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State of the Turksدولة الأتراك (Arabic)
1250–1382
Flags according to the Catalan Atlas of c. 1375
Personal insignia of Baybars from 1260
The Mamluk Sultanate circa 1317 AD
Status	Sultanate under the Abbasid Caliphate
Capital	Cairo
Religion	Sunni Islam
History
• Established	1250
• Disestablished	1382
Preceded by Succeeded by Ayyubid dynasty Burji Mamluks

The Bahri Mamluks (Arabic: المماليك البحرية, romanized: al-Mamalik al-Baḥariyya), 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. After 1382/1390, they were succeeded by a second Mamluk regime, the Burji Mamluks, who were largely of Circassian origin. 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.

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 present-day Israel and eventually forced the invaders to retreat to the area of modern-day Iraq. The defeat of the Mongols at the hands of the Mamluks enhanced the position of the Mamluks in the southern Mediterranean basin. 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. 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, 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.

The Mongols renewed their invasion in 1299, but were again defeated in 1303 in the Battle of Shaqhab. The Egyptian Mamluk Sultans entered into relations with the Golden Horde who converted to Islam and established a peace pact with the Mongols 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. 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.

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.

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 Turkomans and other settled Arabs.

List of Bahri Sultans

Following As-Saleh, the Burji dynasty took over the Mamluk Sultanate under Sayf-ad-Din Barquq in 1389–90 C.E.

See also

History of the Turkic peoples pre–14th century
Turkic peoples Onogurs Oghuz Turks Saragurs Utigurs Bulgars Sabir Kutrigurs Karluks Kimek Kipchaks Cherniye Klobuki Uyghurs Tatars Kumyks Yakuts Dolgans Krymchaks Crimean Karaites
Turkic Languages Turkish Azerbaijani Uzbek Kazakh Uyghur Turkmen Tatar Kyrgyz Bashkir Chuvash Qasgqai Karakalpak Sakha Kumyk Karachay-Balkar Tuvan Gagauz Karaim Krymchak
Turkic Mythology Belief system: Tengrism and Shamanism Chief gods and goddesses: Kayra and Ülgen Epics and heroes: Ergenekon and Asena Major concepts: Sheka and Grey wolf
Pre-14th century Yenisei Kyrgyz People 202 BCE–13th CE Yenisei Kyrgyz Khaganate Dingling 71 BC–?? AD Tiele (Gaoche) Göktürks First Turkic Khaganate 552–581 Western Turkic Khaganate 581–657 (Tokhara Yabghus, Turk Shahis) Eastern Turkic Khaganate 581–650 Second Turkic Khaganate 682–744 Sabiri People Khazar Khaganate 618–1048 Xueyantuo 628–646 Kangar Union 659–750 Turk Shahi 665-850 Türgesh Khaganate 699–766 Kimek–Kipchak Confederation 743–1035 Uyghur Khaganate 744–840 Oghuz Yabgu State 750–1055 Karluk Yabgu State 756–940 Kara-Khanid Khanate 840–1212 Western Kara-Khanid Eastern Kara-Khanid Ganzhou Uyghur Kingdom 848–1036 Qocho 856–1335 Pecheneg Khanates 860–1091 Ghaznavid Empire 963–1186 Seljuk Empire 1037–1194 Sultanate of Rum Cuman–Kipchak Confederation 1067–1239 Khwarazmian Empire 1077–1231 Kerait Khanate 11th century–13th century Atabegs of Azerbaijan 1136–1225 Delhi Sultanate 1206–1526 Mamluk dynasty Khalji dynasty Tughlaq dynasty Qarlughid Kingdom 1224–1266 Golden Horde 1242–1502 Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo) 1250–1517 Bahri dynasty Ottoman State 1299–1922
v t e

• Black Sea slave trade
• Timeline of the Turkic peoples (500–1300)
• Egypt in the Middle Ages
• List of Sunni dynasties

