The Mamluk and Ottoman Sultanate Instructor Pacas

Ghulams/Mamluks Because the population of early medieval Muslim community was extremely small, they were forced employ foederati troops from the people (predominantly Turkic steppe nomads) that the caliphate had conquered. These Turkic slave-warriors were called Ghulams. According to Muslim law, Muslims could not enslave fellow Muslims so these ghulams were ‘pagan’ warriors fighting for their Muslim overlords.

The Seljuks In 1071 CE the Seljuks/Saljuqs defeated the Byzantine forces at Manzikert and most of Anatolia (present day Turkey) entered the sphere of the Muslim world. The Seljuks of Rum ruled over this territory known as gazis or warriors of the faith their conquest would plunge the Levant into a struggle that would last for centuries between European Crusaders battling for control of the area against Muslim states.

The Ayyubid Dynasty By the middle of the 12 th century CE a strong Kurdish Muslim commander had successfully conquered much of the Crusader states and founded a strong state that incorporated huge portions of present day Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Salah al Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub known to his contemporaries as Al Nasir (The victorious) was the progenitor of the Ayyubid Dynasty. By the end of his reign 1193 CE most of his army was composed of Turcoman slave-soldiers called Mamluks in Arabic.

1250 CE Mamluk Rebellion In 1250 CE the Mamluks of the last ineffectual Ayyubid leader, al Salih, mounted a coup that overthrew al Salih’s son and established their own Sultanate over much of present day Egypt. The number of Mamluk slave-soldier recruits swelled due to the recent conquest of the Mongols over much of Central Asia. These new Mamluk recruits came from the displaced Kipchaq tribes.

The Turks of Osman (Ottomans) Around the same time that the Mamluks were establishing their Sultanate in Egypt a group of refugee Turks under the leadership of Suleyman sought refuge with the Seljuks of Rum from the invading Mondol hordes. The Seljuks granted them lands in western Anatolia as a Gazi State to defend or carry out wars against their Byzantine neighbors. Briefly after this settlement Suleyman died and leadership passed on to Osman who successfully conquered a few Byzantine forts along the frontier and quickly made a name for himself and gained more followers to his retinue.

The Ottoman Sultanate Unlike their Mamluk cousins the Ottoman Sultanate differentiated itself by not being so rigid and keeping with tradition. Often adopting and adapting technology of their neighbors to assist them in conquest they soon had carved out a large territory for themselves subjugating their former landlords the Seljuks and incorporating them into the Ottoman Sultanate. They next proceeded to invade Europe and quickly started conquering the Balkan territory of Serbia, Macedonia, and Bulgaria.

The Ottoman Sultanate Cont’d By 1400 CE the once former Eastern Roman Empire of Byzantium was surrounded by an Ottoman State. The Ottomans finally successfully conquered Byzantium in 1453 CE. In 1517 CE they successfully conquered the Mamluks of Egypt through the use of sophisticated cannon artillery and guns.

Ottoman Society Like most Muslim medieval states, the Ottoman Sultanate was extremely tolerant of diverse religious beliefs. Non-Muslims were expected to pay a larger percent of taxes but were free to worship as they pleased and retain their own culture. Many of these non-Muslims willingly became slave- soldiers Janissaries because of the opportunities of upward social mobility. Many European cultural and religious minorities often sought refuge within the Ottoman State from persecution in Europe. Most Sephardic Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition migrated to the Ottoman Empire in the 15 th century.

Ottoman Empire During the 16 th and 17 th century the Ottoman Empire was at the cutting edge of technology adopting and adapting not only technology from Asia but any new innovation in Europe as well as creating some of their own. They were the middle men that imported much of the Chinese luxury goods coveted by Europeans- something that prompted Europeans to engage in exploration hoping to establish direct trade links with Asia and bypass the Ottoman Empire.