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Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 30. Chapters: Mamluk Egypt, Al-Azhar Mosque, Bahri dynasty, Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri, Tuman bay II, Qaitbay, Mamluk Sultanate, Burji dynasty, Barquq, Furusiyya, Jamal al-Din al-Ustadar, Amir Husain Al-Kurdi, Barsbay. Excerpt: A Mamluk (Arabic: (singular), mamālīk (plural), "owned"; also transliterated mamluq, mamluke, mameluk, mameluke, mamaluke or marmeluke) was a soldier of slave origin who had converted to Islam. The "mamluk phenomenon," as David Ayalon has called it, 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 and fought the Crusaders. They were of varied ancestry but were often Kipchak Turks, 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. Mamluk lancers, early 16th centuryThe 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...