A Mamluk (Turkish: Memlük, also called Kölemen; Arabic: (singular), mamālīk (plural), "owned"; also transliterated mamlouk, mamluq, mamluke, mameluk, mameluke, mamaluke or marmeluke) was a soldier of slave origin. The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior class, was of great political importance and was extraordinarily long-lived, lasting from the 9th to the 19th century AD. Over time, mamluks became a powerful military caste in various Muslim societies. Particularly in Egypt, but also in the Levant, Iraq, and India, mamluks held political and military power. In some cases, they attained the rank of sultan, while in others they held regional power as amirs or beys. Most notably, mamluk factions seized the sultanate for themselves in Egypt and Syria in a period known as the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517). The Mamluk Sultanate famously beat back the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut and fought the Crusaders effectively driving them out from the Levant by 1291 and officially in 1302 ending the era of the Crusades.

They were of varied ancestry but were often Kipchak Turks/Cumans, depending on the period and region in question. While mamluks were purchased, their status was above ordinary slaves, who were not allowed to carry weapons or perform certain tasks. In places such as Egypt from the Ayyubid dynasty to the time of Muhammad Ali of Egypt, mamluks were considered to be “true lords,” with social status above freeborn Muslims.

Overview

The story of military slavery in Islamic societies begins with the Abbasid caliphs of the 9th century Baghdad. The earliest mamluks were known as ghilman (another term for slaves, broadly synonymous) and were bought by the early Abbasid caliphs. By the middle of the 9th century, these slaves had become the dominant element in the military. Conflict between these ghilman and the population of Baghdad prompted the caliph al-Mu'tasim to move his capital to the city of Samarra, but this did not succeed in calming tensions; the caliph al-Mutawakkil was assassinated by some of these slave-soldiers in 861. The Abbasids bought slave-soldiers mainly from areas near the Caucasus (mainly Circassian and Georgian), and from areas north of the Black Sea (Kipchak and other Turks). Those captured had non-Muslim backgrounds.

The use of mamluk soldiers gave rulers troops who had no link to any established power structure. Local non-mamluk warriors were often more loyal to their tribal sheikhs, 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.

After the fragmentation of the Abbasid Empire, military slaves, known as either mamluks or ghilman, became the basis of military power throughout the Islamic world. The Fatimids of Egypt bought Armenian, Turkic and Sudanese slaves, who formed the bulk of their military and often their administration. The powerful vizier Badr al-Jamali, for example, was a mamluk of Armenian origin. In Iran and Iraq, the Buyids used Turkic slaves throughout their empire, such as the rebel al-Basasiri who eventually ushered in Saljuq rule in Baghdad after attempting a failed rebellion. When the later Abbasids regained military control over Iraq, they also relied on military slaves called ghilman.

Under Saladin and the Ayyubids of Egypt, the power of the mamluks increased until they claimed the sultanate in 1250, ruling as the Mamluk Sultanate. Military slavery continued to be employed throughout the Islamic world until the 19th century. The Ottoman Empire's devşirme, or "gathering" of young slaves for the Janissary corps, lasted until the 17th century, while mamluk-based regimes thrived in such Ottoman provinces as Iraq and Egypt into the 19th century.

Organization

Mamluk heavy cavalry, circa 1550.]] Under the Mamluk Sultane of Cairo, 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.” 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 (بحري meaning "of the sea or river") referred to their center in al-Rodah Island in the Nile. The regiment consisted mainly of Kipchak Turks.

and then China.]]

Mamluks and the Mongols

When the Mongol Empire's troops of Hulagu Khan sacked Baghdad in 1258 and advanced towards Syria, Mamluk Emir Baibars ()( Circassian:Bipars, a common Circassian name which means the frontier defending warrior) 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 the rule of mamluks was discontinuous, with an average span of 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 took Antioch in 1268.

in 1289.]] Mamluks also defeated new Mongol attacks in Syria in 1271, 1281 (2nd Battle of Homs). They were defeated by the Mongols and their Christian allies at the Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar in 1299, but soon after that the Mamluks defeated Mongols again in 1303/1304 and 1312. Finally, the Mongols and the Mamluks signed the peace treaty in 1323.

