Overview of the Rising Era.
Everybody agrees that the story of an entrenched military caste like the mamluks in Islamic societies begins with the Abbasid caliphs of the 9th century Baghdad. The question is more precisely when in the 9th century. The dominant narrative up to the 1990s was that the earliest mamluks were known as ghilman (another term for slaves, broadly synonymous) and were bought by the Abbasid caliphs, especially al-Mu'tasim (833-842). By the end 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 (see Anarchy at Samarra). A more recent interpretation would distinguish between a ghilman system, in Samarra, without training and relying on pre-existing Central Asian hierarchies, mixing adult slaves and freemen, and a later creation of an actual mamluk system, with the systematic training of young slaves, after the return of the caliphate to Baghdad in the 870's. The mamluk system would have been a small-scale experiment of al-Muwaffaq, combining the efficiency of the steppic warriors with improved reliability. This recent interpretation seems to have been accepted.
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 foreigners 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.
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.
Timeline.
Early Mamluks is Egypt. 815 - 816 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 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.
By 1189, after the capture of Jerusalem, Saladin had consolidated the dynasty's control over the Middle East.
Taking over of French. 1249.
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).
Mamluks & the Mongols. 1258.
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. 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 pulled the majority of his forces out of Syria to attend the Kuraltai when great Khan Möngke died in action against the Southern Song, he left his lieutenant, the Christian Kitbuqa.
Burji Dynasty. late 14th Century.
In 1382 the 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.
Portuguese - Mamluk War. 1497.
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.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.
End of Mamluk Sultanate. 1514.
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 1516, at the Battle of Marj Dabiq, 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.
Napolean Invades. 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 massed cavalry charges, changed only by the addition of musket. His successor in Egypt, General Jean Baptiste Kléber, was assassinated on 14 June 1800. After the departure of French troops in 1801 Mamluks continued their struggle for independence, this time against the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain.
End of Mamluk Power in Egypt. 1811.
On 1 March 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
Architecture Timeline of Mamluk Era.
Darih Shajarat Al Durr
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Period: Mamluk 13th Century.
It was a mausoleum for the famous Shajar al Durr who was the widow that took over the role of Sultana after the death of her husband and led the army to fight againt the Sevent Crusade. The mausoleum has geometrical forms that are placed on top of the other.
Darih al-Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil bin Qalawun
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Period: 1288/688 AH
It was a mausoleum for the famous Shajar al Durr who was the widow that took over the role of Sultana after the death of her husband and led the army to fight againt the Sevent Crusade. The mausoleum has geometrical forms that are placed on top of the other.
Amir Aslam al-Silahdar Funerary Complex Conservation
Location: Cairo, Egypt
Period: Mamluk. 14th Century.
The Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar is among the masterpieces of Mamluk architecture in Cairo. The building is a typically harmonious blend of elaborate decoration in different materials, combining formally designed parts in a freely composed, asymmetrical, yet well-balanced whole. The prayer hall has a cruciform plan with a central courtyard covered by a wooden roof (the present roof dates to the early 20th century). Four deep recesses, or iwans, open off the central courtyard.
Amir Khayrbak Funerary Complex.
Location: Cairo, Egypt.
Period: 1502/907 AH
The Mosque of Aslam al-Silahdar is among the masterpieces of Mamluk architecture in Cairo. The building is a typically harmonious blend of elaborate decoration in different materials, combining formally designed parts in a freely composed, asymmetrical, yet well-balanced whole. The prayer hall has a cruciform plan with a central courtyard covered by a wooden roof (the present roof dates to the early 20th century). Four deep recesses, or iwans, open off the central courtyard.
The elaborately decorated entrance shows that it was originally an exterior façade indicating that the mausoleum was built first. It is covered with a soaring dome supported within on tiers of elegant stucco muqarnas. The drum of the dome is decorated externally with calligraphy and crenellations in ceramic tiles, another rare feature in Mamluk Cairo. The amir later added the mosque and a minaret (the present minaret dates to the Ottoman period). Many different materials and techniques are combined in the decoration of the building to achieve a harmonious and appealing overall effect.
