Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt سلطنة المماليك Sulṭanat Misr al-Mamālīk
←   ← 1250–1517 →   →   →
Mamluk Egyptian Flag according to the Catalan Atlas.
Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt (green), c. 1279.
Capital	Cairo
Language(s)	Egyptian Arabic Coptic Kipchak Turkic[1]
Religion	Sunni Islam
Government	Monarchy
Sultan
- 1250–1257	Izz al-Din Aybak
- 1516–1517	Tuman bay II
History
- Turanshah's death	1250
- Battle of Ridaniya	1517
Today part of	Egypt  Israel  Jordan  Lebanon  Libya  Palestine  Saudi Arabia  Sudan  Syria  Turkey

History of Egypt
This article is part of a series
Prehistory
Ancient Egypt
Early Dynastic Period
Old Kingdom
First Intermediate Period
Middle Kingdom
Second Intermediate Period
New Kingdom
Third Intermediate Period
Late Period
Classical Antiquity
Achaemenid Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt
Roman & Byzantine Egypt
Sassanid Egypt
Medieval Egypt
Arab Egypt
Fatimid Egypt
Ayyubid Egypt
Mamluk Egypt
Early Modern
Ottoman Egypt
French occupation
Egypt under Muhammad Ali
Khedivate of Egypt
Modern Egypt
British occupation
Sultanate of Egypt
Kingdom of Egypt
Republic
Egypt Portal v t e

The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, soldiers of predominantly Kipchak Turkish/Cuman, and Circassian slave origin.^[2] 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 Egyptian Muslims. Though it declined towards the end of its existence, at its height the sultanate represented the zenith of Egyptian and Levantine political, economic, and cultural glory in the Islamic era.^{[peacock term]}

History[link]

Rise to power[link]

Mamluk regiments constituted the backbone of the Egyptian military under the Ayyubid Dynasty. Each sultan, and high-ranking emir had his private corps, and the Sultan as-Salih Ayyub (r. 1240-1249) had especially relied on this means to maintaining power. His mamluks, numbering between 800 and 1,000 horsemen, were called the Bahris, after the Arabic word bahr (بحر), meaning sea or large river, because their barracks were located on the island of Rawda in the Nile. They were mostly drawn from among the Kipchak Turks/Cumans who controlled the steppes north of the Black Sea.^[3]

In 1249 Louis IX of France led a crusade on an invasion of Egypt, capturing Damietta and then proceeding slowly southward. As they advanced, as-Salih Ayyub died and was succeeded by his son al-Muazzam Turanshah, but before Turanshah could arrive at the front, the Bahri mamluks defeated the crusaders at the Battle of Al Mansurah and captured Louis, effectively ending the crusade. Turanshah proceeded to place his own entourage and especially his own mamluks, called Mu`azzamis, in positions of authority to the detriment of Bahri interests. Four weeks after Louis' capture, on 2 May 1250, a group of Bahris assassinated Turanshah.^[4]

Wars with Mongols and Crusaders[link]

Following the death of Turanshah a ten-year period of political instability in Egypt and Syria ensued as various factions competed for control. In 1254, when a rival faction under the leadership of Qutuz became powerful, most of the Bahris fled Cairo and took service with Ayyubid amirs in Syria. Meanwhile, the Mongols under the command of Hulagu invaded the Middle East in force. They sacked Baghdad in 1258 and proceeded westward, capturing Aleppo, and Damascus. Qutuz and the Bahris agreed to put aside their differences to face the common threat. They met a contingent of Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut and defeated them. With the Mongol threat temporarily over, rivalries among the mamluks revived, and Baibars, a leading Bahri, assassinated Qutuz and claimed the sultanate.

