Mamluk Cavalry Defeated in Egypt

Timeline

1. 1517Ridaniya battlefield · EgyptTuman Bay II hastily mustered about 15,000 Mamluk cavalry and Bedouin auxiliaries and formed up on the plain south of Cairo. Following a century-old tradition, the cavalry launched repeated charges, attempting to overwhelm the Ottoman infantry and Janissary squares with speed.
2. 1517Ridaniya · EgyptThe Ottomans met them with field artillery and massed musket fire, while cavalry on the flanks swung around to cut off the Mamluk retreat. Though the Mamluk possessed artillery, they lacked coordination; the charges collapsed under the hail of fire, armored knights fell in large numbers, and the line broke.
3. 1517Toward Cairo · CairoThe routed cavalry retreated toward Cairo, and the Mamluk military elite suffered heavy losses. Thereafter the Ottomans retained the Mamluk cavalry formations, but the Egyptian military gradually adopted firearms, and Ridaniya became the landmark battle marking the close of the cavalry era.