 1517 when it was consumed by the expanding Ottoman Empire. Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar, Matabat aladab, Cairo 1996, This page was last edited on 9 January 2023, at 15:33. [153] The accession of blood relatives to the sultanate was often the result of the decision or indecision of senior Mamluk emirs or the will of the preceding sultan. Nonetheless, with rare exception, the Burji sultans were all linked to the regime's founder Barquq through blood or mamluk affiliation. "[156] The foundation of Mamluk organization and factional unity was based on the principles of khushdashiyya, which was a crucial component of a sultan's authority and power. The Ilkhanate was poised to tread into a new continent: Africa. Secure now against Ismail I, in 1516 he drew together a great army aiming at conquering Egypt, but to obscure the fact he presented the mobilisation of his army as being part of the war against Ismail I. The land on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Mamluk Sultan Qutuz was not ready to let them rest. However, the sons of mamluks could enter and rise high within the ranks of the military hierarchy,[160] but typically did not enter military service. As stated previously, the Mamluks spoke Arabic and practiced Islam, but many came from foreign roots, whether from the Turkic tribes or Central Asia, or the Caucuses. The Mamluk Sultanate ruled Egypt, Syria and the Arabian hinterland along the Red Sea. The Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri was warned by the Ottoman sultan Selim I that al-Ghawri was providing the envoys of the Ismail I safe passage through Syria on their way to Venice and harboring refugees. [160] The soldiers of the emirs were directly commanded by the emirs, but could be mobilized by the sultan when needed. [162] Following the Battle of Ain Jalut, Baybars restructured the army into three components: the Royal Mamluk regiment, the soldiers of the emirs, and the halqa (non-mamluk soldiers). [184], In Egypt, Mamluk centralization over agricultural production was more thorough than in Syria and Palestine for a number of reasons. [144] The tribe remained strong after an-Nasir Muhammad's death, but frequently rebelled against the succeeding Bahri sultans, but were restored each time, before its sheikh was finally executed as a rebel in 1353. Baibars attempts to expand into Mongol Territory The seventh Crusade begins [92] Ali died in May 1381 and was succeeded by his nine-year-old brother, as-Salih Hajji. The role of a muhtasib was to inspect weights and measures and the quality of goods, maintain legal trade, and to remain vigilant of price gouging. [83] Coinciding with Hasan's first term,[84] in 13471348, the Bubonic Plague arrived in Egypt and other plagues followed, causing mass death in the country, which in turn led to major social and economic changes in the region. [193] Thus, during the 15th century, the long-established trade between Europe and the Islamic world began to make up a significant part of the sultanate's revenues as the Mamluks imposed taxes on the merchants who operated or passed through the sultanate's ports. Shah Ismail I sent an embassy to Venice and Syria inviting them to join arms and recover the territory taken from them by the Ottoman Empire. The Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo is a standout epoch in Islamic history and is perhaps the grandest example of a rags-to-riches story. [38], While various mamluk factions competed for control of Egypt and Syria, the Mongols under the command of Hulagu Khan had sacked Baghdad, the intellectual and spiritual center of the Islamic world, in 1258, and proceeded westward, capturing Aleppo and Damascus. [119] Under Sultan Saladin, the Ayyubids embarked on a program of reviving and strengthening Sunni Islam in Egypt to counter Christianity, which had been reviving under the religiously benign rule of the Fatimids,[119] and Ismailism, the branch of Islam of the Fatimid state. [157] Another prerogative, at least of the early Bahri sultans, was to import as many mamluks as possible into the sultanate, preferring those who originated from the territories of the Mongols. [181] The rawk surveys organized the iqta system and the first rawk was carried out in 1298 under Sultan Lajin. Egypt and Syria already possessed a rich tradition of glassmaking prior to this period and Damascus was the most important production center during the Mamluk period. [23], Turanshah proceeded to place his own entourage and mamluks, known as the "Mu'azzamiyah",[21] in positions of authority to the detriment of Salihi interests. [90][91] Barquq was made atabeg al-asakir in 1378, giving him command of the Mamluk army,[89] which he used to oust Baraka in 1380. [106] The Mamluk influence remained a force in Egyptian politics until their abrupt end at the hands of Muhammad Ali in 1811. The Mamluk Sultanate ruled Egypt, Syria and the Arabian hinterland along the Red Sea. The Mamluks arrived in Egypt largely from the Turkic tribes of Central Asia and the Caucuses. [168], The ustadar (from the Arabic ustadh al-dar, "master of the house") was the chief of staff of the sultan, responsible for organizing the royal court's daily activities, managing