Change in regime[link]

In 1377 a revolt broke out in Syria which spread to Egypt, and the government was taken over by the Circassians Barakah and Barquq; In 1382 the last Bahri Sultan Al-Salih Hajji was dethroned, thus ending the Bahri dynasty, and Barquq was proclaimed sultan. Barquq was expelled in 1389 but recaptured Cairo in 1390. Permanently in power he founded what came to be called the Burji dynasty.^[5]

Ottomans and the end of the Mamluk Sultanate[link]

While Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II was engaged in Europe, a new round of conflict broke out between Egypt and the Safavid dynasty in Persia in 1501. Shah Ismail I sent an embassy to the Venetians via Syria inviting them to join arms and recover the territory taken from them by the "Porte" (Ottomans). Mameluk Egyptian sultan Al-Ghawri was charged by Selim I that he was providing the envoys of the Safavid Ismail I safe 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 in 1514, Selim I attacked the Dulkadirids, an Egyptian vassal, and sent his head to Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri. Secure now against Shah Ismail I, in AD 1516 he drew together a great army aiming at conquering Egypt, but to deceive it he represented his army to further the war against Shah Ismail I. The war started in 1515 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 Marj Dabiq Sultan al-Ghawri was killed. Syria passed into Turkish possession, who were welcomed in many places as deliverance from the Mamluks.

The Mamluk Sultanate survived until 1517, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman sultan Selim I captured Cairo on January 20, the center of power transferred then to Constantinople. 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.

Mamluks independence from the Ottomans[link]

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 Bey 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.

Painting of a Mamluk, 1779.

End of Mamluk power in Egypt[link]

Muhammad 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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.

The Mamluk households[link]

The mamluks were organized into households under the leadership of an ustad. Mamluks had intense loyalty to their ustad and to their comrades in the regiment. The loyalty of a mamluk to his comrades was called khushdashiya (Arabic: خشداشية‎)

Mamluks' sons did not enter the ranks of the mamluks, and tended to blend in with the wider society. The ranks of the Mamluks were always replenished by importing fresh slaves from abroad.

Art and architecture[link]

A guilded and enamelled Mamluk glass bucket from mid-14th century

As part of their chosen role as defenders of Islamic orthodoxy, the Mamluks sponsored numerous religious buildings, including mosques, madrasas and khanqahs. Though some construction took place in the provinces, the vast bulk of these projects took place in the capital.^[8] Many Mamluk buildings in Cairo survive until today, particularly in the district of Old Cairo. As representatives of Islamic ideology, it was also the responsibility of the Mamluk dynasty to spread the holy word of Islam to its surrounding areas. One such way of doing this was by commissioning pages of the Quran and sharing it with the local population. This leaf contains portions of Surat (Chapter) Al’Ala(The most high) and was for use in a local mosque in Cairo. The leaf dates back to 1300 AD during the mamluk sultanate and its age clearly shows based on the tears that appear at the top of the leaf. Surat Al'Ala discusses the wonders that Allah has created and the rewards for those who believe the message of Islam, as well as the punishment for those who reject Islam. It is likely that the illuminator of the leaf was Abu Bakr aka Sandal, who was centered in the artistic hub of Islam at the time; Cairo, Egypt. The Qur’an verses are written in black ink and in the Naskh writing style, which was the easiest for the common man to read, opposed to other scripts that required individuals to be familiar with calligraphic styles.

See also[link]

• Mamluk
• State of Turkey
• Dawla al-Turkiyya
• Furusiyya
• History of Arab Egypt
• List of Sunni Muslim dynasties

Notes[link]

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Abu al-Fida, The Concise History of Humanity
• Al-Maqrizi, Al Selouk Leme'refatt Dewall al-Melouk, Dar al-kotob, 1997.
• Idem in English: Bohn, Henry G., The Road to Knowledge of the Return of Kings, Chronicles of the Crusades, AMS Press, 1969.
• Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar, Matabat aladab, Cairo 1996, ISBN 977-241-175-X
• Idem in French: Bouriant, Urbain, Description topographique et historique de l'Egypte, Paris 1895.
• Ibn Taghribirdi, al-Nujum al-Zahirah Fi Milook Misr wa al-Qahirah, al-Hay'ah al-Misreyah 1968
• Idem in English: History of Egypt, by Yusef. William Popper, translator Abu L-Mahasin ibn Taghri Birdi, University of California Press 1954.

Studies[link]

• Ayalon, David: The Mamluk Military Society. London, 1979.
• Shayyal, Jamal, Prof. of Islamic history, Tarikh Misr al-Islamiyah (History of Islamic Egypt), dar al-Maref, Cairo 1266, ISBN 977-02-5975-6

A Mamluk from Aleppo

An Egyptian Mamluk in full armor and armed with lance, shield, sabre and pistols.

