Mamluk Warrior Regime

Timeline

1. 1371–1375Syria–Anatolia frontier · SyriaDuring Sultan al-Ashraf Sha'ban's reign, Mamluk cavalry were garrisoned from Aleppo and Damascus to the Cilician frontier. Emirs were divided into camps by origin faction (such as Barqa, Nasiri, etc.), each camp possessing its own Mamluk retinue supported by iqṭāʿ fiefs. Cavalry were equipped with chainmail, round shields, and composite bows, and conducted mounted archery and charge drills according to furusiyya horsemanship standards.
2. 1377Cairo citadel · CairoIn 1377, Emir Barquq launched a coup, deposing Sultan Sha'ban and installing a child ruler. Mamluk camps fought in street battles at the Cairo citadel and within the city, showing the military regime had become highly factionalized—soldiers' loyalty often belonged to the emir who purchased and trained them rather than to the abstract authority of the sultan. After the coup, the new sultan Mansur Ali was only ten years old, and real power fell to the emir group.
3. 1378–1380Damascus · DamascusDuring the child sultan's reign, the Syrian governorates still had to maintain standing Mamluk cavalry to counter threats from the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia and the Anatolian frontier. Damascus, as the second political center, was where emirs levied retinues, distributed iqṭāʿ, and held parades; furūsiyya tournaments (mubaʿara) remained the core ritual for promotion and prestige.