Burji dynasty

In 1382 the Bukri or Burji dynasty took over, as Barkuk was proclaimed sultan, so ending the Bahri dynasty. Burji (برجي meaning "of the tower") referred to their center in the citadel of Cairo. The dynasty consisted mainly of Circassians (in Turkic Bukri means hunchbacked).

Barkuk became an enemy of Timur, who threatened to invade Syria. The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire Bayezid I then invaded Syria which was regained by Mamluk sultan Faraj when Timur died in 1405, but continually facing rebellions from local emirs he was forced to abdicate in 1412. That year 1421 Egypt was attacked by the Kingdom of Cyprus, but the Egyptians forced the Cypriotes to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Egyptian sultan Barsbay. During Barsbay's reign Egypt's population was greatly reduced from what it had been a few centuries before, with only 1/5 the number of towns.

Al-Ashraf came to power in 1453 and had friendly relations with the Ottoman Empire, who captured Constantinople later that year, causing great rejoicings in Egypt. However, under the reign of Khoshkadam Egypt began the struggle between the Egyptian and the Ottoman sultanates. In 1467 sultan Kait Bey offended the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II, whose brother was poisoned. Bayezid II seized Adana, Tarsus and other places within Egyptian territory, but was eventually defeated. Kait also tried to help the Muslims in Spain by threatening the Christians in Syria, but without effect. He died in 1496, several hundred thousand ducats in debt to the great Venetian trading families.

Portuguese-Mamluk Wars

Vasco da Gama having in 1497 found his way round the Cape of Good Hope pushed his way across the Indian Ocean to the shores of Malabar and Kozhikode, attacking the fleets that carried freight and Muslim pilgrims from India to the Red Sea, and struck terror into the potentates all around. Various engagements took place. Cairo's Mamluk sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri was affronted at the attacks upon the Red Sea, the loss of tolls and traffic, the indignities to which Mecca and its port were subjected, and above all at the fate of one of his ships . He vowed vengeance upon Portugal, first sending monks from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as envoys he threatened Pope Julius II that if he did not check Manuel I of Portugal in their depredations on the Indian Sea, he would destroy all Christian Holy places.

The Rulers of Gujarat and Yemen also turned for help to Egypt Mamluke Sultanate. The chief concern was the fitting-out a fleet in the Red Sea which should protect their sea routes from Portuguese attack. Jeddah was soon fortified as a harbor of refuge so Arabia and the Red Sea were protected, but the fleets in the Indian Ocean were at the mercy of the enemy.

Last Mamluk sultan Al-Ghawri accordingly fitted out a fleet of 50 vessels. As Mamluks had little expertise in naval warfare, the naval enterprise was carried out with the help of Ottomans. In 1508 at the Battle of Chaul the Mamluk fleet won over Portuguese viceroy's son Lourenço de Almeida but in the following year the Portuguese won Battle of Diu in which the Port city of Diu was wrested from the Gujarat Sultanate. Some years after, Afonso de Albuquerque attacked Aden, while the Egyptian troops suffered disaster in Yemen. Al-Ghawri fitted out a new fleet to punish the enemy and protect the Indian trade; but before its results were known, Egypt had lost her sovereignty, and the Red Sea with Mecca and all its Arabian interests had passed into Ottoman hands.

Ottomans and the end of the Mamluk Sultanate

Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II was engaged in Europe when a new ground of hostility with Egypt appeared in 1501. It arose out of the relations with the Safavid dynasty in Persia. Shah Ismail I sent an embassy to the Venetians via Syria inviting them to join his arms and recover the territory taken from them by the "Porte" (Ottomans). Mameluk Egyptian sultan Al-Ghawri was charged by Selim at giving the envoys of the Safavid Ismail passage through Syria on their way to Venice and harboring refugees. To appease him, Al-Ghawri placed in confinement the Venetian merchants then in Syria and Egypt, but after a year released them.

After the Battle of Chaldiran on 1514, Selim I attacked the Bey of Dulkadir, an Egypt's vassal had stood aloof, and sent his head to Mamluk Sultan Al-Ghawri. Secure now against Shah Ismail I, on 1516 CE he drew together a great army aiming at conquering Egypt, but to deceive it he represented his object to be the further pursuit of Shah Ismail I. In 1515 began the war which led to the later incorporation of Egypt and its dependencies in the Ottoman Empire, with Mamluk cavalry proving no match for the Ottoman artillery and the janissaries. On August 24, 1515, at the Battle of Merj Dabik Sultan Al-Ghawri was killed. Syria passed into Turkish possession, who were welcomed in many places as deliverance from the Mamelukes.

