User:Alexis Ivanov/Mamluk Sultanate

Etymology
The Arabic term mamlūk literally means ‘owned’ or ‘slave’, and was used for the white Turkish slaves of pagan origins, purchased from Central Asia and the Eurasian steppes by Muslim rulers to serve as soldiers in their armies.

History
Mamluk units formed an integral part of Muslim armies from the third/ninth century, and Mamluk involvement in government became an increasingly familiar occurrence in the medieval Middle East. The road to absolute rule lay open before them in Egypt when the Mamluk establishment gained military and political domination during the reign of the Ayyubid ruler of Egypt, al-Salih Ayyub (r. 637–47/1240–9) Shajar al-Durr ,al-Salih’s Turkish slave-girl and later his wife, was one of his regime’s stalwarts without holding any formal position in government. The common background of al-Salih’s mamluks and the power they accumulated during his lifetime, coupled with the personal loyalty they felt towards him rather than to the Ayyubid house, enabled Shajar al-Durr to run the kingdom upon his death in 647/1249, during the Crusader invasion led by King Louis IX of France, and to install his son Turanshah on the throne. Turanshah’s attempts to consolidate his hold on power proved futile and brought about his murder and the eventual removal of the Ayyubid dynasty from Egypt in 648/1250 The Mamluks’ victory over the Franks at Battle of al-Manṣūra, achieved in the absence of an Ayyubid ruler to lead them in battle, gave them a claim to both the traditional title of ‘protectors of the faith’ and rule in Egypt as devoted followers of al-Salih Ayyub’s legacy. The Bahriyya mamluks chose to put Shajar al-Durr on the throne. Her rule, however, was problematic since political and ruling tradition in most Islamic regions, especially in the Arabophonic ones, denied females any formal position in government. Her accession had already aroused technical problems as well as vociferous ideological protests. Since Shajar al-Durr could not fulfill the role of atabak al-asakir, commander in chief of the army, the oath of allegiance was jointly administered to her and atabak al-asakir, indicating the army’s share in government.Normally, one of the prominent Bahriyya amirs would have filled this post, but fear of power struggles among them led them to choose Aybak al-Turkmani, a middle-ranking and non-Bahri amir, for the post.As one commentary has it, Shajar al-Durr married Aybak in order to make him worthy of his exalted role. This arrangement was kept in place for about three months.

Military
Al-Salih Ayyub’s army, including his elite bodyguard, the Bahriyya, was mainly composed of Qipchak Turkish mamluks. Al-Salih took great care to reserve most iqṭāʾs (tax revenues from land assignments) for his mamluks and to confer the most prominent positions upon his confidants.

The common background of al-Salih’s mamluks and the power they accumulated during his lifetime, coupled with the personal loyalty they felt towards him rather than to the Ayyubid house, enabled Shajar al-Durr to run the kingdom upon his death in 647/1249, during the Crusader invasion led by King Louis IX of France, and to install his son Turanshah on the throne. [Repeated]

Income, poverty and wealth
Al-Salih took great care to reserve most iqṭāʾs (tax revenues from land assignments) for his mamluks and to confer the most prominent positions upon his confidants. [Repeated]

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