the personal budget of the sultan and supervising all of the buildings of the Cairo Citadel and its staff. [176] Iqtaat were a central component of the Mamluk power structure. The sultanate then experienced a long period of stability and prosperity during the third reign of al-Nasir Muhammad (r. 12931294, 12991309, 13101341), before giving way to the internal strife characterizing the succession of his sons, when real power was held by senior emirs. The early Mamlks carried out a host of large-scale construction projects developing, extending, and intensifying the irrigation system, widening and deepening canals, erecting and strengthening dikes, and constructing dams and sluices that helped to control the system during the Nile flood season. [110] On the other end of the spectrum of Sunni religious expression were the teachings of the Hanbali scholar Ibn Taymiyyah, which emphasized stringent moral rigor based on literal interpretations of the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and a deep hostility to the aspects of mysticism and popular religious innovations promoted by the various Sufi orders. The Mamluks left behind a fascinating legacy, fraught with controversy, political assassination and factional conflict - the perfect plot for the next blockbuster TV series. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks (manumitted slave soldiers) at the head of which was the sultan. [131] Many Coptic Christians decided to convert to Islam or at least adopt the outward expressions of Muslim faith to protect their employment, avoid jizyah taxation and avoid official measures against them. This study of Mamluk metalwork fittings presents a hitherto largely ignored body of Mamluk metalwork objects, i.e. [122] Thus, the early Mamluk embrace of Sunni Islam also stemmed from the pursuit of a moral unity within their realm based on the majority views of its subjects. "The Mamluks and Their Acceptance of Oghuz Turkish as Literary Language: Political Maneuver or Cultural Aspiration? However, Louis IX died, allowing the Mamluks to refocus their efforts at further conquests of Crusader territories in Syria, including the County of Tripoli's Krak des Chevaliers fortress, which Baybars captured in 1271. From the Medieval to the Early Modern Period, the Mamluks reigned during a transformative era in Dar Al-Islam as the Islamic Caliphates fell and new kinds of states arose, even states governed by former slaves. [67] However, the Mamluks' enemies, such as the Mongol powers and their Muslim vassals, the Armenians and the Crusaders, successfully disrupted the flow of mamluks into the sultanate. [51] Furthermore, the Mamluks also received the submission of king Adur of al-Abwab further south. In particular, she cultivated close ties with the Jamdari (pl. During a brief power vacuum, the Mamluks elevated themselves from slaves to rulers of a new sultanate, the Mamluk Sultanate. [207] Patrons, including sultans and high-ranking emirs, typically set out to build mausoleums for themselves but attached to them various charitable structures such as madrasas, khanqahs, sabils, or mosques. [128] The manifestations of anti-Christian hostility were mostly spearheaded at the popular level rather than under the direction of Mamluk sultans. Drought's effects on the population slowed the Ottoman Empire's expansion in the 16th century. These mamluks were called the "Salihiyyah" (singular "Salihi") after their master. [198] Trade with Iran, India, and China was even more extensive, turning Mamluk cities into centers of both trade and consumption. . [154] When emirs felt the sultan was not ensuring their benefits, disruptive riots, coup plots or delays to calls for service were all likely scenarios. [98] The latter had been abandoned by Faraj and his late father's entourage, who left for Cairo. The Mamluks were a caste of Turkic and Circassian slave-soldiers within the Medieval Ayyubid Sultanate. [73] By 1316, the number of mamluks was reduced to 2,000. The 'Isa Ibn Hasan al-Hajjan tribe became powerful in the country after being assigned massive iqtaat. [163], The Ayyubid army had lacked a clear and permanent hierarchical system and one of Baybars' early reforms was creating a military hierarchy. [75] Moreover, an-Nasir Muhammad's being the son of a mamluk instead of a mamluk himself risked undermining his position among the largely mamluk elite. [53] Nonetheless, Baybars' initial conquest led the annual expectation of tribute from the Nubians by the Mamluks until the Makurian kingdom's demise in the mid-14th century. Ready to let them rest ( western Arabia ) in the 28 battle..., she cultivated close ties with the thuluth script prominently used Central Asia and the first rawk was carried in. Than year-long reign of Caliph al-Musta'in as sultan in 1412 was an anomaly 145 the... Component of the emirs were directly commanded by the 13th century, the lived. Direction of Mamluk metalwork objects, i.e Salihi '' ) after their master Mamluks received... The soldiers of the Mamluk army in Syria relied on the east coast the... Is perhaps the grandest example of a new Sultanate, the Mamluks also received the submission king... 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