Essays on Mamluks

Introduction

The medieval Islamic city was influenced by the enthusiastic patronage of art and architecture, examples being Mamluk rulers and the amirs of the Mamluk era. The architectural projects from this period comprised of both small and multifaceted complexes. The buildings helped the society in many ways and could be used to hold important functions, religious and commercial activities amongst others. Buildings were developed in the form of mosques, hospitals, kuttab, and Kurf amongst others. The architectural projects demonstrated the urban and artistic order that was significant in ensuring that the fundamental pillars of Islam were observed within the society. ...

1) The phenomenon of military slavery became nearly universal from Egypt to Central Asia in the medieval period. Many Europeans were shocked at the thought that the roles held by kings, nobility, and aristocracy were held by soldiers of such humble beginnings. Discuss this phenomenon, what accounted for it and why did it become so widespread?

Most of the existing work that has been published about slavery focuses on the transportation of slaves into Europe and the extreme west across the Atlantic Ocean into America. However, records of the booming Sahara-Indian Ocean Slavery business that existed since the seventh ...

Islam in African History

Islam in African History

Introduction: Islam came into Africa through two paths. One from the east and the other from the north. Islam crossed through vast empty spaces when coming from east and north. The Indian Ocean and the deserts of Sahara are often considered barriers. However, they turned out to be the best transmitters of religious influence. If we talk about Islamic influence in Egypt, it got extended in three directions. The Islamic influence spread through the Red Sea to the eastern coastal areas, going through the Nile valley to the Sudan, and across the western ...

Great Mosque of Damascus or the Umayyad Mosque

The Great Mosque of Damascus is located in Syria and is known to be one of the most important shrines of Islam. In fact it is probably the largest mosque in the world as well as being the oldest having been built on a site where there was a Christian church dedicated to St John the Baptist whose head is also said to be buried there. The mosque was built in the year 634 and has undertaken several changes and modifications ever since. The tomb of the great Caliph Saladin is also located close by next to the Northern walls ...

Abstract

Mamluk history is divided into two periods based on different dynastic lines: the Bahri Mamluks of Qipchaq Turkic, and the Burji Mamluks of Caucasian Circassian origin. After receiving instruction in Arabic, the fundamentals of Islam, and the art of warfare, slaves in the royal barracks were manumitted and given responsibilities in the Mamluk hierarchy. The following is a brief discussion of the rise and fall of the dynasty of these slave warriors.

Introduction

The Mamluks, originally bands of slave warriors, were the rulers Egypt and Syria from the year 1250 until 1517 AD; their dynasty brought down by the Ottomans after. ...

The Causes to the Decline of the Ottoman Empire

In ancient history, two Empires can be considered the foundations of two of the most practiced religions in the globe – the Byzantine Empire and the Ottoman Empire. Both Empires dominated their respective domains, enlarged their empires, and supported their choice religion – Catholicism for the Byzantine Empire and Islam for the Ottoman Empire. While many are familiar with the history of the Byzantine Empire’s rise and fall, others only know the Ottoman Empire briefly as one of the prominent Empires in the Middle East. Like the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire can be considered its Middle Eastern counterpart as ...