Mamluks, << MAM looks, >> also spelled Mamelukes, were a mainly Turkish-speaking military group that ruled Egypt from about A.D. 1250 to 1517. Most Mamluks were purchased as boys from people living in the Caucasus Mountains, the Ural Mountains, and the central Asian plains. They spent their youth as slaves to Islamic rulers, training for military and government service. Prior to seizing power in Egypt, Mamluks had served many Islamic rulers. In 1250, Mamluks serving Egypt’s Ayyubid dynasty (family of rulers) revolted and seized power. In 1258, the Mongols killed the last Abbasid caliph (Muslim leader) in Syria. The Mamluks achieved legitimacy by defeating the Mongols and installing an Abbasid caliph in Cairo. In time, the Mamluks extended their rule north along the Mediterranean coast to Syria and southern Turkey and into western Saudi Arabia.
The Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt in 1517, but the Mamluks remained influential. In 1811, Muhammad Ali, the Ottoman governor of Egypt, invited Mamluk leaders to a fortress called the Citadel and had them killed. Some Mamluks escaped to Nubia (now part of Sudan), but they soon were hunted down. Ottoman officials kept Mamluks until the mid-1800’s.
See also Egypt (History) ; Shajar al-Durr .