The Mamluke Sultanate survived until 1517, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman sultan Selim I captured of Cairo on January 20, the center of power transferred then to Istanbul. Although not in the same form as under the Sultanate, the Ottoman Empire retained the Mamluks as an Egyptian ruling class and the Mamluks and the Burji family succeeded in regaining much of their influence, but remained vassals of the Ottomans.

Mamluk 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 invades

France's Directory now authorised a campaign in "The Orient" to protect French trade interests and undermine Britain's access to India. To this end, Napoleon Bonaparte was to lead an army to land in Egypt in 1798.

The French defeated a Mamluk army in the Battle of the Pyramids and drove the survivors out to Upper Egypt. The Mamluks relied on their massed cavalry charge tactics, changed only by the addition of muskets, to which the French formed square and held firm. Despite multiple victories and an initially successful expedition into Syria, mounting conflict in Europe and the earlier defeat of the supporting French Fleet by the British Royal Navy at the Battle of the Nile decided the issue. Napoleon and a guard from his Armée d'Orient withdrew in late 1799. On the assassination of Napoleon's successor, General Jean Baptiste Kléber on 14 June 1800, the command of the Army in Egypt fell to Jacques-François Menou. Isolated and out of supplies, Menou surrendered to the British in 1801.

After Napoleon

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 ^{citation needed}. 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

by Francisco de Goya (1814)]] . An elite body of cavalry whom the French encountered during their campaign in Egypt in 1798, the Mamluks could trace their lineage of service to the Ottomans back to the mid-13th century.]] Napoleon's personal bodyguard]] officers' Mameluke sword resembles those used by the Mamluks]]

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. The constant strain on sustaining the military manpower necessary to defend the Mamluks's system from the Europeans and the Mongols would eventually weaken them to the point of collapse.

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.

Other Mamluk Regimes

There were various places in which mamluks gained political or military power as a self-replicating military community.

South Asia

In 1206, the Mamluk commander of the Muslim forces in the Indian subcontinent, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, proclaimed himself Sultan, becoming in effect the first independent Sultan-e-Hind. This Mamluk dynasty lasted until 1290.

Iraq

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 Roustam Raza was a Mamluk who had been sold in 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-à-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-à-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-à-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-à-Cheval of the Guard, but of a dark blue cloth.

Mamluk rulers

In Egypt

Bahri Dynasty

1250 Shajar al-Durr (al-Salih Ayyub's Widow de facto ruler of Egypt)

1250 al-Muizz Izz-ad-Din Aybak

1257 al-Mansur Nur-ad-Din Ali

1259 al-Muzaffar Saif ad-Din Qutuz

1260 al-Zahir Rukn-ad-Din Baibars al-Bunduqdari

1277 al-Said Nasir-ad-Din Barakah Khan

1280 al-Adil Badr al-Din Solamish

1280 al-Mansur Saif-ad-Din Qalawun al-Alfi

1290 al-Ashraf Salah-ad-Din Khalil

1294 al-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun first reign

1295 al-Adil Zayn-ad-Din Kitbugha

1297 al-Mansur Husam-ad-Din Lajin

1299 al-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun second reign

1309 al-Muzaffar Rukn-ad-Din Baybars II al-Jashankir

1310 al-Nasir Nasir-ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun third reign

1340 al-Mansur Saif-ad-Din Abu-Bakr

1341 al-Ashraf Ala'a-ad-Din Kujuk

1342 al-Nasir Shihab-ad-Din Ahmad

1342 al-Salih Imad-ad-Din Ismail

1345 al-Kamil Saif ad-Din Shaban

1346 al-Muzaffar Zein-ad-Din Hajji

1347 al-Nasir Badr-ad-Din Abu al-Ma'aly al-Hassan first reign

1351 al-Salih Salah-ad-Din Ibn Muhammad

1354 al-Nasir Badr-ad-Din Abu al-Ma'aly al-Hassan second reign

1361 al-Mansur Salah-ad-Din Mohamed Ibn Hajji

1363 al-Ashraf Zein al-Din Abu al-Ma'ali ibn Shaban

1376 al-Mansur Ala-ad-Din Ali Ibn al-Ashraf Shaban

1382 al-Salih Salah Zein al-Din Hajji II first reign

Burji Dynasty

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 Shaykh

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

in Anarkali, Lahore, Pakistan.]]

