The Mamluk Sultanate and the Mongols

HIST 100710/30/13

Crusades and Modern Middle East

• European interest in the crusades– Sir Walter Scott, The Talisman, 1825

• Meets 19th century colonialism• 1898: German Emperor Wilhelm II repairs tomb of Salah al-Din• Salah al-Din and anti-colonialism• Salah al-Din and Arab Nationalism

Egyptian coat of arms andtomb of Salah al-Din

Crusades aren’t a big deal compared to…

• The Mamluk Sultanate – r. 1250-1517– Ayyubid ghulams turned sultans

• The Mongols– Steppe nomads organized under Chingis (Genghis) Khan– Ilkhanate (r. 1256-1335)– Timurids (r. 1370-1507)

Mamluk Sultan Baybars and Ilkhan Hulagu Khan

Ayyubid Mamluks

• Ayyubids and Seljuqs continue to rely on ghulam and mamluk soldiers

• Primarily Turkish and Circassian• Mamluks and royal guards• Bahri Mamluks: Royal guard of Ayyubid Sultan al-Salih

Rhoda Island, base of Bahri Mamluks

Mamluks and the Seventh Crusade

• Seventh Crusades (1248-1254)• 1249: Louis IX of France comes to Egypt• Ayyubid Sultan al-Salih dies• Feb. 8-11, 1250: Battle of al-Mansurah• Louis IX captured by Bahri Mamluk troops

The Rise of the Mamluks

• al-Mu`azzam Turan Shah (r. 1249-1250): Ayyubid Sultan, son of al-Salih

• Attempt to replace Bahri Mamluks with al-Mu`azzam’s personal guard

• May 2, 1250: al-Mu`azzam assassinated by Bahri Mamluks

• Shajar al-Durr (r. 1250-1257): Sultana, widow of al-Salih

• `Izz al-Din Aybak (r. 1250-1257): Bahri Mamluk Atabeg, founder of the Mamluk Sultanate

The Rise of the Mamluks

• 1250’s – decade of political instability in Egypt and Syria

• Mamluk factions and remains of Ayyubid dynasty• Out of chaos comes stability

Mamluk System

• Continued reliance on slave soldiers• Circassians and Turks• Only former slaves may become sultan• Mamluks may have families, but positions are not inherited• Political networks built in military barracks

Ibn al-Athir (1160-1233)

• Kurdish historian• Worked under Salah al-Din• “The Complete

History”• Tatars – Turkic

people, fought in the Mongol army

Scenes from the movie “Mongol”

Chinggis Khan (r. 1206-1227)

• Temujin – born 1162• Father dies, exiled from clan• Alliances• Diplomatic marriages• Master of steppe diplomacy

Universal Khan

• 1206 – Chinggis Khan• Karakorum – capital• Yurt• Equality among Mongol

aristocracy• Merit based appointments• Mongol Script• Yassa Code

Mongol Expansion

Mongol Success

• Alliances and diplomacy• Coalition army• Steppe and Silk Road• “Calculated

Frightfulness”• Destruction of

agricultural base

Mongol Empire and Pax Mongolica

• No unified culture or social structure

• Mongols more likely to convert

• Many Mongol Empires• Patronage of artists and

craftsmen• Steppe Diplomacy in

the City

Karakorum

• “Black Tent”• Cosmopolitan

yurt city?• Captured

artisans• Guillaume

Boucher

Yurt in the City

Karakorum Buddhist Temple

Karakorum Mosque and Caravanserai

Mongol Succession

Il-khans (1256-1335)

• Hülegü (r. 1256-1265)• Fall of Baghdad – 1258• End of Caliphate

Mongols, Mamluks, and Crusaders• All meet in Syria in mid-13th century• Damascus and Aleppo both fall to Mongols• Prester John: Will the Mongols save the crusaders?• Sultan Qutuz (r. 1259-1260):Executes Mongol envoys and marches on Palestine• Battle of `Ayn Jalut: Sept. 3, 1260

Bayburs (r. 1260-1277)

• Mamluk general at `Ayn Jalut• Assassinates Qutuz to become sultan• Campaigns against Crusader States• 1268: Bayburs razes Antioch• Ninth Crusade (1271-1272): Crusaders ally with Mongols