Notes

1. There is another theory about the origin of the name which states that they were called 'Bahariyya' because they came by sea or from over sea.
2. After the al-Rodah citadel was built, As-Salih took up residence there with his Mamluks. Later, the Mamluk sultans lived at the Cairo Citadel which was situated on the Muqattam Hills near Cairo.
3. See also Shajar al-Durr and Aybak
4. The victory of the Mamluks against the Mongols brought an end to the Ayyubid's claim in Egypt and the Levant . Ayyubid Emirs recognized the Mamluk Sultan as their sovereign.
5. Qutuz was assassinated near al-Salihiyah, Egypt. Those murdered him were emir Badr ad-Din Baktut, emir Ons and emir Bahadir al-Mu'izzi.
6. Sultan Baibars recognized the Sovereignty of Abu al-Qasim Ahmad as the Abbasid Caliph in Cairo only in religious matters after a few Bedouins witnessed Fariskurbefore the supreme judge of Egypt that he was the son of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Zahir Billah. The Caliph took the name al-Mustansir Billah. Though the Abbasid Caliphs in Cairo during the Mamluk era legitimated the sovereignty of the Mamluks' Sultans, the Caliphs were actually powerless. However, contrary to the Ayyubids who were to some degree dependent on the Abbasid Chaliph in Baghdad, the fact that the Chaliph lived in Cairo gave the Mamluks independency and full freedom of action.
7. See al-Ashraf Khalil
8. In 1262, during the reign of Sultan Baibars, many Tartars from the Golden Horde tribe escaped from Hulagu to Egypt and were followed later by other Tartars. Baibars welcomed the Tartars and employed them in the army. They had their own army unit which was called al-Firqah al-Wafidiyah (the arrivals unite). Throughout the Mamluk era, the Wafidiyya (arriving Tartars) were free men and the Mamluk system did not apply to them. Baibars resided the Tartars in Cairo and gave them various official posts. The largest group of Tartars immigrated to Egypt in 1296 during the reign of Sultan Kitbugha who was himself of Mongol origin. They resided at the district of al-Hisiniyah in Cairo and many of their women married Mamluk Emirs.
9. Cilician Armenia was devastated by Sultan Baibars's commander Qalawun upon the Battle of Mari in 1266. The Principality of Antioch was destroyed by Sultan Baibars in 1268.
10. Baibars defeated both the Seljuks and the Mongols at the battle of Elbistan.
11. Shams ad-Din Sunqur al-Ashqar was a prominent emir and one of the most devoted Bahri emirs since the days of Sultan Baibars. He was taken prisoner by the Armenians and was freed in exchange for Leo the son of King Hethum I, King of Armenia who was captured during the invasion of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in 1266. During the reign of Baibars' son Solamish, he was the deputy of the Sultan in Damascus. During the reign of Qalawun, Sunqur al-Ashqar proclaimed himself a Sultan while in Damascus, taking the royal name al-Malik al-Kamil. Sunqur al-Ashqar fought a few battles against Sultan Qalawun's Emirs but was pardoned later after he joined Qalawun's army against the Mongols.
12. Sultan Baibars sent his first emissaries to Berke Khan the ruler of the Golden Horde in 1261
13. The Black Death probably began in Central Asia and spread to Europe by the late 1340s. The total number of deaths worldwide from the pandemic is estimated at 75 million people; there were an estimated 25-50 million deaths in Europe.
14. Nominal rule of Ayyubid dynasty under Sultan Al-Ashraf Muzaffar-ad-Din Musa 1250–1254
15. Interruption in the rule of Bahri dynasty by Burji dynasty

