The ruling class of the Mamluk dynasty was also very special.
The use of military slaves as the main force of the country's army is nothing new. Around the 9th century, the Abbasid dynasty, which was in decline, began an attempt to purchase Turkic slaves on a large scale to form an army in order to fight against the Persian nobles within its borders and the covetous foreign enemies.
These Turkic slaves basically came from the grasslands of Central Asia. They became slaves due to various factors such as defeat in tribal conflicts, natural disasters, and the bankruptcy of their pastures. They have some basic military skills and are considered a good source of soldiers locally.
Moreover, both Mesopotamia and the Transoxiana region of Central Asia were much wealthier than their hometowns. Their status as slaves also meant that they lacked local roots, making it theoretically difficult for them to rebel.
For the caliphate, this was a cheap and efficient weapon. At its peak, more than 70,000 Turkic slave soldiers served the Baghdad court. They were called "Ghulam," which means "trained slaves."
Although called slaves, these people need to be trained and prepared for war all day long. They are actually a kind of professional soldiers. Gulam who stands out can become an officer and receive various rewards. In previous wars, the performance of Gulam soldiers has also been satisfactory, and they can be regarded as an elite force.
However, according to the understanding of the Purple Horde Khanate, to put it bluntly, they are just barbarian mercenaries. It's just that there are some local characteristics in the specific implementation details.
The Romans knew all too well the consequences of abusing barbarian mercenaries...
The development of things was not much different from what happened to Rome back then. The slave soldiers quickly lost control and formed warlords who divided themselves into different factions. Together with the Turkic tribal leaders who like "Shangluo", they run rampant in the hinterland of the Tianfang Sect world.
The various Persian and Turkic dynasties that followed were not immune. It was common for slave soldiers to become self-reliant, rebel, and even replace the original regime, which gave the Persians a good taste of what it was like in the last years of Western Rome.
Later, Saladin reformed the increasingly chaotic Ghulam military system and established a more rigorous, relatively scientific and systematic training program. These improved slave soldiers were called "Mamluks".
However, the Mamluks gradually broke away from the control of the Ayyubid dynasty, and finally replaced them and established their own regime.
As for this regime, it is difficult to give him an exact definition.
Since Persia and Macedonia successively conquered Egypt, all the regimes here have basically followed a policy, which is to not allow local Egyptians to join the army. The armed forces and the upper echelons of government are almost entirely composed of outsiders.
However, it cannot be said that it was a colonial regime, because the Mamluks who managed the country came from all directions, including Kipchaks, Circassians, Mongols, and even Greeks. Most of them were sold to Egypt as slaves when they were young. The entire regime did not have a mother country.
They were even different from the Turkic dynasties that took over Persia. Because these people are not even hereditary dynasties, and they do not have a core ruling family. "Mamluk dynasty" is just a general term. Every time the sultan changes, the Mamluks will adhere to the principle of "the one with strong soldiers and horses will be the sultan" and engage in cruel internal fighting. It is a very unlikely event that a heir will succeed the Sultan.
The first stable Mamluk Sultan Baibars was a Kipchak; after his death, his son was quickly overthrown by another emir, who passed for two generations, and then was overthrown by a Mongol Mamluk; the subsequent sultan , was a Greek Mamluk; later, it was a Circassian... In short, let alone the transfer of power between families, even the ethnic groups of origin may be different.
As the core of the dynasty's army, the Mamluks were loyal to their master personally. It is also for this reason that the Mamluks are basically "one emperor and one courtier".
After the old sultan died or was overthrown, most of his close slaves would be deposed or even purged, and replaced by the slaves of the new sultan. Therefore, dynasty changes are often full of violence and chaos. The "old people" who are unwilling to lose power and the "new people" who are eager to rise to power often fight each other.
The rise of Timur and the Purple Horde further worsened the internal situation of the Mamluk regime.
The new blood of the Mamluks all comes from outside. However, the expansion of the Purple Horde and the reform of the Beiya Army affected the flow of slaves in the Kipchak grasslands; Queen Mother Helena insisted on entering Morea and expelled local mercenary gangs and Italian merchants, resulting in the source of Greek slaves drying up; finally, Timur invaded Western Asia and the Caucasus, and the source of the most popular Circassian slaves was also cut off.
Although nominally slaves regardless of origin, the Mamluks have been fighting against each other based on their place of origin. The source of slaves will affect the balance between various forces. And if all traditional sources were affected, then the entire Mamluks would be weakened.
Therefore, for most of the previous time, the Mamluks had good relations with Italian countries, Eastern Rome, and the Khans of the Golden Horde, and the Mamluks had been actively maintaining such diplomatic relations.
During the Latin Empire and the Palaeolian Dynasty, Mamluk merchants had the privilege of free passage in the Black Sea and could use the Genoese port for procurement and supplies; the Mongols were allowed to charter a piece of land in Alexandria and build a dedicated Slave warehouse; when the Mamluks attacked Acre and prepared to put an end to the Crusaders, the Genoese also promised to provide them with naval support. The cooperation between all parties was once very close.
All aspects of the trade route are therefore very complete, and they can even provide after-sales services. When Sultan Baibars was first sold to Syria, the buyer found out that he had poor eyesight, so he found a slave merchant to return the goods. Later, Baibars was favored by Ayub Sultan, and then he went to Egypt.
However, during the sudden rise of Timur and the Purple Horde Khanate, the Mamluks were on the wrong side. They habitually united with their old allies the Golden Horde and Genoa to fight Timur, who coveted Syria. This caused the Mamluks and the newly formed Purple Tent-Venetian Alliance to unexpectedly stand on opposite sides.
At this time, the power of the Sudan was controlled by the Burgi dynasty dominated by Circassian slaves. They had just overthrown the previous sultan, but soon they were forced to face Timur's invasion.
Sultan Barkuk was unsure. Hearing that the Purple Horde Khanate had close contacts with Timur, he had no choice but to recruit Bayezid, the Ottoman Sultan of Asia Minor, to form an alliance. In this way, the "one vertical line" of the Golden Horde, the Ottomans, and the Mamluks, and the "one horizontal line" of the Purple Horde, Timur, and later France, formed a direct confrontation.
However, before Timur arrived, Balkuk died suddenly, leaving behind his 13-year-old son Faraj. Neither his prestige nor his ability could stand up to Timur. The Mamluks were eventually forced to abandon Syria.
What's more unfortunate is that Egypt encountered rare plagues and famines at this time. It could be estimated that two-thirds of the population was lost, leaving the dynasty in a precarious state.
At critical moments, Farage sought to maintain authority through military victory. But he did not have outstanding military talents. Instead, he was disliked by everyone because of his violent personality.
Local emirs rebelled; his father's Mamluk veterans ostracized him; and finally, even his own Mamluks abandoned him.
Faraj was eventually killed during a failed expedition to recapture Syria, leaving the dynasty without a monarch. The emirs are not even willing to compete for the position of Sultan because the risks and responsibilities of taking office at this time are too great.
Finally, everyone came up with a solution: Don't we still have a caliph? It's just right, just let him come.
As a result, Caliph Mustaine, who had been only responsible for issuing certificates of office to the Sultan, was appointed by the emirs as the new Sultan.
Although I don’t know whether it is in line with the etiquette of Tianfang religion for the emir to appoint the caliph as sultan, they really did it.
At the same time, the emirs also contacted the Purple Horde Khanate, saying that the previous fights were all accidents: the emirs and Mamluks below had good intentions, and they all blamed the Sultan above for making blind decisions. But this guy has been killed by us. Can we resume trade now?
(End of chapter)
