The Mamluks 1250–1517

Book excerpt: In Europe the Mamluks of Egypt are remembered as so-called 'Slave Kings' who drove out the Crusaders from the Holy Land; but they were far more than that. Though its frontiers barely changed, the Mamluk Sultanate remained a 'great power' for two and a half centuries. Its armies were the culmination of a military tradition stretching back to the 8th century, and provided a model for the early Ottoman Empire, whose own armies reached the gates of Vienna only twelve years after the Mamluks were overthrown. This absorbing text by David Nicolle explores the organisation and tactics of these fascinating people.