Qutb-ud-din Aybak (1206–1210), founded Mamluk Sultanate, Delhi

Aram Shah (1210–1211)

Shams ud din Iltutmish (1211–1236). Son-in-law of Qutb-ud-din Aybak.

Rukn ud din Firuz (1236). Son of Iltutmish.

Razia Sultana (1236–1240). Daughter of Iltutmish.

Muiz ud din Bahram (1240–1242). Son of Iltutmish.

Ala ud din Masud (1242–1246). Son of Rukn ud din.

Nasir ud din Mahmud (1246–1266). Son of Iltutmish.

Ghiyas ud din Balban (1266–1286). Ex-slave, son-in-law of Iltutmish.

Muiz ud din Qaiqabad(1286–1290). Grandson of Balban and Nasir ud din.

Kayumars (1290). Son of Muiz ud din.

In Iraq

Hasan Pasha (1704–1723)

Ahmet Pasha (1723–1747) Son of Hasan

Sulaiman Abu Layla Pasha (1749–1762) Son-in-law of Ahmet

Umar (1762 - 1776) Son of Ahmed

Büyük Süleyman Pasha the Great (1780–1802) Son of Umar

Ali Pasha (1802–1807) Son of Umar

Küçük Süleyman Pasa the Little (1807–1813) Son of Büyük Süleyman

Sa'id Pasha (1813–1816) Son of Büyük Süleyman

Daud Pasha (1817–1831) Son of Ali,Son-in-law of Büyük Süleyman and nephew

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 São Paulo, known primarily as bandeirantes.

Mammaluccu in the Sicilian dialect is used to mean stupid, idiot or simpleton.

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.

In Italian American Vernacular English, the term "mamalook" is often used to refer to someone who does something stupid. It has roughly the same meaning as the Yiddish term "schmuck." However, mamalook is usually used in a joking way, whereas schmuck is more insulting.

Mamluk office titles and terminology

The following terms originally come from either Turkish or Ottoman Language (it is developed form of Turkish) that is composed of Turkish, Arabic, and Persian words and grammar structures. The "English" column indicates its written form in English.