A Mamluk (Arabic: مملوك mamluk (singular), مماليك mamālīk (plural)), "owned"; also transliterated mamlouk, Turkish: Memlük, also called Kölemen; , mamluq, mamluke, mameluk, mameluke, mamaluke or marmeluke was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans or Kipchak^[1][2] and later Circassian and Georgian.^[3][4] The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior class,^[5] 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 Ayn Jalut and fought the Crusaders effectively driving them out from the Levant by 1291 and officially in 1302 ending the era of the Crusades.^[6]

They were predominantly drawn from Turkic tribes, the Cumans and Kipchaks,^[1][2] 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.^[7]

Overview[link]

Mamluk lancers, early 16th century

The story of an entrenched military caste like the mamluks 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^[8]) 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.^[9] The Abbasids bought slave-soldiers mainly from areas near the Caucasus (mainly Circassians and Georgians), and from areas north of the Black Sea (Kipchaks 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.^[10] 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 the military slaves called Ghilman.^[11]

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[link]

Ottoman Mamluk heavy cavalry, circa 1550.

Under the Mamluk Sultanate 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."^[7] 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."^[7]

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 Egyptians arranged to be sold in order to gain access to this privileged society. Mamluks spoke Arabic and cultivated their identity by retaining an Egyptian 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."^[7] 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 once 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[link]

Early Mamluks in Egypt[link]

The battle of Wadi al-Khazandar, 1299. depicting Mamluk cavalry and Mongol archers (14th-century illustration from a manuscript of the History of the Tatars)

Sultan Hassan Mosque (left) along with the later El Rifai Mosque (right) and two Ottoman mosques (foreground) – Cairo

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 ad-Din) founded in 1174. With his uncle Shirkuh he conquered Egypt for the Zengid King Nur ad-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 Christianity to Sunni Islam.

French attack and Mamluk takeover[link]

In June 1249, the Seventh Crusade under Louis IX of France landed in Egypt and took Damietta. The Egyptian troops retreated at first, spurring 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).^[12] 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/Cumans.^[13]

Mamluk-Syrian glassware vessels from the 14th century; in the course of trade, the middle vase shown ended up in Yemen and then China.

Mamluks and the Mongols[link]

When the Mongol Empire's troops of Hulagu Khan sacked Baghdad in 1258 and advanced towards Syria, Mamluk Emir Baibars (Turkish: Baybars, Circassian: Bipars, a common Circassian name which means the frontier defending warrior) left Damascus for Cairo where he was welcomed by Sultan Qutuz.^[14] 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 the Homs in 1260 and began to drive them back east. In the process they consolidated their power over Syria, fortified the area, and formed mail routes and diplomatic connections between the local princes. Baibars's troops attacked Acre in 1263, captured Caesaria in 1265, and took Antioch in 1268.

Mamluks attacking at the Fall of Tripoli in 1289.

Mamluks also defeated new Mongol attacks in Syria in 1271 and 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 the Mongols again in 1303/1304 and 1312. Finally, the Mongols and the Mamluks signed a treaty of peace in 1323.

Burji dynasty[link]

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 the Mamluk sultan Faraj when Timur died in 1405, but continually facing rebellions from local emirs, he was forced to abdicate in 1412. In 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[link]

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 his depredations on the Indian Sea, he would destroy all Christian holy places.^[15]

The rulers of Gujarat and Yemen also turned for help to the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. Their chief concern was the fitting-out of a fleet in the Red Sea which could 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.

The 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 the Ottomans.^[16] In 1508 at the Battle of Chaul the Mamluk fleet won over the Portuguese viceroy's son Lourenço de Almeida, but in the following year the Portuguese won the 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 the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

Ottomans and the end of the Mamluk Sultanate[link]

The Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II was engaged in Europe when a new area of hostility with Egypt appeared in 1501.^{[weasel words]} It arose out of the relations with the Safavid dynasty in Persia. Shah Ismail I sent an embassy to the Republic of Venice via Syria, inviting Venice to ally with Persia and recover her territory taken by the Ottomans. Mameluk Egyptian sultan Al-Ghawri was charged by Selim I with giving the Persian envoys 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 in 1514, Selim attacked the bey of Dulkadirids, as Egypt's vassal had stood aloof, and sent his head to Al-Ghawri. Now secure against Persia, in 1516 CE he formed a great army for the conquest of Egypt, but gave out that he intended further attacks on Persia.

