Mamluk Military Slavery

Timeline

1. 850–1171Baghdad · IraqThe Abbasid dynasty purchased young slaves from Central Asia and the Caucasus, Islamized and trained them in horsemanship and archery, and enrolled them in the caliph's guard, forming the embryo of the mamluk (one who is owned) military slave tradition.
2. 1171–1221Cairo · EgyptSaladin and his successors systematically expanded mamluk barracks in Egypt and Syria, forming elite corps from Turkic and Kipchak-origin slaves that gradually replaced traditional tribal armies as the regime's mainstay.
3. 1221–1230Cairo · EgyptUnder al-Kamil, al-Adil II, and al-Salih Ayyub, the mamluk corps continued to expand in size, gaining the ability to influence sultanly succession and foreign military decisions, becoming the most powerful armed group of the late Ayyubid regime.
4. 1250–1517Cairo · EgyptIn 1250, mamluk officers overthrew the last Ayyubid sultan, transforming military slavery from an instrument of loyalty into the ruling class itself, and establishing the Mamluk Sultanate, which endured for two and a half centuries.