! English	! Arabic	! Notes
Alama Sultaniya	علامة سلطانية	The mark or signature of the Sultan put on his decrees, letters and documents.
Al-Nafir al-Am	النفير العام	General emergency declared during war
Amir	أمير	Prince
Amir Akhur	أمير آخور	supervisor of the royal stable (from Persian آخور meaning stable)
Amir Majlis	أمير مجلس	Guard of Sultan's seat and bed
Atabek	أتابك	Commander in chief
Astadar	أستادار	Chief of the royal servants
Barid Jawi	بريد جوى	Airmail (mail sent by carrier-pigeons, amplified by Sultan Baibars)
Bayt al-Mal	بيت المال	treasury
Cheshmeh	ششمه	A pool of water, or fountain (literally "eye")
Dawadar	دوادار	Holder of Sultan's ink bottle (from Persian دوات‌دار meaning bearer of the ink bottle)
Fondok	فندق	Hotel (some famous hotels in Cairo during the Mamluk era were Dar al-Tofah, Fondok Bilal and Fondok al-Salih)
Hajib	حاجب	Doorkeeper of sultan's court
Iqta	إقطاع	Revenue from land allotment
Jamkiya	جامكية	Salary paid to a Mamluk
Jashnakir	جاشنكير	Food taster of the sultan (to assure food was not poisoned)
Jomdar	جمدار	An official at the department of the Sultan's clothing (from Persian جامه‌دار meaning keeper of cloths)
Kafel al-mamalek al-sharifah al-islamiya al-amir al-amri	كافل الممالك الشريفة الاسلاميةالاميرالأمرى	Title of the Vice-sultan (The guardian of the dignified Islamic kingdoms the commanding prince)
Khan	خان	A store that specialized in selling a certain commodity
Khaskiya	خاصكية	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 خاصگیان meaning close associates)
Khastakhaneh	خاصتاخانة	Hospital (in modern Turkish: Hastane. In modern Crimean Tatar: Hastahane)
Khond	خند	Wife of the sultan
Khushdashiya	خشداشية	Mamluks belonging to the same Amir or Sultan.
Mahkamat al-Mazalim	محكمة المظالم	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	مماليك كتابية	Mamluks still attending training classes and who still live at the Tebaq (campus)
Mamalik Sultaneya	مماليك سلطانيه	Mamluks of the sultan;to distinguish from the Mamluks of the Amirs (princes)
Modwarat al-Sultan	مدورة السلطان	Sultan's tent which he used during travel.
Mohtaseb	محتسب	Controller of markets, public works and local affairs.
Morqadar	مرقدار	Works in the Royal Kitchen (from Persian مرغ‌دار meaning one responsible for the fowl)
Mushrif	مشرف	Supervisor of the Royal Kitchen
Na'ib Al-Sultan	نائب السلطان	Vice-sultan
Qa'at al-insha'a	قاعة الإنشاء	Chancery hall
Qadi al-Qoda	قاضى القضاة	Chief justice
Qalat al-Jabal	قلعة الجبل	Citadel of the Mountain (the abode and court of the sultan in Cairo)
Qaranisa	قرانصة	Mamluks who moved to the service of a new Sultan or from the service of an Amir to a sultan.
Qussad	قصاد	Secret couriers and agents who kept the sultan informed
Ostaz	أستاذ	Benefactor of Mamluks (the Sultan or the Emir) (from Persian استاد)
Rank	رنك	An emblem that distinguished the rank and position of a Mamluk (probably from Persian رنگ meaning color)
Sanjaqi	سنجاقى	A standard-bearer of the Sultan.
Sharabkhana	شرابخانة	Storehouse for drinks, medicines and glass-wares of the sultan. (from Persian شراب‌خانه meaning wine cellar)
Silihdar	سلحدار	Arm-Bearer (from Arabic/Persian سلاح‌دار meaning arm-bearer)
Tabalkhana	طبلخانه	The amir responsible for the Mamluk military band
Tashrif	تشريف	Head-covering worn by a Mamluk during the ceremony of inauguration to the position of Amir.
Tawashi	طواشى
Tebaq	طباق	Campus of the Mamluks at the citadel of the mountain
Tishtkhana	طشتخانة	Storehouse used for the laundry of the sultan (from Persian طشت‌خانه meaning tub room)
Wali	والى	viceroy
Yuq	يوق	A large linen closet used in every mamluk home, which stored pillows and sheets. (Related to the present Crimean Tatar word Yuqa, "to sleep". In modern Turkish: Yüklük.)

"Mamluk" as derogatory term

The term Mamluk became known throughout Europe following the Ottoman conquests of Egypt and Palestine in 1516–1517. It was used in derogatory meaning in Geneva just prior to the overthrow of Savoy rule in 1526 by the supporters of Philibert Berthelier to describe the faction in the state council that advocated the continued rule of the Savoy dynasty. As Mamluk means "slaves of the king", the republican faction in Geneva used it to suggest that the supporters of Savoy rule were the enemies of freedom.

See also

Bahri dynasty

Black Guard

Burji dynasty

Cossacks

Feudalism

Ghulam

Janissary

Jerusalem in the Mamluk period

Mameluco

Mameluke sword

Mercenary

Saqaliba

Seventh Crusade

Varangians

References

Further reading

A. Allouche: Mamluk Economics : A Study and Translation of Al-Maqrizi's Ighathat. Salt Lake City, 1994

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 Vaissière, Samarcande et Samarra. Elites d'Asie centrale dans l'empire Abbasside, Peeters, 2007 Peeters-leuven.be

James Waterson – The Mamluks (History Today March 2006)

External links

Arts of the Mamluks

Mamluks - Military slave dynasty

The Chicago Online Bibliography of Mamluk Studies and The Chicago Online Encyclopedia of, Mamluk Studies Review, and other Mamluk Studies Resources

Mamluks - History Avenue

Category:Kipchaks Category:Circassians Category:Circassian people Category:Circassian nobility Category:Ottoman political people Category:Military units and formations of the Ottoman Empire Category:History of Islam Category:Slaves of the Muslim world Category:Muslim dynasties Category:Mamluks

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