References

1. Shoup, John A. (2017). The Nile: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 170. ISBN 978-1-4408-4041-8.
2. Flood, Finbarr Barry; Necipoğlu, Gülru (2017). A Companion to Islamic Art and Architecture. Wiley Blackwell. p. 579. ISBN 978-1-119-06857-0.
3. ^ Bosworth, C. E. (1996). "The Mamluks". New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 76–80. ISBN 978-1-4744-6462-8.
4. Naylor, Phillip C. (2015). North Africa, Revised Edition: A History from Antiquity to the Present. University of Texas Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-292-76190-2.
5. 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.
6. Bosworth, C. E. (1996). "The Mamluks". New Islamic Dynasties: A Chronological and Genealogical Manual. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 76–80. ISBN 978-1-4744-6462-8.
7. Shayyal, 110/vol.2
8. • Al-Maqrizi, p. 441/vol.1
   • Abu Al-Fida, pp.66-87/ Year 647H - Death of as-Sailih Ayyub
   • Ibn Taghri/vol.6 - Year 639H
9. Al-Maqrizi, p.405/vol. 1
10. Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz, p. 327/vol.3
11. • Al-Maqrizi pp. 444-494. vol/1
    • Abu Al-Fida, pp.66-87/ Years 647H - 655H
    • Ibn Taghri/vol.6 - Year 646H
12. Ettinghausen, Richard (1977). Arab painting. New York : Rizzoli. p. 148. ISBN 978-0-8478-0081-0.
13. Ettinghausen, Richard (1977). Arab painting. New York : Rizzoli. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-8478-0081-0.
14. Abu Al-Fida, pp.66-87/ Taking of Aleppo's Castle by the Mongols and new events in the Levant.
15. Shayyal, p. 123/vol.2
16. Shayyal, p.126/vol.2
17. • Al-Maqrizi, p.519/vol.1
    • Ibn Taghri/ vol.7
18. Al-Maqrizi, p. 519/vol.1
19. • Shayyal, p. 132/vol.2
    • Ibn Taghri/ vol.7
    • Abu Al-Fida, pp.66-87/ Murder of al-Malik al-Nasir Yusuf
20. Shayyal, p. 144/vol. 2
21. ^ Ibn Taghri/ vol. 7
22. • Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66–87/Year 675H- Al-Malik Al-Zahir entering land of the Roum
    • Ibn Taghri/ vol. 7
23. • Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66-87/ Soldiers entering the land of the Armenians
    • Ibn Taghri/ vol. 7
24. Shayyal, p. 138/vol. 2
25. Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66–87/ Year 697H.
26. Al-Maqrizi, p. 51, 121, 127, 131-133, 145/vol. 2
27. • Abu Al-Fida, pp.66-87/ Year 688H
    • Shayyal, p. 165/vol.2
28. • Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66-87/ 688HYear
    • Shayyal, 168/vol. 2
29. Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66-87/ Year 690H
30. Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66–87/ Year 699H
31. Abu Al-Fida, pp. 66-87/ Year 702H
32. Shayyal, p. 141/vol2
33. ^ Shayyal, p. 187/vol. 2
34. Shayyal, pp. 187–188 /vol.2
35. Shayyal, p.194/vol.2
36. Al-Maqrizi, pp.140-142/vol.5

Bibliography

• Abu al-Fida. Tarīkh al-Mukhtaṣar fī Akhbār al-Bashar [Concise History of Humanity].
• Al-Maqrizi (1969). Bohn, Henry G. (ed.). Kitāb al-Sulūk li-Ma'rifat Duwal al-Mulūk [The Road to Knowledge of the Return of Kings]. AMS Press.
• Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar, Matabat aladab, Cairo 1996, ISBN 977-241-175-X
• Idem in French: Bouriant, Urbain, Description topographique et historique de l'Egypte, Paris 1895.
• Ayalon, D.: The Mamluk Military Society. London, 1979.
• Ibn Taghri, al-Nujum al-Zahirah Fi Milook Misr wa al-Qahirah, al-Hay'ah al-Misreyah 1968
• Idem in English: History of Egypt, by Yusef. William Popper, translator Abu L-Mahasin ibn Taghri Birdi, University of California Press 1954.
• Shayyal, Jamal, Prof. of Islamic history, Tarikh Misr al-Islamiyah (History of Islamic Egypt), dar al-Maref, Cairo 1266, ISBN 977-02-5975-6

External links

• Media related to Bahri dynasty at Wikimedia Commons

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• Bahri dynasty
• Mamluk Sultanate
• African dynasties
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• Kipchaks
• 1250 establishments
• 13th-century establishments in the Mamluk Sultanate
• 1382 disestablishments
• 14th-century disestablishments in the Mamluk Sultanate