In 1515, Selim began the war which led to the conquest Egypt and its dependencies. Mamluk cavalry proved no match for the Ottoman artillery and Janissary infantry. On 24 August 1515, at the Battle of Merj Dabik, Sultan Al-Ghawri was killed. Syria passed into Turkish possession, an event welcomed in many places as it was seen as deliverance from the Mamelukes.

The Mamluke Sultanate survived in Egypt until 1517, when Selim captured Cairo on 20 January. 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 as vassals of the Ottomans.

Mamluk independence from the Ottomans[link]

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[link]

Charge of the Mamluk cavalry.

In 1798, the ruling Directory of the Republic of France authorised a campaign in "The Orient" to protect French trade interests and undermine Britain's access to India. To this end, Napoleon Bonaparte led an Armée d'Orient to Egypt.

The French defeated a Mamluk army in the Battle of the Pyramids and drove the survivors out to Upper Egypt. The Mamluks relied on massed cavalry charges, changed only by the addition of musket. The French infantry 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 left with his personal guard in late 1799. His successor in Egypt, General Jean Baptiste Kléber, was assassinated on 14 June 1800. 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[link]

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 Constantinople 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[link]

Painting of a Mamluk, 1779.

A Mamluk cavalryman, drawn in 1810

The Second of May 1808: The Charge of the Mamluks by Francisco de Goya (1814)

Charge of the Mamluks during the Battle of the Pyramids. 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.

Mameluk Roustam Napoleon's personal bodyguard

Napoleon's 62eme Régiment de Ligne and a Mameluk

Today's U.S. Marine Corps 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.^[17]

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.^[18]

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 Muhammad Ali's destruction of 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[link]

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

South Asia[link]

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[link]

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 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 overthrew Daud Pasha, the last Mamluk ruler, and imposed direct control over Iraq.^[19]

Under Napoleon[link]

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 Kleber established a mounted company of Mamluk auxiliaries and Syrian Janissaries from Turkish troops captured at the siege of Acre. 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 Jean Rapp was sent to Marseille to organize a squadron of 250 Mamluks. 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[link]

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[link]

In Egypt[link]

Bahri Dynasty[link]

• 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[link]

• 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-Bilal Ayub
• 1509
• 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[link]

The mausoleum of Qutub ud Din Aibak 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[link]

• 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

Other uses of the word[link]

Mameluco is a Portuguese word derived from "mamluk" (also named ameluco 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 slavishly obeyed party leader and prime minister Kálmán Tisza to keep their parliamentary seats and accompanying privileges.

An officer of the United States Marine Corps carries a ceremonial Mameluke Sword. The United States Army also uses Mameluke swords in ceremonies.

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[link]

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.

"Mamluk" as derogatory term[link]

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[link]

• Bahri dynasty
• Black Guard
• Burji dynasty
• Cossacks
• Feudalism
• Ghulam
• Janissary
• Jerusalem in the Mamluk period
• Mameluco
• Mameluke sword
• Mercenary
• Saqaliba
• Seventh Crusade
• Varangians

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Janet L. Abu-Lughod (1 February 1991). Before European hegemony: the world system A.D. 1250–1350. Oxford University Press US. ISBN 978-0-19-506774-3. 
• A. Allouche: Mamluk Economics : A Study and Translation of Al-Maqrizi's Ighathat. Salt Lake City, 1994
• Reuven Amitai-Preiss (1995). Mongols and Mamluks: the Mamluk-Īlkhānid War, 1260–1281. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-46226-6. http://books.google.com/books?id=dIaFbxD64nUC. Retrieved 20 June 2011. 
• 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 (French)
• James Waterson – The Mamluks (History Today March 2006)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mamluks

