Bahri Mamluks

The Bahri Mamluks (), sometimes referred to as the Bahri dynasty, were the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1250 to 1382, following the Ayyubid dynasty. The members of the Mamluk ruling class were purchased as slaves (mamluks) and manumitted, with the most powerful among them taking the role of sultan in Cairo. While several Bahri Mamluk sultans tried to establish hereditary dynasties through their sons, these attempts were ultimately unsuccessful, with the role of sultan often passing on to another powerful Mamluk.

The Bahri Mamluks were of mostly Kipchak Turkic origin. Fourteen of eighteen sultans between 1279 and 1390 belonged to the Qalawunid lineage.Jo Van Steenbergen, "The Mamluk Sultanate as a military patronage state: Household politics and the case of the Qalāwūnid Bayt (1279-1382)." Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 56.2 (2013): 189–217. After 1382/1390, they were succeeded by a second Mamluk regime, the Burji Mamluks, who were largely of Circassian origin.

Name The name Bahri or Bahriyya means 'of the river', referring to the location of their original barracks on Roda Island in the Nile (Nahr al-Nil) in Cairo, at the citadel of Al-Rodah which was built by the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub.

Arabic sources throughout the Mamluk period, especially during the Bahri period, referred to the Mamluk state as , , or , meaning 'State of the Turks'. This name emphasized the Turkic ethnic origins of the Mamluks who founded the Bahri dynasty, while Mamluk writers generally avoided explicit reference to the their slave ("mamluk") origins.

History

The Mamluks formed one of the most powerful and wealthiest empires of the time, lasting from 1250 to 1517 in Egypt, North Africa, and the Levant—Near East.

Development In 1250, when the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub died, the Mamluks he had owned as slaves murdered his son and heir al-Muazzam Turanshah, and Shajar al-Durr the widow of as-Salih became the Sultana of Egypt. She married the Atabeg (commander in chief) Emir Aybak and abdicated, Aybak becoming Sultan. He ruled from 1250 to 1257.

The Mamluks consolidated their power in ten years and eventually established the Bahri dynasty. They were indirectly helped by the Mongols' sack of Baghdad in 1258, which effectively destroyed the Abbasid caliphate. Cairo became more prominent as a result and remained a Mamluk capital thereafter.

The Mamluks were powerful cavalry warriors mixing the practices of the Turkic steppe peoples from which they were drawn and the organizational and technological sophistication and horsemanship of the Arabs. In 1260 the Mamluks defeated a Mongol army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in Palestine and eventually forced the invaders to retreat to the area of modern-day Iraq.Abu Al-Fida, pp.66-87/ Taking of Aleppo's Castle by the Mongols and new events in the Levant. The defeat of the Mongols at the hands of the Mamluks enhanced the position of the Mamluks in the southern Mediterranean basin.Shayyal, p. 123/vol.2 Baibars, one of the leaders at the battle, became the new Sultan after the assassination of Sultan Qutuz on the way home.

In 1250 Baibars was one of the Mamluk commanders who defended Mansurah against the Crusade knights of Louis IX of France, who was later definitely defeated, captured in the Battle of Fariskur and ransomed. Baibars had also taken part in the Mamluk takeover of Egypt. In 1261, after he became a Sultan, he established a puppet Abbasid caliphate in Cairo, and the Mamluks fought the remnants of the Crusader states in Palestine until they finally captured Acre in 1291.

Tatars and Mongols Many Tatars settled in Egypt and were employed by Baibars.Ibn Taghri/ vol. 7 He defeated the Mongols at the battle of Elbistan and sent the Abbasid Caliph with only 250 men to attempt to retake Baghdad, but was unsuccessful. In 1266 he devastated Cilician Armenia and in 1268 he recaptured Antioch from the Crusaders. In addition, he fought the Seljuks, and Hashshashin; he also extended Muslim power into Nubia for the first time, before his death in 1277.

Sultan Qalawun defeated a rebellion in Syria that was led by Sunqur al-Ashqar in 1280,Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66–87/ Year 697H. and also defeated another Mongol invasion in 1281 that was led by Abaqa outside Homs. After the Mongol threat passed he recaptured Tripoli from the Crusaders in 1289. His son Khalil captured Acre, the last Crusader city, in 1291.Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66-87/ Year 690H

The Mongols renewed their invasion in 1299,Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66–87/ Year 699H but were again defeated in 1303 in the Battle of Shaqhab.Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66-87/ Year 702H The Egyptian Mamluk Sultans entered into relations with the Golden Horde who converted to Islam and established a peace pact with the MongolsShayyal, p. 187/vol. 2 in 1322.

Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad married a Mongol princess in 1319. His diplomatic relations were more extensive than those of any previous Sultan, and included Bulgarian, Indian, and Abyssinian potentates, as well as the pope, the king of Aragon and the king of France.Shayyal, pp. 187–188 /vol.2 Al-Nasir Muhammad organized the re-digging of a canal in 1311 which connected Alexandria with the Nile. He died in 1341.

Decline The constant changes of sultans that followed led to great disorder in the provinces. Meanwhile, in 1349 Egypt and the Levant in general were introduced to Black Death, which is said to have killed many inhabitants.Shayyal, p.194/vol.2

In 1382 the last Bahri Sultan Hajji II was dethroned and the Sultanate was taken over by the Circassian Emir Barquq. He was expelled in 1389 but returned to power in 1390, setting up an era where the sultanate was controlled by the Burji Mamluks.Al-Maqrizi, pp.140-142/vol.5

Military organization On a general level, the military during the Bahri dynasty can be divided into several aspects:

Mamluks: The core of both the political and military base, these slave soldiers were further divided into Khassaki (comparable to imperial guards), Royal Mamluks (Mamluks directly under the command of the Sultan) and regular Mamluks (usually assigned to local Amirs). Al-Halqa: These primarily free born professional forces were also directly under the sultan's command. Wafidiyya: Turks and Mongols that migrated to the dynasty's border after the Mongol invasion, typically given land grants in exchange for military service; they were well regarded forces. Other levies: Primarily Bedouin tribes, but also on different occasions also different groups of Turkmens and Arabs.

List of Bahri Sultans While the Mamluk rulers before al-Zahir Baybars are generally considered part of the Bahri period, they were not part of the Bahriyya Mamluks and actually opposed their political interests.Northrup 1998, pp. 69–70. Shajar al-Durr was not a Mamluk, but is generally included in the lists due to the nature of her ascent and her status as a concubine of as-Salih Ayyub.

Shajar al-Durr, widow of Ayyubid Sultan as-Salih Ayyub, 1250 al-Mu'izz Aybak, mamluk of as-Salih Ayyub, 1250, 1254–1257 al-Mansur Ali, son of Aybak, 1257–1259 al-Muzaffar Qutuz, mamluk of Aybak, 1259–1260 al-Zahir Baybars, mamluk of as-Salih Ayyub, 1260–1277 al-Sa'id Baraka, son of Baybars, 1277–1279 al-Adil Salamish, son of Baybars, 1279 al-Mansur Qalawun, mamluk of Aybak, 1279–1290 al-Ashraf Khalil, son of Qalawun, 1290–1293 an-Nasir Muhammad, son of Qalawun, 1293–1294, 1299–1309, 1310–1341 al-Adil Kitbugha, mamluk of Qalawun, 1294–1296 al-Mansur Lajin, mamluk of Qalawun, 1296–1299 al-Muzaffar Baybars II, mamluk of Qalawun, 1309–1310 al-Mansur Abu-Bakr, son of an-Nasir Muhammad, 1341 al-Ashraf Kujuk, son of an-Nasir Muhammad, 1341–1342 an-Nasir Ahmad, son of an-Nasir Muhammad, 1342 as-Salih Ismail, son of an-Nasir Muhammad, 1342–1345 al-Kamil Sha'ban, son of an-Nasir Muhammad, 1345–1346 al-Muzaffar Hajji, son of an-Nasir Muhammad, 1346–1347 an-Nasir Hasan, son of an-Nasir Muhammad, 1347–1351, 1354–1361 as-Salih Salih, son of an-Nasir Muhammad, 1351–1354 al-Mansur Muhammad, son of Hajji, 1361–1363 al-Ashraf Sha'ban II, grandson of an-Nasir Muhammad, 1363–1377 al-Mansur Ali II, son of Sha'ban II, 1377–1381 as-Salih Hajji II, son of Sha'ban II, 1381-1382, 1389-1390

In 1382 the Burji period began when Barquq, a Circassian mamluk and regent of Hajji II, deposed him. Hajji II was briefly restored in 1389 when Barquq was overthrown, but Barquq soon took his position back.

Bahri Mamluks

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