Khan Qurt Bak
Location: Aleppo, Syria
Period: Mamluk/Ottoman. 16th Cent.
This building was originally intended to serve as a Mamluk palace, but was not completed in that period and later became an Ottoman khan. The khan is made up of a main entrance with large gates, faced with a grand iwan directly on the axes. It is this part of the khan with the large scale iwan and its ornamentation and inscriptions on the windows of the two rooms that flank it, that is dated to the Mamluk period.
7 Principles of Islamic Architecture in Mamluk Architecture.
Emir Qurqumas. Cairo, Egypt. 1506 - 07.
An interesting feature that has been preserved in this complex is the qasr (palace), the term used in the waqf deed to designate the hall on the south side of the mausoleum. This was a residence with large iron-grilled windows surmounted by arched openings in pierced stone that overlooked the cemetery to the south, east and west. Preserving this palace due to the waqf deed is a form of repect which is the principle of the islamic architecture, ihtiram. The building also is a complex for cemeteries, as the Sultan Al-Ghuri which was the Sultan of Quatbay, was buried there and during his funeral all people that was important attended. All of the attendees came together as one perform the Solat of Jenazah bring unity to the people of the vicinity. This is in turn has shown the first principle of architecture. Apart from that the fridays prayers that is perform is a show of architecture of tawhid.
The iron grill was used in the residential buildings as to allow more
privacy to the users of the building. At the same time it would allow
the people in the space especially women to peak out without being
seen as a form of Haya’ or modesty in islamic architecture. The iron
grill is through the residential buildings only.
Geometric shapes and inscriptions from the holy quran are seen on the minaret of the Qurqumas and it is probably the most interesting part of the building as there so much details to it. Essence of dikr’ and iqtisad are very obvious on the minaret. Apart from that, the spiral staircase in the Qurqumas was spiraled clockwise (descending manner) as to encourage people to start stepping with the right foot as advised from the hadith.
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| Plan view of the Emir Qurqumas. |
Mosque of Sultan Hassan. Cairo, Egypt. 1256 AD.
This building was constructed for the Sultan Hassan in the 1256 A.D as a mosque and religious school for all sect.
Inscription of the the Holy Quran on the façade of the main entrance reminding us about the greatness of Allah. The Quranic verses are repeated as well in the walls of the iwans in a kufic script on a floriated background, the style which is rarely seen. This is a form of dikr’ in islamic architecture reminding us the greatness of Allah. The open central courtyard is actually a centric space for the madrasa that is present within the bulding. Within the centre space is a fountain in which the ablution is performed. In this space, the principle of haya‘ and ilm’ is seen very strongly. The fountain is also a reminder to the students that water is a symbol of life and knowledge revolves around it. The 4 types of madrasah teaching the 4 mazhabs in the teachngs of islam are a form of pursuit of knowledge and the importance of us acquiring it.
The Muqarmas that greets the visitors or Muslims into the mosque. The repetition of the muqarmas is a form of dikr a rememberance and the reminder
of Allah.
The Aqmar Mosque. Cairo, Egpyt. 1125 Completed.
The Aqmar mosque also known as the Grey Mosque built in the leadership of Al-Amir bi-Ahkami I-Lah.The mosque is notable for its façade, which is elaborately decorated with inscriptions and geometric carving. This is both the first mosque in Cairo to have such decoration, and it also the first to have a façade which follows the line of the street, built at an angle to the rectangular hypostyle hall whose orientation is dictated by the qibla direction. An inscription is seen in pierced medallion just over the main entrance gate with quran verse 33;33 encircling names of Muhammad and Ali.
O people of the house (Ahle-bayt), God only desires to put away from you abomination and with cleansing to cleanse you.
The Aqmar mosque has a very pure form of a square located in the middle of the building which reminds the architecture form of the Qaabah, as the muslims pray towards the Qaabah for their prayers. This pure geometrical form is the element of iqtisad, balance in the architecture form. Element of haya’ can also be seen from this courtyard as it is a form of modesty and preservation
of dignity.The repetition of columns and pointed arches are architectural form of dikr, always remembering the presence of Allah.