• 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

Cairo القاهرة (Arabic) al-Qāhira
Top left: Downtown Cairo; top right: Ibn Tulun Mosque; Middle: Cairo Citadel; Bottom left: Nile Felucca; Bottom middle: Cairo Tower; Bottom right: Muizz Street
Flag
Nickname(s): Mother of the World (umm al-dunya), The City of a Thousand Minarets, Capital of the Arab World
Egypt: Site of Cairo (top center)
Coordinates: 30°3′29″N 31°13′44″E / 30.05806°N 31.22889°E / 30.05806; 31.22889Coordinates: 30°3′29″N 31°13′44″E / 30.05806°N 31.22889°E / 30.05806; 31.22889
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Cairo
Government
• Governor/Mayor	Abdel Qawi Khalifa
Area
• City	453 km2 (175 sq mi)
• Urban	6,640 km2 (2,560 sq mi)
• Metro	86,369 km2 (33,347 sq mi)
Elevation	23 m (75 ft)
Population (2006)
• City	6,758,581
• Density	17,190/km2 (44,500/sq mi)
• Urban	17,290,000
• Metro	19,439,541
• Demonym	Cairene
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
Area code(s)	2
Website	www.cairo.gov.eg

Cairo ( /ˈkaɪroʊ/ KYE-roh; Arabic: القاهرة‎ al-Qāhira, literally "The Vanquisher" or "The Conqueror"), is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Located near the Nile Delta^[1][2], it was founded in the year 969 A.D. making it 1,043 years old. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life. Cairo was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in the 10th century AD.; but the land composing the present-day city was the site of national capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo is also associated with Ancient Egypt due to its proximity to the ancient cities of Memphis, Giza and Fustat which are nearby to the Great Sphinx and the pyramids of Giza.

Egyptians today often refer to Cairo as Maṣr (Arabic: مصر‎), the Arabic pronunciation of the name for Egypt itself, emphasizing the city's continued role in Egyptian influence.^[3][4] Cairo has the oldest and largest film and music industries in the Arab World, as well as the world's second-oldest institution of higher learning, al-Azhar University. Many international media, businesses, and organizations have regional headquarters in the city, and the Arab League has had its headquarters in Cairo for most of its existence.

With a population of 6.76 million^[5] spread over 453 square kilometers (175 sq mi), Cairo is by far the largest city in Egypt. With an additional ten million inhabitants just outside the city, Cairo resides at the centre of the largest metropolitan area in Africa and the eleventh-largest urban area in the world.^[6] Cairo, like many other mega-cities, suffers from high levels of pollution and traffic, but its metro – the only one on the African continent until the Algiers Metro began service on November 1, 2011 – also ranks among the fifteen busiest in the world,^[7] with over 700 million passenger rides annually. The economy of Cairo was ranked first in the Middle East,^[8] and 43rd globally by Foreign Policy's 2010 Global Cities Index.^[9]

History[link]

Initial settlements[link]

A rendition of Fustatfrom A.S. Rappoport's History of Egypt

The area around present-day Cairo, especially Memphis, had long been a focal point of Ancient Egypt due to its strategic location just upstream from the Nile Delta. However, the origins of the modern city is generally traced back to a series of settlements in the first millennium. Around the turn of the 4th century,^[10] as Memphis was continuing to decline in importance,^[11] the Romans established a fortress town along the east bank of the Nile. This fortress, known as Babylon, remains the oldest structure in the city. It is also situated at the nucleus of Egypt's Coptic Christian community, which separated from the Roman and Byzantine church in the late 4th century. Many of Cairo's oldest Coptic churches, including The Hanging Church, are located along the fortress walls in a section of the city known as Coptic Cairo.

Foundation and expansion[link]

Cairo map 1847

In 969 the Fatimids led by General Gawhar al-Siqilli with his Kutamas's army, under the moral flagship of Ubayd Allah al-Mahdi, a Shiite Ismaili Imam, to establish the fatimid dynasty. Egypt was conquered from their base in Ifriqiya and a new fortified city northeast of Fustat was established. It took four years for Gawhar to build the city, initially known as al-Manṣūriyyah,^[12] which was to serve as the new capital of the caliphate. During that time, Jawhar also commissioned the construction of al-Azhar Mosque, which developed into the third-oldest university in the world. Cairo would eventually become a centre of learning, with the library of Cairo containing hundreds of thousands of books.^[13] When Caliph al-Mu'izz li Din Allah finally arrived from the old Fatimid capital of Mahdia in Tunisia in 973, he gave the city its present name, al-Qahira ("The Victorious").^[12]

The Cairo Citadel, seen above in the late 19th century, was commissioned by Saladin between 1176 and 1183

For nearly 200 years after Cairo was established, the administrative centre of Egypt remained in Fustat. However, in 1168 the Fatimids under the leadership of Vizier Shawar set fire to Fustat to prevent Cairo's capture by the Crusaders.^[14] Egypt's capital was permanently moved to Cairo, which was eventually expanded to include the ruins of Fustat and the previous capitals of al-Askar and al-Qatta'i. While the Fustat fire successfully protected the city of Cairo, a continuing power struggle between Shawar, King Amalric I of Jerusalem, and Zengid general Shirkuh led to the downfall of the Fatimid establishment.^[15]

In 1169 Saladin was appointed as the new vizier of Egypt by the Fatimids and two years later he would seize power from the family of the last Fatimid caliph, al-'Āḍid.^[16] As the first Sultan of Egypt, Saladin established the Ayyubid dynasty, based in Cairo, and aligned Egypt with the Abbasids, who were based in Baghdad.^[17] During his reign, Saladin also constructed the Cairo Citadel, which served as the seat of the Egyptian government until the mid-19th century.

In 1250 slave soldiers, known as the Mamluks, seized control of Egypt and like many of their predecessors established Cairo as the capital of their new dynasty. Continuing a practice started by the Ayyubids, much of the land occupied by former Fatimid palaces was sold and replaced by newer buildings.^[18] Construction projects initiated by the Mamluks pushed the city outward while also bringing new infrastructure to the centre of the city.^[19] Meanwhile, Cairo flourished as a centre of Islamic scholarship and a crossroads on the spice trade route between Europe and Asia. By 1340, Cairo had a population of close to half a million, making it the largest city west of China.^[20]

Ottoman rule[link]

Although it avoided Europe's stagnation during the Late Middle Ages, Cairo could not escape the Black Death, which struck the city more than fifty times between 1348 and 1517.^[21] During its initial, and most deadly waves, approximately 200,000 people were killed by the plague,^[22] and, by the 15th century, Cairo's population had been reduced to between 150,000 and 300,000.^[23] The city's status was further diminished after Vasco da Gama discovered a sea route around the Cape of Good Hope, thereby allowing spice traders to avoid Cairo.^[20]

Cairo in the 19th century

Cairo's political influence diminished significantly after the Ottomans supplanted Mamluk power over Egypt in 1517. Ruling from Constantinople, Sultan Selim I relegated Egypt to a mere province, with Cairo as its capital.^[24] For this reason, the history of Cairo during Ottoman times is often described as inconsequential, especially in comparison to other time periods.^[20][25][26] However, during the 16th and 17th centuries, Cairo remained an important economic and cultural centre. Although no longer on the spice route, the city facilitated the transportation of Yemeni coffee and Indian textiles, primarily to Anatolia, North Africa, and the Balkans. Cairene merchants were instrumental in bringing goods to the barren Hejaz, especially during the annual hajj to Mecca.^[26][27] It was during this same period that al-Azhar University reached the predominance among Islamic schools that it continues to hold today;^[28][29] pilgrims on their way to hajj often attested to the superiority of the institution, which had become associated with Egypt's body of Islamic scholars.^[30] By the 16th century, Cairo also had high-rise apartment buildings where the two lower floors were for commercial and storage purposes and the multiple stories above them were rented out to tenants.^[31]

Under the Ottomans, Cairo expanded south and west from its nucleus around the Citadel.^[32] The city was the second-largest in the empire, behind only Constantinople, and, although migration was not the primary source of Cairo's growth, twenty percent of its population at the end of the 18th century consisted of religious minorities and foreigners from around the Mediterranean.^[33] Still, when Napoleon arrived in Cairo in 1798, the city's population was less than 300,000, forty percent lower than it was at the height of Mamluk—and Cairene—influence in the mid-14th century.^[20][33]

The French occupation was short-lived as British and Ottoman forces, including a sizable Albanian contingent, recaptured the country in 1801.^[34] The British vacated Egypt two years later, leaving the Ottomans, the Albanians, and the long-weakened Mamluks jostling for control of the country.^[35][36] Continued civil war allowed an Albanian named Muhammad Ali Pasha to ascend to the role of commander and eventually, with the approval of the religious establishment, viceroy of Egypt in 1805.^[37]

Modern era[link]

Until his death in 1848, Muhammad Ali Pasha instituted a number of social and economic reforms that earned him the title of founder of modern Egypt.^[38][39] However, while Muhammad Ali initiated the construction of public buildings in the city,^[40] those reforms had minimal effect on Cairo's landscape.^[41] Bigger changes came to Cairo under Isma'il Pasha (r. 1863–1879), who continued the modernization processes started by his grandfather. Drawing inspiration from Paris, Isma'il environs a city of maidans and wide avenues; due to financial constraints, only some of them, in the area now composing Downtown Cairo, came to fruition.^[42] Isma'il also sought to modernize the city, which was merging with neighboring settlements, by establishing a public works ministry, bringing gas and lighting to the city, and opening a theater and opera house.^[43][44]

Cairo, Egypt. Cairo is the sixteenth most populous city in the world.

Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo

The immense debt resulting from Isma'il's projects provided a pretext for increasing European control, which culminated with the British invasion in 1882.^[20] The city's economic centre quickly moved west toward the Nile, away from the historic Islamic Cairo section and toward the contemporary, European-style areas built by Isma'il.^[45][46] Europeans accounted for five percent of Cairo's population at the end of the 19th century, by which point they held most top governmental positions.^[47]

Nile view of Grand Hyatt Cairo at night

The British occupation was intended to be temporary, but it lasted well into the 20th century. Nationalists staged large-scale demonstrations in Cairo in 1919,^[20] five years after Egypt had been declared a British protectorate.^[48] Nevertheless, while this led to Egypt's independence in 1922, British troops remained in the country until 1956. During this time, urban Cairo, spurred by new bridges and transport links, continued to in expand to include the upscale neighborhoods of Garden City, Zamalek, and Heliopolis.^[49] Between 1882 and 1937, the population of Cairo more than tripled – from 347,000 to 1.3 million^[50] – and its area increased from 10 square kilometres (4 sq mi) to 163 square kilometres (63 sq mi).^[51]

The city was devastated during the 1952 Cairo Fire, also known as Black Saturday, which saw the destruction of nearly 700 shops, movie theatres, casinos and hotels in Downtown Cairo.^[52] The British departed Cairo following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, but the city's rapid growth showed no signs of abating. Seeking to accommodate the increasing population, President Gamal Abdel Nasser redeveloped Midan Tahrir and the Nile Corniche, and improved the city's network of bridges and highways.^[53] Meanwhile, additional controls of the Nile fostered development within the island of Gezira and along the city's waterfront. The metropolis began to encroach on the fertile Nile Delta, prompting the government to build desert satellite towns and devise incentives for city-dwellers to move to them.^[54]

Despite these efforts, Cairo's population has doubled since the 1960s, reaching close to seven million (with an additional ten million in its urban area). Concurrently, Cairo has established itself as a political and economic hub for North Africa and the Arab World, with many multinational businesses and organizations, including the Arab League, operating out of the city.

In 1992, Cairo was hit by a damaging earthquake, that caused 545 deaths, 6512 injuries and left 50,000 people homeless.^[55]

Cairo during 2011 Egyptian revolution[link]

A protester holds an Egyptian flag during the protests that started on 25 January 2011 in Egypt

Demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square on 8 February 2011

Cairo's Tahrir Square was the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak.^[56] Over 2 million protesters at Cairo's Tahrir square.more than 50,000 protesters first occupied the square on 25 January, during which the area's wireless services were reported to be impaired.^[57] In the following days Tahrir Square continued to be the primary destination for protests in Cairo.^[58] as it took place following a popular uprising that began on Tuesday, 25 January 2011 and is still continuing as of February 2012. The uprising was mainly a campaign of non-violent civil resistance, which featured a series of demonstrations, marches, acts of civil disobedience, and labour strikes. Millions of protesters from a variety of socio-economic and religious backgrounds demanded the overthrow of the regime of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Despite being predominantly peaceful in nature, the revolution was not without violent clashes between security forces and protesters, with at least 846 people killed and 6,000 injured.[18][19] The uprising took place in Cairo, Alexandria, and in other cities in Egypt, following the Tunisian revolution that resulted in the overthrow of the long-time Tunisian president. On 11 February, following weeks of determined popular protest and pressure, Mubarak resigned from office.

Satellite cities[link]

6th of October City, west of Cairo, and New Cairo, east of Cairo, are major urban developments which have been built to accommodate additional growth and development of the Cairo area.^[59] New development includes several high-end residential developments.^[60]

Geography[link]

Astronaut View of Cairo